The pay-per-view event featured a decisive rematch between the two competitors, which was officially sanctioned. Lesnar graciously accepted the challenge, and Rhodes’ long-awaited desire was finally fulfilled. In the presence of Rhodes’ mother, Lesnar ruthlessly assaulted Rhodes, subjecting him to the kimura submission hold on two occasions. The show commenced with a promotional segment by Cody Rhodes, wherein he publicly challenged Brock Lesnar to face him at SummerSlam.
Two official matches were made for SummerSlam, with Seth Rollins defending his world heavyweight championship against Finn Balor in a rematch, and Ronda Rousey squaring off against her former tag team partner and friend Shayna Baszler.
CBS Sports offered uninterrupted coverage throughout the night, providing summaries and standout moments of all the happenings that occurred at State Farm Arena in Atlanta.
Cody Rhodes came to the ring to open a show, taking the microphone and saying that there is no need to talk about Lesnar’s Brock Lesnar, as it doesn’t matter how long he would wait for the ring to answer the call. Rhodes leading, Lesnar’s shadow hangs over WWE all the time.
“I accept the challenge. I will meet you at SummerSlam, you unpleasant person.” With a loud shout, Lesnar finally threw Rhodes into the ring, once again applied the kimura lock, and then executed an F5 on the floor in front of Rhodes’ mother. After roughing up Rhodes, Lesnar delivered several chair shots to him, causing Rhodes to attempt to retreat backstage. However, just as Rhodes was about to leave, Lesnar’s music started playing again, causing Rhodes to pause and acknowledge his mother at ringside before continuing his exit.
It’s easy for them to complain about just going one-on-one and getting fired up to see them because they rehash what they did in previous matches. There’s still a built-in intensity of sorts in these two men, and we’ve seen them brutalize Lesnar with the kumras of their arms – although we’ve always seen fired-up promos from Rhodes. And here, for SummerSlam, we got some official matches set, so there wasn’t much freshness in terms of time.
What else happened on WWE Raw?
Gunther was not able to win the score and overpower Matt Riddle, as Imperium was banned from ringside. Matt Riddle managed to defeat Gunther with a pinfall after a powerful powerbomb.
Prior to the match, Raquel Rodriguez sustained an injury to her knee during a backstage segment earlier, which led to her being taken out of the match, thus allowing the challengers to step in. After being hit with a running knee by Morgan Deville, Liv Morgan and Rodriguez secured the victory and retained the Women’s Tag Team Championship titles by pinning Chelsea Green and Sonya Deville.
During the SummerSlam event, there was a segment towards the end where Seth Rollins was taken out and Finn Balor appeared. Instead of handling things there, Balor charged back and demanded a match with Rollins. Rollins said they needed to settle their issues in a match, but Balor interrupted the interview and insisted on a match.
Otis hit Valhalla with a cheap shot later on and slammed Maxxine through a table to finish the set up. After a pinfall via Academy Alpha, Otis defeated The Raiders Viking on Ragnarok.
Baszler was challenged by Ronda Rousey following the incredibly brief bout in which Shayna Baszler triumphed over Nikki Cross by means of a Kirifuda Clutch. Rousey discussed the rapidity with which she surpassed Baszler in both mixed martial arts and professional wrestling. They engaged in a verbal exchange until Rousey declared that she would ultimately secure Baszler a spot on the SummerSlam event. The match was subsequently confirmed later in the program.
During Miz TV, Becky Lynch experienced an interruption from Trish Stratus and Zoey Stark. Stratus declined to grant Lynch a rematch, asserting that she had already emerged victorious over her, as well as Stark, and that their rivalry was concluded. Lynch proceeded to insult Stratus, who eventually consented to face her on the condition that Lynch first face Stark. Additionally, Stratus stipulated that if Lynch were to lose the match, she would be obliged to kneel and express gratitude by saying “thank you, Trish,” while also having those words permanently inked on her chest. Despite the pre-match attack by Stark and Stratus, Lynch successfully repelled them.
Bronson Reed emerged victorious over Shinsuke Nakamura, albeit through disqualification as a result of Tommaso Ciampa’s interference. Following the declaration of the result, Nakamura retaliated by delivering a swift kick to Ciampa.
The victory that allowed Zayn and Owens to score was a result of Morgan Liv being distracted. She was attacked by Liv, but then Owens interfered by sending him late into the ring steps. Balor ran off from ringside to attack Rollins prior to the start of the Ripley match. In the main event of the Judgment Day show, Zayn and Owens put their tag titles on the line. Early in the match, Zayn hit Mysterio with a Helluva Kick, and Owens and Zayn defeated Damian Priest & Dominik Mysterio via pinfall to become the Undisputed Tag Team Champions.
