Surprising Match Set to Main Event WWE SummerSlam on Saturday

WWE Champion CM Punk and Cody Rhodes had the honor of closing out Friday night's episode of SmackDown, but their title fight inside of U.S. Bank Stadium tonight will reportedly take place a little earlier than previously anticipated.

Night one of WWE SummerSlam is just hours away from going live on the ESPN Unlimited streaming platform, and while an official main event was never announced, the expectation was that Punk and Rhodes would be closing the show.

That apparently will not be happening.

It was first reported by PWInsider's Mike Johnson Saturday afternoon, and now corroborated by False Finish, that the Hell in a Cell Match between Oba Femi and Brock Lesnar will be headlining SummerSlam Saturday instead.

Listed as the main event for #SummerSlam Night 1 on the early rundown. First reported by PW Insider pic.twitter.com/3roVsvLPq4
— False Finish (@FalseFinishHQ) August 1, 2026

This is a pretty surprising development given that Punk and Rhodes are two of the company's biggest stars, and that they are fighting for what many consider to be the top prize in all of professional wrestling, but you can also understand why the WWE creative team made this call.

First off, Brock Lesnar is one of the biggest attractions in the history of the sport, and SummerSlam is taking place in his hometown of Minneapolis, Minnesota. His opponent, Oba Femi, is arguably the most over act in the company at the moment, and their rubber match is taking place inside Hell in a Cell.

While the Hell in a Cell stipulation sort of became old hat under the Vince McMahon creative regime, current Chief Content Officer Paul 'TripleH' Levesque has done a good job of bringing back its allure during his tenure.

The last Hell in a Cell Match featured CM Punk taking on Drew McIntyre at WWE Bad Blood in October 2024. It was a critically acclaimed, violent and bloody matchup.

The combination of Lesnar and Femi, and what they could potentially do to each other inside the demonic structure, may prove to be too tough an act for anyone to follow this evening. Thus, the decision to book the match at the end of the night.

PWInsider and False Finish are also saying that the Women's World Title Match between Liv Morgan and IYO SKY is set to open the show. You can see the full rundown below.

WWE SummerSlam card for Saturday night:

Oba Femi vs. Brock Lesnar III inside Hell in a Cell

CM Punk (c) vs. Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Championship

Fatal Influence vs. The Bella Twins & Paige

Gunther vs. SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis

LA Knight, Solo Sikoa and Royce Keys vs. Jacob Fatu, Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso

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

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