As WWE has brought fans back to arenas in recent months, battling back from a lengthy stint of the virtual fan experience in the ThunderDome, Saturday night's SummerSlam from Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas represents the moment where WWE finally hosts a major event in front of a packed stadium. WWE is taking some big swings in an attempt to put together a card big enough to match the moment.
These big events can draw back lapsed fans or just those curious and looking for a good way to kill time. With that in mind, we've put together a primer to break down everything you need to know about the 10 matches currently booked for SummerSlam, from returning legends challenging for world titles to evil dolls and attempted murder by sword.
Let's take a look at what is planned for WWE's summer spectacular.
Blasts from the past in title matches
Lapsed WWE fans don't have much to worry about in terms of learning new names and faces since there isn't exactly a youth movement happening in the WWE locker room. In fact, the average age of men on the SummerSlam card is 38, with only two male wrestlers on the card under 35. Three of the biggest matches on the card feature big names from wrestling's past, including both world title matches as well as Edge continuing his unlikely return from retirement when he faces Seth Rollins.
Bill Goldberg steps back into the ring at 54 years old to take on 45-year-old Bobby Lashley in a match for Lashley's WWE championship. Lashley is having the best year of his career, living up to the hype that came with his WWE debut in 2005 before fizzling out and again failing to get off the ground at the start of his second stint with the company in 2018. Goldberg, on the other hand, is far past his prime. He has only wrestled more than five minutes in a singles match once since returning from retirement in 2016 and that match was an eight-minute disaster against The Undertaker that stands out as one of the worst matches in modern WWE history.
On the SmackDown side of things, John Cena returns at 44 to take on Roman Reigns. Cena is coming off a pair of big movie releases over the summer, starring in both the new "Fast and Furious" movie as well as "The Suicide Squad." The 16-time world champion has been getting in plenty of work since returning to confront Reigns at Money in the Bank, working in several non-televised matches, likely to get his timing down in the ring before he takes on Reigns, who has been on a year-long tear since turning heel and finally getting the mainstream acceptance he was denied as WWE spent years pushing him as the ultimate good guy.
An almost superhero and super talent defend their women's titles
Both women's championships will be on the line at SummerSlam, with Nikki A.S.H. (Nikki Cross) defending the Raw title in a triple threat match against Charlotte Flair and Rhea Ripley, as well as a WrestleMania rematch between SmackDown champion Bianca Belair and Sasha Banks.
The A.S.H. stands for "Almost a Superhero," as Cross now wears a superhero outfit, complete with mask. While the decision to run with this new character seemed unlikely to produce a meaningful run for the wonderfully talented Cross, WWE ran with it in a big way. Cross won Money in the Bank before cashing in the next night to pin Flair and win the title after Flair's match with Ripley on Raw. Even as champion, Cross has felt like something of a third wheel in Ripley and Flair's rivalry, which was failing to catch on despite the skills of both women.
Belair and Banks put on one of the best matches of WrestleMania weekend, with Belair picking up the win and the title in the main event of Night One. Banks subsequently disappeared from WWE television for months before making a surprise return to save Belair from an attack by Carmella and Zelina Vega. Banks had not truly changed her ways, however, and attacked Belair later in the night to set up the SummerSlam rematch. It seems likely that the duo will steal the show once again on Saturday night.
The rest of the card
Edge vs. Seth Rollins: As mentioned earlier, Edge is a year into his return from multiple neck surgeries and what seemed to be the end of his career in 2011. Rollins cost Edge the universal title at Money in the Bank, twice interfering in his match with Reigns. Rollins claims that he's the rightful next challenger to the title and if he can't have the belt, neither can Edge. Edge, meanwhile, claims that Rollins is just "Edge-lite."
Raw Tag Team Championship -- AJ Styles & Omos (c) vs. Randy Orton & Riddle: Styles continues to be one of the most entertaining wrestlers in the world, now teaming with the towering Omos, who stands 7-foot-3. Orton and Riddle are an odd couple pairing, with Riddle's bro vibes playing off Orton's overly serious demeanor to great results.
SmackDown Tag Team Championship -- The Usos (c) vs. Rey & Dominik Mysterio: The Mysterios were the first father and son tag team champions in WWE history. Dominik was first on SummerSlam in 2005 as part of a storyline between his father and Eddie Guerrero, with Rey and Guerrero battling for custody of Dominik. They are looking to regain the tag titles from The Usos, who won the belts from the Mysterios at Money in the Bank, adding more gold to their family alongside Reigns.
United States Championship -- Sheamus (c) vs. Damian Priest: After teaming with Bad Bunny in a surprisingly good match at WrestleMania, Priest had been spinning his wheels. An opportunity for a featured match finally came about when Priest got tired of watching Sheamus bully other contenders and made it clear he wouldn't back down to the champion.
Alexa Bliss vs. Eva Marie: Bliss broke away from Bray Wyatt (who was recently released from his WWE contract) but picked up some sort of witch powers in the process. She now has a doll that winks and stands up on its own and does other cringe-inducing things. Eva Marie has used Doudrop (formerly Piper Nevin) to do her dirty work since returning to WWE but now is forced into singles action where the doll will do something and the crowd will groan.
Drew McIntyre vs. Jinder Mahal: McIntyre was due for a new rivalry after losing a match to Lashley with the stipulation that McIntyre could never again challenge Lashley for the WWE championship. Mahal stepped into the role, with McIntyre's former teammate also bringing in muscle in the form of giants Veer and Shanky. McIntyre has repeatedly threatened to murder Mahal, Veer and Shanky with his ancestral sword and won a handicap match on Raw that left Veer and Shanky banned from ringside at SummerSlam.
