On Saturday, April 1st, WWE holds Night One of two of their second-largest annual PLE, “WWE SummerSlam 2026!” The 39th annual show comes to us live from US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and streams on the ESPN App in the US and on Netflix Internationally beginning at 6 PM EST.

Six colossal matches are on the card, including a WWE Undisputed Championship Match between recently crowned Champion CM Punk and former Champion Cody Rhodes! Also, the WWE in-ring debut and return of Nick Aldis to the ring since October of 2023 as he takes on Gunther, plus so much more! A few of our staff at Turnbuckle Times weigh in on the matches and give their picks on who walks out of Night 1 in Minneapolis victorious.

Here are the staff picks for WWE SummerSlam 2026 Night 1:

1.) Six-Women Tag Team Match: The Bella Twins & Paige vs. Fatal Influence

Ethan Black: I am going with Fatal Influence here because they need the win more & keep pushing younger talent. Pick: Fatal Influence

Noah Castonguay: Fatal Influence should win, but I don’t feel like WWE is going to let them. It’ll go to the Divas’ team because it’s a big feel-good moment for them and shows the growth of women’s wrestling since their time. Pick: Bella Twins & Paige

Rich Michaels: I think both of my colleagues make great points, which makes this match a little difficult to pick. I agree that Fatal Influence should win here, but I’m going to go with the Bella Twins & Paige here for the simple fact that it’s the return of Nikki Bella to in-ring competition since March. And as Noah said, it would be too big of a feel-good moment that I don’t think the WWE will pass up on. Pick: Bella Twins & Paige

2.) Six-Man Tag Team Match: LA Knight, Solo Sikoa & Royce Keys vs. Jacob Fatu & The Usos (Jimmy & Jey Uso)

Ethan Black: Picking the Bloodline. WWE is pushing them. Pick: The Usos & Jacob Fatu

Noah Castonguay:I think the Usos and Jacob Fatu will pull off the win over Keys, Knight, and Sikoa, likely due to some Bloodline high-jinx or a lapse in the other side’s allegiance to each other. It’s not like Sikoa and Knight get along so well! Pick: The Usos & Jacob Fatu

Rich Michaels: I am going to make it unanimous and go with Fatu and The Usos. It’s too big a spot not to have The Usos, and Jacob victorious here. Pick: The Usos & Jacob Fatu

3.) Gunther vs. Nick Aldis

Ethan Black: Going with Gunther here because he’s been lost in the shuffle the last few months & shouldn’t lose. Pick: Gunther

Noah Castonguay: Gunther, unfortunately, will have to take this win. Aldis will be forced to retire to Gunther, and someone will take Aldis’ place as GM for Smackdown for a few weeks, but I don’t see Aldis (as amazing as he is) getting a huge win over WWE’s big bad, Gunther! Pick: Gunther

Rich Michaels: I am so happy that the WWE Universe will get a chance to see Nick Aldis on the big stage! Many WWE fans are not familiar with him and probably have never seen Aldis in action. He was an incredible talent, and I think the fans will be in for a treat!

Sad to say, while his return will be epic, I don’t think he’ll beat Gunther in this match. WWE has made it a point to have Gunther retire legends, and Nick Aldis will be added to that list. Pick: Gunther

4.) Women’s World Championship: Liv Morgan (c) vs. IYO SKY

Ethan Black: Picking Iyo here because Liv Morgan has the worst title reign of ALLLLLLL TIME lol (not Liv’s fault)! Pick: Iyo Sky

Noah Castonguay: I have a feeling this is Iyo’s match to win. A lot of people aren’t that excited about Liv’s current reign (although I think it’s fun), and Iyo has already proven she can be champ. You could also show the split among the Judgment Day girls by having, probably, Roxanne choose not to help Liv. Pick: Iyo Sky

Rich Michaels: It pains me to say, but this is the second title reign for Liv, and it’s just as lackluster as the first one! Not sure what it is, but Liv Morgan is talented; she just hasn’t had impressive title runs. It’s time to give this Championship a spark, and IYO is the perfect person for that. Pick: Iyo Sky

5.) Hell in a Cell: Oba Femi vs. Brock Lesnar

Ethan Black: Oba is winning here because he needs it more than Brock. Oba is the next big star! Pick: Oba Femi

Noah Castonguay: Hell in a Cell, Brock vs. Oba III. This match might be the one I’m most excited for this weekend; a part of me feels this should’ve stopped at Mania, with Brock retiring, because 1.) I didn’t want him to retire to Gunther. And 2.) I feel the end of this match will be similar to the end of their Mania match. I believe Oba Femi will win, and Brock will pass the torch and retire again! Pick: Oba Femi

Rich Michaels: I am going to echo my colleague Noah’s sentiments here. I am so glad Oba is going to be the one to retire Brock. No one wanted to see Gunther be the one to retire Lesnar; he didn’t need to. Kudos to Lesnar for ensuring Oba Femi is the one he passes the torch to! I think WrestleMania was a great send-off. The only thing close to it is what we will get here: Lesnar retiring for a second time in front of his home crowd on WWE’s second biggest PLE. Pick: Oba Femi

6.) Undisputed WWE Championship: CM Punk (c) vs. Cody Rhodes

Ethan Black: Punk is winning here. Punk just won the title & Cody doesn’t need it anymore. After the match, they hugged; boom, Cody drops Punk! Pick: CM Punk

Noah Castonguay: Honestly, I do not care who wins between Cody and Punk, but that’s because it doesn’t matter who wins. After all, Finn Balor is coming for that title for his second world championship! In all seriousness, I think CM Punk retains because Cody doesn’t know whether to be the bad guy and really fight dirty for the belt. Pick: CM Punk

Rich Michaels: It’s frustrating to think about how this match came about. On paper, this is a dream match; however, the way it was booked to get here was, in my opinion, horrendous. Having Sami Zayn win it in Saudi Arabia, to lose it nine days later to a returning CM Punk in Chicago who hadn’t had a match since WrestleMania, was just a cheap way to get pops!

The fact is, if this was the match we were supposed to get, then Cody Rhodes should’ve never lost the title in Saudi! Sami could’ve turned heel at any time, and didn’t need losing the title to be the reason! CM Punk is winning this match because that was the plan all along. One of the best stories to come out of this would be the Cody heel turn that everyone has been waiting for, as Ethan alluded to in his prediction. Pick: CM Punk

Be sure to check back with us at Turnbuckle Times for full results from WWE Summerslam 2026 Night 1!