Everything Triple H, WWE Got Right and Wrong During SummerSlam 2025 Weekend

If SummerSlam 2025 weekend was any indication, it's that even if there's a lack of long-term storytelling and the overall creative direction isn't what it once was, the company will continue to do big business and deliver memorable moments.

WWE had well over 100,000 seats filled for both nights of SummerSlam, which saw several championships change hands as well as other surprisingly retained. As the first-ever two-night installment, not enough was done to convince the masses that expanding the event was the right move.

The promotion finds itself in a precarious position in that fan feedback has never been more mixed. They remain on a hot streak in terms of attendance and mainstream exposure, but the booking has been questionable for the better part of the past year.

Night 1 of SummerSlam ended in exhilarating fashion with Seth Rollins stealing the World Heavyweight Championship from CM Punk and giving him yet another setback to battle back from, while Night 2 culminated with Cody Rhodes regaining the Undisputed WWE Championship followed by Brock Lesnar making a shocking return after a two-year hiatus.

Despite WWE's massive creative overhaul since Triple H took the reins three years ago, the company hasn't been immune to criticism. SummerSlam was no exception.

This was everything WWE got right and wrong during SummerSlam weekend.

Right: CM Punk's Championship Chase Turning Into WWE's Signature Storyline

While Cody Rhodes remains the undisputed face of WWE, CM Punk is gradually becoming Raw's main character.

His feud with Gunther over the World Heavyweight Championship was undoubtedly rushed, but the two produced one of the best bouts of the weekend and told a fantastic story with Punk valiantly fighting from underneath to clinch the title. Rollins then cashed in Money in the Bank to end his reign abruptly and unceremoniously.

The “ruse of the century,” as WWE coined it, served as the perfect setup for what should be a lengthy run on top for Rollins, but more importantly, it extends Punk's championship chase and makes it more intriguing than it already was.

At this stage of his career, it isn't imperative that Punk hold world title gold again. He's enough of an attraction on his own that his storylines don't need a championship at stake, but it will be a satisfying payoff when he is able to finally win one and have a meaningful reign with it.

Dragging out Punk vs. Rollins until WrestleMania 42 could be a difficult task considering how long they've already been at odds, but Rollins being the person Punk dethrones for the title would be a fitting conclusion to their heated feud.

Wrong: Bron Breakker, Bronson Reed Can't Win When It Matters Most

Seth Rollins' new crew hasn't exactly taken off since the alliance got underway at WrestleMania, and it's not as if WWE is taking serious strides to get them back on track, either.

SummerSlam should have been an Empire Strikes Back-esque weekend for Rollins and company with Rollins winning the World Heavyweight Championship while Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed knocked off Roman Reigns and Jey Uso for the World Heavyweight Championship.

Reigns and Uso had nothing to gain from winning a match with nothing at stake at SummerSlam. Both are incredibly over in their respective roles and would be more interesting as characters if they were attempting to overcome actual adversity for a change.

Instead, the heels lost decisively at SummerSlam with Uso pinning Reed in clean fashion. Of course, they all stood tall at the end of Night 1 regardless, but Breakker and Reed still lack credibility as a duo. They can't be taken seriously if they're positioned as legitimate threats to the top of the card as opposed to serving as stepping stones for the more notable names.

Right: TNA, AAA Partnerships Usher In Era of Unpredictability

While WWE hasn't had the strongest record of working with other promotions in the past, it has so far proven to be extremely beneficial for TNA and AAA, specifically for exposure purposes and giving fans matches that otherwise wouldn't be possible.

SmackDown on Friday featured AAA's Mr. Iguana and Psycho Clown answer Los Garza's open challenge for the AAA World Tag Team Championship. On Night 2 of SummerSlam, The Dudley Boyz and The Hardy Boyz appeared in the crowd as WWE hyped their upcoming clash for TNA's Bound for Glory event in October.

What WWE's endgame is and whether both companies can continue to build momentum remain to be seen, but the short-term success they've seen from the collaborations has been surreal for fans that figured WWE would never open their own “forbidden door.”

Above all else, it sends the message that you never know who might show up from where and makes matters a little less predictable during a time when almost everything can be telegraphed in advance.

The crossover with the companies during a weekend as important as SummerSlam ensures that AAA and TNA will be well represented for the foreseeable future.

Wrong: Jade Cargill Fails to Win the WWE Women's Championship

Just when it looked like Jade Cargill was on the verge of becoming a singles champion for the first time in WWE, she was beaten both quickly and decisively by WWE Women's champion Tiffany Stratton at SummerSlam.

The match was fine while it lasted, but the abrupt ending hardly matters and did Cargill no favors. For someone that has been built up quite a bit since her WWE arrival a year ago, her latest loss has left her feeling like just another member of the roster will no clear direction going forward.

It's not unrealistic to assume that Cargill's in-ring skills may never reach a certain level, but if she can work well within her limitations, it won't be a major issue. It comes down to the booking and how she's presented, similar to her time in AEW where she was made out to be unstoppable and worthy of a prominent position on the card.

She hasn't clicked in that same way just yet in WWE, and a heel turn could be the turning point.

Stratton and Cargill are both natural heels, but of the two, Cargill could use the turn more. It would also set her up nicely for a future feud with Bianca Belair once she's ready to return from injury and put them on a collision course toward WrestleMania 42.

SummerSlam shouldn't and won't be the end of the line for Cargill, but it's all about the aftermath.

Right: Naomi Continues to Take Her Long-Deserved Victory Lap

Naomi's resurgence has been one of WWE's best feel-good stories of 2025.

Winning the Women's World Championship at Evolution was the ultimate reward for her exceptional heel work, and now embarking on a run as Raw's lead heel will afford her even more opportunities to show the world what she can do.

Retaining her title against two top talents in Rhea Ripley and Iyo Sky at SummerSlam was the next step of her ascent. The frantic pace of the match kept things exciting throughout and there was never a moment where she looked out of place while sharing the squared circle with either of them.

Even more special than the match itself was Naomi's father playing her to the ring during her entrance. It was yet another sign that WWE sees her as the star that she is and are steadfast on ensuring she succeeds in this role.

There's no reason to believe she'll be dropping the Women's World Championship anytime soon, nor should she. Ripley regaining the gold at Crown Jewel in her native Australia might be what WWE is building toward, making it all the more crucial that Naomi maximize her time as champion while she can.

Wrong: Two-Night Expansion Proves to Be Too Much

Expanding WrestleMania to two nights in 2020 was always a risk, but it was such a refreshing change from the overly-packed one-night WrestleMania events that ended well after midnight on the east coast.

Keeping the two-night format has allowed them to not allow more stars to make the card but also give the matches more time and, most importantly to WWE, sell more stadium seats for both shows.

WrestleMania should have been the only exception with it being the biggest event of the year and a lot of time being spent on entrances, video packages and other WrestleMania-related moments. SummerSlam doesn't quite hit the same.

SummerSlam has been rather hit or miss for the last decade or two, but putting more matches on the card and spreading it out over two nights certainly didn't make it feel more special. Fans in attendance treated it as business as usual and the crowd energy also suffered significantly due to poor pacing issues and strange match placement.

Next year's installment has already been announced as being two nights long, so the formula is here to stay for now. It creates a slippery slope for other premium live events that have less of a reason to be two nights than SummerSlam. There's a happy medium between two nights of an event and then an event that only has five matches.

Right: Night 2 Outshines Night 1

In what should come as little of a surprise to anyone that saw both nights of SummerSlam 2025 on paper, Night 2 overshadowed Night 1 with ease.

Much like WrestleMania 41, Night 1 was solid on the whole albeit unspectacular, and also much like at WrestleMania, the show was saved by an above-average main event and a pair of huge title changes to close.

WWE made the mistake of loading too many hardcore matches onto the Night 2 card, making some less effective or impactful than others. All in all, however, Night 2 boasted some strong matches, including a WrestleMania rematch that was far superior to the original in the main-event.

The Brock Lesnar return was a shock, but the Seth Rollins Money in the Bank cash-in was far better executed. Both nights had their fair share of highlights, but Night 2 won out with better in-ring action and stronger storytelling.

Some matches, such as Solo Sikoa vs. Jacob Fatu and Tiffany Stratton vs. Jade Cargill, would have worked better as attractions on television, but that's the issue WWE will continue to run into if SummerSlam stays two nights. More great matches are featured, but there are bound to be some not-as-stellar ones on both nights as well.

Wrong: Cage Match Latest in Line of Lackluster Interference Finishes

Excessive interference has hampered plenty of pay-per-view main-events for WWE in 2025 and during the Triple H era of the company in general. While that wasn't the case with either the Night 1 or Night 2 main-events of SummerSlam, it did ruin what could have been a quality cage match between Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu.

What should have been the blow-off between the former Bloodline members instead turned into a mess of a match with members of Sikoa's stable getting involved and attempting to find off Jimmy Uso. Fatu failing to beat the numbers game and coming up short of capturing the United States Championship made for an extremely flat finish.

That could have been an acceptable ending had it happened on SmackDown, but it didn't work as well on the SummerSlam stage and was a poor way to wrap up the rivalry, assuming that was indeed the end of the road for them.

Fatu will have no issue bouncing back and he should be main-event bound before long, but WWE's overreliance on interference finishes so the talent can be protected from suffering a decisive loss has grown tiresome and doesn't have the desired effect.

Right: WWE Stays the Course with Cody Rhodes as a Babyface

Before Brock Lesnar's big return, the belief among fans heading into Night 2 of SummerSlam was that Cody Rhodes may have finally been possible, especially after Cena seemingly turned back babyface on SmackDown two days prior.

There were teases throughout their Street Fight of Rhodes getting more aggressive than usual, but that was the story that WWE has been telling with the two since Elimination Chamber, not necessarily a heel turn. His babyface status was cemented afterward when Cena endorsed him and they shared an emotional embrace.

When the day comes, Rhodes will inevitably be a brilliant heel and be as comfortable in the role as he has been in the past. With the way he's been positioned as WWE's franchise player, it would be premature for him to turn now.

Furthermore, WWE has no one to replace him as the top babyface at the moment. It would have been a swerve for the sake of a swerve with no real long-term forethought put into it.

The crowd boos for Rhodes were undeniable before the bell ring on Sunday, but he managed to win them back after everything he and Cena endured. The boos will grow louder, and by then a heel turn might make more sense, but now was not the time and WWE thankfully realized that.

Wrong: WWE Doesn't Need Brock Lesnar

The final few minutes of SummerSlam Night 2 were clouded in controversy with Brock Lesnar shockingly returning to lay out John Cena following his loss of the Undisputed WWE Championship to Cody Rhodes.

Lesnar's last two returns to WWE also involved him targeting and attacking Cena in 2012 and 2021, respectively. The renewal of their rivalry all but guarantees that they'll have at least one more match together before Cena calls it a career, presumably at Crown Jewel in Australia this October.

It can be argued that Lesnar's return isn't worth the negative publicity the company has already begun to receive, but even from an on-air product standpoint, The Beast is not needed in any capacity at the moment.

Running back Cena vs. Lesnar one last time is acceptable, but it's also counterproductive for Cena to be working with no one but old rivals for the entirety of his retirement tour. It's made for some standout moments, but it hasn't helped elevate anyone to the next level.

If anything, his rivalry with Rhodes did damage to The American Nightmare's standing with the fans that he has yet to fully recover from. Cena should be wrestling the talent of tomorrow instead of settling for the same Superstars he's been sharing the ring with for years.

Lesnar is obviously a massive name for WWE to have on its roster, but by no means has the roster depth reached such a point where bringing him back was a must.

Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant, and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content.