WWE SummerSlam 2024 Review

WWE’s 2024 SummerSlam PLE is in the books and it was very eventful. Championships changed hands, people betrayed each other, and there was a massive return to end the show. It was a fun and breezy 4 hours, and the quality was on par with Wrestlemania XL.

Rhea Ripley vs. Liv Morgan: Women’s World Championship

This match was very story-driven, with most spots around Rhea’s shoulder injury, and the love triangle with Dominik. Rhea dominated most of it until she dislocated her shoulder, which gave Liv a chance to even the odds. The match was a ton of fun, seeing Rhea pop her shoulder back into place was a great visual.

Rhea had the match won but grabbed a chair to hit Liv. Dominik took the chair from her, insisting that Rhea should win the title instead. After some more action, Dom slid the chair back into the ring and distracted the ref, giving Liv a perfect opportunity to hit her finish on the chair and win the match.

Dom sides with Liv in the end, turning on Rhea in a predictable, but emotional moment. Dominik has grown as a heel, and this only furthers his character. It also makes Rhea the biggest babyface in the women’s division. This match did everything it set out to do, and it made an already hot storyline even hotter.

Grade: A+

Sami Zayn vs. Bron Breakker: Intercontinental Championship

The outcome of this rematch from Money in the Bank felt a little obvious, but it worked nonetheless. It followed a great Women’s World Title match, and unfortunately, it felt like a palette cleanser.

This was a massive moment for Bron Breakker. Winning the Intercontinental Championship, and doing it with his dad and uncle in attendance is a dream come true. The only problem was just a shorter version of their previous match. It had all the fun spots, but very little drama.

This win for Breakker was well deserved, and nothing should be taken away from him. The story is still interesting and Ilja Dragunov will undoubtedly come back into the fold. The Intercontinental title is prestigious again, and great wrestlers are competing for it.

Grade: B-

LA Knight vs. Logan Paul: United States Championship

LA Knight and Logan Paul have had an interesting feud going into this match. Both are fantastic on the mic, and the promos have been a ton of fun. Logan came out in Cleveland Browns-inspired gear and was joined by fellow Cleveland native Machine Gun Kelly. LA Knight showed up in Paul’s custom Prime truck and smashed the window before making his entrance.

Before the bell rang, these two started fighting, and Knight dropped Paul on the announce table with a neckbreaker. Once the match started, they both showed out. Logan hit a super clean springboard moonsault out of the ring, and Knight dropped Paul with a high-angle superplex from the top rope that looked incredibly painful.

The ending saw MGK give Logan a pair of brass knuckles, which he used on Knight on the outside. He went for a slingshot clothesline and Knight caught it to hit his BFT finish and win the United States title.

Similar to Bron Breakker, this was LA Knight’s big moment. He’s supremely over with fans, and the crowd went insane for this win. Logan will likely continue having great matches, and Knight has a target on his back for guys like Carmelo Hayes and Andrade. This match was great from start to finish, and it’ll be very exciting to see where both men go from here.

Grade: A-

Nia Jax vs. Bayley: WWE Women’s Championship

Nia Jax earned this title match by winning the Queen of the Ring tournament. Unfortunately, this match had very little story or drama going into it beyond that.

These two had a great match here despite the lack of story. Both women are great in the ring, and they showed it here. Nia hit her Annihilator finish, and Bayley kicked out. At one point Bayley was able to pick Nia off of the turnbuckle and hit a very impressive powerbomb.

Tiffany Stratton came down mid-match and teased a Money in the Bank cash-in, but was quickly taken out by Bayley. The distraction allowed Nia to hit Bayley with the Annihilator twice, and get the win. The story moving forward is Nia and Tiffany, and that’s sure to be extremely entertaining. Bayley’s path from here isn’t very clear, but with rumors of women’s mid-card titles, she’s a great candidate to carry one of those.

Grade: B+

CM Punk vs. Drew McIntyre w/ Seth “Freakin” Rollins as Special Guest Referee

The only non-title match on the card, and it was arguably the biggest one. All three men involved have a history with each other, and with Punk coming back from a torn triceps, this story can kick off properly. A lot of this match was messy and confusing but in the best possible way. Drew dominated most of it, but it got very interesting toward the end.

In a longer sequence, the bracelet Drew had stolen from Punk came into play here. Punk tried to take it off Drew’s wrist, but lost it in the ring. Referee Rollins picked it up and put it on after that. Punk noticed and attacked Rollins, allowing Drew to hit Punk with a low blow and a claymore for the win. After the match, Drew took the bracelet back.

6 months into this story, this would typically be the blowoff match. Instead, it’s kicking things into a higher gear. Rollins has a more personal issue with Punk, who will surely want a rematch with Drew. Punk also proved he can still go in the ring at a high level. This match was nearly perfect, especially in what it sets up for the future.

Grade: A-

Gunther vs. Damian Priest: World Heavyweight Championship

This was as physical as one could hope from these two. At one point, Gunther’s chest started bleeding, which made for a great visual. They kicked out of each other’s finishers, and put everything they had into these 16 minutes.

The finish saw Finn Balor make his way to the ring. He didn't do much at first. Then Priest hit Gunther with a South of Heaven and went for the cover, only for Finn to put Gunther’s foot on the rope. Gunther locked in a sleeper hold after that for the win.

Gunther is finally a World champion, and the fall of Judgement Day is in full effect. Priest will feud with Finn and JD McDonough now, and Dom will no doubt be involved in this as well. This was Gunther’s big moment, and he’ll have a tremendous title reign. It’s also a huge turning point for WWE’s biggest faction.

Grade: A+

Solo Sikoa vs. Cody Rhodes: Undisputed WWE Championship

The longest match of the night by far, was Bloodline Rules for the WWE title. This was a fantastic match, and it showed that Solo is a main event-level talent.

They had a great back-and-forth for most of the match, and it really felt like it could’ve been a clean one-on-one bout. Solo carries himself so much like Roman. The way he trash talks, the facial expressions he makes, and even his in-ring style. His future is unbelievably bright.

In the home stretch, the interference began. First, it was Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa to attack Cody. Kevin Owens and Randy Orton then followed to even things up. After that, Jacob Fatu came out and destroyed Cody by putting him through the announce table. Then the moment everyone waited for, Roman Reigns’ music hit, and the building went insane.

Roman came out, dropped Solo with a Superman punch and a spear, and handed Cody the win here. The Tribal Chief is finally back, and The Bloodline is back to being the biggest act on TV. The possibilities from here are endless.

Grade: A+

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