Need to know when and where to watch an upcoming PPV/PLE? Need to know who’s fighting who? Need to know why you should care? Then, you’ve come to the right place!
A Handy Guide is a new series on Dirt Sheet Radio where we run down an upcoming pay-per-view match card, and discuss the competitors and stories coming into each match. For now, our focus is going to be on WWE and AEW, but if there’s interest, we may expand to companies like TNA, NJPW, and more.
Today’s edition is all about Summerslam 2026, taking place on Saturday, August 1, and Sunday, August 2, 2026 at 3 p.m. PT/6 p.m. ET from the U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This is WWE’s premier show of the summer and, arguably, their second biggest show of the year. The 39th iteration of the event, this is the first time Summerslam has taken place in Minnesota since 1999.
The PLE will air on traditional pay-per-view and stream on the ESPN app in the United States. International viewers can stream it on Netflix; additionally, it will stream on SuperSport in Africa, and Abema in Japan. This article does not cover any of the kick-off (pre-show) matches, and as always the card is subject to change. For now, these are the matches and their stories:
Night One
Liv Morgan vs. Iyo Sky— Women’s World Championship Match
Wrestling is all about wins and losses, and few have embodied that spirit these past few months like Iyo Sky. In February, she lost the women’s tag titles and was left off the Wrestlemania 42 card. In April, her close friend, Kairi Sane was released from the WWE. In May, she bade farewell to Asuka after their match at Backlash. Then, in July, her close personal roommate— I mean friend— Rhea Ripley went down with an injury (more on that later). She has suffered loss after loss, yet through it all, she keeps fighting and flying. It’s that drive that pushed her all the way to win the Queen of the Ring tournament, earning her the crown and a shot at the Women’s World Championship at Summerslam.
Her opponent in the QOTR Finals was none other than the women’s world champ herself, Liv Morgan. There was confusion and speculation as to why Liv entered the tournament (after all, the winner is supposed to face her for her title). The simple answer was she wanted to prove she was the most dominant woman in WWE, she “wanted it all”. That arrogance and greed propelled the leading lady of the Judgment Day to the finals, but she came up short against Iyo Sky. Let that be a lesson, readers: don’t get cursed by Danhausen. Uh, I mean, don’t be greedy. More on that Danhausen thing later, as well.
Iyo’s win not only gives her a guaranteed shot at Liv’s championship, it also gives her the edge in their rematch. The Genius of the Sky has proven she can beat the champ, now she just has to do it one more time.
Oba Femi vs. Brock Lesnar— Hell in a Cell
Oba Femi has become very over with the fans very quickly. In NXT, he established himself as a true conqueror, bulldozing his competition with inhumane power and speed on the way to two reigns with the NXT Championship and a record-setting 273-day reign with the NXT North American Championship. With no worlds left to conquer in WWE’s third brand, he vacated the NXT Championship and set his sights on the main roster. He made his official main roster debut by entering first in the 2026 Royal Rumble, and he was an absolute beast in the match. The only entrant that could give him pause was another beast. The Beast Incarnate: Brock Lesnar.
Oba and Brock have become fast enemies. They are both used to imposing their will on people, backing up all talk of their dominance in quick, successful fashion. So, when they locked horns at Wrestlemania 42, people expected something akin to Godzilla vs. King Kong. Instead, they saw Oba beat Brock in five minutes and supposedly sent him into retirement. The retirement period lasted for about a month, and then Brock surprised Oba and the world by blindsiding him on Raw and hitting him with an F5. Brock won their rematch at Clash in Italy, setting the stage for a rubber match, but he would not heed Oba’s call for round three.
So, while continuing to call out Lesnar, Oba multi-tasked and won the 2026 King of the Ring tournament. Brock would finally return to Raw after the tournament, letting Oba know that he heard his call-outs loud and clear. After once again dropping Oba with a kick to the groin and an F5, Brock finally accepted his challenge for Summerslam to settle this once and for all. However, he upped the ante by throwing out the ultimate grudge match stipulation: Hell in a Cell. This will be the first HIAC match since Punk and Mcintyre’s war at Bad Blood 2024. Ever since they phased out the Hell in a Cell PPV and started using this stipulation to settle increasingly violent feuds, it has made the cell feel so much more menacing. Oba and Brock will write the 54th chapter of hell, and it will be a miracle if either man walks out in one piece.
Also, Oba relinquished his shot at the WWE title to face Brock despite Summerslam being two nights now. Which is…well, it’s a choice.
Gunther vs. Nick Aldis
Before Nick Aldis was the general manager for Smackdown, he was a former TNA World Heavyweight Champion and brought a renewed sense of relevancy to the NWA World’s Heavyweight Championship. But even if you didn’t know anything about his time outside of WWE, there’s no denying that he carries himself like a big deal. Though he lets his brains and mic talent speak for him, he still has his imposing wrestler’s physique. He doesn’t need to throw down in the ring anymore, but he can if pushed to his limits.
And, wow, has Gunther pushed him to his limits.
Ever since the Ring General joined Smackdown, he has been a thorn in the side of the general manager. He constantly antagonizes and disrespects Aldis, questioning his decisions and authority, and believes he can keep doing this because what’s the GM going to do about it? Nick Aldis isn’t a wrestler anymore. At least, he wasn’t a wrestler anymore. But when Gunther lost his match at Night of Champions for the Undisputed Championship, he was irate and shoved the Smackdown GM, and Aldis retaliated by shoving Gunther. He was provoked, it was inevitable and understandable. What was less understandable was at Saturday Night’s Main Event, when Aldis pulled the referee out of the ring during Gunther’s tag match and hit Gunther with the Undisputed championship.
As a consequence, Nick Aldis had to relinquish his title as Smackdown’s general manager. As a reward/punishment, he gets to face Gunther in a sanctioned match at Summerslam. This will be Nick Aldis’s first match in nearly three years, and Gunther is the best man to formally reintroduce him to the ring (he isn’t called the Ring General for nothing). He may also chop Aldis to death; it remains to be seen.
LA Knight, Solo Sikoa, and Royce Keys vs. The Bloodline (Jacob Fatu, Jey Uso, Jimmy Uso)
It’s a story about trust, it’s a story about loyalty, it’s a story about The Bloodline…again…again…again. Over the past 6-7 years, this stable has been a staple of WWE programming, for better or for worse. For LA Knight and Solo Sikoa, it’s definitely for the worse. If you’ve been watching the WWE for the last few years, you know what to expect from a Bloodline storyline. Jacob, Jey, and Jimmy are all back as one big, happy family after Roman Reigns won the World Heavyweight Championship. The OTC got Jacob Fatu to fall in line after defeating him at Backlash, and now the Usos are trying to get one final piece to make The Bloodline whole: Solo Sikoa. The issue, though, is that Solo hates The Bloodline, and he has every right to hate the family. When Roman Reigns went MIA after Wrestlemania 40, Solo stepped up as leader of The Bloodline, he aimed to rebuild it and bring it back to relevancy. Though, in doing so, he also kicked out the Usos and denounced Roman, so maybe there isn’t a clear-cut “good guy” in this family. Not even Solo “Dolo” Sikoa.
And then there are the other two people in this messy six-man tag: Royce Keys and LA Knight. Royce Keys (formerly AEW’s Powerhouse Hobbs) made his WWE debut at Royal Rumble 2026, he lasted around ten minutes and even eliminated a former World Heavyweight Champion in Damian Priest. He staked his claim on Smackdown and was actively being recruited by Solo Sikoa to join his MFT (Bloodline 2.0). When Solo’s family tree withered and he had to live up to his first name, he came to the aid of Royce while he was being beaten down by Jacob Fatu and the Usos, endearing him to the Powerhouse and getting him to join the fight against Bloodline 3.0. LA Knight has always been in this fight. The Megastar has hated every iteration of The Bloodline and has been their first and loudest opponent since they reformed. If The Bloodline has no haters, then LA Knight is dead. He’ll do anything to ensure they never regain power and relevancy, even teaming with Solo Sikoa.
If anything, this is going to be an entertaining match. There’s family drama and soap opera intrigue, which is what WWE does best. The Bloodline Vortex will keep spinning no matter who wins, and at least it gives these six men something to do. Here’s to whichever team wins, and whichever team wins the rematch at War Games in November.
Fatal Influence (Fallon Henley, Lainey Reid, Jacy Jayne) vs. Paige and The Bella Twins
It was a big surprise when Paige returned to the WWE at Wrestlemania 42, it was an even bigger surprise when she won the Women’s Tag Team Championships on that night with— of all people— Brie Bella. In her first run with the company, Paige never saw eye-to-eye with the Bella Twins, she was billed as the “Anti-Diva” and the Bellas are basically the Kardashians of wrestling. Apparently, time heals all wounds, and Paige and Brie have proven to be a formidable tag team. During their reign, they’ve fended off the former champs, Lash Legend and Nia Jax, taken the fight to Judgment Day’s Raquel Rodriguea and Roxanne Perez, and beat the soon-to-implode pairing of Bayley and Lyra Valkyria. No matter who has gotten in their way, the leading ladies of 2010s women’s wrestling have put them down. And then the future arrived.
Fatal Influence— the trio of Jacey Jayne, Fallon Henley, and Lainey Reid (who replaced Jazmyn Nyx in 2025)— has dominated NXT’s women’s division for the last two years. After winning every championship there is to win on NXT (and also TNA’s women’s championship because why not?), the group made their main roster debut on the Smackdown after Wrestlemania. They made their presence and intentions known by attacking the top female stars of the blue brand, including the women’s tag team champions. When Paige and Brie faced off against Fatal Influence at Saturday Night’s Main Event this month, it looked to be business as usual, but a timely assist by Jacy Jayne allowed her faction members to secure the titles and add more gold to Fatal Influence’s resume.
The official challenge for Summerslam was made just a couple of weeks ago, when Nikki Bella returned from injury to help Paige and her sister fend off Fatal Influence. Six women, the past, present, and future of the WWE, and dominant in their respective eras. The titles will not be on the line in this match, but both teams will look to defend their honor, pride, and status as top women in the company.
CM Punk vs. Cody Rhodes— Undisputed WWE Championship Match
It would take more than a couple of paragraphs to go into Punk and Cody’s history, and if we included their AEW tenure, it would take pages. Cody returned to the WWE in 2022 and immediately set his sights on becoming the flagbearer, the standard, the face of the company. He prides himself on being a valiant fighter, taking on anyone and everyone to earn his keep and prove he belongs on top. Since returning, he has wrestled inside Hell in a Cell with a torn pec muscle, secured a rare victory against Brock Lesnar, and ended Roman Reign’s 1,316 day reign as world champion. He has won the tag team championship once, the WWE Championship four times, the Crown Jewel Championship, the 2023 and 2024 Royal Rumble, and the 2025 King of the Ring tournament.
When hell froze over at Survivor Series 2024, CM Punk returned to the WWE, and immediately cemented himself as one of the top stars of the company. He has truly become a cult of personality— simply let that radio static ring and suddenly you forget all the controversies surrounding Punk. The fans want to see him kick ass and take names. After settling blood feuds with Drew Mcintyre and Seth Rollins, CM Punk finally became the World Heavyweight Champion again and carried Raw for the better part of 2025. He would lose the championship to Roman Reigns at Wrestlemania 42, and on the Raw after Wrestlemania, he and the newly crowned WWE Champion Cody Rhodes would face off in the ring.
“Just say when,” Cody declared.
Three months later, Punk would say ‘when’, but the tables had very much turned. When Rhodes was taken out before his WWE Championship rematch, CM Punk made a surprise return to take his spot. Punk made the most of his opportunity and captured the WWE Championship for the first time in 13 years, and granted Cody Rhodes his championship rematch at Summerslam.
This will not be the first time Punk and Rhodes have faced each other one-on-one. Their first encounter was back in 2008, when both men were young, hungry competitors with no personal animosity with each other. That’s not going to be the case this weekend. Over the past few weeks, things have gotten heated between them. Rhodes accused Punk of “intentionally” clipping him with the title after their match at Saturday Night’s Main Event. At the Summerslam Kick-Off show, Punk pie-faced Rhodes and picked at his insecurities by calling him “little brother”. This is a match between two men who desperately cannot lose to the other, their pride won’t allow it.
Night Two
Penta vs. Chad Gable— Intercontinental Championship Match
In 2025, one of the most charismatic and creative luchadors in the world, Pentagon Jr. (now known as Penta), made his WWE debut. His opponent? Chad Gable.
Since then, Penta has been a mainstay on Monday Night Raw, winning the Intercontinental Championship and defending it for over 150 days. His most high-profile defense so far was a ladder match at Wrestlemania that featured Dragon Lee, JD McDonagh, Je’von Evans, Rey Mysterio, and Rusev. No matter who you put against him, Penta embodies his mantra of Cero Miedo and fearlessly holds onto his championship.
Meanwhile, after failing to defeat Penta, Chad Gable developed a personal vendetta against all things lucha libre. He donned a mask and overtly patriotic gimmick, became El Grande Americano, and specifically targeted the luchadors in WWE. Had he not gotten injured, who knows where the original plans for El Grande Americano could have gone. The fact is that he did get injured and Ludwig Kaiser would take up the mantle and, against all odds, become one of the most celebrated luchadors in AAA. Gable returned at the Royal Rumble, confronting the new El Grande Americano and firing the first shot in a feud that would become bloody, personal, and profoundly cinematic. The two El Grande Americanos would face off in a Mask vs. Mask match that is being touted as a genuine Match of the Year contender. When Chad Gable lost that match, he relinquished his mask and returned to Monday Night Raw where he now seeks to redeem himself. He’s trying to make amends to the luchadors he has hurt, aiding guys like Rey Mysterio and Dragon Lee when they need it.
In mid-July, a seven-person gauntlet match was held to determine the number one contender for the Intercontinental Championship. Chad Gable would be the sixth entrant in that match, facing off against Rusev, who had just made short work of Je’Von Evans. Against the odds, Gable outlasted Rusev and then tapped out Ethan Page to become the number one contender for the IC title.
His opponent? Penta.
This match has been more than one year in the making. Winning the championship would mean redemption for Gable (in his home state of Minnesota, no less). Retaining the championship would mean vindication for Penta. Whoever wins, this is sure to be an amazing rematch.
Trick Williams vs. Baron Corbin — United States Championship Match
Baron Corbin was meant to be a WWE lifer. He wrestled the WWE style, fit the mold of a WWE heel, and was built from the ground up in WWE’s system. Everything about his presentation had the World Wrestling Entertainment sticker. Then, in November 2024, WWE peeled that sticker off and chose not to renew his contract. Rather than retire from wrestling and live off the residuals of his decade-long run in WWE (which I shamefully thought he would), Baron Corbin stayed in the wrestling scene. He worked the independents as sort of a nomad, using the name Bishop Dyer, and fighting for top indie promotions like GCW, Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling, and even a dark match for AEW. His biggest indie accolade was a run in Major League Wrestling as one half of their world tag team champions with another WWE cast-off, Donovan Dijak.
It’s still unclear why WWE released Baron Corbin in the first place. Maybe to rebuild his brand or for budgetary reasons. Whatever it was, they decided to bring him back last July, making an emphatic return during a match between Carmelo Hayes and the United States Champion, Trick Williams. Corbin has stood tall over the champion a couple of times and has officially laid out the challenge for the United States title, and Trick has readily accepted.
Trick Williams is having a hell of a rookie year. He was the once charismatic face of NXT, holding the main title twice, the North American Championship once, and even having a spell with the TNA World Championship. He’s currently managed by actual rapper Lil Yachty despite already being good on the mic and holds a custom, fur-lined version of the United States Championship. The phrase “Whoop that Trick” echoes across arenas, aided by one of the best theme songs in current-day WWE. If he defeats Baron Corbin this Sunday, it will help solidify his US title run as one of the best in years. But Baron Corbin is no stranger to being US Champion, and the big chip on his shoulder could be more than Trick Williams to handle.
Danhausen vs. Dominik Mysterio— Human Monies on a Pole Match
Danhausen shouldn’t work in the current WWE landscape. He’s a Nosferatu-esque gremlin with a cape, nasally voice, and a jar full of human teeth (allegedly). He also debuted by coming out of a box and coffin— neither of which had airholes— and often curses people by pointing at them and telling them they’ve been cursed. There is nothing about his gimmick that fits in the modern take-us-seriously-as-a-combat-sport version of the WWE. And yet, at the time of writing, he is the second best merch seller in the entire company. The force of nature that is Danhausen should not be ignored by any WWE wrestler, lest you find yourself in Dominik Mysterio’s shoes.
After making his debut at last year’s Elimination Chamber, Danhausen introduced himself to The Judgment Day on Raw. Dominik made the mistake of telling Danhausen to beat it and that he would never become a champion, and so Danhausen cursed him. Later that night, the second-generation luchador would lose the Intercontinental Championship to Penta. Since that day, Danhausen has been a very nice, very evil thorn in the side of The Judgment Day, and Dominik specifically. He cursed Dominik’s kayfabe girlfriend Liv Morgan and she lost the Queen of the Ring Finals. He stole $100,000 in “human monies” from the group after they tried to pay him to curse Oba Femi. Most recently, he employed the services of NBA star Karl-Anthony Towns to help him defeat JD McDonagh at Saturday Night’s Main Event.
This feud is about bragging rights— wait, no, it’s about respect. Maybe it’s about who wants it more? Okay, whatever this feud is about, it’s going to come to a head at Summerslam. Tune in to see whether Dominik Mysterio gets his money back and restores dignity to the Judgment Day, or if Danhausen continues his unprecedented meteoric rise and goes on to win all the championships a la Sheamus in the WWE 12 video game.
Finn Balor vs. Sami Zayn — #1 Contender’s Match for the Undisputed WWE Championship
It's difficult for me to remain unbiased about this match. The fact that Sami Zayn is in a number one contender's match instead of the WWE Championship match is a genuine injustice, but what's done is done so…big sigh.
Anyway, how did we get here? Sami Zayn, made his displeasure over the WWE Championship scene loud and clear. And constant. He was vocal enough to get himself inserted into a WWE Championship match at Night of Champions which, against all odds, he won! Sami Zayn was the Undisputed WWE Champion, the gold standard, the face of the biggest wrestling company on the planet…for nine days. In a less cruel world, Sami wouldn’t have had to defend his championship so quickly after winning it. And maybe he wouldn’t have been unprepared to face a returning CM Punk instead of his scheduled opponent, Cody Rhodes. Maybe he would have beat Cody again instead of losing to Punk. Maybe he wouldn't have crashed out loud enough for Adam Pearce to grant him a chance to become the number one contender for the championship he believes he should still be holding.
The fact is we are living in this world, and now he's facing another man who has also been criminally underutilized: Finn Balor. The former member of the Judgment Day recently joined Smackdown, a brand where he has more enemies than acquaintances, let alone friends. After fending off some old foes in the Tongas, he was inserted into a Fatal Four Way match between himself, Damian Priest, Royce Keys, and Trick Williams (all names that the WWE Champion CM Punk called out as people he wanted to face). This will be only the fourth time that Zayn and Balor have faced off in a televised singles match, the last time was in the 2021 King of the Ring Semifinals. Finn Balor has come out on top every single time. Will he continue his streak at Summerslam? Or will Sami finally, finally, finally come out on top?
Five-Way Ladder Match for the Interim WWE Women’s Championship
The multi-person ladder match is the bay leaf for a pro wrestling match card. You don’t always need it, and you don’t know how it got in there, but man is it giving that stew the good spice. Except this time, we know why the bay leaf is here. At the Clash of Italy event in May, WWE Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley suffered a torn meniscus while defending her title against Jade Cargill. Though she’s recovering well, the timetable for her return is hazy, and WWE is going for a “better safe than sorry” approach. Rhea Ripley will not fight at Summerslam, but she won’t be stripped of the title. Instead, an interim WWE Women’s Champion will be crowned in a five-way ladder match. The winner of the ladder match will face Ripley at a later date to unify the titles.
This is only the second time that WWE has implemented an interim champion, typically they will vacate the championship instead. The last time was in 2020, when Santos Escobar became Interim Cruiserweight Champion because Jordan Devlin was having travel issues. Insane how badly that sentence has aged in 2026.
Jade Cargill is the former women’s champion, and though she came up short in May, her undeniable strength and power can carry her past every woman in this match. She earned her spot via disqualification after Charlotte Flair attacked her in her match with Nia Jax. Tiffany Stratton is no stranger to winning ladder matches, the former Money in the Bank winner looks to repeat her success and regain the women’s championship and become a double champion (Tiffy Two-Belts does have a nice ring to it). Charlotte Flair earned her way into this match via disqualification after Jade Cargill attacked her during her match with, once again, Nia Jax. Chelsea Green didn’t need a disqualification win to secure her spot at Summerslam, she fought back to defeat Kiana James and now the leader of the Green Regime has a chance at becoming the women’s champion. The final entrant is one-half of the former Women’s Tag Team Champions, Lash Legend. No, not Nia Jax, who had been screwed out of two shots at this ladder match, but her tag team partner. That being said, Lash Legend is an imposing woman who showed off her power by defeating former Women’s United States Champion and NXT Women’s Champion, juggernaut of STARDOM, and all-around badass Giulia in mere minutes.
Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins— World Heavyweight Championship Match
If Punk and Rhodes need pages to get into their entire backstory, then these two guys would need a whole book. Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins have been intertwined for their entire WWE careers. They had stereo stints in FCW and NXT, rising up the ranks and learning the WWE style of wrestling. From there, they received a call-up to WWE’s main roster, debuting as two-thirds of the influential trio known as The Shield. After running roughshod throughout the WWE for a couple of years, Seth Rollins shocked by putting a chair into Roman Reigns’s back and breaking up The Shield.
Since that betrayal, Seth Rollins has become a 6-time world champion, held the Money in the Bank briefcase twice, won the 2019 Royal Rumble, won tag team championships with four different partners, once considered himself a “Monday Night Messiah” (and even had his own “Disciples”), founded and was later ousted from The Vision, poked a man’s eye out in a sanctioned match (it was a whole thing), got a very catchy theme song, and married and had a child with Becky Lynch. Meanwhile, Roman Reigns has become a 4-time world champion, holds the record for the longest world championship reign in modern WWE history, beat leukemia back into remission, got showered in dog food, and founded The Bloodline (WWE’s most influential stable in decades). Now, twelve years later, the two Shield brothers are running it back.
To borrow a phrase from the legendary Kevin Steen/El Generico feud, they seem “destined to do this forever”. Though, forever seems to have an expiration date. Per Seth Rollins himself, he and Reigns are “closer to the end” than they are from the beginning. They need to finally finish this chapter of their lives, get a clean break, and decide who is the better man once and for all. With Roman Reigns being on a part-time schedule and Seth Rollins’s injury list piling up, this might be the last chance to give them that high-profile send-off, the final, final hurrah of The Shield. This is going to be an emotion-fueled match, expect callbacks galore from their Shield days and false finishes aplenty as the two brothers dig deep to put the other in the ground.
Other Things To
Look Out For:
- Big Cass has been advertised to return on the Raw after Summerslam, but maybe he could return earlier (a la Big Show before the 2004 Royal Rumble). If he does appear at this pay-per-view, look for him to make an immediate splash against a main eventer.
- Also be on the lookout for a big return. Over the last few Summerslam PPVs, we’ve seen the return of Brock Lesnar, Becky Lynch, and Roman Reigns. Some big names that have been out for a long period of time are Randy Orton, Drew Mcintyre, Kevin Owens, AJ Lee, and Stephanie Vaquer.
- A week before Summerslam, Raquel Rodriguez won the Women’s Intercontinental Championship from Sol Ruca. Though she doesn’t have a match scheduled for Summerslam, be on the lookout for her and the rest of the Judgment Day this weekend.
- Though Rhea Ripley is rehabbing her injury, she could still make an appearance on the weekend. Possibly to stare down the new Interim Women’s Champion?
- This is a high-profile WWE event and they’ll look to attract celebrities of all kinds. Expect a lot of ringside cameos, and maybe a Jelly Roll-esque appearance in the ring to chokeslam The Miz or something.
Jhuvin P is a new writer for CBC/DSR. He has previous experience as a ghostwriter, has published several short stories, and is perpetually working on a novel. In addition to writing, he is also a comedian based out of Colorado Springs. He posts clips of his stand-up along with his other goofy antics on TikTok and Instagram.