Original WWE SummerSlam Card Shines Light on Men's and Women's Title Picture

The 'Biggest Party of the Summer' is right around the corner, and the card is quickly starting to take shape.

It's already been announced that Roman Reigns will be defending his World Heavyweight Championship at SummerSlam against Seth Rollins, the first one-on-one match between the two former Shield members since 2022.

The Women's World Championship will also be on the line inside Minneapolis' U.S. Bank Stadium, and Oba Femi has willingly given up his guaranteed World Title opportunity to battle Brock Lesnar for a third time.

Those three bouts line up perfectly with what Dave Meltzer said was in the works in his latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter. The information he has is a bit outdated, but if it's still accurate, it could spell trouble for Sami Zayn's WWE Championship reign.

“The planned SummerSlam card, and this was before the injury to Rhea Ripley, was Rhodes vs CM Punk for the WWE Title, Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins for the World Title, Liv Morgan vs. IYO SKY for the World Women’s Title.”

With IYO SKY challenging Liv Morgan at SummerSlam locked in already, that means that Ripley's knee injury had no ripple effect on SKY's plans following her Queen of the Ring victory at Night of Champions.

As for other matches that were penciled in for the two-night extravaganza on Saturday, August 1 and Sunday, August 2, prior to Ripley's injury, Meltzer listed a few additional possibilities. One of which, the Hell in a Cell Match featuring Oba Femi and Brock Lesnar, already came to fruition.

“Charlotte Flair vs. Jade Cargill, Trick Williams vs. Carmelo Hayes for the US Title, Gunther vs Royce Keys and Paige & Brie Bella vs. Fallon Henley & Lainey Reid for the Women’s Tag Team Titles," Meltzer said were all planned for SummerSlam.

Gunther taking on Royce Keys is an interesting development as it was reported just yesterday that the WWE creative team is considering a match between The Ring General and SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis.

Gunther is PISSED following the Undisputed WWE Title Match! 👀 pic.twitter.com/RktcnRsQGT
— WWE (@WWE) June 27, 2026

The former NWA and TNA World Heavyweight Champion has not wrestled a match since he signed with WWE and became an authority figure, but his recent backstage altercation with Gunther could be leading him back to the ring.

The report on Thursday from WrestleVotes Radio did not indicate when that potential Gunther versus Aldis match would take place, so in theory, it could happen before SummerSlam. Perhaps on an episode of SmackDown or at Saturday Night's Main Event inside New York's Madison Square Garden on July 18.

As for Rhea Ripley, assuming she's healthy enough to compete, Meltzer heard that either Alexa Bliss or Jacy Jayne would be challenging for the WWE Women's Championship.

Current WWE SummerSlam card (announced):

Roman Reigns (c) vs. Seth Rollins for the World Heavyweight Championship

Liv Morgan (c) vs. IYO SKY for the Women's World Championship

Oba Femi vs. Brock Lesnar inside Hell in a Cell

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