Alex MacQuoid
SummerSlam 2026 is over. Three championships changed hands on Night Two, compared with none on Night One. All three changes came outside the two men’s world title matches, both of which ended with the champion retaining.
Our predictions went three from six on Sunday and eight from twelve across the weekend. Of the three picks we made against the betting favourite, one landed.
Night Two At A Glance
| # | Result | Odds on our pick | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kevin Owens def. Finn Balor, Sami Zayn & Gunther — No. 1 Contender’s Fatal 4-Way | 2.20 | ✘ Balor |
| 2 | Baron Corbin def. Trick Williams (c) — United States Championship | 3.25 | ✔ Corbin |
| 3 | Danhausen def. Dominik Mysterio — Human Monies on a Pole | 3.25 | ✘ Mysterio |
| 4 | Chelsea Green def. Flair, Cargill, Stratton & Legend — Interim Women’s Championship | n/p | ✘ Legend |
| 5 | Chad Gable def. Penta (c) — Intercontinental Championship | 1.14 | ✔ Gable |
| 6 | Roman Reigns (c) def. Seth Rollins — World Heavyweight Championship | 1.14 | ✔ Reigns |
Odds shown are the pre-show Sky Bet price on the selection we made, converted to decimal. The contender’s match was priced as a Balor-Zayn singles bout before Gunther and Owens were added, so that line no longer described the match that took place. No price was available for the ladder match.
Kevin Owens def. Finn Balor, Sami Zayn and Gunther
We picked: Finn Balor (2.20). Result: wrong, and the match itself was rewritten before the bell.
Nick Aldis opened the show by adding Gunther to the contender’s match, a night after Gunther had beaten him. Gunther walked out and offered Aldis a handshake, which Aldis accepted with a smile — a clean close to Saturday’s story, with no rematch and no grudge. Then Kevin Owens came out fourth, back after 17 months, and won it by pinning Sami Zayn.
Zayn’s reaction carried more than the match did. He complained through Gunther’s entrance the way he complains at everything; when Owens’ music hit he stood and stared. That is the thread worth following, and it requires no turn from either man.
The problem was the clock. Four performers of that calibre were given under ten minutes, because the point of the segment was the surprise rather than the wrestling. Owens leaves with a title shot on the night he returned, which is the most efficient possible use of a comeback and the least satisfying possible use of the other three.
Baron Corbin def. Trick Williams — United States Championship
We picked: Baron Corbin (3.25). Result: correct, and our only successful fade of the weekend.
Lil Yachty introduced Williams to the ring and then cost him the match. Corbin took hold of the championship, Yachty tried to pull it away from him, and in the struggle Yachty went through a table. Williams and the referee both turned to look. Corbin hit him with the same belt and pinned him.
This was the one pick where we went against both the market and the direction suggested by pre-show reporting. The argument was that the United States Championship had stopped doing anything for Williams, who had already been given a segment aiming himself at CM Punk, and that losing it frees him rather than damages him. The finish protects that: he was not beaten so much as distracted by what happened to Yachty, then hit with a belt.
Danhausen def. Dominik Mysterio — Human Monies on a Pole
We picked: Dominik Mysterio (3.25). Result: wrong.
Both the market and the booking went the other way. Danhausen was a 1.25 favourite and won, keeping the $100,000.
Mysterio goes back to AAA business with nothing gained from the weekend. Danhausen’s win streak on the main roster continues.
Chelsea Green def. Flair, Cargill, Stratton and Legend — Interim Women’s Championship
We picked: Lash Legend. Result: wrong, and very few had this one.
Green was the only competitor not seriously backed by the available reporting, and no usable market price existed. Charlotte Flair and Jade Cargill were the widely expected winners; we went to Legend as the one heel in the field. Green won it by shoving Stratton off the ladder — her own ally — and got the biggest reaction of the night for it.
Green is the most consistently entertaining performer in the division and the crowd reaction reflected it. She now holds the interim title and waits on Rhea Ripley for the unification match.
Chad Gable def. Penta — Intercontinental Championship
We picked: Chad Gable (1.14). Result: correct, and the easiest call of the weekend.
The shortest price on the Sunday card. Gable wins his first singles championship in WWE, in his home state, closing the loop that began when his obsession with this title turned him heel, sent him to lucha libre and eventually to the El Grande Americano run that rebuilt him.
Penta loses nothing he needs. He has held the belt long enough that it had stopped moving him anywhere, and a reunion with his brother is available whenever WWE wants it.
Roman Reigns def. Seth Rollins — World Heavyweight Championship
We picked: Roman Reigns (1.14). Result: correct.
The best match of the night and the least surprising result on the card. Long stretches of talking between exchanges, two men trading finishers and then trading each other’s — Rollins took the spear, Reigns used the stomp — along with moves belonging to Dean Ambrose, two tables broken off powerbombs, and a fist bump at the finish in the old Shield formation.
Reigns retaining was always the outcome most likely to set up a future match with Oba Femi. Femi gave up his King of the Ring title shot in exchange for the Lesnar match on this show, so he holds no automatic claim — but he does not need one. He can walk out on Raw and name Reigns, and that is the match.
The Weekend In Total
Twelve matches across two nights. Three title changes, none of them a world championship. The Bella Twins turned on Paige on Saturday, and no other alignment changed across the weekend.
Randy Orton returned on Night One for a five-second attack on Cody Rhodes. Kevin Owens returned on Night Two and left with a shot at CM Punk. Chelsea Green and Chad Gable won the two titles that drew the loudest reactions of the Sunday card. Always gamble responsibly.