WWE SummerSlam Preview: Top Matches, Picks and Predictions
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- SummerSlam runs Saturday and Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, airing on ESPN Unlimited at 6 p.m. ET both days with "Countdown" preshows at 3 p.m.
- Night 1 features Cody Rhodes challenging Undisputed WWE champion CM Punk, Iyo Sky facing women's world champion Liv Morgan, and a Hell in a Cell rubber match between Oba Femi and Brock Lesnar in Lesnar's billed hometown.
- Night 2's main event pits Roman Reigns defending the World Heavyweight Championship against Seth Rollins, in a feud tracing back to The Shield's 2012 debut and Rollins ending Reigns' 1,316-day title run at WrestleMania 40.
- ESPN contributors split on the most anticipated bout, with Sean Coyle, Joe Fortenbaugh and Nate Saunders picking Femi vs. Lesnar in Hell in a Cell, while Juliana Daddio favored the Punk-Rhodes championship clash.
- Chad Gable challenges Penta for the Intercontinental Championship on Night 2, with Fortenbaugh and Saunders highlighting Gable's 33-minute Lucha Libre AAA match against El Grande Americano on May 30 as a match-of-the-year contender.
- The panel debated whether Punk vs. Rhodes is the biggest match WWE could book, with Coyle saying it's the biggest available on the SmackDown roster while Fortenbaugh argued it could top last year's Rollins Money in the Bank cash-in by finally turning Rhodes heel.
- Three of four contributors leaned toward Lesnar over Nick Aldis as the wrestler more likely to have his final match this weekend, though Fortenbaugh dissented, citing Lesnar's fake WrestleMania retirement in April.
Why it matters: SummerSlam marks the first two-night SummerSlam in WWE history and a critical pivot point for the SmackDown brand, with Rhodes-Punk and Reigns-Rollins both positioned to define WWE's storytelling through year-end. A potential heel turn for Rhodes or a passing-of-the-torch loss for Lesnar would each reset major title pictures and reshape WWE's premium-event economics going into 2026.
