WWE Summerslam 2025: Night 2

The first night of 2025's second biggest event of the year had been a fairly mixed bag, but was topped off by a tremendous main event and show-closing segment, which certainly sent me home happy, so-to-speak. Night two, in my opinion, had a lot more potential, and had a stronger card, talent-wise. I was pretty excited to see which match, or matches, would stand out the most. There were so many high stakes and potentially great matches on tonight's match card - if done right, this could be the event of the year.

In the position of night two opener was arguably a contender for possible match of the night; the Women's World Championship triple-threat match between defending champion Naomi, former champion Iyo Sky, and Rhea Ripley. These ladies started out like a house on fire, which is to say, they were tearing it down and then some. It has become well-known that Ripley and Sky have a special in-ring chemistry, but the added fire of Naomi made for even more excitement. This was a really good way to start a major premium live event, and all three women deserve their flowers for how well it turned out. I liked the match finish, not only because it protected all three competitors, but because it furthered an ongoing storyline between two of them.

Following that excellent opener would be no easy feat, but having a 'TLC' match for the WWE Tag Team Championships was a great way to try and do just that. The match had a whopping six teams and twelve wrestlers involved, which meant one thing was guaranteed: chaos. The wrestlers and weapons went flying around the ring with reckless abandon, producing some hugely entertaining moments, and all at break-neck pace. If there was to be one complaint, it would be that there was almost too much outside interference, which took away slightly from the rest of the action. With that said, everyone involved in the match put their bodies on the line and then some for the sake of entertainment, and it certainly paid off, for the most part. I wouldn't have minded anyone winning, so the result didn't bother me in the slightest - it was all about the fun factor at the end of the day.

Next up was the fiercely contested blow-off match for the Women's Intercontinental Championship between champion Becky Lynch and the growing force of Lyra Valkyria. I have been loving this rivalry over the last few months, and couldn't wait to watch this final encounter take place on such a large stage. There were a couple of slight botches, but nothing too major, the vast majority of the match was intense, physical and viscous, in the best ways. The crowd were awful, and seemed to be more interested in something happening elsewhere in the stadium, which was extremely disrespectful and disappointing for the two women giving it their all for the fans who were actually invested. The women utilised the weapons to great effect, particularly Valkyria, who was so creative. The only aspect of the match that I didn't really enjoy was the finish, albeit it should hopefully lead to a fascinating storyline leading forwards.

Marking the midpoint of the card was the steel cage match for the United States Championship, being defended by Solo Sikoa against former Bloodline comrade Jacob Fatu. This actually ended up being a lot more entertaining than perhaps I expected. Solo's character work has improved so much since he has set out to be his own man, and, despite only surfacing at small points in the match, it really helped his in-ring presence. The inevitable outside-the-cage shenanigans were fine, if a little unnecessary - I thought the match was doing well without it. The finish worked for the two characters though, and the post-match skirmish made for a very cool moment.

It was then time for the Intercontinental Championship match between Dominic Mysterio and AJ Styles. The rivalry coming into this match has been pretty silly, but I can't deny I've enjoyed it. Mysterio has been growing so much as a performer, and seems to get better with each passing week. This was a classic Intercontinental style match, with lots of smooth technical sequences and two modern workhorses, each in their own distinct way, doing what they do best. I loved the sprinklings of comedy strewn throughout the match - both men so clearly enjoyed it, and so did the crowd. The finish came a little bit out of nowhere, but it worked for the story that they were telling, and I was pretty happy with the result.

At last, it was time for the main event of Summerslam weekend; the Undisputed WWE Champion John Cena defending his title against 'The American Nightmare' Cody Rhodes, in a street fight. The stage was set, the crowd had finally woken up fully, and both men looked ready to deliver a top tier main event. It's safe to say that this one had a bit fight feel to it. I think the stipulation favoured this older and slower version of Cena quite nicely because it was less about speed and technique, and more about brutality and physicality. This was far better than the WrestleMania match from earlier in 2025, which was such a relief. Cena's shift in character since then helped a lot, as well as the aforementioned freedom provided by the 'street fight' rules, or rather their lack thereof. The crowd was firmly behind Cena, which was only a little bit unexpected, and I can honestly say I quite enjoyed it. This was the best John Cena match in years, and quite comfortably so. When the action went outside the ring, things only got better - it was a lot of fun watching Cena and Rhodes battle it out through the fans in attendance. The drama was WrestleMania levels of scale and abundance, and I absolutely loved it. Some of the kickouts were a bit absurd, but for one night only, I didn't care. This was awesome from start to finish, and a worthy end to the biggest Summerslam in history. There was a post-match event which I had mixed feelings on, but I get why WWE did it. It sets up one more huge match on the John Cena retirement tour and it'll do mega numbers for WWE.

Overall, I thought, similarly to the previous evening, this was a bit of an up and down card. Some of the undercard was a bit underwhelming, although the two women's matches were brilliant, in spite of a tepid and generally quite rubbish crowd. The main event was everything I had hoped for and more. It saw Cena provide one more 'Super Cena' classic, and further solidified and legitimised the new face of the company Cody Rhodes. It was the ideal main event, and a superb generational passing of the torch moment. One thing both nights have down absolutely exquisitely is the main events, each highlighting two legends of the previous era, while simultaneously lifting up two of today's biggest stars - as it should be.