Hiya!

Whew! This was a very eventful weekend for me! Not only was EVO 2025 happening but this was the first time the WWE made their annual SummerSlam pay-per-view event 2 days! So, you’ll have to forgive me if any of these SummerSlam related posts are a little late! I just have too much stuff to watch! I don’t really have a lot of time to waste so let’s go check out what happened during Night 1 of this year’s SummerSlam!

The first match of the night saw Roman Reigns and Jey Uso take on Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed. On paper, the entire match was your standard tag-team match. The heels took control early on and then the good guys got the hot tag to make the comeback until we get to the finish. What made this rather un-standard was how good the action was! There were indeed a ton of really excellent spots here! Things like Bron Breakker piggybacking on Bronson Reed to hit a splash on Jey Uso, Breakker smashing into Roman Reigns with wild abandon while on the outside, Roman Reigns jumping over the top rope and almost overshooting Breakker and Reed, Jey Uso dodging a big knee from Breakker from the ring apron with this leading to The Big Dog jamming his knee into the announcer’s table, Reed and Breakker hitting a Steinerizer on Jey Uso and Reigns spearing Breakker through the ring barricade, just to name a few.

The finish came after the aforementioned spear through the barricade. Bronson Reed set himself up for his Tsunami finisher on Jey Uso but Roman Reigns blocked it by hitting his superman punch on Reed. Reigns and Uso then hit a 1D but Bron Breakker miraculously made the save! Breakker then put his straps back on… only to remove them again to signal for his spear. He rushed towards Jey Uso but Reigns shoved his cousin out of the way and took the brunt of Breakker’s spear! This allowed Jey Uso to knock Breakker out of the ring with a superkick. Jey then hit a spear of his own to Reed, which he followed up with an Uso Splash to get the pinfall victory for his team.

This was one heck of a match! The standout here was indeed Bron Breakker as he came off as incredibly impressive as usual. I kind of wish Bronson Reed got a little more time to shine but he really didn’t get to do much. I was actually impressed with Jey Uso and Roman Reigns’ performance here as they came off as very active and they did have some really good moments. This was an excellent way to start off SummerSlam.

The next match had The Judgement Day‘s Roxanne Perez and Raquel Rodriguez defending their Smackdown Women’s Tag Team Championships against Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss. I really, really, really dislike the pairing of Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss as they just don’t seem to mix. The ring announcers try to make it like a Matt Riddle and Randy Orton RK-Bro situation but it comes off as faked and forced. Anyway, there were spots but they didn’t feel spontaneous. Things like Roxanne Perez having to reposition herself when Charlotte did her corner turnbuckle flip move and Alexa Bliss seemingly targeting Perez’s knees for her Twisted Bliss trademark. I did like that one tag team move by The Judgement Day when The Prodigy hitting a side russian leg sweep as Big Mami Cool hit a big boot to Bliss. Oh, I also thought Charlotte’s moonsault on both Perez and Rodriguez looked cool. Other than that, I can’t really say anything else of note.

The finish came after that moonsault by The Queen. Charlotte then tried to lock in her Figure Eight submission finisher to Raquel but Roxanne broke it up with a springboard moonsault. Rodriguez then grabbed Flair by the throat, leaving her back exposed to Alexa Bliss. Bliss tried to blast Raquel from behind but Roxanne pulled her partner away, leading to Alexa hitting Charlotte by mistake! Perez tossed Bliss to the outside. Raquel Rodriguez then hit her Tejana Bomb on Charlotte with Roxanne Perez following it up with her Pop Rocks finisher but The Judgement Day couldn’t get the pinfall victory as Bliss hit a blockbuster to Perez to break the pin attempt.

Alexa dragged Charlotte to her corner to tag herself in. Bliss hit Perez with a big right and then set up for her Sister Abigail finisher. Charlotte entered the ring with a pissed off look on her face, seemingly irate at Alexa for hitting her. It turns out she was actually looking at Raquel Rodriguez as she hit her with a big boot. Bliss then hit her Sister Abigail finisher to Roxanne Perez to get the pinfall victory to become the NEW Smackdown Women’s Tag Team Champions!

This was just an okay match. The spotty spots didn’t do the match any favors. I will say I did like the slight twist in the ending, making you think Charlotte will turn on Alexa Bliss and then delivering the swerve of it not happening. Unfortunately, that doesn’t make up for how vanilla this match was.

The next match had Sami Zayn take on Karrion Kross with… I don’t really get the stipulation. It’s kind of like Karrion Kross wants Sami Zayn to admit he’s a bad guy? It’s weird! Despite the strange stakes, there were a few good moments here. Things like Zayn hitting a moonsault from the ring barricade and Kross’ various throws and suplexes.

The finish came after Scarlett handed Kross his steel pipe. Scarlett then distracted the official while Karrion Karrion tried to bash Sami Zayn with the weapon but Zayn countered with his blue thunder bomb signature move. Sami then assaulted Kross with punches and kicks, kind of hinting how he’s actually a bad guy like Kross said. To try to prove this point, Scarlett laid the steel pipe in front of Sami Zayn. Sami grabbed the pipe and thought of using it on Kross but he relented and tossed it to the outside. Kross then tried to rollup a distracted Zayn but Sami kicked out. Sami then hit his exploder suplex into the corner and then followed it up with his Helluva Kick finisher to get the pinfall victory.

This was a good match. While the match itself wasn’t anything really memorable, it was the in-ring storytelling by Sami Zayn which made it work. I do kind of wish Karrion Kross won but I knew it wasn’t going to happen due to the dumb stipulation. I mean, give him a win, WWE!

The next match of the night was for the Smackdown Women’s Championship. This saw Tiffany Straton defending the title against the winner of the Queen of the Ring tournament, Jade Cargill. I honestly wasn’t looking forward to this match as I wasn’t sure if Jade Cargill was ready to be in one for one of the major titles. Thankfully, she kind of proved me wrong as she didn’t really make any major flubs here. In fact, I’d even go as far as to say the action was more than just okay! Both Tiffany and Jade played into their strengths, with Straton showing off her agility and gymnastics background and Cargill focusing on using her power, leading to a nice contrast. Some of the nicer spots saw Tiffany Straton hitting a gorgeous looking swanton on a prone Jade Cargill, Cargill snatching Straton during her floor routine elbow and transitioning into a backbreaker, Jade showing off her new Eye of the Storm signature sitout powebomb variation, that sequence where Cargill suplexed Staton into the ring but Tiffany blocking the second attempt and turning that into a falcon arrow and Jade blocking Tiffany’s Prettiest Moonsault Ever by lifting her legs right into Tiffany’s midsection.

The finish came after the aforementioned counter. Jade hit her Jaded finisher but overrotated in the pin, allowing Tiffany’s feet to make it to the bottom rope, breaking the count. Cargill went for Jaded again but Staton pushed off the ropes into a pinning combination for a 2-count. Jade hit a big chokeslam and climbed the top rope, dragging Tiffany up in an attempt to hit Jaded from the top rope. Straton flips over, however, sending Cargill into the mat. Straton then hit her Prettiest Moonsault Ever to get the pinfall victory and retain her Smackdown Women’s Championship.

This was a very good match, especially one featuring Jade Cargill. There were no slip ups from her and, when this happens, you can see how good she can be. She kept it relatively simple and focused more on power moves rather than her more awkward athletic ability, limiting the chances for errors. Of course, Tiffany Straton also had a hand on making this a good match as, despite the disparate styles between the two, they made it still looked like they were equally matched. A good solid outing between the two.

The next match had Randy Orton team up with music superstar Jelly Roll to go against Drew McIntyre and part-time WWE Superstar Logan Paul. I am totally unfamiliar with Jelly Roll’s music but, for some reason, I do know who he is and he is far away from what I would think is in-ring ready. So, imagine my surprise with how well he did in the ring. No, he didn’t do anything spectacular like a moonsault or a dropkick. However, I did like his in-ring performance.

He was able to playact well when he got hit and he was also able to execute a spectacular Black Hole Slam (which I know comes from Abyss and, like Jelly Roll, I have no idea why I’m familiar with him). He also took a few good bumps, like eating a double suplex from McIntyre and Paul as well as getting driven through the announcer’s table by a Logan Paul splash. Sure, you can see him brace himself and reposition himself for that spot… but he still took the bump! That’s gotta count for something!

The finish came after that aforementioned Logan Paul big splash through the table. The heels started beating on Randy Orton as Jelly Roll was being helped to the back. Jelly Roll then noticed Randy Orton getting beat down and he limped his way back to his corner to get the somewhat hot tag. Jelly Roll then went on a clothesline streak and finally took Paul down with a chokeslam. He also took down McIntyre with that Black Hole Slam I mentioned. Paul then leapt from the 2nd turnbuckle but Jelly Roll reversed whatever he was doing into a powerslam with Drew making the save and clocking Jelly Roll with a Claymore. Orton tried to rally by hitting an RKO to McIntyre but Paul threw Randy into the post, taking out The Viper. Jelly Roll then got in position and braced himself for Logan Paul’s Paul From Grace frog splash finisher, leading to the heels getting the victory.

This was a pretty good match. You can tell it was the WWE Superstars and Logan Paul who carried the match but Jelly Roll was still the focus of the match. I can’t say it was the best match but I can definitely say it was incredibly entertaining.

The final match of SummerSlam 2025 Night 1 had GUNTHER defending the biggest prize on RAW, the World Heavyweight Championship, against CM Punk. While I can safely say I am a CM Punk and GUNTHER mark, I don’t really think this match really got going until the very end. In essence, most of the match was GUNTHER beating down on CM Punk and getting a number of near falls. CM Punk would try to rally once in a while but The Ring General would shut him down shortly afterwards. Rinse and repeat for around 20 minutes. There were a few inspired moments early on, like the Second City Saviour blocking GUNTHER’s chops but, once Punk started to get beat down, that was going to be the story until near the end.

The finish started when the match spilled to the outside. GUNTHER stood on top of the announcer’s table to taunt the crowd. CM Punk then tripped the Ring General, sending him face first into the table. This caused GUNTHER to start bleeding from his forehead. Punk started targeting the injury and even getting a near fall after an elbow from the top rope. CM Punk went for his GTS finisher but GUNTHER slid out and tried to lock in his sleeper to end the match. Punk reversed it and hit a GTS but GUNTHER wouldn’t fall down! This led to CM Punk hitting another GTS to get the pinfall victory and become the NEW World Heavyweight Champion!

As CM Punk celebrated, Seth Rollins, the current Money in the Bank holder and who is supposedly injured appeared on the top of the ramp to taunt Punk. It turns out the injury was a ruse as Seth Rollins ditched the crutches and his leg brace and marched into the ring to cash in the Money in the Bank briefcase! CM Punk tried to fight him off but Rollins blocked the GTS attempt and started pummeling the newly crowned World Heavyweight Champion with the Money in the Bank briefcase. Rollins then gave the briefcase to start the impromptu match. One Curb Stomp later, Seth Rollins had now become the biggest guy in RAW as he had just become the NEW World Heavyweight Champion!

The match between CM Punk and GUNTHER was, well, it was pretty boring. Like I said, it was just GUNTHER beating down on Punk until that ill-fated trip to the top of the announcer’s table. That did give it a shot of adrenaline but not enough to really wash away how uneventful the majority of the match was. The cash in by Seth Rollins was pretty good as I believe most people really thought he was injured. So, if the fans get swerved, then that’s a really good swerve!

Overall, Night 1 of SummerSlam 2025 was excellent. It is sad the worst match of the night was the one for the biggest prize of the night. Still, the supporting matches were all really good so the final match just feels like a blemish. Well, Night 1 is done! Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to watch a bunch of EVO Top 8 and then Night 2, not necessarily in that order! Wish me luck!

Byee!

What did you think of SummerSlam 2025 Night 1? Let me know in the comments section below!