SummerSlam is back to two nights, and this year it lands in Minneapolis for the first time, taking over U.S. Bank Stadium on Saturday, August 1 and Sunday, August 2. Both nights kick off at 6 p.m. ET on the ESPN app for ESPN Unlimited subscribers in the U.S., and on Netflix in most international markets. Twelve matches are locked across the two nights, a WWE in-ring debut is finally happening, and the city itself is turning into a wrestling festival for the whole weekend. Here is everything that is set, and everything else worth knowing before you tune in.
Night One: Saturday, August 1
Night One is built around the Undisputed WWE Championship, with CM Punk defending against Cody Rhodes in a rematch of one of the most talked-about title changes of the year. Brock Lesnar and Oba Femi settle their issues inside a Hell in a Cell, and Liv Morgan puts the Women’s World Championship on the line against IYO SKY.
The most unusual match on the card also happens Saturday: Gunther faces Nick Aldis in what is being billed as Aldis’s first-ever match inside a WWE ring, and his first match anywhere in nearly three years. Aldis has spent his run as SmackDown’s authority figure, not a competitor, so this one is a genuine milestone dressed up as a grudge match, the product of weeks of Aldis inserting himself into Gunther’s business.
Rounding out the night, LA Knight, Solo Sikoa, and Royce Keys take on The Bloodline (Jimmy Uso, Jey Uso, and Jacob Fatu) in a six-man tag, and The Bella Twins and Paige face Fatal Influence (Jacy Jayne, Fallon Henley, and Lainey Reid) in a six-woman tag.
Night One confirmed card:
Undisputed WWE Championship: CM Punk (c) vs. Cody Rhodes
Hell in a Cell: Brock Lesnar vs. Oba Femi
Women’s World Championship: Liv Morgan (c) vs. IYO SKY
Gunther vs. Nick Aldis
LA Knight, Solo Sikoa and Royce Keys vs. Jimmy Uso, Jey Uso and Jacob Fatu
The Bella Twins and Paige vs. Fatal Influence (Jacy Jayne, Fallon Henley and Lainey Reid)
Night Two: Sunday, August 2
Night Two closes the weekend with Roman Reigns defending the World Heavyweight Championship against Seth Rollins, plus a No. 1 contender’s match between Sami Zayn and Finn Balor for a future shot at the Undisputed WWE Championship.
The biggest wild card on the whole card is a five-way ladder match to crown an interim WWE Women’s Champion, a title created after Rhea Ripley was sidelined by a knee injury. Tiffany Stratton, Jade Cargill, Chelsea Green, and Charlotte Flair have all qualified. The fifth spot is still open, coming out of a Giulia vs. Lash Legend qualifier set for the July 31 SmackDown, so this section of the card will update once that’s official.
Penta defends the Intercontinental Championship against Chad Gable, Trick Williams defends the United States Championship against Baron Corbin, and Danhausen faces Dominik Mysterio in the oddest stipulation of the weekend: a Human Monies on a Pole match, set up after boxer Ryan Garcia crashed Danhausen and Joe Hendry’s Raw concert and sided with Judgment Day.
Night Two confirmed card:
World Heavyweight Championship: Roman Reigns (c) vs. Seth Rollins
Undisputed WWE Championship No. 1 Contender’s Match: Sami Zayn vs. Finn Balor
Interim WWE Women’s Championship Ladder Match: Tiffany Stratton vs. Jade Cargill vs. Chelsea Green vs. Charlotte Flair vs. TBD
WWE Intercontinental Championship: Penta (c) vs. Chad Gable
WWE United States Championship: Trick Williams (c) vs. Baron Corbin
Human Monies on a Pole Match: Danhausen vs. Dominik Mysterio
Beyond the Ring: SummerSlam Takes Over Minneapolis
The matches are only part of it. WWE and the city are turning the entire weekend into a takeover, starting Friday, July 31.
The official SummerSlam Superstore opens at the Minneapolis Convention Center that Friday and runs through Sunday, with the largest collection of SummerSlam merchandise under one roof, plus a Meet & Greet Experience offering photos and autographs with more than 40 Superstars across the three days. The names on the schedule range from Undertaker, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Kevin Owens to Bubba Ray and D-Von Dudley, Rikishi, and X-Pac. Tickets for photos and autographs are sold separately through the event’s official site.
WrestleCon also sets up shop in Minneapolis the same weekend (Friday through Sunday) with its usual mix of meet-and-greets, autographs, and a full vendor marketplace, and the independent scene is showing up in force too. F1RST Wrestling runs a 21-and-up show called “Unleashed” on Thursday, July 30, and Game Changer Wrestling takes over First Avenue for back-to-back shows, first solo on Saturday and then a GCW vs. F1RST Wrestling collision on Sunday.
Add in the fact that WWE and ESPN are sending a Danhausen-themed popsicle truck around town all weekend, that Darius Rucker is singing the National Anthem before Night Two, and that WWE‘s new Club WWE membership program officially launches that same Friday, and Minneapolis is hosting a lot more than just two nights of matches.
Need an outfit for all of it? We already picked out 10 shirts worth packing.
Tickets for the shows themselves start around $44, with the average sitting closer to $395 depending on the night and section.
