Photo: Jonathan Rivera / Flickr, CC BY 2.0
Oba Femi Settled the most important debate in professional wrestling on Saturday, 1 August 2026.
He defeated Brock Lesnar inside Hell in a Cell at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to complete one of the most consequential trilogies in recent WWE history. The Lagos-born King of the Ring kicked out of three consecutive F5s, survived a Tombstone Piledriver on exposed wooden boards in a deliberate homage to The Undertaker, and ultimately pinned Lesnar with the Fall From Grace.
After the match, Lesnar returned to the ring, embraced Femi, and delivered a message that confirmed what the result already told the world. “This is the future, ladies and gentlemen,” Lesnar said to the Minneapolis crowd, per USA TODAY.
Night 1 also featured Cody Rhodes’ best chance yet to recapture the Undisputed WWE Championship from CM Punk, a match both men have been building towards across multiple storylines since WrestleMania. It ended in controversy.
Randy Orton, absent from WWE programming since his WrestleMania 42 loss to Rhodes, returned from the crowd in the match’s pivotal moment. His RKO on Rhodes gave Punk the opening he needed to retain the title, sending Night 1 into a direction that will define SmackDown heading into Survivor Series.
Meanwhile, the card at U.S. Bank Stadium featured some of the strongest women’s wrestling of the year. It included an unlikely six-man tag coalition beating the Bloodline, and a SummerSlam in-ring debut from SmackDown general manager Nick Aldis that earned a standing ovation from Minneapolis despite ending in defeat. Five of the six matches produced results with immediate consequences for the weeks ahead.
Table of Contents
SummerSlam Full Night 1 Results
- Women’s World Championship: Liv Morgan (c) def. Iyo Sky via pinfall (Retained)
- Six-Man Tag: LA Knight, Solo Sikoa, and Royce Keys def. The Bloodline via pinfall
- Singles Match: Gunther def. Nick Aldis via submission
- Six-Woman Tag: Fatal Influence def. Nikki Bella, Brie Bella, and Paige via pinfall
- Undisputed WWE Championship: CM Punk (c) def. Cody Rhodes via pinfall (Retained)
- Hell in a Cell: Oba Femi def. Brock Lesnar via pinfall (Main Event)
Look up: WrestleMania 42: Night 1 vs Night 2 and What WWE Taught Us
Oba Femi’s Defining Night Inside Hell in a Cell
At 28 years old, Femi has now defeated Brock Lesnar twice in 2026, in five minutes at WrestleMania 42, in a rematch loss at Clash in Italy, and now in the definitive chapter inside the Cell. CBS Sports graded the match A+, calling it “a fitting conclusion to the Femi-Lesnar trilogy” and noting the historical parallel clearly. In 2002, Lesnar defeated The Rock at SummerSlam to become the youngest WWE champion in history. Twenty-four years later, in his billed home state of Minnesota, he passed the torch at the same event. Michael Cole captured the moment at ringside, saying: “The Next Big Thing is here.”
The match itself escalated steadily. Femi launched Lesnar through a table into the cell wall early, only for Lesnar to respond with steel step shots to the head and repeated chair shots across the back. When Lesnar ripped the ring apron back to expose the wooden boards underneath and attempted the Undertaker’s Tombstone Piledriver, the crowd held its breath. Femi kicked out. According to ESPN, that was the moment that confirmed everything. Bray Wyatt was the last person under 30 to win a world title in WWE, nearly a decade ago. At 28, Femi now stands directly on that trajectory.
Whether this was Lesnar’s final match remains unconfirmed. Unlike his WrestleMania 42 farewell, Lesnar left no boots or gloves in the ring this time. What he left instead was a microphone moment and a clear public endorsement of Femi as his successor.
Punk Retains but Randy Orton Steals the Moment
CM Punk and Cody Rhodes delivered the title match wrestling fans had waited 18 years to see. Both men targeted each other’s damaged limbs throughout, Punk going after Rhodes’ shoulder, Rhodes targeting Punk’s knee. A sequence in which Rhodes countered the Go to Sleep into a Figure Four Leglock while Punk screamed had the crowd in a frenzy. Then Punk, inexplicably, climbed to the top rope for an elbow drop onto the commentary table, Rhodes rolled clear, and Punk crashed leg-first directly into it. The match turned completely from that moment.
With referee Charles Robinson accidentally caught by a Cody Cutter off the ropes, Orton appeared from the crowd, hit the RKO, and slithered back out. Punk followed with a GTS. The slow count finished before Rhodes could recover. Punk retains, Orton is back, and Rhodes now has a former mentor and a world title to chase simultaneously.
Also Read: What Should Have Been and What Happened: Cody Rhodes & CM Punk vs. Gunther & Sami Zayn
The Rest of Night 1
Liv Morgan produced arguably her best individual SummerSlam performance, surviving outside interference from Roxanne Perez and Raquel Rodriguez to retain her Women’s World Championship against Iyo Sky. CBS Sports noted Morgan “looked too strong” in parts but credited both performers for “a great match.”
Gunther submitted Nick Aldis with a sleeper hold after what USA TODAY called a debut “well worth it” from the SmackDown general manager. Triple H reinstated Aldis to his role afterwards. Brie Bella left the arena for hospital treatment after suffering what Triple H described to reporters as a shoulder injury that “seems pretty bad”.
Fatal Influence defeated Paige and the Bellas, after which both Nikki and Brie turned on Paige, igniting a new feud immediately after the final bell.
Night 2 Awaits in Minneapolis
Sunday’s card includes Roman Reigns defending the World Heavyweight Championship against Seth Rollins, a No. 1 contender match between Finn Balor and Sami Zayn for the Undisputed title, and a ladder match for an Interim Women’s Championship. Femi’s world title ambitions will come sharply into focus once Night 2 confirms which championship he will pursue. Punk’s next challenger gets decided. Everything begins to point towards Survivor Series.
Saturday belonged to Oba Femi. That much is settled.
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