WWE is gearing up for its 2026 SummerSlam premium live event (PLE) scheduled for Saturday, August 1st, and Sunday, August 2nd, at the U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The match card is starting to take shape, with confirmed bouts including Oba Femi vs. Brock Lesnar in a Hell in a Cell Match, Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins for the World Heavyweight Championship, and IYO SKY vs. Liv Morgan for the Women’s World Title.
In the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer shared details about the initially planned matches for SummerSlam 2026. In addition to the announced matches, Meltzer reported WWE’s original plans for Cody Rhodes, CM Punk, Charlotte Flair, GUNTHER, and more for this marquee event.
According to Meltzer, the match between Cody Rhodes and CM Punk for the Undisputed WWE Championship was initially slated for SummerSlam. Sami Zayn, who recently captured the title from Rhodes at Night of Champions, was not part of the early plans for this year’s event. Zayn is set to defend the championship against Rhodes this coming Monday on RAW, and Punk is expected to return to television during that show.
Meltzer indicated that while Rhodes vs. Punk has long been the intended direction for SummerSlam, if Punk ends up facing Zayn for the title next month, it would represent a “last-minute” change.
The report also outlined the original plans for SummerSlam, which included GUNTHER facing Royce Keys, Charlotte Flair battling Jade Cargill, Trick Williams defending the United States Championship against former champion Carmelo Hayes, and Paige and Brie Bella defending the Women’s Tag Team Championship against Lainey Reid and Fallon Henley.
