The 2022 SummerSlam was the 35th annual SummerSlam professional wrestling event produced by WWE. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. The event aired on pay-per-view (PPV) and the WWE Network and took place on July 30, 2022 at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee. It was the first SummerSlam to not be held during the month of August.
Production
Background
SummerSlam is a pay-per-view (PPV) and WWE Network event previously held annually in August by WWE since 1988. Dubbed "The Biggest Party of the Summer," it is one of the promotion's five biggest events of the year, along with WrestleMania, Royal Rumble, Survivor Series, and Money in the Bank. Out of the five, it is considered WWE's second biggest event of the year behind WrestleMania. The 2022 event will the 35th event in the SummerSlam chronology and will feature wrestlers from the Raw and SmackDown brands. It will be the very first SummerSlam to not be held during the month of August. Instead, it is scheduled to take place on July 30, 2022, at the Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee.
Storylines
The event included matches that resulted from scripted storylines where wrestlers portrayed heroes, villains, or less distinguishable characters in scripted events that built tension and culminate in a wrestling match or series of matches. Results are predetermined by WWE's writers on the Raw and SmackDown brands, while storylines are produced on WWE's weekly television shows, Monday Night Raw and Friday Night SmackDown.
Following his loss to Madcap Moss on the June 17, 2022 episode of SmackDown, Happy Corbin interrupted commentators Michael Cole and Pat McAfee, explaining he took offence to McAfee's insults. As a result, McAfee ensured that the crowd laughed Corbin out of the arena. McAfee further responded to Corbin the next week, challenging Corbin to a match at SummerSlam. After Money in the Bank 2022 went off the air, Corbin attacked McAfee and accepted his challenge.
At WrestleMania 38, The Miz partnered with Logan Paul to defeat The Mysterios (Dominik Mysterio and Rey Mysterio). However, after the match, The Miz turned on Logan Paul, hitting him with a Skull-Crushing Finale. With Paul making his intentions to take on The Miz clear, Miz insisted that he would be teaming with Paul at SummerSlam. However, on the July 18, 2022 episode of Raw, Paul appeared on Miz TV, attempting to goad The Miz into accepting a match with him. Following a failed ambush by Ciampa, The Miz finally accepted Paul's challenge for SummerSlam.
At Money in the Bank 2022, following a successful defence against Natalya, SmackDown Women's Champion Ronda Rousey was dethroned by Liv Morgan, who had cashed in the Money in the Bank contract she had won earlier in the night. On the July 8, 2022 episode of SmackDown, it was announced that Morgan would defend her newly won championship against Rousey in a rematch at SummerSlam.
After losing the Raw Women's Championship to Bianca Belair at WrestleMania 38, Becky Lynch frequently appealed for a rematch with Belair. On the July 4, 2022 episode of Raw, Lynch defeated Asuka in a No Holds Barred match before she caused Belair to lose a championship match against Carmella by count out on the July 11, 2022 episode of Raw. The following week, Lynch announced she would face the winner of a rematch between Belair and Carmella, a match that Belair won, setting up a rematch between Belair and Lynch for SummerSlam.
Following The Usos (Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso) victory over The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford) at Money in the Bank 2022, a replay revealed that Ford's shoulder had been off the mat during the pinfall. With a rematch between the two teams being made official for SummerSlam, it was announced on the July 15, 2022 episode of SmackDown that Jeff Jarrett would be the special guest referee for the match.
After losing the WWE United States Championship to Bobby Lashley at Money in the Bank 2022, Theory announced on the July 4, 2022 episode of Raw that he would be facing Lashley in a rematch at SummerSlam.
At WrestleMania 38, Universal Champion Roman Reigns defeated WWE Champion Brock Lesnar in a Winner Takes All match. After defeating Riddle on the June 17, 2022 episode of SmackDown, Reigns insisted that there was no one left to challenge him. However, Reigns was answered by the return of Brock Lesnar, who offered Reigns a handshake. The handshake turned into an attack as Lesnar laid out both Reigns and The Usos. Following the show, it was announced that Reigns would face Lesnar in a Last Man Standing Match at SummerSlam.
Match Preview
Results
- Numbers in parentheses indicate the length of the match.
- (c) refers to the champion(s) heading into the match.
- Bianca Belair (c) defeated Becky Lynch to retain the WWE Raw Women's Championship (15:10)
- Logan Paul defeated The Miz (w/ Maryse & Ciampa) (14:15)
- Bobby Lashley (c) defeated Theory to retain the WWE United States Championship (4:42)
- The Mysterios (Rey Mysterio & Dominik Mysterio) defeated The Judgment Day (Finn Bálor & Damian Priest) in a No Disqualifications Tag Team Match (11:08)
- Pat McAfee defeated Happy Corbin (10:39)
- The Usos (Jey Uso & Jimmy Uso) (c) defeated The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford) to retain the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship & WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship with Jeff Jarrett as Special Guest Referee (13:23)
- Liv Morgan (c) defeated Ronda Rousey to retain the WWE SmackDown Women's Championship (4:34)
- Roman Reigns (c) (w/ Paul Heyman) defeated Brock Lesnar in a Last Man Standing match to retain the WWE Championship & WWE Universal Championship (22:55)
Other on-screen talent
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See also
DVD release
External links
- SummerSlam 2022 Official Website
- SummerSlam 2022 Kickoff on WWE Network
- SummerSlam 2022 on WWE Network
- SummerSlam 2022 at CAGEMATCH.net
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