The Original Tribal Chief returns at Summerslam

Summerslam has long had the moniker “The biggest party of the summer.” Cleveland hosted the summer party that was filled with the dramatic return of Roman Reigns. Along with the return of the original tribal chief, the night was filled with betrayal and the beginning of new storylines that will close out the year. Beyond those storyline developments, there were four title changes on the show, notable since WWE has not seen most of its main roster championships switch hands since WrestleMania. Also this Summerslam was monumental as HHH announced during the post Summerslan press conference that this may be the last one day Summerslam as it will be switching to a two-night format next summer and possibly beyond.

Women's World Championship -- Liv Morgan (c) vs. Rhea Ripley: The first betrayal of the night took place as Dominic Mysterio turned on his “Mami” Rhea Ripley for Liv Morgan. Ripley hit Morgan with a Riptide. Ripley picked up the chair instead of going for the pinfall. Mysterio tried to talk some sense into Ripley, during which Morgan pushed Ripley into Mysterio and hit Oblivion. Ripley kicked out at two, but a second distraction by Mysterio allowed Morgan to hit her finisher on a steel chair. After the match Mysterio handed Morgan the title and kissed Morgan to signal his betrayal of Ripley. In a backstage segment an angry Priest laid into Judgement Day forcing them to go look for Mysterio. Priest yelled at Finn Balor which set up a later betrayal. 

Intercontinental Championship -- Sami Zayn (c) vs. Bron Breakker: This was a pretty short match in time length but a star was born in Breaker as he won his first major belt on the main roster. The highlight of the match was when Breaker hit a nice Frankensteiner off the top ropes, an ode to his uncle Scott Steiner. The champ hit Breakker with a Blue Thunder Bomb and an exploder suplex. Zayn lined Breakker up for a match-ending Helluva Kick but was intercepted by a nasty spear. The Cleveland crowd barked in favor of Breakker as the challenger followed up with a running spear to win the intercontinental title.

United States Championship -- Logan Paul (c) vs. LA Knight: Logan Paul is a Cleveland native. WWE did a great job playing into that fact with Paul being accompanied  to the ring by Cleveland musician Machine Gun Kelly. Knight pulled up in Paul's Prime-branded Hummer that he stole on SmackDown, busting out the blue-tinted windows with a steel pipe. Fists started flying before the match. Knight repeatedly slammed Paul's head into the announce table before planting the champ with a burning hammer neckbreaker onto the table. Knight rolled his opponent into the ring and the match was underway. The match was evenly contested throughout. The crowd was clearly behind the challenger despite Paul being born nearby. MGK slipped brass knuckles to Paul in the closing moments. The champion cracked Knight with the foreign weapon but couldn't seal the deal. Knight flawlessly countered a Buckshot Lariat into a BFT to win the title.  Knight was overdue for a singles title reign, his first main roster belt in a 21-year-long career. 

WWE Women's Championship -- Bayley (c) vs. Nia Jax: Bayley showed plenty of underdog spirit but also shrugged off her label as the undersized champion. Bayley slid underneath as Jax set up for a second A-Nia-Later, lifting up the challenger with a powerbomb.It was an incredible show of strength for the former champion. Tiffany Stratton teased a Money in the Bank cash-in, giving Jax the space to hit two powerbombs and two more  A-Nia-Laters to become champion. Jax and Stratton celebrated post-match.

CM Punk vs. Drew McIntyre (Seth Rollins as special guest referee): The match storytelling was amazing. Throughout this feud it was played as McIntyre was the unstable one who was easily distracted. In this match Punk allowed all the things around him that allowed him to lose the match. Punk made a mental error, being distracted by a sentimental bracelet McIntyre stole from him. McIntyre took advantage by cracking a distracted Punk with a Claymore but only managed a two count. Notably, Rollins took the bracelet off the mat and wore it around his wrist. Punk lifted McIntyre onto his shoulders for Go To Sleep but was again distracted by the bracelet. Punk saw Rollins wearing the bracelet and dropped McIntyre off his shoulders. Punk accused Rollins of playing mind games, which Rollins denied. McIntyre shoved Punk into Rollins and set up a Future Shock DDT, the same move that legitimately injured Punk at the Royal Rumble. Punk countered with the Go To Sleep but Rollins was still recovering on the floor. Rollins rolled back in but McIntyre kicked out after a delayed two-count. Punk and Rollins started arguing. Rollins said Punk wasn't welcome in WWE. Punk hit Rollins with a GTS before turning his attention to McIntyre. McIntyre kicked Punk in the groin -- a callback to Clash at the Castle where Punk did the same to McIntyre -- and hit a match-ending Claymore. Rollins made a slow, hesitant three-count to award McIntyre the victory. McIntyre snatched the bracelet post-match as he mocked Punk. 

World Heavyweight Championship -- Damian Priest (c) vs. GUNTHER: The match of betrayal. Finn Balor came to the ring in what looked like support for his Judgement day bredren but in return it was the very opposite. Priest planted GUNTHER with a Razor's Edge and South of Heaven, but Balor draped GUNTHER's leg over the rope to break the count. Priest wasn't immediately aware of the betrayal but caught the incident on the big screen replay. GUNTHER locked in a rear-naked choke as Priest tried to confront Balor. It appeared that Priest would pass out, but the champ rolled over and nearly pinned GUNTHER. Priest couldn't ignore the treachery and lunged again for Balor. GUNTHER intercepted with a powerbomb and rear-naked choke for the technical submission victory.

Undisputed WWE Championship -- Cody Rhodes (c) vs. Solo Sikoa (Bloodline Rules): Sikoa notably entered without The Bloodline. Rhodes received encouraging words from the legendary Four Horsemen member Arn Anderson en route to the ring with Arn telling the champ he had friends around. The champ didn't have time to capitalize as Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa stormed the ring. The Bloodline dragged Sikoa over Rhodes but the champion kicked out. Queue Kevin Owens and Randy Orton. Rhodes' allies had been absent for weeks after being attacked by The Bloodline but returned on Saturday to even the odds. The champ lined up Sikoa for a match-ending third consecutive finisher, but Jacob Fatu made his presence known. The Bloodline's new enforcer tore through Rhodes before Sikoa crawled over for the cover. Rhodes managed to kick out at the final moment but it only made things worse. Fatu lunged again, laying Rhodes across the announcers' table and driving him through the table with a top rope splash. It appeared Fatu may have legitimately injured his ankle or knee on the landing. Sikoa rolled Rhodes into the ring and hit a top rope splash, yet the fighting champion kicked out. Rhodes hit a Cody Cutter as both men laid fatigued.That's when Roman Reigns' music hit. Reigns took his time entering the ring. He came face-to-face with Sikoa, slugging him with a Superman punch and shredding him with a spear. Reigns gave Rhodes an acknowledging nod before exiting the ring. Rhodes hit Sikoa with a match-ending Cross Rhodes and stared down Reigns while covering Sikoa.