Tag: WWE Summerslam

MMA rules match explained for WWE SummerSlam

Posted on by Bryan Rose

The rules of the upcoming MMA rules match between Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler have been announced.

On SmackDown Friday, announcer Micheal Cole explained the rules of the MMA rules between Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler for Saturday’s SummerSlam match. The stipulation are that whoever passes out, submits, or is knocked out first will be declared the winner of the match.

Two weeks ago on Raw, Shayna Baszler issued the challenge to Rousey for SummerSlam, saying she didn’t want a match but a fight. Rousey accepted the stipulations. Their feud officially began at Money in the Bank last month when Baszler attacked Rousey, costing them the WWE Women’s Tag Team titles.

More participants for the Slim Jim SummerSlam Battle Royal were announced on Friday’s show as well. The list now includes Santos Escobar, Butch, Ridge Holland, Grayson Waller, The Miz, AJ Styles, Karrion Kross, Luke Gallows, and Matt Riddle.

Here is the updated lineup for Saturday’s SummerSlam:

WWE SummerSlam, Saturday, August 5, 8 p.m. Eastern time on Peacock & WWE Network —

  • Tribal Combat match for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship and title of Tribal Chief: Roman Reigns defends against Jey Uso
  • Cody Rhodes vs. Brock Lesnar
  • World Heavyweight Championship: Seth Rollins defends against Finn Balor
  • WWE Intercontinental title match: Gunther defends against Drew McIntyre
  • Triple threat match for the WWE Women’s Championship: Asuka defends against Charlotte Flair & Bianca Belair
  • Logan Paul vs. Ricochet
  • MMA rules: Ronda Rousey vs. Shayna Baszler
  • Slim Jim SummerSlam Battle Royal

Fight Game: WWE SummerSlam preview

Posted on by Garrett Gonzales

John LaRocca and I are back with a brand new Fight Game Podcast.

Here are the things we discussed:

  • What matches and programs we’re looking forward to and what is coming up short for us with Saturday’s WWE SummerSlam
  • The new Cody Rhodes documentary on Peacock and if AEW fans will enjoy it
  • The Elite re-signing with AEW
  • MJF vs. Adam Cole, where it’s going and where CM Punk fits in
  • The wackiness of Jack Perry vs. Rob Van Dam
  • The heated Nick Wayne segment
  • The latest in the NJPW G1 tournament.

On Saturday, John and I will be doing immediate short match reviews on the Fight Game Media YouTube channel during SummerSlam. 

Click Here to Listen (sub needed)

WWE touts ‘record-breaking’ Slim Jim sponsorship ahead of SummerSlam

Posted on by Ian Carey

WWE and Slim Jim officially announced a “multi-layered” partnership today.  

The two companies say their new agreement “marks the largest sponsorship deal in WWE history.” It will begin tomorrow at WWE SummerSlam as Slim Jim is the presenting sponsor for the SummerSlam Battle Royal. 

“Alongside our partners at Slim Jim and Conagra Brands, WWE is excited to renew one of the most memorable collaborations in sports entertainment history and there’s no better way to kick off the partnership than a 20-man Battle Royal at SummerSlam,” said Craig Stimmel, WWE SVP, Head of Global Sales and Partnerships.

The SummerSlam Battle Royal presented by Slim Jim will be one of several custom integrations at WWE PLEs as part of the deal. Slim Jim will also play a role at Survivor Series, Royal Rumble, and WrestleMania 40 as well. 

“Slim Jim has always been about crushing boredom and doing the unexpected, which is also the cornerstone of WWE and their memorable lineup of bold, in-your-face Superstars,” said Spencer Fivelson, VP & General Manager of Snacks at Conagra Brands. “We’re thrilled to be back in the ring with WWE to build on our shared history and celebrate the savage energy of today’s WWE Superstars.”

WWE’s partnership with Slim Jim began more than 30 years ago when “Macho Man” Randy Savage became the promotional face of the brand, creating the famous “Snap into a Slim Jim” slogan in the process. 

Bianca Belair reveals one of her favorite WWE matches that no one talks about

Posted on by Denise Salcedo

After signing with WWE in April 2016, it only took Bianca Belair a few years before making her main roster debut at WrestleMania 36. Since then, she has skyrocketed to the top as one of the top female wrestlers in WWE. 

Some of her accolades include winning the women’s Royal Rumble in 2021, main eventing night 1 of WrestleMania 37 in a match against Sasha Banks, and winning  ESPN’s Female Wrestler of the Year for 2022. Her match against Banks was rated 4.5 stars by our very own Dave Meltzer. 

I spoke to the EST of WWE during her promotional campaign for C4 Energy x WWE and she discussed the status of the women’s division, helping raise the bar, her favorite feuds, and much more. 

Raising the bar

Belair said that because she didn’t have a background in wrestling, she knew from the very beginning that she wanted to “bring something different to the table.”

She explained that she did so by always trying to “incorporate some type of powerlifting” and attributing some of her in-ring success to her background in gymnastics. However, Belair made sure to credit the women before her.

“There’s women that were here before me too, and they were doing amazing things…like the Four Horsemen. I have been able to step in the ring with them and create some amazing moments, amazing matches.”

Belair then added that it is “cool” to know she’s one of the first collegiate athletes that was able to come over to the WWE and “really transition to a successful wrestler.” 

“Now we have the NIL program behind us, it’s coming through. They are recruiting more collegiate athletes, so to know that I was one of the many that opened the door for that, it means a lot,” she said.

Her favorite matches

Belair shared that she is “very happy” with the reputation she has built — one that includes fans knowing that her matches are going to be good to great with “some feats of strength and athleticism” 

When it came to her favorite moments, Belair mentioned main eventing WrestleMania 37 with Sasha Banks (now Mercedes Mone), recalling that that was the first time she and Banks ever touched one another and how “mind boggling” it was to have that kind of chemistry with her.

She then mentioned all the work that she has been able to do with Becky Lynch, calling her match with Lynch at WrestleMania 38 “an amazing match.”

She then went on to say that one of her feuds that isn’t talked about as much is the work she did with Bayley. 

“But some match stuff like that aren’t talked about enough are the matches that I’ve done with Bayley like our Hell In A Cell match in front of no audience. And you go back and you watch that match…the creativity, you know what we did in that match. It was, like, really an amazing match.”

Belair also talked about the new WWE partnership with C4 Energy on their line of drinks and pre-workout powder that she has been using since her days in the CrossFit world. 

Belair’s next big match is this Saturday at WWE SummerSlam where she will challenge for the WWE Women’s Championship in a triple threat against Charlotte Flair and current champion Asuka.

Becky Lynch vs. Trish Stratus not taking place at WWE SummerSlam

Posted on by Ethan Renner

After weeks of build, Becky Lynch vs. Trish Stratus will not take place at WWE SummerSlam, but on an episode of Raw next month.

As announced during Monday’s Raw episode, Lynch vs. Stratus in a Night of Champions rematch is set for the Monday, August 14 Raw in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. 

In a bout where Lynch would earn a rematch with Stratus if she beat Stark, Lynch defeated Stark on last week’s Raw. The Lynch vs. Stratus rematch did technically take place on this week’s episode, with Lynch defeating Stratus in seconds after Stark immediately interfered to cause a disqualification. In a follow-up backstage segment, on-screen authority figure Adam Pearce made another rematch for August 14, with Stark banned from ringside. 

Lynch and Stratus met for the first time at Night of Champions on May 27 in Saudi Arabia. Stratus won the first bout with an assist from Zoey Stark, and the program continued through July’s Money in the Bank pay-per-view and on Raw in the ensuing weeks. 

The Stratus vs. Lynch feud was set in motion on the April 10 Raw show, where Stratus teamed with Lynch in defending the Women’s Tag Team titles. After they lost the match, Stratus turned heel on Lynch to set up the Night of Champions bout. 

Wrestling Observer Live: CM Punk is AEW’s ‘Real World Champion’

Posted on by Andrew Zarian

Andrew Zarian is back with another Sunday edition of Wrestling Observer Live talking about the latest in another busy weekend of wrestling.

On last night’s AEW Collision, CM Punk finally revealed what was in his bag and, to no one’s surprise, it was his original AEW World Championship before his departure last September. The first match for the “Real World Championship” happens this Saturday with Ricky Starks.

Also, FTR defended their AEW Tag Team titles against MJF & Adam Cole with a very dramatic ending, I talk about the match and about where all this is leading.

I also run through both tonight’s WWE NXT Great American Bash which features several title matches and the in-ring debut of Gable Steveson. I then preview next weekend’s WWE SummerSlam which will see Roman Reigns vs. Jey Uso and more.

Plus, a review of Friday’s WWE SmackDown, the news that Vince McMahon had spinal surgery, an interesting AEW trademark, and more.

YouTube subscribers can watch above while website subscribers can listen below.

Click Here To Listen

LA Knight set for WWE SummerSlam Battle Royal

Posted on by Ethan Renner

LA Knight will compete in the newly-announced WWE SummerSlam Battle Royal. 

WWE announced the Battle Royal on Friday’s SmackDown episode with Slim Jim as the presenting sponsor. 

LA Knight was one of two competitors announced for the match, with Sheamus of The Brawling Brutes also set to compete. Those two will square off in a singles match on the August 4 SmackDown, the go-home show for the August 5 pay-per-view. 

The SummerSlam Battle Royal will feature wrestlers from Raw and SmackDown. 

The updated SummerSlam lineup:

WWE SummerSlam, Saturday, August 5, 8 p.m. Eastern time on Peacock & WWE Network —

  • Tribal Combat match for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship and title of Tribal Chief: Roman Reigns defends against Jey Uso
  • Cody Rhodes vs. Brock Lesnar
  • World Heavyweight Championship: Seth Rollins defends against Finn Balor
  • WWE Intercontinental title match: Gunther defends against Drew McIntyre
  • Triple threat match for the WWE Women’s Championship: Asuka defends against Charlotte Flair & Bianca Belair
  • Logan Paul vs. Ricochet
  • Ronda Rousey vs. Shayna Baszler
  • SummerSlam Battle Royal: LA Knight, Sheamus announced 

Ticket sales & revenue updates on AEW All In, WWE SummerSlam

Posted on by Josh Nason

Both WWE SummerSlam and AEW All In are continuing to experience major success with ticket sales.

Dave Meltzer provided some updated notes on how both events are doing in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

WWE SummerSlam

With SummerSlam, set for Detroit, Michigan’s Ford Field on Saturday, August 5th, Meltzer wrote that 45,971 tickets are out for the event with the announcement of Roman Reigns vs. Jey Uso and stipulations for the other matches helping move things along.

Meltzer noted why he feels it will be the biggest SummerSlam in recent history:

“It’s a virtual lock, given the growth of Peacock and the growth of WWE popularity this year, that it will be the most number of people watching in North America or any SummerSlam show in history. It will be the second largest attendance (it won’t beat the 1992 show at Wembley Stadium) and will likely be the largest gate for any non-WrestleMania show ever in the U.S. (the target is $7.3 million based on how gates are usually measured and $7.7 million that WWE announced for Royal Rumble including Ticketmaster fees).”

AEW All In

AEW’s first-ever trip to the United Kingdom on Sunday, August 27th at London’s Wembley Stadium continues to climb the record books.

Meltzer reported that as of now, there are 76,929 tickets distributed (approximately 70,400 paid) for a gate of $9 million USD. That puts them less than 4000 tickets shy of WWE WrestleMania 32’s attendance as they ascend the charts of the most attended wrestling shows ever for a paid audience.

From the newsletter:

“It looks like a good bet to be the largest recorded attendance in history aside from the New Japan shows in North Korea in 1995 which were not paid attendance. It is now No. 5 all-time when it comes to attendance at actual paying shows and the WrestleMania III mark is probably a week to ten days away from being broken and with a month left, the 80,709 total now looks like it’s being broken. The actual all-time paid record is certainly possible but far from a sure thing. There are 10,896 tickets still left so the potential looks to be 87,825 total.”

Three matches added to WWE SummerSlam

Posted on by Bryan Rose

More matches have been made official for SummerSlam.

Drew McIntyre vs. Gunther, Ronda Rousey vs. Shayna Baszler, and Logan Paul vs. Ricochet are all set for next week’s SummerSlam at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan.

Monday’s Raw had Ricochet come to the ring for a face-to-face with Paul. However, Paul didn’t show up. Instead, Paul attacked Ricochet from behind and accepted Ricochet’s challenge for SummerSlam. Ricochet managed to cut off Paul to send him reeling.

In backstage segments, Baszler first said she challenged Rousey for SummerSlam, saying it wouldn’t be a match but a fight. Later, Rousey accepted the challenge.

McIntyre and Gunther had a face-to-face on Monday’s Raw that ended up having McIntyre defeat Ludwig Kaiser in a match. After McIntyre won, Gunther and McIntyre had a brawl that ended up having Gunther being put through the announcer’s table.

Here is the updated lineup for WWE SummerSlam.

WWE SummerSlam, Saturday, August 5, 8 p.m. Eastern time on Peacock & WWE Network —

  • Tribal Combat match for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship and title of Tribal Chief: Roman Reigns defends against Jey Uso
  • Cody Rhodes vs. Brock Lesnar
  • World Heavyweight Championship: Seth Rollins defends against Finn Balor
  • WWE Intercontinental title match: Gunther defends against Drew McIntyre
  • Triple threat match for the WWE Women’s Championship: Asuka defends against Charlotte Flair & Bianca Belair
  • Logan Paul vs. Ricochet
  • Ronda Rousey vs. Shayna Baszler 

Roman Reigns & Jey Uso agree to Tribal Combat match at WWE SummerSlam

Posted on by Ethan Renner

Roman Reigns will defend the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship against Jey Uso at WWE SummerSlam, putting his Tribal Chief title on the line as well. 

Reigns vs. Uso was made official in the show-closing segment of this week’s WWE SmackDown with Reigns and Uso eschewing a traditional contract signing in favor of a handshake to seal their agreement to face one another at SummerSlam under Tribal Combat rules. 

As explained on commentary by Michael Cole and Wade Barrett, the Tribal Combat stipulation entails Reigns putting his title of Tribal Chief up in the match in addition to the Universal title. Additionally, the match will be anything goes. 

Reigns vs. Uso is now the fourth match official for SummerSlam. Earlier on Friday, WWE officially announced a triple threat match for the WWE Women’s Championship with Asuka defending against Bianca Belair & Charlotte Flair. 

Cody Rhodes vs. Brock Lesnar, plus Seth Rollins defending the World Heavyweight Championship against Finn Balor have previously been announced for the show. 

Ronda Rousey vs. Shayna Baszler, plus Trish Stratus vs. Becky Lynch also appear set for the show, but have yet to be made official. 

The updated lineup: 

WWE SummerSlam, Saturday, August 5, 8 p.m. Eastern time on Peacock & WWE Network —

  • Tribal Combat match for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship and title of Tribal Chief: Roman Reigns defends against Jey Uso
  • Cody Rhodes vs. Brock Lesnar
  • World Heavyweight Championship: Seth Rollins defends against Finn Balor
  • Triple threat match for the WWE Women’s Championship: Asuka defends against Charlotte Flair & Bianca Belair 

Triple threat Women’s title match official for WWE SummerSlam

Posted on by Joseph Currier

The WWE Women’s Championship will officially be on the line in a triple threat match at SummerSlam.

WWE has confirmed that Asuka will defend her title against Charlotte Flair and Bianca Belair in a triple threat match at the Saturday, August 5 pay-per-view. The PPV is being held at Ford Field in Detroit.

Earlier today, WWE had stated that Asuka’s SummerSlam challenger would be revealed on tonight’s episode of SmackDown.

Asuka has been feuding with both Charlotte and Belair leading into SummerSlam. They’ve each challenged Asuka for the WWE Women’s Championship on SmackDown over the past few weeks, but both title matches ended without definitive finishes.

Asuka won the Raw Women’s Championship from Belair at Night of Champions this May. The title was later renamed to the WWE Women’s Championship.

While not part of the SummerSlam triple threat match, IYO SKY could potentially end up getting involved in the championship mix. SKY holds the women’s Money in the Bank briefcase and has had her sights set on the WWE Women’s Championship in recent weeks.

This is the third match that’s been officially announced for SummerSlam. The updated card for the PPV is listed below:

  • Cody Rhodes vs. Brock Lesnar
  • World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins defends against Finn Balor
  • WWE Women’s Champion Asuka defends against Charlotte Flair and Bianca Belair in a triple threat match

Logan Paul has requested to go on first at WWE SummerSlam

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Logan Paul may be opening the night at WWE SummerSlam.

On the latest episode of his Impaulsive podcast, Paul revealed that he has requested for his match to go on first at SummerSlam. Paul’s brother, Jake Paul, is facing Nate Diaz in a boxing match that same night. Paul said he’s planning to take a private jet from Detroit to Dallas so that he can walk to the ring with his brother for the fight.

Paul said the timing will be tight and it’s “barely possible” for him to make it to Dallas in time. Paul isn’t sure if he’ll be able to make it for the start of the fight.

“After SummerSlam, my brother who is fighting on the same night in Dallas, as soon as my match ends, I’m going to hop on a PJ [private jet], fly to Dallas in my gear, walk in  the ring with my brother for his fight against Nate Diaz. I’m going to try to. I don’t know if I’m going to make it, but I think if I do, it’ll be minutes. Like, I walk into the venue, round one Jake Paul/Nate Diaz starts.”

Seth Rollins, who was the guest on Impaulsive, noted that Paul will have to open the show at SummerSlam.

“I requested first match,” Paul responded. “We did the math, it’s barely doable.”

Paul’s match for SummerSlam hasn’t been officially announced, but WWE’s plans are for him to face Ricochet at the event. That match may become official when Paul appears on Raw next Monday.

SummerSlam is being held at Ford Field in Detroit on Saturday, August 5.

The full Impaulsive episode is available to watch below:

Two matches official for WWE SummerSlam

Posted on by Ethan Renner

WWE has officially announced two matches for SummerSlam set for Saturday, August 5. 

As revealed during Monday’s Raw show, Brock Lesnar vs. Cody Rhodes III is set for SummerSlam at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. After a show-opening promo from Rhodes on Raw, Lesnar attacked Rhodes and left him laying in front of his family, focusing his attack on the left arm of Rhodes that Lesnar broke in storyline earlier this year. 

The World Heavyweight Championship will also be on the line at SummerSlam, as Seth Rollins will once again defend his title against Finn Balor. Rollins defeated Balor in their title match at Money in the Bank earlier this month, but they set up a rematch in a backstage promo segment during this week’s Raw. 

Roman Reigns vs. Jey Uso for the Undisputed Universal Championship, Ronda Rousey vs. Shayna Baszler, Trish Stratus vs. Becky Lynch, and Ricochet vs. Logan Paul have also been heavily teased for SummerSlam, but only Lesnar vs. Rhodes and Rollins vs. Balor have been officially announced to this point. 

The current official lineup for SummerSlam: 

WWE SummerSlam, Saturday, August 5, 8 p.m. Eastern time on Peacock & WWE Network —

  • Brock Lesnar vs. Cody Rhodes
  • World Heavyweight Championship: Seth Rollins defends against Finn Balor

We’re Live, Pal: Roman Reigns vs. Jey Uso, AEW Blood & Guts

Posted on by Garrett Gonzales

It’s a brand new We’re Live, Pal! with myself and Andrew Zarian.

We opened up talking about last Friday’s WWE SmackDown at Madison Square Garden. Andrew was live at the show and talked about the vibe in the arena. We also talked about how the trial of Roman Reigns played for the New York crowd. 

We then discussed last Saturday’s AEW Collision with CM Punk vs. Samoa Joe as the main event and FTR against Bullet Club Gold in a Tag Team title eliminator match.

Lastly, we previewed tonight’s AEW Dynamite and tried to predict who the mystery partners are for the Blood & Guts match next Wednesday.

You can follow us on Twitter. Paid video subscribers can also watch our show live or on demand on YouTube.

For website subscribers, you can click here to listen.

Cody Rhodes challenges Brock Lesnar for WWE SummerSlam

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Cody Rhodes wants a rubber match against Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam.

Rhodes issued the challenge Monday on Raw. He said that Lesnar was going to show up next week and hoped that he could end the chapter that Lesnar started for no reason. He said that he wants this match because the person who emerges from this match the winner will be next in line. Rhodes promised that he will be the one that is next in line.

Rhodes and Lesnar have been feuding since the night following WrestleMania, when Lesnar turned on Rhodes in a tag match where they were to team up against Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa. They first met at Backlash, where Rhodes was able to defeat Lesnar. In their second match at Night of Champions in May, Lesnar was able to win after Rhodes passed out following a kimura lock on Rhodes’ broken arm.

On the Raw that took place following Money in the Bank earlier this month, Lesnar made his latest return, targeting Rhodes again. The two got into a brawl, with Rhodes getting the upper hand.