Sami Zayn’s Undisputed WWE Championship win at Night of Champions caught multiple departments within WWE off guard, with WrestleVotes on Fightful Select reporting that, as of July 1, the marketing department had not yet received instructions to update SummerSlam key art concepts to reflect the title change.
A source described Zayn’s win as being handled on a strict “need to know” basis across multiple departments, with one employee calling the situation “worrisome” given the practical challenges it creates.
Worrisome” because the lack of advance notice for a major creative change like that could make their jobs more difficult if that level of secrecy becomes the norm.
The title change has immediate implications for the SummerSlam build, with Raw on July 6 in Chicago already scheduled to feature Zayn defending the Undisputed WWE Championship against Cody Rhodes. CM Punk is also expected to return that night, with a program between Punk and Rhodes having been reported as the long-term SummerSlam direction — a plan that Zayn’s title win now complicates or reshapes entirely.
SummerSlam takes place August 1-2 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.