The Commercialization of WWE: Impacts on Storytelling

With another SummerSlam in the books and Sunday Night’s Main Event around the corner, many fans are left feeling somewhere between meh and eeh. That’s not to say that WWE’s biggest party of the summer didn’t have its moments. However, the company’s creative malaise coupled with its commercialized presentation has led to one unfortunate conclusion. As far as PLE events go, the show we got at SummerSlam is as good as it’s going to get, and it is a byproduct of WWE’s new era.

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WWE SummerSlam streams Saturday, Aug. 1 and Sunday, Aug. 2 exclusively on the ESPN App

WWE SummerSlam will stream in the U.S. exclusively on the ESPN App on Saturday, Aug. 1 and Sunday, Aug. 2, live from U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minn. The Premium Live Event is available to fans with an ESPN Unlimited plan — either directly or through a traditional pay TV package.

SummerSlam begins at 6 p.m. ET on both nights and will feature some of WWE’s biggest stars competing in blockbuster championship matchups. World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns renews his rivalry with Seth Rollins in one of WWE’s most storied feuds.

The newly crowned Undisputed WWE Champion CM Punk defends his title against Cody Rhodes in a highly anticipated showdown.

The card will also feature a Hell in a Cell Match between Oba Femi and Brock Lesnar, as the two powerhouses bring their bitter rivalry inside WWE’s most unforgiving structure.

Coverage on the ESPN App will also include Countdown to SummerSlam and the SummerSlam post-event show on both nights.

WWE SummerSlam 2026 – Saturday, August 1st (Night 1)

Undisputed WWE Championship: CM Punk defends against Cody Rhodes
Hell in a Cell match: Brock Lesnar vs. Oba Femi
Women’s World Champion Liv Morgan defends against IYO SKY
Gunther vs. Nick Aldis
Solo Sikoa, LA Knight & Royce Keys vs. Jacob Fatu & The Usos
The Bellas & Paige vs. Fatal Influence (Jacy Jayne, Fallon Henley & Lainey Reid)

WWE SummerSlam 2026 – Sunday, August 2nd (Night 2)

World Heavyweight Championship: Roman Reigns defends against Seth Rollins
Interim WWE Women’s Championship Ladder Match: Tiffany Stratton vs. Jade Cargill vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Chelsea Green vs. TBD (Giulia or Lash Legend)
WWE Championship number one contender’s match: Sami Zayn vs. Finn Balor
Danhausen vs. Dominik Mysterio
United States Championship: Trick Williams defends against Baron Corbin
Intercontinental Championship: Penta defends against Chad Gable

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WWE SummerSlam 1989: Feuds, Matches, and Controversies

It’s time to “Feel the Heat” with the sophomore edition of WWE’s “biggest party of the summer.” The summer of 1989 was all about the feud between Hulk Hogan and “The Human Wrecking Machine” Zeus, aka Tiny Lister, aka Debo, which was used as a vehicle to promote Hogan’s first theatrical starrer, No Holds Barred.

“Macho Man” Randy Savage was still sour over losing the WWE Title to Hogan at WrestleMania 5, aligned with the seemingly indestructible Zeus to finally destroy Hulkamania. Not to fear, the Hulkster has backup in the form of everyone’s favorite barber, Brutus Beefcake.

The broadcast opened with a shot of a red-hot New Jersey crowd inside Meadowlands Arena. Jesse “The Body” Ventura and Tony Schiavone welcome everyone to the show. Ventura’s mad at Schiavone for getting Bobby Heenan run off the air.

Schiavone remained professional and excitedly proclaimed it was time to “Feel the heat,” with a video montage of summertime activities and WWE superstars hitting their finishing maneuvers to the nostalgic sound of the old-school SummerSlam theme song. Jim Johnson

Do you like driving your red Corvette with the top down? How about a Brainbuster (spiked piledriver) instead? Speaking of Brain Busters…

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WWE SummerSlam 2024 Review

Depending on your preferred flavor of professional wrestling, SummerSlam received rave reviews from some and faint praise from others. Those who live or die by five-star ratings won’t find a match on the card to garner such esteem. However, fans who are all about spectacle and storytelling got more than their money’s worth on Saturday night, as Cleveland Browns Stadium hosted “the biggest party of the summer.”

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WWE SummerSlam 2023 Review

The last time SummerSlam graced the Motor City, Rodney Anoa’i, aka Yokozuna, escaped the star-spangled power of the Lex Express to preserve his WWE Championship reign. Thirty years later, Tribal Combat is set to engulf The Bloodline as another Anoa’i in the form of Roman Reigns puts his WWE Undisputed Universal Title on the line against his cousin Jey Uso.

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Prediction: Dom Dom is going to SummerSlam

Whether it’s turning on his family or hiding behind his on-screen girlfriend, Rhea Ripley, Dominik Mysterio is an enigma people love to hate. He’s essentially Ziggy from The Wire (If you know, you know).

Cowardly saboteurs are commonplace in wrestling. MJF does a great job in the role in AEW as their world champion.

However, MJF drips with arrogance because he’s as good as he says he is but chooses to cheat. On the other hand, Dominik’s hubris immensely exceeds his station, exacerbating the crowd heat he garners.

After focusing his long-running daddy issues on Cody Rhodes, Dominik has a date with “The American Nightmare” on July 1st at Money in the Bank. The match-making segment on Raw ended with Rhodes calling Brock Lesnar a coward for not answering his challenge for a third encounter.

Like Wile E. Coyote, a lightbulb went on in my head. Rhodes’ crack about Lesnar was the spark. It’s all so clear now.

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WWE SummerSlam 2022 (Review)

Paul Levesque’s body of work in NXT suggested his creative style was more pro wrestling than sports entertainment. That couldn’t have been further from the truth, as he struck the perfect balance on Saturday to produce a SummerSlam for the ages.

Roman Reigns closing out the show #AndStill champion could signify the shroud of Vince McMahon looming over the new era of WWE. One could be forgiven for conjuring such an idea. After all, wrestling has embedded the art of “the worfans’ minds of fans everywhere.

Bianca Belair’s victory over Becky Lynch, followed by Bayley’s reemergence along with Io Shirai and Dakota Kai’s introduction to the main roster, set a pronounced pace and tone to open the show.

It was a statement that things are going to be different.

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Quick WWE SummerSlam 2022 Predictions

The multiverse of madness shifted tonight’s SummerSlam to the end of July instead of its usual spot on the calendar at the end of August. Nissan Stadium in Nashville is the site of what was just another edition of WWE’s “biggest party of the summer.” Now it will be the company’s first major event without Vince McMahon.

Paul “Triple H” Levesque is officially the head of creative, and we’ll see how he plays the game with our viewing pleasure. Do you see what I did there? “How well he plays the game?” Because he’s called “The Ga….”

Here are my quick SummerSlam predictions!

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Jeff Jarrett is the Special Guest Referee at SummerSlam

“Are you serious?” I blurted out loud when Jeff Jarrett was announced as the special guest referee for Usos/Street Profits Tag Team Title match at SummerSlam on July 30th.

“What’s wrong?” my wife asked with heartfelt concern. She rolled her eyes and quickly returned to her book after telling her, “It’s a wrestling thing.”

WWE has dipped into the guest referee well for the 9th time in SummerSlam history. Usos and Profits have great matches against each other. However, some complained about another outing between the two teams after the shoulder controversy at Money in the Bank.

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Logan Paul Signs with WWE. Will it Work?

Social Media influencer Logan Paul is the latest celebrity to throw in with WWE.

Paul announced Thursday afternoon on his various social media platforms that he’s signed with WWE and shared a picture taken with Triple H and Stephanie McMahon at WWE Headquarters.

Ariel Helwani reported that Paul signed a multi-year deal that calls for the celebrity boxer to work an undisclosed number of premium live events (pay-per-view) in 2022 and 2023. This news comes after Paul confirmed he was training for an in-ring return to wrestling.

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