Undisputed WWE Champion John Cena and Cody Rhodes headlined a stacked WWE SummerSlam Night 2 card. (Photos: Getty Images via WWE. Design: Dillon Minshall, Yahoo Sports.)
WWE SummerSlam Night 2 closed out WWE SummerSlam 2025 weekend with a massive — and controversial — surprise, as Brock Lesnar returned from a two-year absence to attack John Cena, ending the two-night event with a shocking twist at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
After a busy Night 1, Sunday’s card featured six title matches, with all but two featuring extra stipulations. The hotly anticipated main-event rematch between Undisputed WWE Champion John Cena and former champion Cody Rhodes took place under “Street Fight” rules and stole the show, with Rhodes coming out on top by reclaiming the title in a long, drawn-out war of attrition. In the end, it was Rhodes’ avalanche Cody Cutter through a table, accompanied by a Cross Rhodes, that got the job done.
Unfortunately for Cena, his epic final SummerSlam appearance was immediately overshadowed by the return of his old rival Lesnar, who has been out of the public eye since being named in the sexual misconduct federal lawsuit against Vince McMahon.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Firstly, let’s just say again that Sunday’s Rhodes vs. Cena rematch was excellent, and probably everything one could’ve asked for outside of getting the teased Rhodes heel turn. It was a bit too long to earn a perfect score, but it was still a wrestling storytelling classic, loaded with emotion and free from any silly overbooking.
Lesnar’s arrival may answer the question of who will be the opponent for Cena’s retirement match — and if he’s not, the two former champions are at least going to have a program together, barring the backlash from his return becoming too big for WWE to deflect or ignore. Because of his involvement in the McMahon scandal, Lesnar was never on anyone’s mind as an option among Cena’s list of all-time rivals, therefore this was genuinely one of the biggest surprises in recent memory. I audibly shouted, “What?!”
The Women’s World title match opened Night 2, and it once again delivered just as well as it did to kick off WrestleMania 41. Reigning champion Naomi got the job done with a sneaky roll-up on Rhea Ripley in their triple-threat match with Iyo Sky. Ripley and Sky are guaranteed locks for a great match whenever both are involved, and they honestly may have already established themselves as one of the best match combinations in WWE history. Add in Naomi, who’s firing on all cylinders, and it ruled.
Advertisement
Advertisement
They weren’t the only women competing for gold though, as Becky Lynch defended her Intercontinental crown against Lyra Valkyria in their trilogy — with the help of Bayley (by accident.) This was a heavily story-driven match, with Valkyria now no being longer allowed to challenge Lynch for the title.
Men’s Intercontinental Champion Dominick Mysterio also put on a show as he successfully defended against AJ Styles in a match that featured several nods to departed legend Eddie Guerrero.
Rounding out the card, United States Champion Solo Sikoa defended his title against Jacob Fatu in a contest that felt plucked straight from “WWE SmackDown,” and the WWE Tag Team TLC title match was utter and complete madness.
With the first-ever two-night SummerSlam in the books, it was undeniably good and felt massive. However, it does feel like the two-night approach will diminish WrestleMania and the storylines between events, as it shortens the “roads” between the spectacles. That’s long-term thinking, though. As for Night 2, it was a wild one. I give WWE SummerSlam 2025 Night 2 a crown score of: 👑 8.5/10. 👑
MVP: John Cena
At 48 years old, and a bonafide part-timer literally in the middle of finishing out his career, Cena had no business putting on as good of a match as he just did against Rhodes. Sure, having a world-class dance partner like Rhodes helped tremendously, but look at the bumps alone. Cena did not hold back, and now that he’s back to his babyface best, he’s a treat of the highest order. This one felt like going through a time machine to see prime Cena battle through chaos with the likes of Edge, JBL or Batista.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Uncrowned Gem of the Night: Dominick Mysterio vs. AJ Styles
Another match that had no business being as good and fun as it was was Mysterio vs. Styles. And let’s put emphasis on the word “fun” here. This whole feud embodied that, as WWE knows what Mysterio is, and Styles is simply a Swiss-Army knife legend who can do anything.
Match of the Night: Naomi vs. Rhea Ripley vs. Iyo Sky
Everything about this match was amazing in every way, and it was intensely magnified by Naomi’s recent cash-in to become the champion at WWE Evolution 2025. Again, I can’t say enough how unbelievable Ripley and Sky are together. They’re practically one entity when they get in the ring together. I don’t think I’ve enjoyed a pairing’s in-ring work as much as theirs in who knows how long. They could actually wrestle only each other for the rest of their careers and sell tickets. It’s strange to say a triple-threat rematch — or sequel; that sounds better — would be necessary, but this is one of those cases.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Best Spot of the Night: Anything from the TLC match
That six-way tag-team championship match was designed for ludicrous spots. The four table dives in succession legitimately might be the most insane sequence of bumps I’ve ever seen, and it was capped off by a freaking Spanish Fly from Axiom to Angelo Dawkins off the top rope through tables outside the ring. What? Then Candice LeRae went through a ladder — pretty much “just because.” This was the car crash of the century. Had anyone else besides The Wyatt Sicks won, this would have been a perfect match — and the match of the night, obviously.
WWE SummerSlam 2025 Night 2 full card results and highlights:
Recap of WWE SummerSlam 2025 Night 2 with Uncrowned’s live blog below:
