CM Punk defends the Undisputed WWE Championship against Cody Rhodes tonight in the main event of the first night of WWE SummerSlam, live from U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Night one begins at 6 p.m. ET, which is 5 p.m. CT locally and 3 p.m. PT. The show streams in the United States on the ESPN App for subscribers to an ESPN Unlimited plan, and internationally on Netflix. Audio coverage is available in the United States on WWE Radio through SiriusXM. Night two follows on Sunday from the same building at the same start time.
Six matches are announced for Saturday.
WWE SummerSlam night one card
- Undisputed WWE Championship: CM Punk (c) vs. Cody Rhodes
- Women’s World Championship: Liv Morgan (c) vs. IYO SKY
- Hell in a Cell: Oba Femi vs. Brock Lesnar
- Gunther vs. Nick Aldis
- LA Knight, Solo Sikoa and Royce Keys vs. Jacob Fatu, Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso
- Fatal Influence vs. The Bella Twins and Paige
CM Punk vs. Cody Rhodes
Rhodes lost the Undisputed WWE Championship to Sami Zayn in a triple threat at Night of Champions that also involved Gunther, then beat Jey Uso on the following SmackDown to earn a rematch. That rematch was scheduled for the July 6 Raw in Chicago, and Gunther attacked Rhodes backstage before the show, putting him through a table and leaving him without medical clearance to compete.
Adam Pearce ruled that Zayn would still defend the title. Punk, a Chicago native, came out as the replacement challenger and won, ending Zayn’s reign at nine days. It is Punk’s first WWE Championship reign since January 2013.
Punk and Rhodes agreed to the SummerSlam match on the following SmackDown. The two have not met one on one since 2008.
Liv Morgan vs. IYO SKY
This is the first televised defence of Morgan’s Women’s World Championship reign, which began when she beat Stephanie Vaquer on night one of WrestleMania 42 in April. She has put the title on the line twice since then, both at untelevised shows in England in June, and she passed 100 days as champion without a televised title match.
Morgan has said publicly that a champion of her stature does not need to defend. SKY earned the shot by winning the 2026 Queen of the Ring tournament at Night of Champions, beating Morgan in the final.
Oba Femi vs. Brock Lesnar
The two have split their first two meetings. Femi beat Lesnar at WrestleMania 42, after which Lesnar left his gloves in the ring in an apparent retirement gesture. Lesnar returned, attacked Femi on Raw and beat him at Clash in Italy.
Femi won the 2026 King of the Ring at Night of Champions, which came with a guaranteed world championship match at SummerSlam. On the June 29 Raw he passed on it and challenged Lesnar instead. Lesnar accepted on the condition that the match take place inside Hell in a Cell, in his home state, as WWE laid out in its own preview.
Gunther vs. Nick Aldis
Aldis wrestles for the first time since 2023 and for the first time in WWE, having worked exclusively as an on-screen authority figure since joining the company in October of that year. His in-ring career includes runs as TNA World Heavyweight Champion and NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion.
The friction with Gunther built over months of disputed championship finishes before it turned physical at Night of Champions. Aldis then cost Gunther and Zayn their tag match against Punk and Rhodes at Saturday Night’s Main Event, hitting Gunther with the championship and keeping him out of the SummerSlam title picture. Triple H made the match official at the SummerSlam kickoff event at Fanatics Fest on July 19.
Aldis is no longer the SmackDown General Manager going into tonight. Pearce told him at the July 24 contract signing that he could not compete while holding the role, and Aldis signed anyway, with Pearce taking over both brands. Fightful reported that commentary clarified the arrangement is temporary and that Aldis is expected to resume the job after SummerSlam. Gunther powerbombed him through the contract signing table on the way out of the segment.
LA Knight, Solo Sikoa and Royce Keys vs. Jacob Fatu, Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso
Knight’s rivalry with the Bloodline continues here. He worked alongside Jey and Jimmy Uso earlier this year before the pair realigned with Roman Reigns after WrestleMania 42, and with Fatu now involved, Knight has taken on Sikoa and Keys as partners.
Fatal Influence vs. The Bella Twins and Paige
Fallon Henley and Lainey Reid took the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship from Brie Bella and Paige at Saturday Night’s Main Event at Madison Square Garden, with Jacy Jayne interfering in the finish.
Nikki Bella has been out with an ankle injury since before WrestleMania 42, which is what led to Paige returning to team with Brie in the first place. Nikki came back on the July 24 SmackDown to break up an attack on Brie and Paige and made the challenge for tonight.
Night two
Sunday’s card includes Roman Reigns defending the World Heavyweight Championship against Seth Rollins, a ladder match for the Interim WWE Women’s Championship, Finn Balor vs. Sami Zayn for a shot at the Undisputed WWE Championship, Trick Williams defending the United States Championship against Baron Corbin, Penta defending the Intercontinental Championship against Chad Gable, and Danhausen vs. Dominik Mysterio.
