As we inch closer toward WWE SummerSlam, here’s our five big takeaways from a wild night in Atlanta.
Goldberg put the bow on his career in the featured attraction of Saturday Night’s Main Event from State Farm Arena in Atlanta, but the focus now is on Seth Rollins and a potentially disastrous knee injury he may have suffered.
The rest of the card was a bit of a mixed bag that saw Jacob Fatu save Jimmy Uso from Solo Sikoa and the MFT, Jelly Roll get physical, and Bianca Belair make an unexpected return.
As we inch closer toward WWE SummerSlam, here’s our big takeaways from a wild night in Atlanta.
1. An unclear future for Seth Rollins
Seth Rollins’ potential injury is devastating for the current Money in the Bank briefcase holder, who has really found his groove alongside Paul Heyman. After landing from a moonsault Saturday night in his match with LA Knight, Rollins immediately grabbed at his right knee, the same knee that he tore his ACL in back in 2015. There’s currently no updates on his status or how severe the injury is believed to be, but it was bad enough for his match with Knight to immediately go to the finish.
Should Rollins’ injury keep him out for an extended time, WWE would be faced with one of its most difficult creative decisions on what to do with the Money in the Bank briefcase — and what all of this means for Rollins’ two understudies, Bronson Reed and Bron Breakker. Right now, here’s to hoping the injury is just a minor tweak and none of these conversations are even necessary.
2. Goldberg’s final match was everything it needed to be
Goldberg’s retirement match very much felt like a wild card during this packed wrestling weekend. Gunther’s booking has been up and down this year, and a loss to Goldberg could have done more damage than good for the end of the WCW legend’s career.
But the match was actually booked pretty perfectly. Goldberg got his moves in, WWE relied on the story that he’s older and has bad knees, and Gunther was ruthless in taking him out. Top grades are deserved all around before moving "The Ring General" on to a more worthy opponent at SummerSlam, while Goldberg gets to go out on his terms.
3. WWE wants to be more than just professional wrestling, and that’s OK
Professional wrestling has always found itself to some degree at a cross-section between pop culture and sports. As the self-proclaimed global leader in sports entertainment, WWE has emphasized the spectacle and has often found itself in a position where celebrity crossovers are common.
Recent years have seen the likes of Bad Bunny and Travis Scott become involved in more than just one-off moments or matches. The latter is still involved to an extent in the John Cena storyline with Cody Rhodes, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him back on-screen at some point down the road.
Jelly Roll’s inclusion in recent weeks alongside Randy Orton against Logan Paul and Drew McIntyre, now moving into a tag-team match at SummerSlam, seems to push those boundaries.
The country music star showed he’s willing to get as physical as necessary, shoving Paul twice and eating a Claymore from McIntyre. Not every fan loves it and that’s OK. The live reaction in Atlanta seemed great, and WWE will get headlines as another major artist is getting in the ring, potentially expanding the audience to casuals or Jelly Roll fans. My guess is they’d consider that a win.
4. Bianca’s back
Tangentially related to Jade Cargill and Naomi’s rivalry, Bianca Belair‘s focus in the build to WrestleMania 41 was on the WWE Women’s World Championship. After losing what I considered the match of the first half of the year against Iyo Sky and Rhea Ripley, Belair had been mostly out of sight until Saturday night’s return.
As Naomi and Cargill’s rivalry continues to notch up a level every time we see it, Belair’s inclusion in their No Holds Barred match on Sunday's WWE Evolution 2025 card brings another unknown element to their next steps. With Naomi waiting to cash in her briefcase and Cargill preparing for her WWE Women’s Championship match, Belair is in an unfamiliar position being the lone member of the trio not to be on the cusp of the main event. How she reacts to that — whether it’s aligning with one of the contenders or finding her way back to the title picture — is one of the more intriguing long-term stories WWE has going.
5. Jacob Fatu welcomes the spotlight
Jimmy Uso’s United States Championship match against Solo Sikoa was fine for what it was — which, realistically, was to serve as a vehicle for Jacob Fatu’s return. There haven’t been many better decisions in wrestling recently than WWE seeing the trajectory Fatu is capable of and breaking him out on his own. He has everything you’d want in a future main-eventer.
Sikoa’s MFT faction is in a difficult position as a feeder group to help build Fatu, while also needing to establish credibility with new stars. They have a similar look and feel to the Bloodline, but none of the success. Sikoa, and his group, desperately need to shift away from the internal family drama and over to something fresh.
Category: General Sports