After months of mediocre storyline developments and a few uneventful pay-per-views, WWE SummerSlam 2024 delivered in spades.
The Bloodline Rules main event contested for the Undisputed WWE Championship between Cody Rhodes and Solo Sikoa capped off in thrilling fashion as Roman Reigns made his triumphant return and attacked Sikoa to cost him the title.
Rhodes retaining was of course the correct call, but its execution in particular was flawless. Not only can Rhodes now firmly move on from The Bloodline and focus on other challengers, Reigns has his first feud set with his former faction for the fall.
Earlier in the evening, Drew McIntyre triumphed over CM Punk in a grudge match that saw Seth Rollins serve as the special guest referee. Despite scoring the victory in their first-ever one-on-one encounter, McIntyre’s bad blood with Punk is far from over.
Raw and SmackDown have the potential to be must-see television in the final few months of 2024 if Reigns and Punk continue on their current paths.
In the fallout from SummerSlam, let’s look at what’s next for the two former WWE champions—both in the imminent future and long-term.
Reigns Wastes No Time Targeting the Bloodline
Solo Sikoa wasted no time taking the title of Tribal Chief in the absence of Reigns and recruiting new members into The Bloodline. Although they’ve been a dominant force on Friday nights in recent months, it was always more a matter of when and not if Reigns would return to claim his rightful throne.
SummerSlam always made the most sense for that to be where he finally resurfaced, and the moment didn’t disappoint.
It would have been entirely possible for Reigns to refuse to reveal where his allegiance lies at the event and instead have a simple showdown with Sikoa to tease that they could patch things up. Reigns decisively attacking Sikoa was the right route to take.
On his first night as a babyface in over four years, Reigns’ direction was established: eliminating every member of The Bloodline until arriving at Sikoa.
Seeds were planted for Rhodes vs. Reigns III with their post-match face-off, indicating that The Head of the Table may soon want a rematch for the championship he held for almost four years. That can be a quick detour at one of the upcoming pay-per-views, but ultimately, a Bloodline civil war must be on the horizon.
Getting the Original Bloodline Back Together
Reigns can attempt to fight off the current Bloodline for now, but there will eventually come a time when the numbers are too much for him to overcome and he’ll need backup to even the playing field.
Speculation among fans has been running rampant for many months, but Reigns reuniting his original crew for a full-on Bloodline civil war has WarGames written all over it.
Between now and Survivor Series on Nov. 30, SmackDown should revolve around Reigns getting back in the good graces of The Usos. They’re necessary pieces of the puzzle, along with Sami Zayn and Paul Heyman as the Bloodline reunion wouldn’t complete without them.
If WWE is determined to drag out the Sikoa vs. Reigns rivalry until WrestleMania season, killing time with faction warfare is the best way to do so. It isn’t something that needs to be rushed, either.
It’s logical to assume Reigns would want his belt back sometime soon, but the greater focus should be on Bloodline business and ensuring the newest version of the group crumble.
Punk Pursues a Rematch with McIntyre
Although McIntyre injured Punk mid-match during the men’s 2024 Royal Rumble, Punk has since cost McIntyre multiple championship opportunities. Thus, the only way their SummerSlam match should have ended was with a win for McIntyre.
That doesn’t necessarily mean their feud is finished, however. Punk was too distracted by special guest ref Rollins and hit him a GTS before McIntyre capitalized and put him down for the three count, giving Punk an out for the loss in the process.
The bad blood continues to simmer between the three men. A Triple Threat match at Bash in Berlin could be in the cards, but Punk and McIntyre will still need to wrap up their own issues before they move onto other programs.
Bad Blood, which hosted the first-ever Hell in a Cell match at its inaugural installment in 1997, would be an ideal event to blow off the heated rivalry at. Regardless of when it culminates, Punk should be the one to emerge victorious.
Expect this stage of the storyline to last at least another two months, if not through the remainder of the year.
Punk to Settle His Score with Seth Rollins
Rollins, arguably Punk’s biggest foil on Raw right out, has been anxiously anticipating The Second City Saint getting cleared to compete so they can settle a score of their own.
As mentioned, McIntyre beating Rollins at SummerSlam doesn’t automatically end their rivalry. More matches are still to come, but it’d be virtually possible for WWE to hold off until closer to a massive attraction such as WrestleMania 41.
The Punk vs. Rollins rivalry would be WrestleMania-worthy, but it’d also be an excellent bridge between late 2023 and early 2024.
Either way, they’ve already shown that they have strong chemistry on the mic and that the matches are guaranteed to deliver. If WWE has nothing else lined up for Punk at WrestleMania 41, Punk vs. Rollins in a rematch is fans will get behind.
Similar to Reigns, Punk can pursue gold eventually, but he’d first have to eliminate the threats of McIntyre and Rollins before he can consider chasing a championship again. Punk will have his hands full before then.
