WWE is on the road to SummerSlam this weekend. This is major 2-night event that will take place in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on August 1 and 2, 2026. These are the Night 2 Predictions, which will feature six matches. Will Chad Gable win his first singles title in his hometown? Will Baron Corbin win the U.S. Title upon return to the WWE? Will Alexa Bliss replace Tiffany Stratton in the Interim Ladder Match? Will Becky Lynch return to screw Roman Reigns for her hot husband, Seth Rollins?
The answers to these questions and so much more will be answered right here. Without further ado, here are the WWE SummerSlam 2026 Night 2 Predictions.
Finn Balor vs. Sami Zayn – WWE Title Number One Contender’s Match
After CM Punk and Cody Rhodes main event Night 1, the winner of that contest will be watching this match very closely on Night 2. It is quite baffling that Sami Zayn has to fight to become number one contender for the WWE Title when he still has a rematch clause. However, this is a good excuse to get him on the card and help him regain his momentum after being robbed of the WWE Title in nine days. Finn Balor is an ideal opponent for Zayn, as he did win his first WWE Title on the main roster at SummerSlam 2016 ten years ago. Balor also has Bullet Club history with Cody Rhodes and recent memorable title matches with CM Punk in Belfast and Chicago.
However, Sami Zayn has the more immediate story with Rhodes and Punk at the moment, so it makes more sense for him to be victorious here. Granted, winning the MITB Contract would be more befitting of his story. But, since WWE moved the MITB PPV from July to October, WWE had to find a contrived way to give Zayn his lick back. The fact that Balor got this spot after winning a Fatal Four Way on SmackDown against either stars who are already champions (i.e. Trick Williams and Damian Priest) or already booked on the SummerSlam card (i.e. Royce Keys) shows how much thought WWE really put into booking this bout. “Pin Balor” continues.
Prediction: Sami Zayn
Penta (c) vs. Chad Gable – Intercontinental Title
WWE did put thought into this IC Title Match between Penta and Chad Gable. When Penta debuted in the WWE, his first match was against Chad Gable. When he defeated Gable, Gable went on a downward spiral, as he could not fathom continuously losing to luchadores. Henceforth, he went on a journey of self discovery in Mexico to decipher the secrets behind the lucha libre wrestling style. He then transformed into El Grande Americano, a gimmick that not only immorally promoted the “Gulf of America” but also has been perceived as disrespectful to the lucha libre culture. Since Gable was a bitter heel at the time, he embraced this farcical gimmick.
While Gable was recovering from his injury and returned to take down his imposter, Ludwig Kaiser, who was El Grande Americano 2.0, in AAA, Penta dethroned the current AAA Mega Champion, Dirty Dominik Mysterio, to become the new Intercontinental Champion back in March. That IC Title is the same title Gable has been trying to win since coming up short against Gunther back in 2024 and against Zayn back in 2025. Now that Gable apologized to everyone he disrespected and turned babyface, this is a full circle moment in which Gable can finally use what he learned in Mexico to defeat Penta and finally win his first singles title in his hometown.
Prediction: Chad Gable
Trick Williams (c) vs. Baron Corbin – United States Title
On the other side of the mid card, there are no full circle moments happening here. There would have been one if WWE booked Trick Williams (c) vs. Carmelo Hayes for the United States Title. However, it seems that WWE is allergic to booking Carmelo Hayes on big 4 PPVs throughout the calendar year even though he is one of the most talented wrestlers on the roster today. Instead, WWE signed Baron Corbin and immediately handed him a U.S. Title opportunity for merely attacking Trick Williams and Carmelo Hayes in a non-title match on SmackDown with zero storyline explanation, let alone, a motive behind the attack other than wanting the title.
Granted, Corbin is a former U.S. Champion, so he has history with the title. But, if attacking the champion on a random SmackDown is the method to getting a title opportunity, Trick Williams would have been better off continuing the tradition of the U.S. Title Open Challenges. Even Gingerbread Man has a better claim for that title than Baron Corbin. Nonetheless, there are rumors of Trick Williams being the betting favorite to win MITB this year and it’s unlikely that Corbin will lose his return match to the WWE. To free up Trick Williams for the main event scene and guarantee a successful return for Corbin, a new champ will inevitably be crowned here.
Prediction: Baron Corbin
Danhausen vs. Dirty Dominik Mysterio – Human Monies On A Pole
Other than Carmelo Hayes, Bron Breakker is another top rising star who is not on the card. Yet, WWE had the audacity to put Danhausen on the card in a singles match against Dirty Dominick Mysterio when he is merely a comedic character whose time on the card would be well spent in a segment. So many wrestlers are scratching and clawing all year for a singles match at SummerSlam, and a “human monies on a pole” match is taking place on the biggest event of the summer. It is understandable that WWE is making a business decision here due to how marketable and appealing Danhuasen has been, but this tomfoolery is terrible for the tenets of pro wrestling.
Usually, the pride comes before the fall. But, for Dirty Dom, the fall came before the pride. After graduating from the mid card and having a superb IC Title reign in which he defeated top stars like AJ Styles and John Cena, Dirty Dom should have been advancing to the main event scene and being a top candidate to win MITB this year. Instead, he is stuck feuding with Danhausen over human monies that Danhausen was supposed to be bribed with to curse Oba Femi in the KOTR Tournament and Iyo Sky in the QOTR Tournament. And, to make matters worse, he is not even going to win the match because Danhausen is booked as invincible as Mark Grayson.
Prediction: Danhuasen
Jade Cargill vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Tiffany Stratton vs. Chelsea Green vs Giulia/Lash Legend – Interim World Title Ladder Match
Those fans paid a lot of human monies to see Rhea Ripley wrestle at SummerSlam, but she is unfortunately injured. Henceforth, WWE booked an interim World Title Ladder Match to determine a champ who will take her place until she returns from said injury. Since Tiffany Stratton already has the U.S. Title, she does not need to be in this match. Blake Monroe was originally supposed to battle Stratton for the U.S. Title and has been attacking Chelsea Green, Giulia, and Kiana James backstage since they are in the title picture. If Monroe wants to make a statement, she would attack Stratton backstage to get some heel heat from her hometown crowd in Minneapolis.
If not, the betting favorites to win this match are still Jade Cargill and Charlotte Flair, who were originally supposed to battle one on one at SummerSlam. As both rivals brawl at the top of the ladder, Alexa Bliss should return and push both of them off the top of the ladder to get revenge for Cargill injuring her arm and turn heel on Charlotte for not being there for her when it mattered most. That leaves Chelsea Green, who is afraid of heights and still needs her redemption after losing to Tiffany Stratton at MITB 2024 in her home country of Canada. In turn, she will toss Stratton off the top of the ladder in Stratton’s hometown in Minnesota to win the title.
Prediction: Chelsea Green
Roman Reigns (c) vs. Seth Rollins – World Title
After addressing some long term booking with Chelsea Green, there is no need to dampen the mood and get too deep into Roman Reigns’ trifling tendencies and backstage politicking. Everyone knows that Roman Reigns is going to win this match so that he can gloat about how he finally defeated Seth Rollins when it mattered most and get his ultimate revenge for when Rollins stabbed him in the back with the steel chair and ended The Shield in 2014. Just like The Bloodline story, the Shield story has been so overplayed and overexposed to the point that the fans are scratching their heads, wondering why this match is even main eventing SummerSlam.
There are more fans talking about CM Punk vs. Cody Rhodes, Oba Femi vs. Brock Lesnar, and even Penta vs. Chad Gable than this match. If WWE really wants fans to talk about this match, they would have Becky Lynch, who has been absent from television since losing the IC Title to Sol Ruca, return to screw Roman Reigns for her hot husband, Seth Rollins. It’s bold, but it’s more realistic than Jon Moxley leaving AEW to reunite with The Shield in the WWE. Either way, it’s clear that Roman is trying to win these title matches clean to prove that he does not need help from The Bloodline, but Rollins is always one step ahead with something up his sleeve.
Prediction: Roman Reigns
That’s all for the WWE SummerSlam 2026 Predictions! If you’re not down with just that and would like even more WWE SummerSlam Coverage from Mark Justice, check out more of his articles right here on LTW, on Last Word on Sports (LWOS), and subscribe to his popular YouTube channel.
Mark Justice is a Cornell University Graduate with a bachelor’s degree (B.S), double majoring in biological and environmental sciences, and a law degree (J.D.), specializing in environmental law and international law. His passion for pro wrestling stems from his very first time watching the WWE in 2009. As a decade-old pro wrestling fan, he continues to fulfill this passion by writing for Let Them Wrestle, where he will cover both WWE and AEW content. You can email Mark Justice at markjustice728@gmail.com, especially if you are a pro wrestling ‘mark’ like him. You can also subscribe to his brand new Youtube Channel at the link below: https://www.youtube.com/@markjustice1327