5 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE SummerSlam 2025 - Saturday (Results & Review)

by Scott Carlson

1. Best In The World X 2

WWE SummerSlam 2025 Gunther CM Punk
WWE

Wow. Just, wow.

In recent months, the chatter about CM Punk has circled around whether he still has enough in the tank to deliver a classic. Saturday night, Punk and Gunther took a half-hour to dispel any notions and leave fans breathless with a simple, yet suspenseful, World Heavyweight Championship match that eschewed ga-ga in favor of rising, methodical, physical drama.

Gunther clearly had the upper hand throughout, battering Punk with chops, boots, and a few slams, suplexes, and powerbombs mixed in, but Punk would not stay down. Punk masterfully timed his brief comebacks, staying in the fight and peppering Gunther with punches and chops while targeting the champ’s arm.

Punk would mount a sustained comeback with a leg lariat and a neckbreaker, but Gunther turned a rising knee into a powerbomb to snuff out that rally. The two countered submissions, but Gunther finally looked to put Punk away with two powerbombs and a ragdoll toss into the post.

However, the Ring General’s arrogance would be his downfall, as he celebrated on the Spanish announce desk and Punk tripped him, bloodying the champion. From there, it was all downhill for Gunther, as Punk saw red (literally) and charged ahead with a flurry, finally putting him down with two GTSs for the win and the World Heavyweight Championship.

Wonderful, masterful stuff. Possibly the best WWE match this year, with the Women’s World Championship triple threat at WrestleMania 41 being the obvious competition.

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Contributor
Contributor

Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.