WWE SummerSlam 2026: 10 Nightmares That Could Come True
2. Both Main Events Sag
The build for both that WWE Title confrontation between CM Punk and Cody Rhodes as well as the World Title clash pitting Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins feels samey. Both were friends at one point, but they've splintered and now want to find out who the better man is. It's simple storytelling, but it's led to some truly dull face to face promos on television as everyone repeats the same stuff.
Roman wants to shut Seth up once and for all, whereas Rollins has always thought he's the superior wrestler. Cody wants to step out from the shadow Punk created with his "pipebomb" in 2011, whereas CM reckons he's the best in the world and wants to prove it. Blah, blah, blah, blah. These stories aren't horrible, but they're not inspiring heading into a PLE as monumental as SummerSlam either.
Both top title matches will likely build slowly towards thumping crescendos, but that might not be enough to keep everyone captivated. So, say Punk vs. Cody is 30 mins and Roman vs. Seth is 30 - they could wind up looking almost identical, and that doesn't sound very fun. It may have been better had WWE planted a stipulation onto one of them, in retrospect.
Some may view this as nitpicking, and it is, but it comes from a place of wanting WWE's top feuds to be dramatic and enticing. Instead, much of the build (aside from Cody vs. Punk at the SummerSlam Kickoff/SNME) has felt tepid or like it's still to get going days out from the matches happening.
Hmm.