WWE SummerSlam Night 2 takeaways: Brock Lesnar's return draws a new dark cloud to John Cena's final year
Here are our biggest takeaways from New Jersey as we unpack how WWE moves forward from SummerSlam.
1. Cena's exceptional showing overshadowed by Lesnar's shocking return
For everything that WrestleMania 41's main event was not, SummerSlam's was. From John Cena's monotone entrance to his actual match against Cody Rhodes, their April showdown in Las Vegas left much to be desired.
After Cena promised a return to his roots at this past Friday's "SmackDown," he played the hits fans anticipated for his final run. For the first time since the Elimination Chamber, Cena's titantron played, he made his familiar run to the ring — and he put together his best match in years. Cena was inspired and showed he can still go as he and Rhodes brawled around the ring, through the crowd, into the Codyvator, and back into the ring. Drama lingered throughout the night with speculation around who may play a role in the finish to this Undisputed WWE Championship rematch.
In the end, though, it was just Rhodes and Cena, with the challenger saluting the champion, connecting on a Cross Rhodes to take the title back and placing a certain uncertainty around the final four months of Cena's career as they shared an emotional moment together — but only briefly.
While it wouldn't have been a total shock for The Rock, or even Travis Scott, to make their way to the ring afterward, Brock Lesnar's return wasn't on anyone's bingo cards heading into Sunday night. If nothing else, the decision offered immediate clarity on Cena's future.
Lesnar has been absent from WWE television since August 2023, when he lost to Cody Rhodes at SummerSlam. Outside of the ring, Lesnar's absence followed him being named in a federal lawsuit against former company chairman Vince McMahon, which alleges sexual misconduct in 2021 by McMahon. Lesnar is not named as a defendant in the suit, but was named in allegations that involved former WWE employee Janel Grant, who filed the suit in January 2024.
Just as Cena appeared to be pivoting from what was a disappointing stretch in the final year of his career, a very different black cloud now lingers over his next challenge.
2. Another triple-threat match crushes it
In a vacuum, this one was fantastic, especially as an opener. Rhea Ripley, Iyo Sky and Naomi put on an exceptional match that pushed the pace and continued to push WWE Women's World Champion Naomi as a savvy veteran. The finish, with Naomi taking advantage of an Avalanche Riptide on Sky to roll up Ripley and sneak away as the champion, was the logical conclusion for how this story continues moving. As good as this one was, it's difficult not to compare this against the WrestleMania 41 triple-threat match between Ripley, Sky, and Bianca Belair, and it didn't quite reach that level.
What does stand out is how much chemistry Ripley and Sky have, and their ability to seamlessly flex between triple-threat and singles matches. Sky has perhaps been the wrestler of the year in WWE throughout 2025, and Ripley is well on her way to being the greatest women's wrestler in WWE history, if she's not already there yet. Naomi keeps moving along as the champion ahead of an already scheduled Aug. 31 showdown with Stephanie Vaquer at the Clash in Paris event in a match that could see another swing of momentum at the top of the "WWE Raw" women's division. The Women's World Championship picture right now is insane, with no shortage of talent or challengers.
3. Tables, ladders, chairs, and chaos
After missing out on WrestleMania 41 earlier this year, DIY, the Motor City Machine Guns and the Street Profits put together a "Friday Night Smackdown" TLC match that felt very much like they were sending a message — they belonged on the card.
WWE didn't miss on its second chance to get the WWE Tag Team Championships on one of its biggest shows of the year, resulting in an absolutely unhinged six-pack TLC match. In a showcase of the promotion's most stacked tag-team division in years, everyone had their moments.
Candice LeRae's fall from the ladder inside the ring, sideways through a ladder on the outside, looked brutal. Coordinating table spots around all four corners of the ring was brilliant. Nathan Frazier recreating the Edge spear on Tommaso Ciampa hanging from the ladder, but missing was perfect.
The finish felt a bit flat, as everything signaled new champions being crowned in the frenetic run to the end of the match. Run-in after run-in gave the Wyatt Sicks the win and felt too reminiscent of the last few years of the Bloodline's run.
4. Lyra Valkyria and Becky Lynch never needed no DQs
Lyra Valkyria and Becky Lynch have put on some of the best matches in arguably the best rivalry in WWE this year. Positioned on the card after the six-pack TLC match, Valkyria and Lynch were in a difficult position before the bell rang. But to open the door for their match to also have an element of chaos, with no disqualifications, felt like poor structuring of the card. The TLC match was going to have huge spots and the card needed time to breathe before getting back into a weapons-heavy match.
Lynch and Valkyria never felt like it needed a "No DQs" stipulation and my preference would've been for a standard one-on-one match. But the duo did the best they could with what they were given. Valkyria wrestling a chunk of the match with her hands tied together was fantastic, and adding Bayley to the finish was always going to make sense.
Bayley turning down Lynch's offer to join her, only to accidentally hit Valkyria and cost her a chance to compete for the Women's Intercontinental Championship while Lynch is champion makes the path forward here intriguing. A Bayley victory over Lynch at some in the near future could make Sunday's trilogy stipulation pointless. We'll have to see how this one plays out and where Valkyria goes after a stellar rivalry with Lynch.
5. Solo Sikoa needs to find his fight
There was a moment when Solo Sikoa seemed like one of the baddest dudes in WWE. He was the muscle for Roman Reigns, the reason guys like Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre weren't able to overcome the Bloodline, and seemed well-positioned to take a giant leap forward as his family continued to make their presence felt. While his relationship with Reigns devolved as recently as last year, he was nonetheless wrestling Rhodes and Reigns in a tag-team main event of a PLE, and subsequently challenging Reigns on the "Monday Night Raw" Netflix debut in Tribal Combat.
There's no question that Jacob Fatu is a future world champion and is being groomed as such. But the reliance Sikoa has on the MFT, and to see how far he's fallen from a legitimate challenger for the world title is difficult to see. He retained the United States Championship in a way that made him feel like Shawn Michaels needing the help of Diesel to cling to his title — in other words, not a serious threat to WWE's fastest-rising star. Hopefully that positioning changes as their rivalry evolves.
Other thoughts:
- Montez Ford continues to operate like a major star, with charisma, the look and the in-ring ability that should mean more runway as a singles wrestler. There's nothing wrong with him continuing to see success as a member of the Street Profits, but I would love to see more opportunities for a guy who's oozing intensity.
- Dominik Mysterio and AJ Styles delivered as a breather in the middle of a card stacked with end-to-end energy. There were fantastic callbacks to Eddie Guerrero, from Styles paying homage with his entrance and gear, the duo trading fake chair shots, and Mysterio ending Styles night with a boot to the head. Mysterio remains a bright spot anywhere he's positioned and has flexed across the roster in a way his father made a career. The future remains bright for Mysterio.
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