Column
By Zack Heydorn · August 3, 2026
Some idiot called night two of SummerSlam a B show. Yeah, that was me. I’ll take my crow with a side of fries.
SummerSlam Sunday was a blast. An enjoyable night of pro wrestling that included fun surprises like Kevin Owens, big title wins by Chelsea Green and Chad Gable, and an era defining main event that closed the book on the decade-long story of The Shield.
Not a bad night at the office if you’re WWE.
Here are my Brass Ring Ratings for the event and here’s how they work … I call it like I see it and grade accordingly. Period.
Gunther was a surprise addition to the match before it started. Kevin Owens was a massive surprise. A holy shit level pop for him too. The second Owens made his entrance, you knew he was winning the match. Didn’t hurt the drama or crowd excitement for obvious reasons. The match was mostly centered on the Owens action and he delivered. Didn’t look like he’d missed a beat. Zayn and his jaw hitting the floor for the Owens return was money and the hug prior to their brawl was their entire relationship in a nutshell. The main story here is KO is back and he looked healthy. The secondary story? CM Punk is the champion that Owens is number one contender for. A potential feud of the year there.
Umm, huh? The match was fine with decent action throughout. Once again, though. Huh? Why is Trick Williams doing a job to Baron Corbin? And for the Men’s United States Championship? Who did Williams anger backstage? I get he was protected with the belt shot, but yikes. Unless this is somehow an elevation up the card for Williams, the booking here made no sense. Think about where Williams was right ahead of WrestleMania this year. The pops. The popularity. It’s a steep drop to lose to Corbin at the second biggest show of the year.
On the higher end of my expectations and not just because Chelsea Green won to become champion. The match was full of action, but also lingered enough on the key storyline points. Flair and Stratton got time, which was a nod to their past. Same with Flair and Cargill. Stratton also hit the big spot of the match, which was her Swanton Bomb off of a falling ladder and onto some of the other participants on the outside of the ring. Green was the obvious focus in the end and that covered up some of the missed spots throughout the match. The crowd went bonkers when she pulled the belt down and her popularity is a true testament to the connection she has with the WWE audience. In terms of booking, Green was the only way to go. They gave her a signature win and now can build toward Rhea Ripley’s eventual return. In the meantime — and for however long it lasts — Green will get to have a memorable run with the title.
Curses, minihausen’s, Judgment Day, and Joe Hendry. This had all the shenanigans you figured it would have. It was all cheesy, but that’s Danhausen. That’s the bit. The crowd enjoyed this for what it was, but calling it a good match would be incorrect.
This one started down two brass rings. Why? The lack of an actual heel in the match. On the surface that’s not fair, but hear me out. Gable was not able to get full momentum and crowd response behind him because another top babyface in the company was his opponent. Now, outside of that important puzzle piece, the match was excellent, but didn’t ever reach it’s emotional crescendo. Again, the good guy vs. good guy factor rearing it’s head. Gable got the hometown victory and that worked fine. It just could have been so much more.
The match of the night. Strong action, earned near falls, and some fun Shield callbacks all throughout this one. Rollins and Reigns wove their story into this match very effectively. Not just their history, but the narrative of Reigns shedding the Rollins baggage after all these years. That point drove most of what Reigns did in the match, including not using the steel chair “Shield” style. The only negative in this thing was the lack of true crowd investment regarding who was going to win and lose. It was clear they were reacting to seeing a great match — and they were — but not because they wanted to desperately see Reigns win and complete his story with Rollins. That level of investment was missing and is hard to generate when much of the two day SummerSlam was rooted in this exact type of audience psychology. WWE presented this as the ending of the Rollins and Reigns story. The match delivered on that expectation and the final Shield fist bump at the end was the exact right note for both guys to hit.
What letter grade do you give WWE SummerSlam Sunday 2026? Let us know in the comments!
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