WWE SummerSlam at US Bank Stadium (Aug 1, 2026)

The main event, WWE SummerSlam is happening at the US Bank Stadium, in Minneapolis, on August 1 and 2nd (today). Jimi & Q send in their report.

Leading up to SummerSlam, there were a few wrestling events (including F1rst Wrestling presents WREMIX and GCW vs. F1rst Wrestling) and advertisements (such as the Minute Maid and their “juicing” campaign) taking advantage of the Wrestling frenzy in the Minneapolis area. The best one is the Warrior Wrestling Street Rumble free event at the Shops at West End, in St Louis Park. The headliner was Brian Cage, through special arrangements with Warrior Wrestling organizers Karen McManamon and Becky Bakken of Westopolis. Cage was generous with his time, and was able to meet his fans.

The event was free and open to the public, but the best option was an affordable VIP upgrade, which got you a Meet & Greet (with photo op), a signed poster, and special VIP laminated keepsake. Cage may look intimidating, but he is a nice guy in person.

Due to potential rain, the “street” rumble was moved indoors for four matches:

You can guess who was the champion of the headline match, and who was the heel. I next want to see a Brian Cage vs Nicolas Cage… in a cage match.

Please see clips and highlights at the YouTube Shorts Video.

The official SummerSlam Superstore and SummerSlam Takeover opened on Friday, July 31st and runs through Sunday, August 2, at the Minneapolis Convention Center. Part of this special take-over event includes Women’s World Champion Liv Morgan as guest to officially kick off the massive Wrestling celebration. In addition, you can meet your favorite Superstars at the SummerSlam Meet & Greet Experience.

While you’re at the SummerSlam Superstore, you can experience the Beyond the Superstore, which will take fans on a wide range of fan activations throughout the weekend, including Superstar autographs & photo ops, Superstar Entrance, Top Rope Jump, Club WWE, the Ram Trucks experience and the “Super Troopers 3” experience.

To me, the SummerSlam Takeover, felt like an all-day music festival. I went up there at noon, tried to do one of the free meet and greets, but ended up just getting free ice cream and checking out all the free preshow stuff.

I really didn’t know my way around that area of Downtown, so I just started following wrestling fans crowds. Eventually I got to the convention center, that was really cool. The Broken Lizard/Super Trooper guys were just walking around. I stared at one of the guys thinking he looked familiar, but then I saw their photos via social media.

There were so many nerdy cosplaying wrestling fans which I appreciate. I really enjoy nerd culture, and having the wrestling fans around Minneapolis was a treat.

World Wrestling Entertainment, formerly World Wrestling Federation because they were often confused with the World Wildlife Fund, have been producing SummerSlam since 1988. It’s dubbed as “The Biggest Party of the Summer”, and is second only to their flagship WrestleMania. The last time SummerSlam was held in Minneapolis was in 1999, so it’s certainly about d*mn time.

This year, the headliners for August 1st is Brock Lesnar vs. Oba Femi in a Hell in a Cell match. Other match advertised: World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns defending his title against Seth “Freakin” Rollins and CM Punk battles it out with Cody Rhodes for the WWE Championship.

Night 1 was kind of lame. I think I really am sour on the product, like each match was like under 10 minutes, but then there were advertisements after every bout. Like, way to kill the momentum. I am glad I only paid like 47 bucks for my ticket. The overall experience was good, but only because SummerSlam is the second biggest show on the WWE calendar. I wish we got an actual Wrestlemania here, but TKO selling out to the Saudis.

Note: Darius Rucker, from Hootie & the Blowfish, sang the National Anthem.

If you missed SummerSlam this year, you can catch it next year in Indianapolis, Indiana.

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