SummerSlam is the biggest party of WWE’s summer, and we have now found out who the real Tribal Chief is.
Eight matches took place inside Ford Field, home of the Detroit Lions, Saturday, headlined by the long awaited “Tribal Combat” between Roman Reigns and Jey Uso for not only the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship, but to be officially recognized as the Tribal Chief of The Bloodline in an epic showdown.
Three other titles were also on the line, and one of them changed hands, but not in a way that was expected. Cody Rhodes and Brock Lesnar also concluded their months-long rivalry with a surprise ending.
Here are the results and top highlights from SummerSlam 2023:
Who is the real Tribal Chief?
The intensity was high from the moment Reigns and Uso entered the ring, and there was never a dull moment in the match. Kendo sticks and steel chairs were a popular weapon for this one, and there were several moments where each star unleashed their finishing moves, only for the other to kick out.
Reigns got cut open on his left arm after a Samoan drop on a table and leather strap hit, and when things went into the crowd, Solo Sikoa came to the aid of Reigns to attack his brother and launch him on a table. Sikoa and Reigns looked poised for a lethal spike and spear, but Uso moved out of the way and Reigns ended up spearing Sikoa. Uso got up and speared Reigns for the pin, but the champion kicked out.
Uso got Sikoa out of the picture and was about to pin Reigns for the win, but he was pulled off by a masked man, none other than his twin, Jimmy Uso.
Jimmy Uso then delivered a superkick to Jey Uso before leaving the ring, and Reigns capitalized with a spear through the table to get the pin, and retain his status as champion and Tribal Chief.
Three of the best women on the WWE roster going at it, but a couple of misses in this match and it fell a little bit below expectations, but what a finish it had.
There wasn’t much of a flow throughout the match, but there were some good moments with each star executing some signature moves to get the upperhand. It got scary when Belair appeared to suffer a legit knee injury and it got worse when she landed on the steel steps, taking her briefly out of the match and basically making it a one-on-one title fight between Asuka and Flair.
Yet Belair came back and landed a 450 on Flair, but couldn’t get the pinfall. Flair got a figure eight on Belair and was close to winning before Asuka used her blue spit on her. Belair then got a rollup to a pinfall to win the title back.
Bayley called it.
Bayley said a title was on the way for Iyo Sky, and with an injured Belair, Damage CTRL came out and Sky used the briefcase to hit Belair. She cashed in her contract, landed her over-the-moonsault, and got the pin to win her first WWE Women’s Championship.
One year ago, Damage CTRL emerged onto the scene, and one year later, they are now on top of the WWE women’s division.
This has become one of the best rivalries in recent years, and once again, Rollins and Bálor put on another banger.
There were several callbacks to their matchup seven years ago, including Bálor using the same move Rollins did against the outside wall that caused Bálor to relinquish his title in that memorable match.
Things got interesting when men’s Money in the Bank winner Damian Priest came out to tease a possible cash-in. Priest even got a cheap shot in, but Rollins barely kicked out. Then The Judgment Day fellow members Rhea Ripley and Dominik Mysterio came out. Bálor got distracted with Priest and Rollins landed a curb stomp, but Bálor kicked out. Bálor landed a coup de grace after Rollins focused on Priest and Mysterio, and Rollins too kicked out.
But Priest once again cost Bálor; he distracted the referee while Rollins used the briefcase to convert the curb stomp to retain, while the cracks within The Judgment Day continue to get bigger.
This promised to be one of the most technical matches of the night, and it lived up to the hype.
Gunther and McIntyre traded chops, blows and powerbombs in a dazzling display, and McIntyre looked poised to end the title reign of “The Ring General” after a claymore kick, but Gunther was able to kick out. With both stars on the top rope, Gunther got McIntyre caught on the top rope, and capitalized on it with a frog splash, clothesline and powerbomb combination to pin McIntyre, and continue his path towards the longest reigning Intercontinental champion ever.
It seems sort of odd to see a MMA rules match take place in a WWE ring, but it made sense considering each star’s MMA background. It had a good flow to start off, including a flying knee from Rousey, but the referee called the trainers for Baszler. Rousey got upset and threw the trainers out, but Baszler got the time needed to get back up.
The two exchanged submission moves in hopes one of them would tap out, but Baszler got Rousey to pass out via submission to get the win over her ex-friend.
Everyone got hyped for LA Knight and Omos made his return to the ring to display his dominant power over several stars, but there weren’t many exciting moments in this match until Omos was finally eliminated.
The final three were AJ Styles, Sheamus and LA Knight, but Styles was eliminated with some help from Karrion Cross. LA Knight was then able to get Sheamus out of the ring to win the battle royal, much to the pleasure of fans, who have been craving for the star to get a push.
This match had a main event feel to it, even bigger than the two previous meetings between the two. Rhodes got the action started before the bell even rang, and it was high intensity from the start with Lesnar throwing around Rhodes and Rhodes countering with some signature moves of his own.
Lesnar then took complete control, taking Rhodes to suplex city multiple times and hit an F5 outside of the ring before another F5 on the announcer’s table. But each time, Rhodes got back into the ring to avoid the count out. “The American Nightmare” finally got on the offensive, and executed a Cody cutter from the top rope, but Lesnar kicked out.
But in the end, Rhodes was able to land three straight Cross Rhodes on Lesnar, and in straight fashion, pinned Lesnar for his second win against “The Beast Incarnate.” The surprise came after the match in something you thought you’d never see: Lesnar shook the hand of Rhodes in a sign of respect, hugged him and held his arm in the air as the victor, something every WWE loved to see.
In what was dubbed as the “most viral match” for WWE, Logan Paul once again proved how good of a heel he is. Paul started the match in control, all while egging on the crowd to continue booing him. Anytime Ricochet looked to get some sort of momentum, Paul was quick to gain control right back, showing off some power that hasn’t been seen much in his time with the company.
After finally getting in control, Richocet performed a fantastic hurricane neckbreaker, and it was stunning displays of athleticism for the rest of the match from both stars.
What was a great match ended in a dud, as Paul got some brass knuckles from one of his friends. Paul was able to connect with a punch to knock out Ricochet, get the pin and most of all, have Samantha Irvin − Ricochet’s fiancée − announce him as the victor.
When is SummerSlam 2023?
SummerSlam is Saturday, Aug. 5 at 8 p.m. ET.
How to watch SummerSlam 2023
The event can be streamed on Peacock, but you must have their premium or premium-plus subscription to watch. Internationally, it will be available on WWE Network.
- Tribal Combat for Undisputed WWE Universal Championship: Roman Reigns (c) vs. Jey Uso
- WWE World Heavyweight Championship match: Seth Rollins (c) vs. Finn Bálor
- WWE Women’s Championship triple threat match: Asuka (c) vs. Bianca Belair vs. Charlotte Flair
- Intercontinental Championship match: Gunther (c) vs. Drew McIntyre
- Cody Rhodes vs. Brock Lesnar
- Ricochet vs. Logan Paul
- MMA Rules match: Ronda Rousey vs. Shayna Baszler
- SummerSlam Battle Royal
- Tribal Combat for Undisputed WWE Universal Championship: Roman Reigns defeats Jey Uso.
- WWE World Heavyweight Championship match: Seth Rollins defeats Finn Bálor.
- WWE Women’s Championship triple threat match: Asuka wins.
- Intercontinental Championship match: Drew McIntyre wins.
- Brock Lesnar defeats Cody Rhodes.
- Logan Paul defeats Ricochet.
- MMA Rules match: Ronda Rousey defeats Shayna Baszler.
- SummerSlam Battle Royal: AJ Styles wins.
“The American Nightmare” hasn’t had a shot at the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship since WrestleMania 39, and with a matchup Saturday against Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam, he said he really doesn’t know when he’ll make another push for the title.
It’s the third meeting between Rhodes and Lesnar, with Rhodes winning at Backlash in May and Lesnar winning at Night of Champions weeks later. Beating someone like Lesnar twice puts you in a position where a title shot is the next thing on your mind, Rhodes said.
But it’s easier said than done. Despite their personal feud, Rhodes had high praise for his current rival.
“I think time as it moves on will recognize and realize how dang special Brock Lesnar is in a ring,” Rhodes told USA TODAY Sports. “How special, how almost underplayed it is, the level of expertise that he has in this world.”
Read Anthony Gharib’s feature on Rhodes here.
If there’s one person that isn’t hyped for SummerSlam, it’s Becky Lynch.
Lynch had made it clear to USA TODAY Sports she wanted Trish Stratus at the pay-per-view, and it was looking like the match was going to happen, but it ultimately didn’t make the match card. “The Man” referred to her being left out of SummerSlam in an Instagram post Saturday.
“Making lemonade with all these lemons I’ve been given. What’s everyone else up to this weekend?!” she said.
