The 2024 WWE SummerSlam event saw the epic return of Roman Reigns. The Original Tribal Chief cost his former enforcer, Solo Sikoa, his match against Cody Rhodes. Additionally, four new champions were crowned: Bron Breakker, LA Knight, Nia Jax, and Gunther.
Full 2024 SummerSlam results
SummerSlam featured the most twists and turns out of any WWE PLE this year. Here is a full rundown of the results and our thoughts on each match.
- Liv Morgan (c) defeated Rhea Ripley to retain the Women's World Championship
- Bron Breakker defeated Sami Zayn (c) to win the Intercontinental Championship
- LA Knight defeated Logan Paul (c) to win the United States Championship
- Nia Jax defeated Bayley (c) to win the Women's Championship
- Drew McIntyre defeated CM Punk
- Gunther defeated Damian Priest (c) to win the World Heavyweight Championship
- Cody Rhodes (c) defeated Solo Sikoa to retain the Undisputed WWE Championship
A hot opening between Liv Morgan and Rhea Ripley
SummerSlam began with the highly-anticipated match between Liv Morgan and Rhea Ripley. While the outcome was obvious, a recurring theme of the WWE PLE, the way it got there was fun.
Dominik Mysterio was always going to be the wild card of the match. He came out with Ripley for one final time before turning on her, costing her the title and leaving her heartbroken.
Mysterio was always going to be a part of the match's decision. However, whether or not it would be intentional was the question. Ultimately, Mysterio turned on Ripley — first preventing her from using a steel chair before placing it in the ring for Morgan to hit the final Oblivion on.
The segment culminated with a kayfabe kiss between Mysterio and Morgan. Mysterio's allegiance has firmly switched sides, and this was the beginning of Judgement Day's demise.
Grade: B
Bron Breakker, LA Knight get their moments
Following the opening, Bron Breakker once again took on Sami Zayn for the Intercontinental Championship. After losing at Money in the Bank, there was no way Breakker would lose his next shot for his first WWE main roster gold.
The match was a glorified squash, with Breakker winning after a devastating spear. It was akin to Brock Lesnar and Goldberg's WrestleMania 33 match in its fast-paced nature.
Ultimately, I wish Breakker had just won at the previous WWE PLE. Zayn is too good to be beaten down for five minutes and lose his championship. It was a rushed match with the right result.
Grade: C
Immediately after Breakker's big win, LA Knight got his moment against Logan Paul. While Paul — who was accompanied to the ring by Machine Gun Kelly — was the hometown hero, the match began with a brawl that saw him get beaten up.
LA Knight is a popular WWE star. However, his in-ring work has never been special. Luckily, Paul brought the best out of him, and the two put on an entertaining match.
Paul losing was the right call, as his two title defenses across a nearly year-long reign were egregious. Now, LA Knight can move on to a feud with Carmelo Hayes and the rest of the SmackDown roster.
Grade: A-
Queen of the Ring Nia Jax gets crowned
Nia Jax defeating Bayley was the biggest letdown of the 2024 SummerSlam event. For one, Bayley has not had a reign that lives up to the euphoric WrestleMania XL victory she had.
Ever since Bayley won the 2024 women's Royal Rumble, her stock has fallen significantly. It is not all her fault, as the WWE seems hesitant to fully buy into her.
To her credit, Jax has been a lot better in-ring in her latest sting with the WWE. Her mid-match smack talk was hilarious. And to the match's credit, it picked up as it went on and had a fun ending.
The most impressive part of the match was Bayley performing a powerbomb on Jax. She showed incredible strength going halfway across the ring before slamming Jax to the mat.
Where they go from SummerSlam will be interesting. Jax is now the Women's Champion and has the looming threat of Tiffany Stratton's Money in the Bank cash-in over her head.
Grade: B-
Drew McIntyre beats CM Punk
There were several exciting matches happening at the 2024 SummerSlam. However, the match between CM Punk and Drew McIntyre may have topped the list. Add Seth “Freakin” Rollins as the special guest referee, and you have a main event-worthy match.
Yes, CM Punk is admittedly slower than his prime. But he looked a lot better than his AEW run and held his own against McIntyre. Of course, McIntyre had to carry most of the match on his shoulders, but the dynamic worked for the pieces in play.
Adding Rollins in as the referee only made the match better. While he hates both men involved, Rollins has some sympathy for Punk, preventing a chair shot from McIntyre.
The match began with Rollins not giving a care about it. Seeing him relaxing on the ropes was a funny image. As the match progressed, he became more involved.
Punk doing exactly what he claims McIntyre has been, which is being his own worst enemy, was poetic. He cost himself when he noticed Rollins was wearing the bracelet McIntyre originally stole. It was a clever way of redirecting Punk's anger at Rollins, thus setting up a match between the two.
Grade: A
Another Judgement Day betrayal as Gunther wins the World Heavyweight Championship
Despite only having two or three weeks to build their feud, Gunther and Damian Priest delivered. Their promo work on the last few episodes of RAW leading into SummerSlam was great.
Gunther won the 2024 King of the Ring tournament, which landed him an opportunity to face the world champion of his choosing at SummerSlam.
The biggest issue with winning that opportunity nearly three months in advance is it is hard to build around that. What if Priest had lost the championship after Gunther immediately announced that he was going after the World Heavyweight Championship?
It all ended up okay, as Gunther and Priest had the most physical match of the night. Priest may be Gunther's toughest opponent, even more so than Ilja Dragunov and Sheamus, as he busted open his chest with chops.
Gunther is one of the WWE's biggest gems, and SummerSlam further proved that. While his slow pace may be frustrating, the brutality and moves he chains together are always amazing to see. He also sold for Priest like a champ, making him look like a thousand bucks in defeat.
Finn Bálor turning on Priest became obvious when Morgan and Ripley opened the 2024 SummerSlam card. Now, Priest and Bálor have a high-profile feud that is unpredictable thanks to the former losing his World Heavyweight Championship.
Additionally, Gunther can build up to a match at Bash in Berlin later in August. We will have to wait and see who steps up as his first challenger.
Grade: A+
Roman Reigns returns during Cody Rhodes vs. Solo Sikoa
At SummerSlam, the second-ever Bloodline Rules match happened (the first was at WrestleMania XL). This stipulation is more of a preface to fans that returns will be happening.
Cody Rhodes vs. Solo Sikoa began with a slow pace akin to a Roman Reigns match. Eventually, the Tonga brothers — Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa — came out to beat down Rhodes. The duo of Randy Orton and Kevin Owens returned to fend them off.
However, Jacob Fatu was nowhere to be seen. He would later make his presence known, hitting a Whisper in the Wind on Rhodes and putting him through the announce table.
After taking himself out, Fatu stayed on the ground as Reigns' revamped WrestleMania XL music hit. Just as he did at SummerSlam 2020, Roman Reigns returned at the 2024 event with a shirt that read “OTC,” presumably for Original Tribal Chief.
He ran to the ring, and Superman punched and speared Sikoa before staring down Rhodes. Roman Reigns seemed to smirk, perhaps indicating respect towards the man who dethroned him after a 1,300+ day reign as Universal Champion.
Or, it could be that Roman Reigns wants to reclaim his throne after dealing with Bloodline business. Either way, SummerSlam left WWE fans with more questions than answers.
Grade: A+
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