WWE SummerSlam 2026: 12 Things That NEED To Happen

Another SummerSlam is upon us, but you're likely sitting there thinking: 'Hey, most of these matches don't feel worthy'. You'd be right, but there's always the potential for greatness thanks to WWE's roster and the sheer wealth of talent on show. Even so, build for some of the bouts has been wonky, and even Monday's 'go home' episode of Raw felt phoned in at times.

So, what needs to happen in Minneapolis this weekend? A lot, basically. Triple H doesn't exactly need a Hail Mary, but he does need the product to start purring again lest the final 4 months of 2026 turn into a disaster 2027 can't recover from. Things change quickly in the world of wrestling, at least - today's nightmare can become a distant memory within weeks.

That's just how it is.

WWE must book title changes (one is guaranteed on an interim basis due to Rhea Ripley's injury), they must bring the curtain down on The Shield chapter once and for all, and the company simply must come through for top acts like Oba Femi, Gunther and more. Also, how about an overdue heel turn to shake things up at the top of the card?

Here's absolutely everything that needs to happen across all 12 matches inside the U.S. Bank Stadium on Saturday and Sunday. New contenders crowned, a poster boy in waiting overcoming hell, mercifully short gimmick bouts, and someone special dispensing with the smoke and mirrors to become SmackDown's top villain.

Feel the heat! Highway to hell! Hart and soul! You'll never see it coming etc etc.

...Dominik Mysterio wins it.

Listen, Danhausen is great, but there's no point in denying how brutally bad his segment on Monday's episode of Raw turned out to be. In some respects, it was even worse than his hellish debut back at Elimination Chamber in February. No amount of "human monies" can buy guaranteed crowd pops or interest, unfortunately.

Sunday's match between the face painted curiosity and 'Dirty Dom' has been turned into a 'Human Monies On A Pole' affair. Apparently, Triple H has decided to start saying "bro" a lot, carry a baseball bat around the place whilst wearing various New York sports jerseys, and he has become 2026's equivalent of Vince Russo. This is so WCW in 2000 it hurts.

Obviously, Danhausen and Dominik are talented enough to offset the nonsense and turn in a fun performance, but they're definitely up against it. The best bet here would be making sure that 'Human Monies On A Pole' is shorter than some of the Minihausens that regularly accompany their leader. There's really no need for this to go 15-20 minutes, put it that way.

Danhausen is best received in short bursts, and it really isn't his in-ring work that has endeared him to the WWE audience over WrestleMania season and beyond anyway. It's character work. Keeping this on the shorter side, and tossing Mysterio a much-needed bone would be the best case scenario for all involved.

Dominik really has to get back in the mix properly or he'll turn into a 'what might've been' story for Hunter.