On Saturday, August 1st, WWE returned to Minneapolis, MN, for Night 1 of its big two-night event, “SummerSlam.” This year’s edition of SummerSlam appeared to be bigger than any other that we’ve seen before. Oba Femi headlined Night 1 by challenging Brock Lesnar inside of Hell In A Cell. This rivalry has become deeply personal, and many fans hope this match will serve as the true passing of the torch moment. Would that turn out to be the case, or would Brock Lesnar remain the biggest and baddest that the WWE has ever seen? One thing we knew for sure was that this was a VERY big moment for Femi, win or lose.

However, that was just the main event. We also saw CM Punk put the Undisputed WWE Championship on the line against the former champion, Cody Rhodes. Also, Fatal Influence’s Jacy Jayne, Fallon Henley, and Lainey Reid made their SummerSlam debut against the Bella Twins and Paige. We also saw Gunther battle Nick Aldis, LA Knight team up with Solo Sikoa & Royce Keys to face off with Jacob Fatu & The Usos, and Liv Morgan kick off the night by putting her Women’s World Championship on the line against Iyo Sky. Plus, we still have a whole other night to go. So, what were the top three moments of the night?

3. Nick Aldis … The Wrestler… Returns

In arguably one of the most anticipated matches of the night, Nick Aldis made his return to wrestling as he faced off with the “Ring General,” Gunther. Aldis, who has been the SmackDown General Manager, recently came to blows with one of his competitors, which caused him to lose that job. However, when one door closes, another one opens. Since signing with the WWE, he made his intentions known that he did want to achieve one more dream and wrestle inside a WWE ring. He finally got that opportunity on Saturday night against one of WWE’s best, Gunther.

This rivalry all started when Gunther blamed Aldis for costing him his shot at the undisputed WWE Championship. Gunther fell to Cody Rhodes back at Clash In Italy, albeit controversially. So, Gunther immediately began targeting the then SmackDown general manager, Aldis. Things escalated when Aldis actually cost him a potential title shot. Gunther teamed up with Sami Zayn to face Cody Rhodes and CM Punk, knowing that a victory would earn them a spot in the match. Aldis took matters into his own hands and made sure to keep this match a singles contest.

The match between Aldis and Gunther delivered and then some. Aldis, who hasn’t stepped in the ring in three years. looked like he hadn’t missed a step. Despite coming up just short, Aldis endeared himself to a grand new crop of fans while achieving a dream. On the post-show, Aldis was once again reinstated as the SmackDown General Manager. I like this because Aldis is a real “national treasure.” Getting to see him compete, scarce, but at the big shows, could make him feel much more special. However, his continuing to run the blue brand keeps him on TV and keeps fans wanting to see him more. Nonetheless, this was a very special moment.

2. The Viper Strikes

In the final match before the big main event, CM Punk put his Undisputed WWE Championship on the line against the former champion, Cody Rhodes. This is a championship that has certainly been around the brand for the past couple of months. Rhodes, who had a lengthy run with the title, dropped the title to Sami Zayn in June at Night of Champions. Just nine days later, on Monday Night Raw, CM Punk returned in Chicago to replace Cody after Gunther attacked Cody earlier that night and cost him his championship opportunity. Thus, CM Punk filled in and won the title in his return to the WWE for the first time since April at WrestleMania.

The story centered on mutual respect. However, Cody and Punk came to blows on the final SmackDown before Summerslam. Rhodes immediately called his shot at Punk and made it known that he was next in line. The two went on to have a phenomenal match for the top prize in the WWE. We even saw a scary moonsault attempt from CM Punk. Punk put it all on the line in this one. Even sending himself crashing and burning through the announcer’s table on the outside of the ring at one point. This was truly a match between two of the biggest stars in the WWE today. However, the match would not end until an old friend reintroduced himself to Cody Rhodes.

Cody accidentally took out the referee, leaving no one to enforce the rules. So, anything could, and usually does, happen. For the first time since WrestleMania 42 in April, Randy Orton made his return to the WWE, hitting Rhodes with an RKO. In the end, this cost him the match and helped Punk to retain the title. While the story between Orton and Rhodes came to a head because of the Undisputed WWE Championship, now it’s personal for Orton. He’s not after the gold anymore, just making sure that Rhodes doesn’t get it back. Once again, we are on a collision course to Rhodes vs. Orton.

1. Brock Lesnar Officially Passes the Torch to Oba Femi

In the main event of Night 1 of SummerSlam, we saw Oba Femi challenge Brock Lesnar inside Hell In A Cell. The match took place inside the Devil’s Playground, where Brock Lesnar had never lost, and in his home state of Minnesota, putting the odds against Femi. However, Femi was not going to go down lightly. This was truly one of the best trilogies that WWE has put on in recent memory. Oba Femi won at WrestleMania 42, Brock Lesnar responded with a victory at Clash in Italy, and the rivalry stood tied at one win apiece. The winner of this would go on to ultimately win the rivalry.

Back in June, Femi won the King of the Ring tournament to earn a shot at a major championship at Summerslam. However, the very next night on Monday Night Raw, Lesnar hit Femi with a low blow before planting him with an F-5. Femi immediately recovered and made his intentions known; the top championships will always be there. However, Femi wanted to end things with Lesnar once and for all. That is exactly what happened. Truthfully, I liked how this story made sense. Femi even acknowledged in promos that he “knew” Lesnar would just end up costing him his shot. This was also a fun way to delay Femi vs. Roman Reigns to WrestleMania.

The match itself was a fun one. The competitors didn’t use the cell often, but they still delivered an excellent match. At the end of the day, Femi made history by becoming the first person to defeat Lesnar inside Hell in a Cell. The main event delivered exactly what it needed to, as Lesnar passed the torch to Oba. After the match, the two embraced with Lesnar saying, “I’m the past, that’s the future.” A short but simple message. This will forever go down in history as the night Oba Femi officially arrived in the WWE. Now, let’s see how WWE books him until his next major rivalry for the World Heavyweight Championship. Next stop, Roman Reigns.