Night 1 of Summerslam 2026 wasn’t disappointing but it certainly can’t be classified as a barnstormer.
This left Night 2 with the job of bringing it to justify two nights of Summerslam going forward – and boy did it do just that.
WWE Undisputed Championship No.1 Contenders match – A
What a way to start Sunday!
First of all, to see Nick Aldis straight back on Smackdown GM duties was bitter-sweet. He’s brilliant in the role so I’m glad to see him carrying on, but he looked fantastic in the ring against Gunther the night before. I would’ve liked to have seen a bit of a run from him. Hopefully there’ll be opportunities soon down the line.
Anyway, on to the match and before it got going, Aldis added some extra spice to it by adding two more participants – first, his adversary from the Saturday, Gunther, and then sensationally, KEVIN OWENS.
Some may not have been so surprised since we knew he was around in Minnesota. He’d been seen at some WWE events this week but given the nature of the injury he had, an in-ring return seemed like a longshot.
In complete honesty, I’ve never been a big KO fan. However, I’ve been rooting for his return because you hate to see an athlete’s career end not on their terms. So to not only see him back, but to see him still at his best and winning the match was special.
I thought at first it was a bit of a shame to not get to witness what had the potential to be the show-stealer that would’ve been Sami Zayn vs Finn Balor. Then when Gunther was added I sighed because that seemed to be a lazy way to just have him go for the title again. So KO’s addition had me intrigued, to say the least.
The fast start from Owen’s was good to show off that he is in fact back properly and is more than ready to go for it. Gunther was still the monster he is but obviously more vulnerable after his match against Aldis the night before, so a victory for him seemed less assured than normal and helped get the others over.
Balor looked very good in my opinion. I think it’s a shame he’s not getting another opportunity to take on Punk as they had some good matches earlier in the year, plus I’m still waiting for the full Balor push that has been said to be coming. Sure, he’s getting more world title opportunities, but he still needs a belt of some kind I think.
Zayn was also very good. I hate him right now which is the point. He’s a big whining baby and it showed again in this match. His embrace with former best friend Owens that quickly turned was ideal and I reckon there will definitely be more from them to come soon enough.
Going forward, obviously next will be Owens vs Punk for the title and I for one am incredibly excited for that. I really hope Owens wins that.
Lastly and quickly on Gunther’s addition, I like the fact that we immediately got a response of a kind to his and Aldis’ match from Saturday night. Like I said in my Night 1 review, I think they’ll be silently working together at times now and this seemed to be one of those occasions.
United States Championship match – B
I’m glad to see Baron Corbin and I really like this version of him. And putting the belt on him here is a good idea to put him over in his return run.
Don’t get me wrong, I hate to see my boy Trick Willy lose. He has that megastar aura and I’ve been backing him to succeed from the very first moment I heard his walkout music back in NXT.
I do think this was the right result though. Trick is so over, and you can see the fans love everything about him. He’s almost got that LA Knight level of popularity at the moment. And that means he doesn’t necessarily need a title to be a superstar people will pay to see.
Corbin does need the title to show that he is this dangerous guy now he’s back. It’s almost got the feel of Hunter wanting to put right the failures from Baron’s original run when he seemingly got screwed out of every opportunity to be the top guy.
The match itself was solid. Hard-hitting at points which isn’t a surprise with these two, and the Lil Yachty distractions didn’t take away from the match which was good. Yachty taking that table bump was a nice touch, too.
Interim WWE Women’s Championship Ladder match – A++
When a match result has me properly celebrating then I can’t give it anything less than an A+. This one gets an A++, though, because I am firmly part of the Chelsea Green fan club.
There was a serious amount of ladder damage done in this match which made it entertaining and I genuinely couldn’t predict who would win. I couldn’t before it and couldn’t during, which makes the result even sweeter.
No-one came away from the match looking bad. Jade Cargill seemed like a badass, as always; Charlotte was on top form, as always; Lash Legend continues to show why the powers at be have the faith in her to be a top star; and Tiffy was her ever-brilliant self.
Of course, Chelsea came away looking the best, having held her own against these juggernauts to claim the title. Where she once seemed like her best use was as a filler role, good for giving an easy win to stars on a greater path, Chelsea now legitimately seems like she’ll be capable of having a solid run with the belt.
That’s my hope at least. She’ll probably defend against her new bestie Tiffy first and I won’t be surprised if she does drop it. Sad but not surprised. Although there is a part of me that really hopes she ends up holding it until Rhea is back. She’ll be brutally squashed then, but hopefully she’ll have had a nice run with the belt.
To put a more blunt point on this entry, the match itself didn’t really do anything too special. It was a fairly standard ladder match, but there’s nothing wrong with that. I would give it a generous B+ for the match alone but the winner bumps it way up.
Human Monies on a Pole – B-
To quote Simon Miller, goofy wrestling for life. I love it, I will always love it, so this was appropriately stupid enough for me.
It didn’t do too much but it was never intended to. It was typical from what we’ve seen from a Danhausen match – a little bit of a tussle, then the Minihausens come out, a few shenanigans, someone gets cursed, and Danhausen ultimately wins to stay undefeated in the WWE.
It actually felt like JD McDonaugh did more than Dirty Dom in this match. He came in and got involved mainly against the Minihausens but also against Danhausen. Then Joe Hendry came in for the save which led to the finish.
I saw someone make a good point that Dom seemed really checked out in this one, and I’ve got to say, I’m not surprised. While it’s a nice lighter feud to break things up, he’s a proper star on the rise who can produce with anyone. He should be having bigger and better fights, whether that’s doing more with the AAA Mega Championship or back into the Intercontinental Championship scene.
Anyways, nothing wrong with this match, it was just a bit of a time filler. Maybe someone else could’ve taken the spot, but there’s nothing wrong with some Danhausen tomfoolery in my opinion.
I also think McDonaugh actually paralysed one of the Minihausens, which is very sad, very evil.
Intercontinental Championship match – A-
How can you not love to see Gable finally win his first singles championship. All these years of hard work, fighting through adversity (Shorty G, to be precise), pretending to be El Grande Americano so he can master another craft. It warms my heart to see it all be worth it as he claimed the gold in his hometown.
Plus, I love a submission finish. It often feels like a lost art but it is slowly creeping back.
This was always going to be a banger. Gable is one of those special talents who can get a good match out of anyone, so when paired with someone with a similar ability like Penta, it was bound to be a highlight-laden match.
I will say, it wasn’t perfect. I think the expectation was that it would be the match of the night, but a few dodgier moments prevented it from being an instant classic.
That’s not to say it wasn’t a great match still. They put on a show worthy of being the penultimate fight of the night, providing the rush of adrenaline that would be needed for the explosive finale.
The only thing I disliked about the match was the stupid big dog mascot for some root beer branding that ruined Gable’s touching celebrations with his family.
It’s honestly such a joke at this point how much branding they cater to these days but that’s a conversation for another day.
WWE World Heavyweight Championship match – A+
This was the war that was expected. I like the fact that they keep these two away from each other to bring out a match between them on special occasions only. It makes those feuds and resulting battle only that much more enthralling.
The thing I like the most about Roman and Seth is they advance the story in the ring by telling the history and then adding upon it for potential future clashes.
And there’s also no BS “hulking up”. Every nearfall is preceded with perceived genuine struggle which adds to the intensity, rather than the rubbish no-sells you see from some. Plus, no one does the kick out at 2.99 seconds better than these two.
At the end of this fight there were some moments where one would hit the other with a big move only for them to bounce back and offer a rebuttal. That is when no-sells work at their best. It should be about fighting through the pain to deliver one brutal blow only to crumple afterwards, not simply deciding to act like nothing happened.
Roman matches are often spectacles given the way they climb throughout the contest, but the times against Seth have exemplified that the best. This might be the crème de la crème, as the final stretch of this match was simply electric, the pair trading finishers for the nearest fall each time until the OTC finally was able to put away his biggest adversary with three spears – a perfect homage for his Shield brethrens.
The referee bump was a good way to add those further brutal last layers, but I loved the fact that Roman didn’t take the chance to use the chair that was introduced by Seth and instead closed the book on his terms rather than out of pure anger.
This was the definition of an instant classic. The touch of Dean Ambrose was sensational but the Shield gesture after the bell was the perfect final chapter for their storyline.
Maybe somewhere down the line we have them team up once again, but for now, it’s time for Roman to be the dominant OTC once again.
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