For the second straight year, WWE SummerSlam will be a two-night affair.
This year’s Premium Live Event emanates from the U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
There are six matches scheduled for Night 1, including two world title matches.
WWE SummerSlam 2026 Night 1 Match Card and Start Time
Here is the full match card for Night 1 of WWE SummerSlam:
- LA Knight, Solo Sikoa and Royce Keys vs. Jey Uso, Jimmy Uso and Jacob Fatu of The Bloodline in a six-man tag team match
- Gunther vs. Nick Aldis
- Paige, Brie Bella and Nikki Bella vs. Jacy Jayne, Fallon Henley and Lainey Reid of Fatal Influence in a six-woman tag team match
- Brock Lesnar vs. Oba Femi in a Hell in a Cell match
- Liv Morgan (c) vs. IYO SKY for the Women’s World Championship
- CM Punk (c) vs. Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Championship
Tonight’s show is scheduled to start at 6:00 p.m. EST. It will be streamed live on the ESPN App in the United States and on Netflix internationally.
Knight, Solo and Royce vs. The Bloodline
Solo Sikoa has stood out among the babyfaces during the build toward SummerSlam. The obvious ploy here is Solo turns on LA Knight and Royce Keys to rejoin The Bloodline, but they probably won’t waste the build to his working face turn now.
However, Jacob Fatu and The Usos are a proven unit rather than a makeshift stable. Look for The Bloodline to use their familiarity to get the victory, with Keys or Knight getting pinned.
Prediction: The Bloodline wins.
Gunther vs. Nick Aldis
Since retiring three legends in six months, Gunther has lost some momentum. He went from The Career Killer to a filler feud against Seth Rollins at WrestleMania to failing to win the Undisputed WWE Championship from Cody Rhodes.
Nevertheless, it’s great to see Nick Aldis gets to see an opportunity to wrestle. For those who don’t know, Aldis is a former world champion in TNA and NWA. He’s also younger than most main event talent in WWE at 39.
With all that said, WWE has invested too much in the Gunther character to lose to his former boss on the second-biggest event of the year.
Prediction: Gunther wins.
Paige and The Bellas vs. Fatal Influence
The biggest story from this match is the return of Nikki Bella from an ankle injury. It wouldn’t be surprising if the babyfaces win this match.
However, Fatal Influence have the WWE Women’s Championship and are the future of the company. They need a monumental win at the biggest stage.
It’s also time for Brie and Nikki to be a tag team, so them attacking Paige after a loss makes sense.
Paige has always been a star on her own, though she would need a partner if she’s going to feud with the Bellas next.
Prediction: Fatal Influence wins.
Brock Lesnar vs. Oba Femi 3
The first two matches between Brock Lesnar and Oba Femi have not disappointed. They are not the most technical matches, but it’s not what you get from two freak athletes.
Add the Hell in a Cell to the mix, and their trilogy match is going to be absolutely nuts. And based on what Triple H revealed about Lesnar’s relationship with Oba backstage, fans should expect The Beast to put over The Ruler as the real next big thing since him in 2002.
Predictions: Oba Femi wins and Brock Lesnar DOESN’T retire.
Liv Morgan vs. IYO SKY
For the first time since winning the Women’s World Championship at WrestleMania, Liv Morgan is finally defending her title. Morgan has lost all the momentum at the start of the year, though it’s not her fault. Maybe WWE will give Morgan the win here to salvage her title reign.
It’s a shame if IYO SKY doesn’t win the title after winning Queen of the Ring. SKY is still among the most popular stars, and they need all the star power she has. She can also wrestle regularly and have banger matches on television as the champion, repairing the damage done to the title by Morgan’s lackluster reign.
Plus the Judgment Day’s breakup story, which needs to happen now, doesn’t need a world title to make it interesting.
Prediction: IYO SKY wins to become the new Women’s World Champion.
CM Punk vs. Cody Rhodes
After weeks of tension building up, CM Punk and Cody Rhodes finally got into a brawl on Friday’s episode of SmackDown. They had to be separated by officials as the show went off the air.
Punk’s title reign is just starting, so it’s easy to see him retaining against The American Nightmare. It will also be great for Rhodes to not be near the Undisputed WWE Title picture for a bit since he’s been there since WrestleMania 39.
Prediction: CM Punk wins to retain the Undisputed WWE Championship.
Bonus Prediction: Randy Orton returns to take out both CM Punk and Cody Rhodes with the RKO to end Night 1.
WWE SummerSlam 2026 Night 1 Preview, Match Card, Start Time & More