SummerSlam opened with Liv Morgan defending the Women's World Championship against Rhea Ripley. The latter had Dominik Mysterio in her corner, and it didn't take long until he got involved with the match.
However, his "inadvertently" distracting Ripley resulted in The Judgement Day member being hit with the Oblivion on a steel chair for the 1-2-3. With that, Mysterio handed Morgan the title and kissed her, confirming he'd betrayed his "Mami."
Sami Zayn put the Intercontinental Championship on the line against Bron Breakker in a surprisingly short bout which ultimately saw the former NXT Champion hit his patented Spear to pick up his first main roster singles title. As for LA Knight, he dethroned United States Champion Logan Paul with the BFT to get the singles championship win we've all been waiting for (and in Knight's case, it's taken 21 years).
Another title changed hands when Nia Jax beat Bayley for the Women's Championship after Tiffany Stratton teased a cash-in.
CM Punk vs. Drew McIntyre definitely delivered, particularly with Seth Rollins serving as Special Guest Referee. Unfortunately, the Second City Saint allowed himself to be distracted by the Scottish Psychopath wearing the friendship bracelet with his wife and dog's name on it.
It eventually ended up in Rollins' hands, prompting Punk to hit him with the GTS. However, that gave McIntyre the chance to use a low blow and Claymore Kick to pick up the win over his enemy.
There was more bad news for The Judgement Day when Damian Priest defended the World Heavyweight Championship against Gunther. Finn Balor cost his supposed friend the win when he put Gunther's leg on the rope. Furious, Priest lunged for Balor, only to be taken out by the Austrian, who finally became the world champion.
It was then main event time, with Cody Rhodes putting the Undisputed WWE Championship on the line against Solo Sikoa in a Bloodline Rules match.
The odds were stacked against the American Nightmare, though Randy Orton and Kevin Owens soon evened them. In the closing moments of the match, Roman Reigns made his surprise return, hitting Sikoa with a Superman Punch and Spear, allowing Rhodes to retain the title after a Cross Rhodes. He stared Reigns down the entire time, leaving WWE with plenty of places to take this story.
Tellingly, Reigns' shirt had "OTC" written on it. The meaning? Original Tribal Chief. It seems Reigns is finally the massively popular babyface WWE always wanted him to be...