WWE advertised Sasha Banks as Bianca Belair’s SummerSlam opponent right until the match was about to start. It was then announced that Banks couldn’t compete, and it was teased that Carmella would challenge for the SmackDown Women’s Championship. Instead, though, a returning Becky Lynch would surprisingly defeat Belair in under 30 seconds. While fans were delighted to see Lynch, many were unhappy with Belair being beaten so quickly and missed out on a WrestleMania rematch between Banks and Belair.

Rumors first started spreading last weekend about the status of the match when last weekend both Banks and Belair were pulled from live shows. At the time, it was described as unforeseen circumstances, and while Belair would return to the ring for Friday night’s SmackDown, defeating both Zelina Vega and Carmella, Banks was not even backstage.

Now Dave Meltzer has stated on his Wrestling Observer Radio show that WWE actually knew a week ago that Banks wouldn’t be able to wrestle. However, they felt it was acceptable to falsely advertise the match as in their mind, they were delivering something better.

Card subject to change is a well-known term, and when something happens out of the promoter’s control, fans usually understand. However, in this instance, WWE has taken this to a new level by promoting Banks vs. Belair on Smackdown, on social media, the pre-show, and the actual pay-per-view. However, they have a history of doing this previously, most recently promoting Roman Reigns vs. Goldberg at WrestleMania 36, when the event had already been taped, and Reigns had opted not to wrestle.

Bray Wyatt was set to return to WWE earlier this month to build up a match for SummerSlam but was surprisingly released just days after being medically cleared. Since then, fans have frequently been chanting “We Want Wyatt” to let WWE know they opposed the decision, and during the SummerSlam pre-show, one fan succeeded in getting a sign-on screen featuring Wyatt’s alter ego The Fiend in a Las Vegas Raiders logo.

Fans who were watching Big E vs. Baron Corbin would delight at the sign, with many pointing it out on social media. Wyatt himself, now going the name Windham even retweeted a screenshot to his followers. However, once the actual pay-per-view started, the sign was gone, with it now reported by those in attendance that WWE confiscated the sign from the mischievous fan.

While many people have called WWE petty, removing signs is nothing new for the company as they like to control everything that appears on television. In the past, fans wearing AEW shirts have been requested they turn them inside out, and during the ThunderDome era, there was a team whose responsibility was to monitor the screens. So the fact the sign actually made it to air for as long as it did was actually remarkable considering how strict WWE usually is with this type of behavior.

Nine months ago, it became known that the Bella Twins were planning on making an in-ring comeback, having previously retired due to a combination of injuries and desire to become mainstream stars off the success of their E! reality show Total Bellas. With them being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame earlier this year and Nikki being medically cleared to return, it was believed to be just a matter of time until they’d return. However, that appears to be in doubt after revealing on Instagram she was not permitted to attend SummerSlam.

It isn’t known why she wasn’t allowed to attend, despite previously announcing she was would be at the show. There has been speculation that it may be because her former fiancé John Cena competed in the main event. While both have moved on and are in new relations since their breakups, it’s possible someone considered it awkward having them together backstage.

Alternatively, it has been suggested it may be related to her vaccination status. Regardless of the reason, Nikki seemingly didn’t end up spending the evening alone, as Renee Paquette would invite her over to, and she’d promptly respond, “yes, please!!“

Becky Lynch had been gone from WWE television since announcing her pregnancy on Raw back in May 2020. In a heartfelt segment, she would relinquish the Raw Women’s Championship she had held for 398 days to Asuka and then disappeared from the spotlight to give birth to her and Seth Rollins’ baby daughter Roux on December 4, 2020. Since then, fans have been clamoring for her return, without much news. However, during SummerSlam, she triumphantly returned, defeating Bianca Belair in less than 30 seconds to become the SmackDown Women’s Champion.

Belair had been scheduled to defend her title against Sasha Banks, but WWE would announce just prior to the match that she was unable to compete. While WWE knew this up to eight days ago, they continued promoting the match, and initially, it appeared Carmella was set to be Belair’s opponent. However, Lynch’s music would play, and she instead faced Belair. Following the match, Lynch would speak to Kayla Braxton backstage and simply say, “The Man is back, and it feels good.“

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The belief was Lynch was set to return for WWE’s upcoming draft in October. However, with Banks missing for yet unconfirmed reasons, WWE opted to bring her back early. It is also possible that with AEW getting so much attention from the debut of CM Punk, WWE wanted to create their own buzz by having arguably the most popular women’s wrestler in company history make her return.

Following Roman Reign’s victory over John Cena at SummerSlam, Brock Lesnar would return to confront the Universal Champion. Lesnar and Reigns would have a staredown as Paul Heyman cowered in the corner, and the show would go off the air shortly after Reigns exited the ring, denying the fans a physical confrontation. However, once the show was off-air, Lesnar would give John Cena, who was still selling the effects of the match, two suplexes and an F5, as you can see below.

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This was Lesnar’s first WWE appearance since WrestleMania 36 when he put over Drew McIntyre in a short match in the main event of the second night. Since then, his contract expired, and it was not renewed with the belief that he was too costly during the ThunderDone era, with no fans in attendance. Now though, with fans having returned, WWE has clearly agreed to Lesnar’s financial demands. Based on his SummerSlam appearance, he appears set to resume working with Reigns. However, unlike previously, The Beast Incarnate will seemingly be the babyface in the program, with who Heyman ultimately sides with likely to play a significant part of the angle.

Sasha Banks returned to SmackDown at the end of July, attacking Bianca Belair to set up a match at tonight’s SummerSlam for the SmackDown Women’s Championship. The pair main event WrestleMania against each other back in April, and fans have been eagerly anticipating the rematch. However, according to PWInsider, Banks is not expected to be able to perform at the pay-per-view.

Last weekend, both Banks and Belair were puled from live shows taking place in Charlotte and Columbia due to unforeseen circumstances at the time. While Belair would return to the ring for Friday night’s SmackDown, defeating both Zelina Vega and Carmella, her SummerSlam opponent was not even backstage. Still, WWE has continued to promote the match as taking place, and as of writing, it is listed on WWE.com.

It’s doubtful WWE would have Belair not defend the championship on the show, meaning a replacement will be needed. The most obvious candidate for this would be Becky Lynch, who is known to be ready to return after giving birth. The belief is WWE was planning on her returning for their October draft, but this could be changed given the circumstances.

Tessa Blanchard hasn’t regularly competed since departing Impact Wrestling last year. She left on bad terms after refusing to cooperate with them while their main champion and then tried to get them to pay her $150,000 to return the physical belt when she was released. While that would be enough for many promotions not to want to work with her, she has also been accused of using a racial slur and spitting in the face of a fellow wrestler, which means many won’t even consider booking her under any circumstances.

That said, Fightful Select has now reported that Billy Corgan’s NWA promotion has reached out to her looking to bring her in. The promotion will be holding their first-ever all-women’s pay-per-view later this month, so their interest makes perfect sense. Also, while the card is currently being advertised, Kylie Rae’s opponent has not yet been announced, so that does leave a spot for Blanchard. That, though, is just speculation.

While Blanchard is an incredibly talented performer, if the NWA does use her, they will undoubtedly face backlash from fans. However, Corgan has previously shown not to be concerned by this, having booked both Thom Latimer and the former Brodus Clay, despite serious allegations previously being made against them.

During this week’s episode of SmackDown, Edge would appear on the screen while his SummerSlam opponent Seth Rollins was in the ring. Edge’s appearance was accompanied by red lights and The Brood’s theme music, which was the stable he was part of during the Attitude Era along with Christian and Gangrel. Edge would tell Rollins that the freaks come out at night, and then Rollins was drenched in a dark liquid meant to represent blood, in what WWE would refer to as a “Brood Bath.”

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Fans on social media would enjoy the throwback to Edge’s past gimmick, and with so many talking about it, Gangrel would actually begin trending on Twitter. For those not familiar with Gangrel, he was a vampire character and the leader of The Brood. At one point, he was incredibly over, but after WWE had him turn on his stablemates to side with Matt and Jeff Hardy, he would find himself a regular on Jakked, a show for lower card wrestlers.

Many fans on social media are hoping The Brood reference could result in Gangrel showing up as part of Edge’s feud with Rollins. While a return to a WWE ring is highly doubtful, a one-off appearance is certainly possible. In fact, last year, he made a cameo for AEW at Full Gear during the Elite Deletion match between Matt Hardy and Sammy Guevara, which was a nod to when Hardy and he were aligned in WWE.

Game Changer Wrestling held their latest event titled Off The Rails on Friday night. The promotions champion Matt Cardona who won the title from Nick Gage just under a month ago would wrestle Sam Stackhouse and before the match, would troll fans in attendance by dressing like Vince McMahon. His look was based on how McMahon dressed during his ECW champion reign after he famously defeated Bobby Lashley in a 3-on-1 handicap match at Backlash 2007. As you can see in the video below, he also initially uses the famous Vince McMahon strut during his entrance.

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Unlike when he won the championship, the match was not under deathmatch rules, and Cardona would wrestle a more traditional style match. The highlight for some watching would be when Cardona lost his durag when the nearly 400lb Stackhouse dove onto him when outside the ring. The finish would see Stackhouse miss a moonsault, and Cardona capitalized by hitting a low blow and then the Rough Ryder for the victory.

A replay of the show is available to stream now on FITE, and also wrestling on the show are Juventud Guerrera, 2 Cold Scorpio, Chris Bey, and Nick Gage.

CM Punk made his return to the wrestling ring during Friday night’s Rampage in scenes that likely won’t ever be forgotten. He’d come out to Cult of Personality, and the sold-out crowd would chant his name. Punk was clearly moved by the reaction and took his time to soak it in. Once he made it to the ring, he would ask fans to understand his absence from wrestling but said that he’d never have gotten healthy physically, spiritually, or emotionally if he had stayed in the same place where he got sick in the first place. Punk would then address AEW’s young talent and confirm Darby Allin will be his first opponent, with the match taking place at the All Out.

At the conclusion of his promo, Punk would announce that fans in attendance would grab a free ice cream bar on him. This was in reference to promos he cut in WWE about wanting the company to bring back ice cream bars and include him on them. Some suspected this was a joke, but as you can see in the video below, he wasn’t kidding. United Center staff were waiting at the exits to hand out the bars, and some fans have already taken to eBay to sell their empty wrappers. As of writing, one very optimistic fan is asking for $1000, although sold listings indicate actual sales are between $40 and $80.

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The belief is Punk has signed a multi-year contract with AEW, and while he is set to be a full-time television performer, it has been reported that he will wrestle between 10 to 12 times per year. While that may disappoint some, it will still allow him to wrestle up-and-coming talent he has previously stated he’d like to wrestle, such as Ricky Starks and Jungle Boy, while still enabling him to have first-time dream matches with the likes of Kenny Omega and Adam Page.

Alexa Bliss fell under The Fiend’s spell last year, and once he went on hiatus following WrestleMania, she would continue her sinister character alone. However, she would add a demonic doll in the storyline from her childhood named Lilly to her gimmick. Naturally, fans online would mock the introduction of the toy, but the first batch of Lilly dolls made available on shop.wwe.com sold out almost immediately. Since then, some fans have been creating their own Lilly dolls, and a range of t-shirts and a poster have also been made put up for sale.

Over the past few months, Lilly has become more prominently featured on television and recently even comically winked at Doudrop during a recent episode of Raw, allowing Bliss to pin her startled opponent. However, while popular with kids and Alexa Bliss stans, the gimmick isn’t one for wrestling traditionalists.

It’s now been reported by Andrew Zarian of the Mat Men podcast, who regularly gets wrestling scoops, that merchandise sales for Lilly over SummerSlam weekend will determine the future of the character.

Merchandise sales have always played a massive part in WWE’s business, and its known pushes have come and gone based on what the company is selling. With Lilly’s future said to be hanging in the balance, it will be interesting to see how big a part she plays in the match between Bliss and Eva Marie. One thing in Lilly’s favor is that WWE likely doesn’t need to pay anyone royalties, meaning all the money made goes to the company.

Buddy Murphy, whose real name is Matthew Adams, was part of one of WWE’s longest-running feuds last year when he was aligned with Seth Rollins in his program against Rey Mysterio. The storyline would include him having a romantic relationship with Mysterio’s daughter Aalyah however, once the angle was abruptly dropped, he would be taken off television. When he did return, it was to put over Cesaro twice before making up the numbers in the André The Giant Memorial Battle Royal. Then just two months later, he was deemed surplus to requirements and released.

Since then, he has been sharing several videos on social media, building anticipation until he can sign with a new promotion. In the videos, he has been kept in a mental asylum for the last eight years, and in the latest of these, he would announce his new ring name. You can watch the reveal below, which shows from now on he is going as Buddy Matthews, a mixture of his WWE name and birth name.

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What the future holds for the former WWE Cruiserweight and Raw Tag Team Champion remains to be seen. As an Australian, his work visa is an issue, so he needs to sign a full-time deal with a promotion to stay in the US. The belief is Impact Wrestling is very keen to bring him, which would make sense as he’d fit into the X-Division. Additionally, AEW is in acquisition mode, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him turn up there in the future.