WWE SummerSlam 2026 Night 1 GRADED - Results, Review

For the second time in show history, WWE SummerSlam was a two-night affair as what WWE bill as the Biggest Party of the Summer aired from US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Night one was headlined by Oba Femi vs. Brock Lesnar inside Hell in a Cell, while CM Punk and Cody Rhodes faced off for the Undisputed WWE Championship in the semi-main event. Nick Aldis also had his first-ever WWE match since signing with the company in 2023, and Liv Morgan actually defended her WWE Women's World Championship for the first time since winning the belt at WrestleMania 42.

WWE SummerSlam 2026 Night 1 GRADED:

Liv Morgan (c) def. IYO SKY - WWE Women's World Championship

Trouble, Trouble vs. The lover of the crazy emote opened SummerSlam and IYO SKY was on top in the early going, knocking Liv Morgan to the floor with a Shotgun Dropkick. SKY looked to remain on offence and she was helped up to the barricade by Green Shirt Guy but Liv Morgan knocked her down and sent the challenger bouncing into that same barricade. This allowed Liv Morgan to take control and she worked over SKY’s midsection before Three Amigos and a Shining Wizard for a near fall. 

IYO SKY fired back soon after with a Missile Dropkick and the Bullet Train Double Knees and a Sunset Flip Powerbomb to the outside after IYO SKY reminded everyone she’s CRAZY with her popular emote. 

IYO SKY set up for her Moonsault finisher but referee Jessika Carr was distracted by Roxanne Perez, which allowed Raquel Rodriguez to Chokeslam IYO SKY back into the ring. Morgan was unable to pick up the win, though, and SKY soon tossed Liv over the top rope and looked to take out Judgment Day with a Moonsault to the floor but Morgan escaped back into the ring, and after IYO took out Raquel and Roxanne, Morgan hit a Hurricanrana, causing SKY’s head to bounce off the mat. 

Liv Morgan failed to take advantage, though, and SKY fired back with a Spanish Fly from the top rope for a near fall. IYO SKY remained on offence and hit an Oblivion of her own but Morgan kicked out at 2.9. Morgan fired back with a Codebreaker, leading to another kickout from IYO SKY. 

Once both women were back to their feet, IYO SKY hit another Bullet Train, this time to the ring post, hurting her knees in the process and she went for the Moonsault but Morgan got her feet up and quickly looked for Oblivion but SKY flipped through it. Liv Morgan immediately connected with another Codebreaker and finally hit Oblivion for the win, though. 

Grade: B+ - An exciting start to SummerSlam as IYO SKY and Liv Morgan had a much better match than their Night of Champions affair (I give that match a B- but I think I was quite generous looking back). The competitors were given time and they delivered in the time they were given and ended on a high with a great finishing sequence that saw Morgan, somewhat surprisingly, retain. 

LA Knight, Solo Sikoa & Royce Keys def. The Bloodline (Jey Uso, Jimmy Uso & Jacob Fatu)

After a bunch of entrances, including Jacob Fatu wearing a Gears of War mask, the action began quickly as LA Knight, Solo Sikoa, and Royce Keys rushed the ring, but they were soon knocked outside and Jimmy Uso took down Keys and Knight with a Plancha. Solo Sikoa and Jey Uso then had an exchange won by Solo, who then ran it back, much to the delight of the fans in Minneapolis and to the anger of Jey Uso. 

This prompted Jey to tag in Jacob Fatu and Solo initially got the better of the exchange until Fatu popped straight back up and levelled Sikoa, leading to The Bloodline slowly working over their family member. Solo eventually made the hot tag to Royce Keys, who ran wild, including with a Pop Up Powerbonb to Jimmy Uso, but a Jacob Fatu distraction allowed Jimmy Uso to hit a bunch of Superkicks, including one that caused Jimmy to fall over. The action then went to the top rope and Jimmy Uso and Royce Keys awkwardly grappled for what felt like an age before Keys connected with a Fallaway Slam-esque move. 

LA Knight was then tagged in and went for the BFT but Jey Uso blocked it and fired back with a Spear for a near fall. Everyone then took turns hitting their finisher ended by a Spinebuster from Royce Keys to Jacob Fatu. Royce Keys then hit a Powerslam to Fatu over the barricade.

Back in the ring, Jey Uso hit a second Spear to LA Knight followed by an Uso Splash from Jimmy, but it was still only enough for two. The Usos called for the 1D but Solo hit a Samoan Spike to Jimmy. This distracted Jey and, when he turned back around, he walked straight into a BFT from LA Knight for the babyface win. 

Grade: C+ - A fun, WWE house show-esque six-man tag that will be quickly forgotten about but everyone was given the opportunity to shine, especially Solo Sikoa, who continues to delight during his current babyface run. 

Gunther def. Nick Aldis

Plenty of intrigue for the third match on night one of WWE SummerSlam and Nick Aldis made his way to the ring to ‘Morning Glory’ by Oasis, and after being taken down to the mat on multiple occasions, Nick Aldis was able to pick up the pace, only for Gunther to go to the outside and taunt the SmackDown general manager from the announce table. 

When Gunther headed back into the ring, he quickly took control of the match, which included the former WWE World Heavyweight Champion goading Aldis’ wife Mickie James and his son Donovan at ringside, before Gunther applied the Sleeper. Aldis was able to break free but the National Treasure ran straight into a lariat. This failed to halt Aldis, though, and he fired back with a Suplex. 

Soon after, Nick Aldis showed shades of Davey Boy Smith with a Running Powerslam, but it was only enough for a near fall. Aldis continued to utilise some old school offence with a Slam and two Flying Elbows before he locked in the Cloverleaf. 

Gunther was able to escape and Der Ring General managed to apply a Sleeper but Aldis briefly reversed into a Sleeper of his own, which led to a Powerbomb from Gunther followed by the Sleeper being reapplied. After some attempts to escape, Nick Aldis tapped out. 

Post-match, Nick Aldis received applause in the ring from the fans inside US Bank Stadium while he was joined in the squared circle by Mickie James and his son.

Grade: C+ - A throwback of a professional wrestling match, it was enjoyable enough but it could have done with at least a couple of more minutes. A decent showing from Nick Aldis in his first mach in three years, though, to the point it would be nice to see him have more matches inside a WWE ring. 

Fatal Influence (Jacy Jayne, Lainey Reid & Fallon Henley) def. The Bella Twins (Brie Bella & Nikki Bella) & Paige

Fatal Influence promptly took control of the six-woman tag, with Jacy Jayne sending Brie Bella crashing into the steel steps. After some slow working over of Brie, she was able to make the tag to Nikki Bella, who took down all three members of Fatal Influence, which included a Lariat which caused Jacy Jayne to DDT Fallon Henley. 

Bella almost picked up the win with a Neutraliser but Jacy Jayne broke up the pin. The Bella Twins then went for the Hart Attack but Fatal Influence blocked it and the heels followed up with a Double Team Suplex, with that pin being broken up by Paige. Jacy Jayne then bizarrely threw herself out of the ring and Fallon Henley mocked Nikki Bella with her trademark dance, but they both collapsed to the mat after colliding with headbutts. 

Fatal Influence then, quite out of nowhere, picked up the win after Paige became distracted by Fallon Henley on the outside and Jacy Jayne took advantage, connecting with the Rolling Encore for the win. Brie Bella also appeared to pick up an arm injury during the match. 

After the match, The Bella Twins and Paige raised Paige’s arms, which resulted in a heel turn from Nikki and Brie, who stood tall after Nikki’s finisher.

Grade: D - A short match that belonged on an episode of SmackDown was followed by a heel turn that no one inside US Bank Stadium really cared about as The Bella Twins took out Paige. At least the match allowed Fatal Influence to continue their momentum. 

CM Punk (c) def. Cody Rhodes - Undisputed WWE Championship

Big fight feel for the semi-main event of SummerSlam night one as CM Punk defended the Undisputed WWE Championship against Cody Rhodes, and the match started slowly with what could very much be described as a “feeling-out process” in the early going. 

The match picked up the pace a tiny amount after several minutes with a Suicide Dive from Cody Rhodes, but Cody hurt his arm in the process and CM Punk proceeded to target the limb. CM Punk then picked up his own storyline injury, though, hurting his knee on a Dropkick and only making the injury worse with a Running Knee, with Cody then targeting the knee. Limb work after limb work.

After plenty of working over the knee from Cody Rhodes, CM Punk managed to fire back with a Bulldog followed by a Flying Elbow, but it was barely enough for a two count. Punk called for the Go To Sleep but Cody quickly escaped with elbows to the jaw which was followed up by a Cody Cutter for another near fall. Cody next hit a Disaster Kick before going back to targeting Punk’s knee and another Cody Cutter, with Punk continuing to kick out.

CM Punk quickly avoided a Cross Rhodes and a Figure Four Leglock before Cody blocked a GTS and applied with the Figure Four at the second attempt. CM Punk managed to reverse the submission before he reached the bottom rope, with the crowd right behind the WWE Champion. Cody went for the Figure Four again but Punk reversed into an Anaconda Vice, with Rhodes reaching the bottom rope. 

Cody kept spinning, looking for an Alabama Slam, but he made himself dizzy which allowed Punk to reapply the Anaconda Vice. A bridge allowed Cody to escape and resulted in a Cross Rhodes, with Punk kicking out at 2.5. The action went to the top rope and CM Punk botched a Moonsault, missing Cody, but they continued on like nothing happened and the WWE Champion connected with the GTS, with it being Cody’s turn to kick out of a finisher. 

After some brawling by the announce table, CM Punk managed to connect with a second GTS back in the ring but Cody simply grabbed the bottom rope with his hand to break the pin. Both men went back to the announce table and CM Punk crashed and burned when he went for a Flying Elbow drop, with Rhodes moving out of the way, and Punk landing on his storyline bad knee. 

Back in the ring, Cody Rhodes wiped out referee Charles Robinson with a Cody Cutter, with CM Punk taking advantage with a GTS. Cody fell back on Punk’s shoulders but the champion couldn’t hit another GTS as Cody Rhodes reversed into a Cross Rhodes. Punk then spilt out of the ring which prompted Randy Orton to charge to the ring and deck Cody with an RKO out of nowhere in Orton’s first appearance since WrestleMania 42.  

After CM Punk rolled back into the ring, he hit one final GTS and pinned Cody Rhodes to remain Undisputed WWE Champion. 

Grade: B - A good match, but not a great one, CM Punk vs. Cody Rhodes was a match that very much looked like it belonged in the 1980s, with both competitors working hard. To be quite honest, it was actually quite boring in the opening minutes, but it built nicely and ended on a high before the screwy finish that saw Randy Orton return to cost Cody Rhodes the Undisputed WWE Championship. 

Oba Femi def. Brock Lesnar - Hell in a Cell

Main event time and Michael Cole gave a shout-out to his old commentary partner Taz as Brock Lesnar made his entrance, shouting, “Here comes the pain!” Paul Heyman also billed Brock Lesnar as from the University of Minnesota to get the hometown cheers for Lesnar. 

The action, as expected, started quickly as Oba Femi charged at Brock Lesnar but he ran straight into three German Suplexes. Oba Femi no-sold the moves, though, and popped back up before sending Lesnar to the outside with a Lariat over the top rope. Brock then fired back by throwing Oba Femi into the steel steps before Oba Femi fired back himself with a Suplex on the floor and sent Lesnar crashing into the steps. 

Oba Femi then introduced a table and launched Brock Lesnar through it but the Beast proceeded to batter Femi with the steel steps once the action went back into the ring, hitting Oba Femi over and over again before delivering a fifth German Suplex. Steel chair shots from Lesnar followed before a Suplex and Lesnar looked set to control the action but Oba Femi avoided an F5 and connected with a Chokeslam. They then repeated the same spot before Oba Femi just launched Lesnar across the ring and hit a Fall from Grace for a near fall.

Lesnar just sat up like The Undertaker and proceeded to deliver three F5s, with Oba Femi kicking out at two to the annoyance of Brock. Similar to his Hell in a Cell Match in 2015, Brock Lesnar exposed the wooden boards and proceeded to pay homage to The Undertaker, connecting with a Tombstone Piledriver. Oba Femi just kicked out, though, and followed up by punching a steel chair out of Brock’s hands. One Fall from Grace later and Oba Femi pinned Brock Lesnar to win their series 2-1. 

After the match, Brock Lesnar headed up the ramp before turning around and embracing Oba Femi. Lesnar then put over Oba Femi as the future in a brief promo before raising Oba Femi’s arm and leaving Oba Femi to share the spotlight alone to close out SummerSlam. 

Grade: C+ - A fine match, but one that actually felt pointless taking place inside Hell in a Cell as the competitors didn’t use the cell, and they could have done everything they did in a Street Fight. The action was entertaining but it, overall, was underwhelming, especially when compared to the previous Hell in a Cell matches of Brock Lesnar’s career, even the 2015 match with The Undertaker that took place during the PG era. At least the match, and the series, had the right winner and Brock Lesnar put over Oba Femi in the big way post-match.  

Show Grade: C - Overall, the headline matches of night one of SummerSlam underwhelmed. CM Punk vs. Cody Rhodes was good, but not great, while the main event of Brock Lesnar vs. Oba Femi was entertaining but a complete waste of the Hell in a Cell stipulation. Nick Aldis also impressed in his first match in three years but it needed a couple of more minutes at least, and the multi-person tag team matches at SummerSlam belonged either on a house show or an episode of SmackDown as opposed to a pay-per-view. Liv Morgan vs. IYO SKY was the best match of the night. All of this took place around an egregious amount of commercials, with some sections of the show seeing WWE highlight past moments of SummerSlam before five minutes of ads and then more past moments of SummerSlam.