WWE SummerSlam 2025 Night One Predictions: Wrestling Inc. Picks The Winners

WWE is about to put on its first-ever two-night edition of SummerSlam this weekend, with Saturday and Sunday's cards stacked with action. While Night Two may appear to be bigger on the surface, with a title on the line in every match, Night One makes up for having less gold with more animosity. The theme of SummerSlam 2025 Night One seems to be that of grudge matches; these bouts will be personal. Plus, three titles will be defended.

Randy Orton and music star Jelly Roll will take on Drew McIntyre and Logan Paul in a match-up that's gotten heated on WWE TV and late night programming. 

Roman Reigns & cousin Jey Uso have had enough of the shenanigans of Seth Rollins' running buddies, Bron Breakker & Bronson Reed, and battle to settle things once and for all — or maybe just to get Roman's shoes back.

Sami Zayn is seemingly sick to death of the harassment and trolling he's endured from human ragebait Karrion Kross and wants to take care of things in the ring during the "Biggest Party of the Summer."

Of course, one of the title matches on the card has also gotten personal during the build. After winning a WWE Raw gauntlet match, CM Punk earned a shot at Gunther and his World Heavyweight Championship and the war of words hasn't stopped since.

Raquel Rodriguez partners with Judgment Day neophyte Roxanne Perez to defend the women's tag team championships against the odd pairing of Charlotte Flair and the recently returned Alexa Bliss.

And WWE women's champ Tiffany Stratton puts her title on the line against Jade Cargill, whois ready for bigger and better things.

Here's who Wrestling Inc's writers and editors think will win at Night One of WWE SummerSlam 2025.

On Saturday, Jelly Roll will look to score a victory in his first ever WWE match when he partners with Randy Orton to take on Drew McIntyre and Logan Paul in tag team action. Jelly Roll has dedicated himself to getting in shape for SummerSlam, and with it being his first time inside the squared circle, 81% of us believe that he and Orton will emerge victorious this weekend.

Jelly Roll began his journey to SummerSlam on the July 4 edition of "WWE SmackDown," when Paul interrupted his performance, but the feud between both teams truly escalated two weeks ago at WWE Saturday Night's Main Event. After Orton defeated McIntyre in singles competition, he was ambushed by Paul before Jelly Roll came to the rescue and delivered a right hand to the YouTube star. Unfortunately, Jelly Roll's actions would only lead him to a Claymore Kick from McIntyre, but he would get his revenge a few nights later when he was interviewing Orton as the guest host for "Jimmy Kimmel Live." 

During Jelly Roll and Orton's conversation, McIntyre surprisingly interrupted the segment, leading "The Viper" to brawl with him into the backstage area, but before Jelly Roll could throw to commercial break, he was slapped in the face by Paul, who also appeared unannounced. However, this time around Jelly Roll retaliated by chokeslamming Paul through Jimmy Kimmel's table. 

Leading up to Saturday, it's clear that WWE wanted to utilize the reach of their celebrity stars, as they aimed to get both wrestling fans and casual viewers interested by consistently featuring Jelly Roll and Paul in segments together. Additionally, though McIntyre and Paul have very few wins at WWE premium live events this year, with the spotlight being on Jelly Roll and the hard work he's put into preparing for the match, many of us are confident that he and "Apex Predator" will walk out of SummerSlam with the win.

Written by Julien D'Alessandro

Sami Zayn and Karrion Kross will meet in the ring for the third time in their saga at SummerSlam 2025, with Kross having spent a majority of this year on "WWE Raw" prodding at the character of Zayn in the face of his own losses. Zayn has made it his mission to become the WWE World Champion, but with the likes of Kevin Owens and Seth Rollins offering him an easier path to that goal, he has remained steadfast in the idea that he will do it the right way. That's where Kross comes in, always there to badger Zayn for the bumps in the righteous road, and remind him that his sense of morality is actively holding him back. 

The man who once conquered the same "WWE NXT" brand Zayn had helped build has styled himself as something of a soothsayer to the heroes of WWE, bending their ears with dripped poison until they eventually snap, and that has been his goal all the same with the "Underdog from the Underground." When they first met in the ring at Night of Champions, it was Kross' first PLE bout in over a year, and didn't end the way he would have intended as Zayn got the win in front of the Riyadh crowd. Kross has since upped the ante, bringing a steel pipe into the fold and punishing Zayn over the weeks before picking up a saga-leveling win on July 21, setting the stage for the rubber match this weekend. 

As for who the victor will be, only time can tell, but the poll put to the Wrestling Inc. staff does lean toward Zayn emerging with the win, to the tune of 56%. There are still questions over whether Kross will be remaining with WWE, with his deal reportedly due to expire and no new deal offered, and it has long been the case that a leaving talent will finish up on their back. Couple that with the fact that Zayn is one always lurking on the cusp of the main event, and his bout with Kross appears to be an ideal way of gaining momentum and retribution in one fell stroke. With that said, there is always a chance that Kross is remaining with the company and could mark his new chapter with a statement win, which would lend to the 444% minority believing he will.

Written by Max Everett

After weeks of unsanctioned brawls and mind games, Roman Reigns will pair up with Jey Uso to take on Bronson Reed and Bron Breakker at SummerSlam. This feud has been volatile, and with Seth Rollins' SummerSlam status in the air, anything can happen come Saturday. However, we at WrestlingInc. are choosing to back "The Original Tribal Chief" and the red brand's "Main Event," with 75% of us confident in a Reigns and Uso victory.

Reed and Breakker, with the backing of stable leader Rollins and Paul Heyman, have been attempting a hostile takeover of WWE, laying waste to several stars with post-match spears and tsunamis. While their goal for total domination has been halted by Money in the Bank holder Rollins' knee injury, Reed and Breakker are, nonetheless, holding their stable together in what some might call a massive push. A win over Reigns and Uso, two top stars, would do wonders in boosting Reed and Breakker's credibility. There is, also, always the possibility of a Rollins return and interference, should his injury be a work, as some have theorized.

As enticing as all that seems, however, the idea of Reigns losing in his first premium live event match back since Wrestlemania 41 is ludicrous. "The Original Tribal Chief" has been playing relatively nice with his recent PLE appearances: he didn't win the Royal Rumble, and he lost at WrestleMania 41. It is high time Reigns collects another win for his records, and who better to do it with than the first wrestling member of the Bloodline and former right-hand man, Uso? Reed and Breakker's push may see a brief halt as WWE looks to give the part-time (but extremely influential) Reigns a SummerSlam win. If we were betting folks, 75% of us would be putting our chips behind Reigns and Uso.

Written by Angeline Phu

The Judgment Day's reign as WWE Women's Tag Team Champions has seemingly always been about Liv Morgan. I say that with all due respect to Raquel Rodriguez and Roxanne Perez, but, before her injury, Liv Morgan was a main character on "WWE Raw," and her injury has thrown the Women's Tag Title division into a holding pattern. Much like how Liv's injury seems to have thrown Evolution into disarray, it will likely loom large over the SummerSlam Women's Tag Title Match. With major stars like Becky Lynch, Lyra Valkyria, Rhea Ripley, Naomi, and Iyo Sky battling over the women's singles titles, The Judgment Day has been so dominant that WWE has seemingly thrown Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair together in an attempt to make a viable challenge for the team. 

Even beyond Liv and the tag titles, the Judgment Day is simply too big to fail at this point. They are a load-bearing faction, like a slacker, dirtbag version of the Death Riders in AEW. It will likely have to fail at some point, and SummerSlam does have JD history, as it's the event where Finn Balor betrayed Damien Priest all those years ago, but whatever dissolution is in the group's future, if any, the pieces don't seem to be in the right place for it to happen or even start at SummerSlam.

For this reason, and other reasons known only to their hearts, 75% of the Wrestling Inc. staff think that, despite their pedigree, Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair are going home empty-handed on Saturday. 

Written by Ross Berman IV

Whether we believe she's actually ready or not when it comes to her in-ring abilities, 56% of us believe that Queen of the Ring Jade Cargill is defeating Tiffany Stratton and walking out of "The Biggest Party of the Summer" with the WWE Women's Championship. With Naomi already holding gold of her own that she'll defend on night two of SummerSlam, the majority of us here at WINC don't believe there's much standing in the way of Cargill becoming champion, though there is always the possibility of interference.

Stratton has had a solid first championship reign, but there's not much more she can do right now with the gold. WWE has booked this title match as babyface versus babyface, and there was no real strong feud between the pair leading into this match following Cargill's Queen of the Ring victory. Because of that, many of us believe that this could be the catalyst for a bit of a character change that Stratton needs.

She could lose the championship, then get to the back of the line with the likes of Charlotte Flair, Cargill's former best friend Bianca Belair, Chelsea Green, and more, and have to fight her way back to the top in a more heelish manner. With Trish Stratus teasing more to come this year, Stratton could enter a proper feud there, as well, which doesn't need the title. If you ask us, 56% will tell you that Cargill winning the WWE Women's Championship will make for more interesting, fresh stories, and we believe she's getting the victory at SummerSlam, a show that will make her feel even more like a star.

Written by Daisy Ruth

With a nearly 3-2 margin, Wrestling Inc.'s writers and editors think that CM Punk will win this weekend, adding his name to the short list of wrestlers who have defeated GUNTHER on the main roster. For years, the World Heavyweight Champion has been set up as a towering obstacle for every other performer in WWE, with just three wrestlers who've defeated GUNTHER in main roster singles matches. However, there's reason to believe that Punk will become the fourth.

Since returning to WWE in late 2023, the "Straight Edge Superstar" has been on a path to the world title. He's dealt with hurdle after hurdle, so far failing to capture any championship in the promotion. For various reasons, the timing hasn't been right. Now, he's healthy, and his latest arch-enemy Seth Rollins (seemingly) isn't here to stand in his way.

Now is as good a time as any to pull the trigger, but there's a decent chance that his victory will be short-lived. You see, it's possible that Seth Rollins isn't so injured after all, and many of our staff only chose Punk because of what they believe will take place soon after he wins...

Written by Nick Miller

There are a lot of questions surrounding SummerSlam. Is Seth Rollins injured? Is Seth Rollins not injured? Is Seth Rollins injured but not as badly as they say? Will Cardi B do any skits? What are Jelly Roll's teeth made of, exactly?

Well 56% of the Wrestling Inc. staff have landed on "It's not that bad; Seth's going to show up and cash in on newly-crowned champion CM Punk," and it certainly makes a lot of sense. Gunther doesn't have that many significant challengers left. After all, there's no where to go but down, once you've retired Goldberg. Punk and Rollins' feud that started at WrestleMania 41 is due for escalation, and SummerSlam is the season of escalation.

It's become a running joke in the Wrestling Inc. Slack chat that I will often say, "Nothing is allowed to happen unless it's WrestleMania, or on certain occasions, SummerSlam," and it is nice to see half of the crew has taken those words to heart. SummerSlam is one of the only times during the year when things are allowed to happen in WWE, and Seth Rollins riffing on his WrestleMania 31 cash-in a decade later just sounds, looks, and feels right, based on what's been happening on Netflix's Monday night show. Will he cash-in during the match or wait until after? It's not clear, but the staff seems to think Rollins will be turning in that briefcase by the end of Night 1.

Written by Ross Berman IV