WWE SummerSlam 2026 Night 1 wrapped Saturday at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis with Oba Femi defeating Brock Lesnar inside Hell in a Cell to win their trilogy, the true main event of the show. CM Punk retained the Undisputed WWE Championship over Cody Rhodes with an assist from Randy Orton, Gunther made quick work of Nick Aldis, and the Bella Twins turned heel on Paige in the night’s biggest post-match swerve.
Quick Results
- Oba Femi def. Brock Lesnar (Hell in a Cell) — Main Event
- CM Punk (c) def. Cody Rhodes via pinfall (29:43) — Undisputed WWE Championship
- Fatal Influence (Jacy Jayne, Fallon Henley & Lainey Reid) def. The Bella Twins & Paige via pinfall
- Gunther def. Nick Aldis via submission
- LA Knight, Solo Sikoa & Royce Keys def. The Bloodline (Jimmy Uso, Jey Uso & Jacob Fatu) via pinfall (11:00)
- Liv Morgan (c) def. Iyo Sky via pinfall (13:35) — Women’s World Championship
Main Event: Oba Femi def. Brock Lesnar (Hell in a Cell)
Femi and Lesnar closed out Night 1 in the match WWE quietly slotted as the real main event, settling a trilogy that had been split 1-1 since WrestleMania 42. Femi pulled a table from under the ring early and tossed Lesnar through it against the cage wall, only for Lesnar to recover and smash Femi’s face into the steel steps three times before going to work with chair shots to the back.
Lesnar suplexed Femi onto a pair of steel chairs at one point and later delivered a Tombstone Piledriver onto exposed wood planks under the torn-up ring canvas, but Femi kicked out. Lesnar sat up in response, shook off a run of forearms from Femi, and unloaded three consecutive F-5s. Femi still kicked out and eventually caught Lesnar with a Fall From Grace to bring him back to the mat.
Lesnar tried to finish things with an F-5, but Femi escaped and hit another Fall From Grace. In the closing sequence, Femi shook off the effects of the Tombstone, knocked a steel chair out of Lesnar’s hand, and connected with one more Fall From Grace for the pin. The win gives Femi the trilogy 2-1 and marks his first main event appearance on the main roster. It was Lesnar’s 10th SummerSlam main event, a company record, and his third Hell in a Cell match after two prior wins over The Undertaker.
Women’s World Championship: Liv Morgan (c) def. Iyo Sky
Morgan opened the show defending the Women’s World Championship against Iyo Sky, who earned the shot by beating Morgan in the Queen of the Ring tournament final. Morgan controlled the early stretch with roughhouse tactics before Sky answered with a handspring meteora and a run of quick strikes to seize momentum.
Sky drove Morgan into the barricade twice, but Morgan countered with the Three Amigos and an enzuigiri. Sky fired back with a missile dropkick, the Bullet Train attack in the corner, and a sunset flip powerbomb to the floor. As Sky climbed for a moonsault, the Judgment Day’s Roxanne Perez distracted the referee while Raquel Rodriguez chokeslammed Sky off the top rope, nearly costing her the match.
Sky recovered and wiped out Perez, Rodriguez and Morgan with a moonsault to the outside. The finishing stretch saw both women trade near falls off Oblivion attempts, a Spanish Fly and a German suplex on the apron before Morgan countered a headstand roll-through with a Codebreaker and hit Oblivion for the pin.
Six-Man Tag: LA Knight, Solo Sikoa & Royce Keys def. The Bloodline
Jimmy Uso, Jey Uso and Jacob Fatu entered as a proven unit against the makeshift trio of Knight, Sikoa and Keys, and the match stayed high-energy from bell to bell. Jey Uso nearly stole the win with a Spear after escaping a schoolboy from Knight, and the Bloodline looked to close it out with a 1D.
Sikoa cut the sequence off with a Samoan Spike on Jimmy Uso, clearing the opening for Knight to connect with the BFT on Jey Uso for the pinfall. The result keeps the shaky Knight-Sikoa-Keys alliance intact for now, at the Bloodline’s expense.
Gunther def. Nick Aldis
Nick Aldis stepped away from his SmackDown general manager duties to make his in-ring WWE debut against Gunther, and the match played out as a back-and-forth technical battle before turning into a fight. Aldis briefly took control with a delayed vertical suplex and a series of elbows, and he baited Gunther into a King’s Lynn Cloverleaf attempt.
Gunther spent stretches of the match taunting Aldis’s wife, Mickie James, and their son at ringside, and he eventually wore Aldis down enough to lock in a sleeper hold. Aldis tapped out relatively quickly, and the SummerSlam crowd gave him a standing ovation as he celebrated with his family afterward.
Fatal Influence def. The Bella Twins & Paige
Jacy Jayne, Fallon Henley and Lainey Reid picked up a six-woman tag win over Paige, Brie Bella and Nikki Bella in a match that did not have tag team gold on the line despite Fatal Influence holding the Women’s Tag Team Championship. The story came after the bell.
Brie Bella and Nikki Bella turned on Paige immediately following the loss, laying her out in a heel turn Nikki has been teasing publicly for weeks. Brie Bella appeared to be favoring herself on the way to the back, though WWE has not commented on her condition.
Undisputed WWE Championship: CM Punk (c) def. Cody Rhodes
Punk and Rhodes, longtime friends who had only met once before in a singles match nearly two decades ago, delivered a 29:43 title match. Rhodes worked over Punk’s knee for long stretches, including a half Boston crab, but Punk fought out and hit a top-rope elbow for a near fall before Rhodes answered with a Cody Cutter.
The finishing stretch turned chaotic. Rhodes knocked referee Charles Robinson out of the match, and as Punk and Rhodes traded finishers with no official to make the count, Randy Orton ran in and delivered an RKO to Rhodes. Punk rolled back into the ring, hit the GTS and pinned Rhodes to retain the title.
What’s Next
Femi’s win closes the book on the Lesnar trilogy and establishes him as a made man heading into the fall. Punk’s title defense, aided by Orton, adds a new wrinkle to the Punk-Rhodes rivalry that isn’t likely finished, and the Bella Twins’ heel turn on Paige opens a new women’s storyline. SummerSlam continues Sunday with Night 2, headlined by Roman Reigns defending the World Heavyweight Championship against Seth Rollins.
