The WWE’s annual “biggest party of the summer”, SummerSlam, could go the way of WrestleMania by becoming a full weekend event.
WWE’s SummerSlam event was full of surprises, with betrayal and returns that made for just the sort of dynamic storying that has been in full effect ever since Vince McMahon was forced out. Even though there were only seven matches, the event was stacked to say the least. So, could the WWE expand SummerSlam into a two-night event like they did with WrestleMania? Current CCO Paul “Triple H” Levesque thinks it’s possible. Now, we just have one question for the WWE Universe: Are…You…Ready???
As Triple H said during a post-SummerSlam press conference, he can see not only the demand for a two-night event but also the necessity. “Who knows what the future brings? But I do think that, even tonight, seeing this SummerSlam seven-match card goes almost four hours, and yet there was a lot of stuff we could have put into this. Some people say, ‘Well, why wasn’t that in there?’ Well, because it would have been eight hours, and you still need stuff for Raw, you still need content for SmackDown. You still need all that stuff. As we continue to grow, we’ll take it step by step. So is this is the last SummerSlam that you see that is one night? I think so, but we’ll see where that goes long-term. I’m excited about that opportunity.”
Like WrestleMania, SummerSlam is one of the “big four” in WWE live events, alongside with January’s Royal Rumble and November’s Survivor Series. Personally, I think if any could work as a two-night event it would be Royal Rumble, especially since there have been two rumbles — a men’s and a women’s — since 2018, those matches alone taking up around two hours of airtime. Then again, with that being so close to April’s WrestleMania, which went to the two-night format in 2020. As such, perhaps SummerSlam — historically held in August — might be the best of the lot to expand the format for.
This past weekend’s SummerSlam had a number of notable matches and happenings, with Dominik Mysterio turning on Rhea Ripley, CM Punk back to in-ring action and the return of Roman Reigns, who had been on hiatus since WrestleMania XL.
Do you think SummerSlam is worthy of two nights or should it be kept at one? Lay the smackdown on us in the comments section below!