Tonight’s WWE SummerSlam Night 2: 4 Hits & 3 Misses (August 3)

After the chaos and huge swerve of WWE SummerSlam’s first night, it was time to see if Night 2 could deliver on that bar or soar past it. The night had a standout selection of matches to help in that cause, and there was a litany of insane spots throughout the night to try and make night 2 a standout. That said, some of the biggest shocks were saved for the last 5 minutes of the show, and they will certainly have ripple effects for quite some time. We’re here to break down the biggest matches of the night and reveal whether or not they were hits or misses, so let’s get started with the firestarter that kicked off SummerSlam.

Hit: Triple Threat Sets Off the Night (And The Right Woman Won)

When the Triple Threat match between Naomi, Iyo Sky, and Rhea Ripley was officially booked, it immediately became a match of the year contender simply due to the talent involved. While I don’t think it reached those heights, it was still fantastic and got SummerSlam started right.

Ripley and Sky continued to show insane chemistry throughout the match, with a number of thrilling near falls, but over the course of the match Naomi remained strong and delivered a few big saves of her Title reign. Naomi also wins here simply due to how she won, as after Ripley almost pinned Sky with an Avalanche Riptide, Naomi raced in, broke up the pin, and then rolled up Ripley to retain her Championship. Naomi winning was the right choice, too, though now it will be interesting to see what’s next for Ripley and Sky.

Hit: TLC Insanity

Six Tag Teams put their bodies on the line to deliver a brutal and insanity-laden TLC match at SummerSlam. Fraxiom, DIY, The Street Profits, Motor City Machine Guns, Andrade and Rey Fenix, and the Wyatt Sicks went all out to create a TLC match that lived up to some of the iconic TLC Team matches of the past. It didn’t quite reach those levels, but unto itself, it was still a thrilling fight to the finish, even if the winner was rather predictable.

There was a four-part sequence that saw different superstars crashing through tables that sent the match into second gear, including a Rey Fenix splash through a table that was just unreal. Then DIY crashed through four tables stacked on each other, and even Candice LeRae got a shining moment when she was launched from the top of a ladder through another ladder set up below. Ultimately, the Wyatt Sicks would walk away with the win, which was likely the right call, though you could clearly see that coming. Even with that predictable ending, it was still a stellar match that is easily a hit.

Hit: A Bitter Rivalry Makes SummerSlam Magic

At this point, Becky Lynch and Lyra Valkyria can seriously do no wrong when they are in a ring together. Like some of the previous matches on tonight’s card, this match didn’t meet the elite heights of their last match, but it was still a hell of a battle that put Valkyria’s toughness and versatility front and center.

Valkyria and Lynch pulled out all the stops throughout their no-disqualifications throwdown, utilizing kendo sticks, crowbars, wrenches, fire extinguishers, chairs, and even zip ties over the course of the battle. Despite being truly tested and hampered by having her hands tied for half the match, Valkyria still stayed in the fight and found ways to hit back, while Lynch found even more inventive ways to make sure she stayed Champion, including a gnarly spot with a chair towards the end of the match. The Bayley save was a bit clunky in its execution, but it wasn’t enough to take away from just how good the match was overall.

Miss: A Steel Cage Misfire

That match was followed by what was expected to be a standout showdown between former allies turned enemies, Jacob Fatu and Solo Sikoa, which would take place in a steel cage. Unfortunately, that’s not really what ended up happening, and even the moments that hit couldn’t save the match from being a pretty substantial miss overall. The match was fine at the start, but it seemed like once the rest of the MFT’s got involved, it just broke down and became a relatively clunky affair.

The match became all about Fatu fighting off everyone else instead of really building on the hatred Fatu has for Sikoa, and when some of those moments between the rest of the faction weren’t all that smooth, it took you right out of the action. You can throw that entire handcuff sequence into this, as not only did it take what seemed like 5 minutes to get the handcuffs locked in, but Fatu then broke the chain with nothing but a simple pull 5 seconds later, so it was just unnecessary overall. Add in the loss that doesn’t necessarily make Sikoa or his faction seem that strong, and it was a miss across the board.

Miss: An Odd Result

Jacob was far from the only person to have an odd loss at SummerSlam, and you can count AJ Styles among that puzzling group. With Mysterio being in the mix with AAA, it seemed like Styles was destined to become the new Intercontinental Champion, and many were eager to see Styles get another Title reign. That’s not what happened though, and in what seemed like a pattern tonight, it was execution that kept moments from achieving their potential.

The match was great, though a significant part of that was due to the delightful and numerous Eddie Guerrero homages throughout the match. Both superstars hitting the mat to confuse the referee was hilarious, and Styles even came out in a lowrider. As for the actual match, it was fine, but the ending was a mess thanks to the rather unclear method of Mysterio’s win. Mysterio evidently had a master plan to unzip his boot during the match, which would factor into the finish, but it wasn’t highlighted properly, and so you were either confused by what happened or underwhelmed. Styles taking the loss due to that moment just makes it worse, so what could have been a nice boost for Styles ended up being a bigger question mark as to what’s next for him.

Hit: The Match We Deserved

Night 2’s main event was a rematch of WrestleMania 41, but in actuality, it was instead the match that fans wanted and deserved the first time around. This was true for both Cena and Rhodes as well, which has been part of Rhodes’ calling for the real Cena to show up. While it wasn’t known if Cena was setting everyone up for a big swerve at the end, it turns out he wasn’t, and the real Cena is in fact back in action.

That led to a modern classic between Cena and Rhodes that showed Cena can still go with the best of them, even as he starts to close out his farewell run in WWE. Cena was also unburdened with the heel angle or any unnecessary allies like The Rock or Travis Scott, and it showed throughout the match, as Cena was clearly just being himself and having a grand old time playing to the crowd. Rhodes, on the other hand, was wrestling with not holding back and taking a step over the line, which made for a compelling story, especially as Cena was giving everything he had and going to any lengths to get the job done, though in the heroic way we’re so accustomed to. In the end, the right man won, and we got the classic match we wanted when this match was first announced.

Miss: Brock Lesnar’s Return

Well, here we are at the most controversial moment of the night, and it’s a moment that will be hotly debated and discussed over the next several weeks and months. Brock Lesnar made his return to WWE after being away from the company for 2 years, and while the shock of it all was clearly a hit with the crowd, especially given the audience’s live reaction to it in the moment, you can’t ignore that bringing Lesnar back in any capacity is a miss through and through.

We’ll likely learn more about what led to Lesnar being brought back in and the factors that changed within WWE and how they viewed him over the next few weeks. Lesnar wasn’t initially named in the Vince McMahon lawsuit by Janel Grant, but he was later directly named in an amendment in January of this year. The allegations are serious and awful, and you can’t help but factor that into any discussion regarding Lesnar or a return to WWE TV and storylines.

Alright, those are our hits and misses for WWE SummerSlam Night 2, but let us know what your hits and misses were in the comments. You can also talk all things wrestling with me on Bluesky @knightofoa.

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