[Becky Lynch] The reality of how much I was going to have to lie
to all the people that I care about
hadn't really hit me.
You know, I can lie to the fans. That's fine.
That's… that's part of the business.
Lying to, like, my friends and family?
And so when it happened, everybody's texting me.
[Cole] And now a moonsault…
- Ooh. - Fuck!
[tense music playing]
Get Doc in there. Get Doc in.
[Barrett] That is a bleak sight,
seeing Seth "Freakin'" Rollins down and out.
[Lynch] And he's not responding to anybody
because, you know, he's going through all of this.
So everybody's like, "How's he doing?" His dad is texting me.
And I'm like, "Do I… "Do I have to lie to your dad?"
"Like, who do I have to lie to?"
So I was, like, breaking out in hives.
I think she didn't anticipate having to be an accomplice.
I… I think that part didn't occur to her until the night of
and she's the one answering all the texts while I'm, you know, ignoring them all.
I'm much better… I'm a much better liar than she is.
She'll be honest with you on that. She's a terrible liar.
My manager called me, and he's like, "How's he… How's he doing? Is he okay?"
"What's going on? Are… Is… is he gonna be all right?"
And I'm like, "Um, uh…"
"Yeah…" [hesitating]
"He'll be fine."
"Yep, he'll be fine." You know? "He's gonna be fine."
You know? And that was, like, my way of, like, not… of toeing the line
of, like, not lying but lying, you know?
- Hey. - Next time, just fucking don't tell me.
- Hmm? - Just don't fucking tell me.
- What? - I just don't want to know this shit.
- About Seth? [muttering] - Now I gotta fucking lie to people.
Now I gotta lie to people. I gotta fucking lie.
[Hunter chuckling]
Did… did, uh, did you know about it beforehand or afterwards?
- Yeah, I did. Fucking yeah. - Okay.
I'm like… everybody…
He's not fucking responding to anybody, so everybody is fucking texting me.
I'm like, "Oh, great." Fucking hell.
[Rollins] Anytime I'd go into public
where there was a possibility that a picture might get out,
we were on crutches with the brace.
The crutches were the fucking worst.
I have stairs to go to my house.
I couldn't do legs at the gym.
I flew commercial in a GD brace.
You'd stop at security. They gotta pat the whole thing down.
It was obnoxious.
Everybody except my daughter played their role perfectly. [chuckles]
She tried to ruin it immediately.
You know, I told her, "Daddy's got a pretend boo-boo."
"He doesn't really have one."
"Eventually, we'll tell everyone Daddy doesn't have a boo-boo,
and I'll go, 'Ha-ha-ha-ha,' and everybody will go, 'Oh!'"
Literally the first day, send her into this little summer camp.
She does her thing for a few hours. She comes back.
She's got a teacher, Miss Joy.
She says, "I told Miss Joy that you had a pretend boo-boo."
I said, "No, Roux, you can't do that."
She goes, "Na-na-na, boo-boo. I told Miss Joy." [groans]
Miss Joy was in the inner circle from day one.
She kept up her end of the bargain too. Appreciate that, Miss Joy.
[intriguing music playing]
So SummerSlam has always been arguably the second-largest event that WWE does.
[fans cheering]
[Hunter] The big tentpole event is the only way that I can think to say it.
[commentator] One of the greatest wrestling matches of all time
has just taken place
here at SummerSlam.
You run these big, epic storylines through the summer
and they peak at SummerSlam.
[Cole] Rey Mysterio has his son back.
- [JR] …brought this on on Saturday night. - [Jerry Lawler] Oh my God!
[McMahon] Give him the urn!
[Hunter] History of the business as we move forward,
there was so much talent, so much storytelling that could be done.
This year, for the first time,
SummerSlam now is a two-night event.
In laying out the card for SummerSlam, we knew that night one would be headlined
by Gunther defending the world title against CM Punk
with obviously the Seth Rollins cash-in surprise, uh,
included with that.
Uh, and also, Jelly Roll teaming up with Randy Orton
to take on Logan Paul and Drew McIntyre.
One of the numerous benefits of working with an outside performer like Jelly Roll
is that they have different opportunities outside of our world
in which they can promote WWE.
We found out that Jelly Roll was actually gonna be hosting
an episode of the Jimmy Kimmel show,
and thought that'd be a perfect opportunity
to use it as a platform to kind of promote Jelly's tag match at SummerSlam.
I guess we're gonna go to break! Commercial break it is, y'all.
Oh, actually, no, I don't think we're gonna go to commercial break.
[audience booing, jeering]
You, my friend, are a greasy redneck prison rat.
- Who the **** do-- - Shut the hell up, Jelly Roll!
There's your receipt, stupid.
Hey, congrats. It's Logan Paul's show now.
A real superstar.
So, ladies and gentlemen… [chuckles]
…you wanna see a real star?
I'm here. Why don't you leave, huh?
- [audience cheering] - [Logan grunting]
What's up, brother? You thought you could mess with me, son?
[Jelly Roll] Getting involved in SummerSlam scared me.
I haven't felt fear like that in a long time.
I mean, it scared me. It kept me up at night some nights.
I'd wake up out of sleep.
I wasn't nervous.
That's something you feel before a concert. It's healthy.
I was scared of,
um…
I was scared of being rejected.
And I haven't had that fear in a long time.
It reminded me of the early bar shows.
Like, "I don't know how they're gonna feel about me out here."
[indistinct chattering]
- You got 20 seconds for me? - [Hunter] Yes, sir.
Is it too early in the day to talk about our finish?
No.
I wanna go heels up.
You wanna go heels up?
I'm… I'm not opposed to it. I'm still milling… mulling it over.
I've got all the details. I'm… I'm weighing out the overall card.
Right. For sure. Do you need a babyface moment?
Do I need a babyface moment or a down moment that late in the show?
If you ask me where I'm at right now, I'm 60-40 you go down.
Yes!
You do… we get heels up. 60-40.
But I'm… I'm… I wanna feel that out for a little bit.
[Jelly Roll] I was campaigning to lose
'cause we were also telling the story of a man that was unqualified to be there.
Well, I've been thrown through, like, 12, 15 tables getting ready for this,
but I haven't been through an announcer table
with somebody jumping on me.
[man] Wanna lay on this table to feel what it's like?
[Jelly Roll] Sorry to bug y'all.
I don't want the first time I lay on it to be in front of 60,000 people,
and have no clue what the fuck it feels like.
This is the only thing I'm gonna do tonight
that I haven't got to try at all.
I have no clue how bad it is or isn't gonna hurt.
I just keep thinking about how far that jump is and how big Logan is.
So it's kind of a little bit like this, but also at an angle. So he'll come, boom.
No, no, no. Not that angle because he'll be coming head this way.
Yeah, I'll be on that table, right?
- Yeah, yeah, yeah. - Okay.
[Helms] Yeah, you'll be fine.
- And then just bounce? - Yep.
- This thing'll break. - Mm-hmm.
- Tuck the chin. It's a clean bump, right? - Yep, yep.
[Jelly Roll] I'll be okay. We'll be all right.
My wife will be sitting right there. She's gonna shit herself.
She's gonna lose her mind.
You got any words of advice for me?
Kinda sit up a little bit on impact.
- Huh? - Sit up a little bit before impact.
- That's what I heard. - Yep.
Just a little bit. Just to tighten a little?
Yeah, it'll be a snug shot.
It may knock the wind out of you, but you'll be fine. You know, later.
- Appreciate it. [chuckles] - [laughing]
I gotta make the sell.
Yeah, you probably won't feel much of it in the moment.
When you cool off, that's when you'll feel it.
When the adrenaline comes down.
When I go sit down, I'm gonna feel every one?
[Hayes] Yes, you are.
And you're gonna feel it even more tomorrow when you wake up.
[Jelly Roll] Argh!
- [Hunter] Feeling good? - [Gunther] Yes. So I gotta say.
At Saturday Night's Main Event, I felt really bad for Seth.
- [Hunter] Seth Rollins? - Yeah.
Why?
I came to you, like, "Hey, man. He's out. Gunther… He beat me."
And you didn't even acknowledge it at all. Then I was like, "Wait a minute…"
- "Something's popping." - Yeah.
[both chuckling]
Yeah, look, I don't like giving people information they don't need.
No, it's all good. I figured it out myself anyway.
I wanted to tell you. I thought it was funny.
I didn't have any malice. I didn't think of it like that.
I don't know. I believed everybody. I was like, "That poor guy."
Yeah, yeah. And you know what we're doing tonight, right?
[Gunther] Yeah.
- How you feeling? - Good, you?
So, Aftermath? If you got a second, we'll talk.
- Yeah. - [Roode] Gunther!
So we want to paint the picture where you go over, but you're exhausted.
You finally have that moment. We're getting Gunther out.
You're on your knees or whatever that is.
You finally get the title and have that emotional moment,
"You fucking did it." You know what I mean?
As emotional as possible. I get a camera in the ring
to make it look like we're going off the air.
You can get up on your feet.
and finally give me that moment where you fucking look and just…
Before you even get it up, here he comes.
And I feel like, you know, you take your time on all that too.
- Like you can't fucking believe it. - I'm gonna take my sweet ass fucking time.
Cry if you can. And you know what I mean? As emotional as fucking possible.
As soon as you just do this, it's like, fuck.
- I will milk that till it is bone dry. - [Roode] Yeah.
Uh, Bobby clued me in on, uh, plans for post-match.
Sounds awesome.
- [Hunter] Sound good? - Oh, yeah.
Yeah, I felt like if you went through a war,
you know, you went through a war, can barely get up and fucking…
but you've overcome and all that shit.
Holy shit, he finally fucking did it. Here's your moment. And bang.
[Cole] We are live at the home of the NFL's Giants and Jets.
The finals of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
A neighborhood which has hosted a number of SummerSlams,
but tonight makes history with the first ever epic two-night event.
Over 50,000 WWE fans are expected tonight
for the 38th annual SummerSlam.
So the camera's gonna be right in my face?
- [man] One minute to party. - [Hunter] Take your time.
We're in no rush, so don't feel like you gotta rush.
Take your time going up the stairs, doing all of it. Have fun.
- Okay. - All right?
I need to hug you! You're so nice.
- [Hunter] Let's do it. All right. - [Cardi B] So nice meeting you.
["Hello" by Cardi B playing]
♪ Hello, it's me ♪
♪ Hello, hey! ♪
♪ I'm turnt up at the party ♪
♪ I'm geekin' out my body ♪
♪ She shake it, clap it for me ♪
♪ These… love some Cardi ♪
♪ I'm turnt up at the party ♪
♪ I'm geekin' out my body ♪
♪ She twerk it, clap it for me Like yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah ♪
♪ Hello, it's me ♪
Whoo!
What's good, WWE Universe?
[crowd cheering]
Who's ready to whoop some ass?
[crowd] Yeah!
Whoo!
- Go with your instincts. - Yes, sir.
Don't overthink it, man. You got it. The moves and all that is in there.
Yes, sir.
Love you, brother. Thank you for the opportunity.
- Fuck yeah. - I'm gonna make you proud.
- Tear this shit up. Enjoy this. - I'm gonna have a fucking ball.
♪ I hear voices in my head ♪
♪ They counsel me, they understand ♪
♪ They talk to me… ♪
[Cole] Jelly Roll weighs in at 299 pounds, the lightest in many, many years.
[Barrett] Jelly Roll has been doing all the right things.
He's been training with some of the absolute best.
What he hasn't done is actually have a match.
♪ They talk to me… ♪
[Jelly Roll] Let's go! Ring the bell!
[Cole] As the bell rings, Jelly Roll tags himself in.
We're gonna have to see what Jelly Roll's learned
over the past, uh, number of weeks as he starts things off.
We about to get a little flurry here from Jelly.
[suspenseful music playing]
[Cole] And a big elbow by Jelly drops Paul.
- [Barrett] Oh! - [Cole] Oh!
Boom!
We're gonna get a tag to Big Drew.
[Barrett] But now the game changes.
[Cole] Jelly, you might want to make a tag now to Mr. Orton
while you have the opportunity, 'cause here comes McIntyre.
- Show 'em what you're about! - [Cole] Randy trying to psych up Jelly.
[Orton] Get him! Get him!
[Cole] Now may realize he made a mistake.
[Barrett] It is every celebrity's dream to get in this ring
until you face reality.
We're gonna put Jelly on the table.
Lookin' at your big table spot.
[Cole] Oh man, this is… Things are getting outta control here.
[Jelly Roll] There's no way to feel what this is gonna feel like.
I look up and I see him clap those two water bottles together.
I'm petrified at this moment.
[Logan whooping]
[crowd groans]
[crowd chanting] Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit!
Baby?!
[crowd groans]
[Cole] Jelly Roll is gonna rue the day
that he wanted to become a WWE superstar.
[dramatic music playing]
[Logan whooping]
[crowd groans]
Check… check on everybody, please.
[Cole] The medical personnel at ringside have got Jelly Roll to his feet.
Everybody is good. Everybody is good.
[Cole] A two-on-one situation.
Logan Paul and Drew McIntyre continue to pummel away on Orton.
Logan Paul laughing and mocking at Jelly Roll.
- Oh, bye-bye! - Logan! Logan!
Bye-bye!
[Jelly Roll] Me and Shane,
the producer Shane, we talked about it all night.
This is where it wins or dies.
When you turn around,
it's either gonna be one of the pops of the night or fall flat.
[crowd chanting] Jelly Roll! Jelly Roll! Jelly Roll! Jelly Roll!
Jelly Roll! Jelly Roll!
[Jelly Roll] When I turned around for that comeback,
it was like,
"It happened."
[crowd] Jelly Roll!
[Cole] I don't know what Jelly's thinking. He's trying to drag himself back in.
[crowd chanting] Jelly Roll! Jelly Roll! Jelly Roll! Jelly Roll!
[Cole] You gotta applaud Jelly Roll
to not leave his partner high and dry here in this match.
- Randy Orton is gonna tag in Jelly Roll. - [Barrett] Oh my God.
[Cole] And here he comes!
And Jelly Roll with a clothesline.
[Barrett] Just fighting on pure adrenaline here.
Watch for the Claymore. Stay here.
- [Barrett] Oh! - [Cole] Claymore!
Logan Paul up top…
One, two, three!
- [Cole] For the win! - [bell dings]
[Cole] Well, there's no fairy-tale ending for our celebrity here tonight.
[Barrett] And he showed us all something here.
Jelly Roll went out on his shield.
- [Prichard] That was awesome. - It felt great.
First of all, shout out to Triple H for believing it, right?
Because imagine there's a 480-pound musician and gorilla
taking up the space of three men going,
"Dude, I'm gonna lose a bunch of weight and take a wrestling match. Fan for life."
Triple H believed me.
- I love you. - Good shit.
- I'm in, brother. I am fucking in. - Congratulations.
[Jelly Roll] I love you. Best night of my life, man.
[Hunter] You worked your fucking ass off.
[Jelly Roll] I made mistakes, but I did pretty good.
[Hunter] But, dude, nobody even noticed those.
I only say this to people that get it. Respect.
- Respect. - Fucking respect. Okay?
- Thank you, brother. - Fuck yeah.
Are you on your bus?
[Rollins] Yes.
[Heyman] So I'll come out to see you.
Let's make sure it's exactly how we want it.
And the next time we come in, we're going for it.
[suspenseful music playing]
[Heyman] Punk wins.
We get the title in Punk's hands.
[Rollins] Yes.
[Heyman] When he lifts the title in the air
to give it to the audience that chanted his name for ten years,
we hit your music.
- [woman] Want to talk now or later? - [Roode] Now.
- We're doing a cash-in. - [woman] Okay.
[Roode] So, Seth is coming back.
When you get to the bottom of the ramp, wait because Seth is gonna come out.
[Heyman] We come out on the stage. I have the briefcase. You're on crutches.
[Rollins] Crutches and the brace?
[Heyman] And the knee brace.
[Roode] Seth is coming down and Seth is gonna grab you.
He's gonna slide in, whack Punk a bunch of times.
He'll come to you, say he's gonna cash-in.
Whoo! Walking up with the fucking best in the world, baby.
[Heyman] Are you cracking him with the briefcase?
[Rollins] Oh yeah. I can't wait.
- Many times, if I can. [laughs] - [Heyman] Stomp.
You do the cash-in. He stomps him. You count, one, two, three.
- All in the ring? You got it. - Thank you.
[Rollins] Do we stay in the ring?
[Heyman] We stay in the ring. We stand over the dead body.
Get heat. Get out when the time is right. You call it. We'll go with your gut.
[Rollins] That's great, yeah. Yeah, I like that.
[Alicia Taylor] From Chicago, Illinois,
CM Punk!
[Barrett] You can have all the cockiness and arrogance in the world
when you're in your twenties,
but right now, old Father Time is catching up with CM Punk.
It's a win now situation.
[Roode] Jess, I don't know exactly how it's gonna go,
just be at the bottom of the ramp.
So if Seth points at you or grabs you, just go along with it.
You got it. Thank you.
[bell dings]
[crowd chanting] CM Punk! CM Punk!
[Barrett] The sun's gone to hell, the moon's riding high,
and we are ready for a main event for the ages here.
Oh!
[Cole] Barrett… Oh my goodness! Again, a shotgun-like blast.
Stay here. And you're gonna get a chop-fest by Gunther.
[Cole] Now a chop to the back.
- Punk's in trouble now. - Keep chopping. One in the belly.
[Barrett] The body of CM Punk is being broken down before our eyes.
[Cole] Stacks him up to retain,
and Punk kicks at two.
Not quite sure how Punk still has anything left in him.
[crowd] CM Punk!
[Roode] Can you make sure Heyman's up here, please?
- Heyman? - [Roode] Paul Heyman?
[Cole] He's hung up. He's in trouble.
[Heyman] It's tough to keep a surprise now.
Keeping a return a secret?
Not letting people know that Seth Rollins doesn't need crutches?
This makes it so much more difficult.
'Cause all it takes is one person goes… ctcht.
What goes into a reveal?
Everything.
We're doing theater.
And the audience is our chorus.
We're building to something.
And we're asking you to pay
to enjoy the ride along with us.
What can make this moment that memorable?
That's the assignment.
That's the job.
That's what we do.
[Lynch giggles]
It's a miracle.
You got your crutches?
[Rollins] They're bringing them up separately.
- You gonna take the brace off too? - What?
- You taking the brace off as well? - Yeah.
[man] Welcome back.
Those fucking crutches are the death of me, Larry.
[Cole] Gunther's taking a victory lap already.
Wait a minute. CM Punk back on his feet.
Gunther may have made a critical error there.
- This is gonna be fucking great. - I think so.
- [Cole] Oh my goodness. - [Barrett] Oh wow.
[Cole] The world champion has been busted open.
- Gunther is busted open. - [Barrett] Oh my God.
I don't know if I've ever seen Gunther covered in his own blood like that.
[Cole] Gunther trying to beg off.
I don't remember, to your point,
the last time Gunther's tasted his own blood in a match.
[Barrett] Forget everything that's happened previously.
The game has changed.
[tense music playing]
[Cole] Oh yeah!
Punk delivers it to Gunther,
and Punk could be closing in on his championship.
CM Punk still with some life left.
Punk now with Gunther up on his shoulders.
Punk with a GTS.
A Go To Sleep to the champion.
Punk's gonna go for it again.
[crowd] Yeah!
[Cole] Punk with a second GTS.
- Punk into the cover. - [crowd] One… two…
[Cole] Punk is the world champion!
CM Punk is the world champion!
[Taylor] Here is your winner
and new
World Heavyweight Champion,
CM Punk!
Yeah, milk it, motherfucker.
[Heyman chortling]
[Cole] An emotional CM Punk filled with tears
has finally proven beyond a shadow of a doubt
that he is the best in the world.
[Hunter] On me.
Now.
♪ Burn it down ♪
[crowd cheering wildly]
[Rollins] Once the audience hears the music,
I was worried
they would know what was happening,
even when I came out on the crutches with the brace.
And I thought maybe the ruse at the end of the ruse was
a bit surplus,
and the second pop wouldn't be as big as the first pop.
That's always the big fear is, you know, you want your pops to elevate.
You want the excitement to increase as you're moving towards the moment.
When will you learn, you idiot?
That thing is coming home with me.
Hold on to it while you can.
Seth takes a step to leave like he's going back to Gorilla,
then we get all our Shakespeare.
That was the only concern I had
was whether we were going in the right direction
by doing the walkaway
and, "Oh, he's just here to remind people that he's still got the case."
That moment, I didn't know if that was going to play well.
[crowd cheering excitedly]
[Rollins] When I heard the noise when the crutches dropped,
I was like, "Oh. Oh yeah."
Oh, I'm sorry. Were some of my posts misleading?
[mock laughter]
[dramatic music playing]
[Cole] Oh my God.
[Barrett] Oh no.
[chuckling] Oh no!
[Cole] Not tonight.
Not tonight of all nights.
[Barrett] I'd call it a miracle, but I don't think it's that.
CM Punk and Seth Rollins now going after one another.
Turn around.
[Cole] And another one.
Another one.
[Cole] And another one.
Punk getting the hell beat out of him by Seth Rollins.
Cash it in! Cash it in! Cash it in!
Cash it in!
[Taylor] Seth Rollins is cashing in his Money in the Bank!
- That's your shot. That's the one. - [bell dings]
He's the one! He's the only thing in your way.
It's in the vision.
- [Cole] Punk is helpless. - [suspenseful music building]
[Cole] A stomp to Punk.
You got to be kidding me.
- A cover by Rollins. - [crowd] One, two, three.
[Cole] Oh my God. Rollins is the world heavyweight champion.
[Taylor] Here is your winner
and new
World Heavyweight Champion,
Seth "Freakin'" Rollins.
[Cole] Seth Rollins outmaneuvered CM Punk again.
[Rollins roaring]
That's the… the ultimate indicator.
How's the payoff?
If the payoff worked, everything else worked.
And I believe that it worked perfectly.
I'm just so happy that's over.
- Now I don't have to lie anymore. - [Hunter laughs]
[Heyman chuckles gleefully]
[Rollins] This is what we've been dreaming of.
This is what we've been dreaming of.
This is the beauty
of the work ethic.
This crazy-ass performance art
that we lovingly call "professional wrestling."
What's up, guys?
- [Hunter] You lying, motherfucker. - [both laughing]
- Congrats, man. - Learned from the best.
- Badass, dude. That was fucking badass. - Thank you. Thank you.
We're done.
- We're done. - We're done. We're done.
Bye-bye crutches.
- We're done with the lying. - Yeah, done with the lying.
- No more lies, no tricks. - Done lying.
[Rollins] Finally getting the title
and moving forward with myself and Heyman and Breaker and Reed,
it felt like "Now we're here."
"Now we've arrived,
and we can really start to do some fantastic work
for wherever this leads."
[CM Punk] I am beat the fuck up.
I need an ice bath, and some ice cream, and some ice.
It's nights like that that
remind me of… what I fell in love with to start this entire journey.
It's a physical business,
but it's about… it's about making people feel what you're feeling.
You know? Sometimes you put yourself through hell
to, uh… for your art.
For your art.
Oh man.
It's about emotion.
Thanks for the opportunity. I hope it was all you wanted.
Oh my God, that was fucking… That had to feel good.
Oh, I mean, yes and no.
[laughing] Yeah, a lot of it didn't feel good.
- But it had to feel good. - That's what it needed to be.
Dude, and then you played that shit on the end with the tears in your eyes.
All that shit was so fucking good and emotional.
- You'll get sick of this, but thank you. - Thank you, dude.
You brought me back, and I think we're doing great things.
You make me and Mick look like geniuses for doing it.
- Magic, man. - Fucking A.
So night one was epic.
Went about as well as I think it could have,
um, but we still got a whole nother night to go.
[intriguing music playing]
[Cody] I got this thing a long time ago and finally found an excuse to use it.
So I was like, "Yes. I'm pumped."
After WrestleMania and after losing to John Cena,
I took a little time off.
[instructor] Inhale, left arm up.
[Cody] The biggest thing from yoga is being present.
My mind runs at a pace
where I often don't take any time to realize where we're at.
This is modern WWE, where the athleticism is through the roof.
And if you're not doing the things that fix your body,
then you end up not being able to do it for very long.
Look at WrestleMania, and when you lose the title,
no matter what anyone tells you,
if they tell you it doesn't matter or it doesn't feel a certain way,
they're lying to you.
- [bell dings] - I didn't like the end result.
Not in terms of finish, in terms of execution.
I think it was beneath what we can do.
I need far better.
And… and not just I need far better, WWE needs far better.
[Hayes] So I think
that the reason
that a lot of people were down
on the Cena-Cody WrestleMania match
was that it didn't translate and it didn't feel genuine.
Because you know what, John? They love you. They appreciate you.
You've done maybe more than anybody's ever done
for this industry.
You're not gonna be able to take that away from them.
They're not gonna hate you like you want them to hate you.
It's not gonna happen.
Just go out there and tear it up. That's what they want.
[Cody] If people were disappointed, let's round this out.
Let's remind them that WWE always does have
not just a happy ending, but a conclusion.
The goal would be to get back to the title match,
wrestling against John Cena at SummerSlam.
- [instructor] Namaste. - Namaste.
[Hayes] John really wanted to make up for the Mania match.
Bad. He felt he owed Cody that.
The only thing left to do was to determine how and when
we were going to get John Cena back over to being classic babyface John Cena.
[Hunter] Cena's gonna defend that title against Cody Rhodes.
But it's no DQ, or a street fight or whatever.
Does he fucking shake Cody's hand?
Do all that stuff? Like, have a moment there?
Let the end of the heel run resonate as Cody did it.
Then get it done on the other side, yeah.
Is the flip side of that
John then coming to Cody's aid?
- [Koskey] Yeah. - Right?
Like, to turn back babyface somewhere in August
because Cody now is in trouble,
and the guy that actually saves him is John Cena under the…
"Yeah, I fucking… I fucked up, and I got ahead of myself here."
"And I realized that I thought you weren't the guy,
and you are, and I fucking support you and believe in you."
And now he finishes out August to December…
[Koskey] Yeah.
…clean as a babyface is what we were originally thinking.
And is that the… Is that the scenario?
Yeah.
We didn't know at the time Cody was gonna be going away
to make a movie for six weeks.
I got to get with John.
The Cody going away thing changes a bunch of shit.
[Cody] On the backside of SummerSlam,
I am going to Australia to shoot Street Fighter,
uh, where I will be playing the character of Guile,
which is dope.
Um, I grew up playing the character.
So they kind of got me sight unseen, which I hope I don't blow it.
[intriguing music playing]
[Koskey] The thought was at that point of, let's just get to Cena the night before
and kind of pull him back, so that Cena was made whole
and back on the good side heading into that match.
[Cody] A good face turn is never meant to really be a shock.
There's still good in you. Turn face!
A good face turn should be something you're feeling
and you already were like, "Come on, man. We're cheering for you now."
"Like, just come on."
[crowd chanting] Cena! Cena! Cena! Cena! Cena! Cena! Cena! Cena!
[Cody] A really good babyface turn is one that we're leading the audience to,
but also the audience is leading us to.
Uh, John's being a prime example of a face turn
where he basically said, "I'm a babyface now."
[Cena] Mark your calendar, Cody.
August 1st, 2025. Newark, New Jersey.
The day that John Cena came back to the WWE.
[crowd cheering]
[Cody] John doing it in the fashion that he did
where he told the audience, "I'm gonna be me."
Very John.
"Let me make it even cleaner for you. I'm gonna tell them I'm back."
[Cole] He's back.
[Cody] "I'm gonna be me at SummerSlam."
"And me at SummerSlam is one of the greatest babyfaces,
if not the greatest babyface of all time."
[intriguing music playing]
[Cena] I think the easiest way for us to get you involved, if you don't mind…
Yeah.
…would be having these accessible.
So have me give you one of these.
- Okay. - And just take it.
- Yeah? Okay. - If that's all right.
Totally fine with me.
Do you want us to use the thing in the match?
- Sure, yeah. - Okay, cool, cool.
'Cause I also don't want to put you in a spot where you feel… uncomfortable.
[Haliburton] Not at all. I'm gonna tell you, do that.
Awesome. Awesome.
I think the story that we wanted to tell was…
we're willing to both go to the lengths that a street fight demands,
but we don't have to do it without respect.
I wanted every bit of it to be a warrior's death.
If you're refusing to hand the torch, I'm gonna murder you for it.
I'm gonna take it by force.
In some of these versions where I'm standing there watching him come up,
it's a lot of just looking at it with love, reverence.
- But also like, "We're at it." - I think so.
Also, I don't know, is there a little salute in there?
That whole fucking, "I love you, but I'm sorry."
- You know what I mean? - Yeah.
[suspenseful music playing]
This was the big finale to me and Becky's feud.
The ultimate battle at the end of our story.
I felt a lot of pressure going into this one
because it was a no disqualification match.
The main event on the show was John Cena and Cody Rhodes,
also with a no disqualification stipulation.
How are you doing? You look so cool!
So it was very hard to come up with some unique ideas.
I get a chain, um,
tie it around her mouth, pull her,
pull her into the steps, knock the steps off.
Okay, we are using the bottom steps for the main event.
Okay, so maybe don't do that.
[Hates] So in what we call gimmick matches,
you know, no DQ, street fight,
they're hard to prepare for because you can talk 'em through.
You can't actually go through 'em at full speed
because you have to save that for the match
or you're gonna kill the guy or girl before the match
and they won't be able to perform to their best.
So you can't do that.
[Lynch] Maybe zip ties?
Maybe. How would she get out?
[Lyra] You get one try at this stuff,
and it's in front of 60,000 people.
We're not doing the old music, no, just the…
- We're just going straight into it. - Cool.
We were debuting my new entrance music
by The Wonder Years, who are one of my favorite bands.
[rock music playing]
New fricking song!
Oh, I love it, man.
I love it. I… I reached out to The Wonder Years.
Um, big fan of them.
And, uh, Dan Campbell, the singer-songwriter of the band,
I was like, "Man, would you guys be interested in doing my song,
if, like, if you can?"
Like, two seconds later, he writes back, "Fuck yeah! Yeah, we would love to."
Within, like, two days, he had written this banger of a song.
♪ I'm spitting blood I'm staring down a broken nose… ♪
He had lots of little Easter eggs in it.
One of them
is, uh, "I talk to your ghost every night."
And I looked where my dad was sitting, you know,
six years ago.
♪ I talk to your ghost Every night in my sleep ♪
[music fades]
- [Helms] Hey, Bec. - [tired grunt]
- [Helms] Wanna go over some ideas? - Yeah.
Yeah. Oh man, I did not…
Um, I got quite emotional on that day.
- Sorry. - All good.
The last time we were here, my… my dad was in the front row, and…
and there's that line in the song, "I talk to your ghost every night."
So it just kind of got me. [chuckles]
- I got you. All good. - [Lynch sniffles]
- [Hunter] You good? - Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm good. I'm good.
It just got me a bit emotional there, you know?
[pensive music playing]
[Lynch] Last time I was here, my dad was sitting there.
Yeah, my poor dad with cancer
was just sitting there with his fucking blanket on.
- For the whole show? - The whole show.
- Good to get it out now. - [Helms] Yeah.
[Hunter] Yeah, sometimes good to remember where you come from.
[Lynch] Yeah.
And, um…
Yeah, it got me good. Got me good.
[suspenseful music playing]
[crowd cheering, whistling]
MetLife Stadium,
if you thought last night was something,
you ain't seen nothing yet.
[crowd cheering]
I have one question for you.
Are you ready?
[crowd] Yeah!
I said…
- [crowd] Are you ready? - Are you ready?
[Lyra] I always feel on fire internally.
I always do, but, like, every time. But I feel like this every time,
and then, like, it always just seems to be magic,
so hopefully, it's always gonna stay like that.
But again, I'm always, like, really nervous
and trying to put out the fires in my head and… and stay on top of things.
And you just can't freak out. Like, it's just… We've gotta go.
But I'm freaking out. [chuckles]
[bell dings]
[Taylor] The following is a no disqualification match
for the Women's Intercontinental Championship.
[indie rock music playing]
[Taylor] She is the Women's Intercontinental Champion,
"The Man" Becky Lynch.
[Barrett] Becky Lynch has been the standard of Irish dominance
for the past ten years,
and she is not ready to relinquish that role
to a young up-and-coming pretender in Lyra Valkyria.
Not sure I would use the word "pretender" when it comes to Lyra Valkyria.
[Lyra] In the SummerSlam match,
I think I'd already lost the battle before I went through the curtain.
I just didn't switch on.
[uneasy music playing]
[Lyra] I felt a lot of pressure.
I'm always able to live in the moment, and for that match, I just couldn't.
[Taylor] Introducing the challenger,
Lyra Valkyria.
[Lyra] When I was making my entrance,
I was just thinking, "Let's just get the bell ringing."
"Let's just do this."
And that's how I knew I was not in the zone that I needed to be.
[bell dings]
Anything that could have gone wrong went wrong.
[Cole] Lyra now, boot right to the midsection of Becky Lynch.
[Lyra] One of the first things, I threw Becky into the photographer.
[Cole] Becky… Oh!
Oh, that poor still photo man.
[Helms laughing]
[Bayley giggling] She said sorry to him!
She's so nice.
I was like, "Oh, sorry!" [chuckles]
[Barrett] It's a dangerous place to be for anyone near this ringside area.
Here come the reveal of the zip ties.
[Lyra chuckles] Nothing that happened with the weapons
went the way it was supposed to.
[Cole] Becky's got a zip tie,
and she's gonna zip tie the hands together,
literally handcuffing Valkyria here.
[Barrett] Perfectly legal, Michael Cole.
Guess what, Valkyria?
This is what you asked for.
[Lyra] That was my idea.
I was like, "That would be a really cool moment,
if, even though Becky had completely incapacitated me,
I still ended up beating her up with zip ties.
[Cole] Now she's got Becky trapped in the waist lock.
And now Lyra Valkyria using headbutts.
[Lyra] What happened, however, was,
when I was supposed to be stuck in the zip ties, they came off.
Oh shit.
What…? Was it off?
- Was she out of those? - Yes!
Then she's gotta just fucking get out of 'em.
They're loose. Tell her just that they're off.
[Lyra] I'm trained when something happens that's not planned,
you throw the plan out the window, and you go, "They're off."
But in the moment when they came off,
I was thinking… "What if the cameras didn't catch that?"
If they missed that, then it's like,
"She was zip tied a second ago, and now she's not."
"Whereas if I slip them back on and hope the cameras didn't see it,
same match."
The cameras did catch it, which is another unfortunate thing from the match.
[man] Did they come undone?
- And she put her own hand back into them. - [man] Argh.
How soon until she gets out of this?
She's gonna go under the ring, we're gonna lose Lyra,
and then it's the end of these zip ties.
[Cole] And Becky looking…oh!
And Lyra was under the ring with a fire extinguisher in hand.
And when I was supposed to free myself from the zip ties…
[chuckles] …they stayed on.
[Cole] Lyra trying to use the sharp edge of that fire extinguisher
to break the zip tie here.
I don't know why she's not using the ring like we talked about.
[Lyra] Taking off the zip ties, I couldn't get them off.
I had to crawl under the ring and get someone to cut them. [chuckles]
It was a nightmare.
[disbelieving chuckle]
[groans, chuckles]
- How are we doing time-wise on this? - [Prichard] Heavy as fuck.
- Almost five minutes heavy right now. - Fuck. We gotta go.
[Lyra] I just didn't respond to things going wrong
the way I wish I had.
Lyra's gonna put her foot on the table, run Becky backwards into the post.
Or not.
I'm not exactly sure what's happening.*
Fuck.
[Cole] Becky Lynch, who's got Lyra trapped,
standing on the Spanish announce table.
And Becky Lynch… Oh, with a kick right to Lyra.
Here's the mean streak from "The Man" Becky Lynch.
Is Bayley in position?
Okay, thank you.
Here comes the finish.
[Cole] Becky went for the Manhandle Slam. Nice arm drag takedown.
And Bayley! Oh my goodness.
[Barrett] Took a swing at Becky Lynch, missed and caught Valkyria.
- [Cole] The Manhandle Slam. - [crowd] One… two…
[Cole] "The Man" retains.
[Taylor] Here is your winner…
How heavy was that?
At least ten minutes.
[Barrett] You've got to be tough. You've got to be talented.
But most of all, you've got to be lucky.
And luck was smiling on Becky Lynch tonight.
[Cole] Congratulations to Becky Lynch.
Oh, she's gonna be so mad when she comes back from this match.
- [Lynch] Sorry. - Uh-huh.
- [Lynch] It wasn't great. - [Hayes] Huh?
- [Lynch] Wasn't great. - [Hayes] It was pretty good.
[Lynch] It wasn't great.
[Hayes] I know.
It was pretty good.
[Lynch] It's not good enough.
I don't think it was the drizzling shits.
Like, it wasn't the worst match of all time.
But I think that we had such high expectations,
maybe it didn't match up to that.
- [Rollins] Yeah. - It just wasn't great.
I want to be the person that people say "I absolutely loved wrestling her."
"She gave me my best match ever."
And I felt like I let myself down or didn't rise to meet the occasion.
I didn't even want to go back up to Gorilla.
I felt so overwhelmed.
[Lynch] She was very upset with herself.
And she just started apologizing to me.
And I was like, "It's fine." Like, "It's fine. It's just wrestling."
And then she was like, "No, it's not fine. I need you to yell at me."
And I was like, "No, I'm never going to be upset
because a wrestling move or moves don't go our way."
She's great. She cares. But also, that mindset is why she's so great.
That's why she's going to continue to be great.
That's why she's going to get better.
Because she doesn't want the kid gloves. She… she wants to be told.
That's both a great and terrible mindset.
Great for progress. Terrible for mental health.
And I know this. I am this.
[Lyra] I came to the back,
and a lot of my coworkers commended the creativity
and a lot of the things that we did out there.
John Cena came up to me after that match.
He said very complimentary things about it.
[Cena] That shit with the chair?
There's no fucking way I'd have ever said yes to that.
Like, that shit was violent and brutal.
And we got Bayley back in the fray,
and now it's, like, mixed emotions and shit.
Like, it's way better than you think.
[Lyra] There was no changing my mind on it.
So that was very hard.
Honestly, everything up to now has been so amazing.
But, uh, you know, when you… [sniffles]
This is every… Like, this is everything. So, uh, when it… when it doesn't…
[sniffles]
…when you don't feel the magic or whatever, it's…
This is the first time I've felt this way. So…
[chuckles sadly]
If you want me to be real, this is as real as I can be right now.
[sniffles]
Sometimes, just anything that can go wrong does go wrong.
Especially when you're, you know, using weapons and stuff.
And you got one take at all this.
It's… it's… it's… it's not a movie.
We don't go out and rehearse stuff like actors and stuntmen and all this.
And, uh, sometimes, it just doesn't go the way you see it in your head.
It's just what happens sometimes. Um…
But it's only, like… I think this happens to everyone at some point.
And the only way you can really judge a talent is
on what they do afterwards, how they handle that.
And they don't do this, let me tell you.
Like, you can feel it. Then you have to pick up and move on.
'Cause we've always got Raw on Monday. We've always got the next big show.
And no one, like, ever has the perfect streak.
You have to get knocked down and get back up again.
So, we've got Raw on Monday.
I'm gonna have to just fucking get back up and be okay. [chuckles sadly]
That's about as real as I can be and as much as I can say right now,
so I'm gonna go eat a cookie or something.
You're always telling me to be present and soak it in.
I just had one of those moments where I want to say thanks.
Thank you, man.
- My man, congratulations. - Thanks, bro. Love you.
Thank you. I just wanted to make you all proud of me.
You made us all proud. Do your thing, dude.
- You know how much I love this business. - I can't wait until you're back.
- I know. I'm coming for it. - I know it, man.
[Cole] It is main event time.
For the sixth time in his career, and the final time ever,
John Cena will main event SummerSlam
against the former champion,
"The American Nightmare" Cody Rhodes.
♪ Adrenaline in my soul ♪
♪ Every fight out of control ♪
♪ Do it all to get them off their feet ♪
♪ Whoa-oh… ♪
[fireworks exploding]
[Cole] Cena claims he saw the error of his ways,
knows he has four months left here in WWE.
All right. Leave this sit for a second.
[crowd chanting] Cena! Cena! Cena! Cena! Cena! Cena! Cena! Cena!
Everybody's standing.
Fucking badass.
[crowd chanting] Cena! Cena! Cena! Cena! Cena! Cena! Cena! Cena!
Ready?
I'm not doing it.
- ["My Time is Now" playing] - [crowd cheering]
♪ Krrp, yap a dude ♪
[Cole] In front of 60,561 WWE fans at SummerSlam,
the old John Cena is back,
much like he proclaimed Friday night on SmackDown.
Y'all know what time it is.
Time to go to work.
♪ In case you forgot or fell off I'm still hot, knock your shell off ♪
♪ My money stack fat Plus I can't turn the swell off ♪
♪ The franchise Kid, your boy hold weight ♪
♪ I got my soul straight I brush your mouth like Colgate… ♪
Being in the ring at SummerSlam, I'm glad, selfishly,
that I got to be part of the old John Cena stepping back into the light.
♪ Krrp, yap a dude ♪
♪ Your time is up, my time is now ♪
♪ You can't see me, my time is now… ♪
[Cody] Long-form storytelling, hardest thing is to be patient.
♪ My time is now ♪
[bell dings]
[Barrett] John Cena really has tapped back into
what made him great in the first place this evening.
But, Superman, meet Superman.
[Cole] And after the show of respect, here we go. Cody and Cena underway.
Remember, street fight rules.
Anything goes. You got to win via pinfall or submission.
John Cena going to reverse. Cody shoulder first into the steps.
John's going to get the stairs and put them in the ring.
[Cole] Cena has four months left in his career here.
He wants to go out as the champion.
And Cena, oh!
- Actually throwing the steps at Cody. - [Barrett] Oh!
We're going to work our way to Haliburton's, uh, crutch here.
John will grab it.
[Cole] That's Tyrese Haliburton of the Indiana Pacers,
out after an Achilles surgery.
And now John Cena using the crutch.
Again, perfectly legal tonight. Anything goes for the championship.
Cody quickly drives Cena onto the table.
[Barrett] The body of John Cena has been through wars for the past 20 years,
taken way more abuse than most.
Eventually, it does catch up with you.
[Hunter] John is,
in many ways,
doubting himself more than I believe we are doubting him.
So he is in a place now where he's saying,
"I can't do what I used to do. I can't deliver that level."
And the truth is,
he really still can.
[suspenseful music building]
[Barrett] John Cena has the experience to never run out of options.
He's been in the deep waters more than anyone.
- Oh God. - [Cole] Oh my God.
John Cena! Are you kidding me?
[crowd gasping, cheering delightedly]
Yes!
[crowd chanting] You still got it!
You still got it!
[Hunter] At some point in time,
Father Time beats us all.
But I'm watching him do certain things just like he always did,
and it's magic.
[Cole] Leg drop!
How is Cena still able to do this?
Come on!
[crowd cheering]
It's that time!
[crowd] You can't see me!
[Cody] There's just a real love between him and the fans right now.
John's as popular as he's ever been and as over as he has ever been,
and I have to deal with that.
[crowd groans]
[crowd cheers]
[crowd groans]
[crowd cheers]
[crowd groans]
[Hunter] That's where it gets tough for fans.
Moments where they see their all-time favorite getting beaten up.
[Cole] Cody Rhodes!
[Barrett] Oh God. Oh!
[Cole] With a piledriver to Cena!
[Hunter] From their side, it's disrespectful.
[Hayes] Cody's face is good in the seas.
Second-guessing himself, "So I've done that?"
[Cody] Yes, we're going at it. But I really love this guy too.
I know John does not like to tell the fans how we do it,
and I respect that.
I will tell you something John Cena told me in the ring
that I'll never forget.
They were booing.
This was right before I stomped on his ankle.
And he just looked up and said, "Be yourself."
This what you want?
[Cena] Hey, just be you. Be you.
[Cody] This is very John
because the moment was there to be a bad guy,
to beat him up with malice, to beat him up and be that heel.
John can figure that out and realize, "No, just be yourself."
Because the story that we wanted to tell was two characters being virtuous.
Let them go through absolute hell
knowing I won't stab you in the back, but I will stab you in the front.
[Roode] Stay with Cody. He's gonna undo that bottom rope.
[Cody] He should refuse to hand the torch.
Well, cool. Then I'm gonna take it by force.
[Cole] What exactly is Cody doing here?
[Barrett] Unscrewing that turnbuckle. The rope's down.
[Cole] Cody Rhodes with that piece of steel.
[Cody] To be able to tell that story through our faces.
[Barrett] Cody having doubts again here.
[Cole] Well, I mean, he's looking at the all-time great.
[anguished yell]
[Cole] Cody Rhodes doing anything he can to try to fell the champion.
The beauty of a match like that, it's very real.
[Cole] Up top.
Cody Cutter through the table!
[Cody] If you're a babyface, you have to stick to those virtues.
Even if it's not something that is making them happy,
if you're beating up someone that they really love,
I don't want to do that with any dishonor.
I want you to know that.
[Cole] And a final salute to the greatest of all time.
Cody Rhodes with a Cross Rhodes to Cena.
Into the cover! Hooks the leg!
[crowd] Two…
- [Cole] Cody Rhodes is champion! - [bell dings]
[solemn music playing]
[Cole] It is a passing of the torch from the greatest of all time, John Cena,
to the man who will carry WWE into the future,
the new Undisputed WWE Champion, Cody Rhodes.
Cody's getting emotional.
[Cody] To be around the literal greatest of all time in our business,
that situation's extremely special.
I drove John around for years, learned everything I could from him.
He didn't know I was learning from him.
That's why I told him in the ring. I told him, "Sorry it took me so long."
[Cole] Cody Rhodes is once again the Undisputed WWE Champion.
Always the gentleman,
Cody Rhodes, the "American Nightmare,"
will leave the ring to the one and only, the greatest of all time, John Cena,
to bask in the glow of over 60,000 people in what is his last SummerSlam.
- My time is up. - [crowd chanting] Thank you, Cena!
Thank you, Cena!
Nobody's leaving.
[Hunter] Our business is about telling stories.
Truth is, John can still do that better than almost anyone.
- [crowd] Thank you, Cena! - Thank you, guys.
- Thank you. - [crowd] Thank you, Cena!
Thank you, Cena!
But the reality of it is, on the other side of this,
you only have 12 dates left
in arguably the greatest career
of one of the greatest performers of all time.
[Cole] Ladies and gentlemen, enjoy this while you can.
So how do you make that work in a way that is a roller coaster ride?
Where… where are they bringing him by? Bottom of Gorilla?
[indistinct chattering]
Anybody that doesn't need to be up here in Gorilla
needs to get the fuck outta here.
You go into John's
rivalries and histories.
- [Hunter] How you doing? - [Lesnar] Good, man.
- Hey, Bruce. - How are you, sir? Good to see you.
[Hayes] Well, one of John's greatest rivalries was with Brock Lesnar.
Brock Lesnar, I think it was, like, 2014, gave John Cena his most lopsided loss
in John's illustrious career.
[Cole] Brock, 16 suplexes to John Cena.
[JBL] That is the most dominating performance I have ever seen
in a championship match in my life.
[Cole] It wasn't even close.
Brock versus Cena is a big, huge marquee matchup.
It's Army-Navy.
It's Georgia-Alabama.
Coupled with the fact that I think Brock was gone from the ring two years.
When you don't see something coming, it's really good.
[Prichard] Now let him come.
[Cole] We have four months left to enjoy the greatness that is John Cena--
- [Brock Lesnar's entrance music playing] - [crowd cheering wildly]
[Cole] What?!
[Barrett] Oh my God!
[Cole] It's "The Beast!"
It's "The Beast" Brock Lesnar!
Hell has come to the Meadowlands!
Brock Lesnar?!
[Cole] John Cena once called this man his toughest rival,
his most physical rival,
and Brock Lesnar is here, and he's as massive as ever!
Oh my God!
[Barrett] This is a man built for one thing--
[Coel] Now Lesnar into the ring!
And Brock Lesnar with John Cena on his shoulders!
Brock Lesnar with an F5 to John Cena!
No!
[Barrett] A message has been sent,
and everything we thought we knew about WWE just changed.
[Cole] John Cena's got four months left, and it could be a nightmare.
[music fades]
[intriguing music playing]
[music fades out]