The 2021 SummerSlam was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by WWE, held for wrestlers from the promotion's main roster brands, Raw and SmackDown. It was the 34th annual SummerSlam and took place on Saturday, August 21, 2021, at Allegiant Stadium in the Las Vegas suburb of Paradise, Nevada. This was the second SummerSlam to be held on a Saturday, after 1992, but the first to air live on that day, as the 1992 event aired on tape delay on the following Monday. It was also the first SummerSlam to take place in a stadium since that same 1992 event.
Due to April's WrestleMania 37 having to be held at a reduced capacity because of the COVID-19 pandemic, SummerSlam was promoted as WWE's "biggest event of 2021", as WWE had returned to live touring with full capacity crowds the previous month. The event had an attendance of 45,690. This was also the first SummerSlam to livestream on Peacock in the United States, after the shutdown of the American version of the WWE Network in April, and it was WWE's first event to air in theaters across the United States. It would also be the final SummerSlam to have creative involvement of Vince McMahon, who created SummerSlam in 1988.
Eleven matches were contested at the event, including one on the Kickoff pre-show. In the main event, Roman Reigns defeated John Cena to retain SmackDown's Universal Championship. In other prominent matches, Bobby Lashley defeated Goldberg by referee stoppage to retain Raw's WWE Championship, Edge defeated Seth Rollins, Charlotte Flair defeated defending champion Nikki A.S.H. and Rhea Ripley in a triple threat match to win her record sixth Raw Women's Championship, Damian Priest defeated Sheamus to win Raw's United States Championship, and in the opening bout, RK-Bro (Randy Orton and Riddle) defeated AJ Styles and Omos to win the Raw Tag Team Championship. This event also marked the return of Brock Lesnar following a hiatus since WrestleMania 36 in April 2020.
Production Background
SummerSlam is an annual professional wrestling event produced every August by WWE since 1988. It was originally broadcast exclusively via pay-per-view (PPV) before it began simultaneously livestreaming on the WWE Network in 2014. Dubbed "The Biggest Party of the Summer", it is one of the promotion's original four PPVs, along with WrestleMania, Royal Rumble, and Survivor Series, referred to as the "Big Four". It has since become considered WWE's second biggest event of the year behind WrestleMania.
On May 28, 2021, WWE announced that the 34th SummerSlam would take place live on Saturday, August 21, marking the first SummerSlam to be held on a Saturday since the 1992 event (which was pre-taped on a Saturday and aired on tape delay on a Monday), as well as the first SummerSlam to not be held on a Sunday since the 1994 event, which took place on a Monday. During the 2021 Belmont Stakes's pre-race show on June 5, the Allegiant Stadium in the Las Vegas district of Paradise, Nevada was confirmed as the host venue for SummerSlam. While WWE typically hosts PPV and livestreaming events on a Sunday night, the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reported that it was Allegiant Stadium that wanted SummerSlam held on a Saturday. This marked the second SummerSlam to be held in a football stadium, with the foremost being the 1992 event at the original Wembley Stadium in London, England, but the first to be held in a National Football League stadium in the United States. Travel packages became available on June 11 while individual tickets went on sale on June 18. WWE planned for SummerSlam to be more grandiose than April's WrestleMania 37 event, mostly because the latter had to be held at a reduced venue capacity due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the company going as far as to promote SummerSlam as its "biggest event of 2021".
The event featured wrestlers from the Raw and SmackDown brand divisions, and in addition to airing on PPV worldwide and via livestreaming on the WWE Network in international markets, it was the first SummerSlam to livestream on Peacock in the United States after the shutdown of the American version of the WWE Network in April. SummerSlam also aired in movie theaters across the United States, thus marking WWE's first PPV and livestreaming event to air in theaters in the country.
As part of SummerSlam Week, WWE held a multi-day tryout in the Las Vegas area to sign new wrestlers to developmental contracts. Additionally, following John Cena's return to WWE at the previous event, Money in the Bank, the company began a tour titled the "Summer of Cena". The tour had Cena appearing on Raw, SmackDown, and at WWE Live events in the weeks leading up to and including SummerSlam. WWE also partnered with TikTok to host a contest to select one guest ring announcer for SummerSlam. Music producer and disc jockey Valentino Khan opened the event with a musical performance. Following the event, actress, comedian, and author Tiffany Haddish hosted the official SummerSlam afterparty; additionally, WWE made a donation in support of her foster care charity, the She Ready Foundation.
SummerSlam was held on the same night as the Manny Pacquiao vs. Yordenis Ugás boxing match, which took place at the nearby T-Mobile Arena. WWE planned for SummerSlam to end before the card's main event, so that those attending in-person would have enough time to travel from Allegiant Stadium to T-Mobile Arena in time for the fight, and to avoid counterprogramming for PPV watchers who ordered both shows. SummerSlam ended just as Pacquiao made his entrance.
COVID-19 mask mandate With COVID-19 cases declining due to vaccinations in the United States and most establishments lifting pandemic protocols, WWE resumed live touring in mid-July, running shows at full venue capacity. Shortly after, however, COVID-19 cases began rising again due to the emergence of the Delta variant of the virus. On July 27, Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak ordered an indoor mask mandate for counties in "high" or "substantial" transmission levels, as deemed by new mask guidance from the CDC, effective July 30. On August 4, Allegiant Stadium and Ticketmaster released official statements that masks would be required for all attendees (ages 2+), regardless of vaccination status, for the event.
Storylines The event comprised 11 matches, including one on the Kickoff pre-show, that resulted from scripted storylines. Results were predetermined by WWE's writers on the Raw and SmackDown brands, while storylines were produced on WWE's weekly television shows, Monday Night Raw and Friday Night SmackDown.
Following Roman Reigns's successful defense of the Universal Championship at Money in the Bank, he declared that everyone could now acknowledge him. John Cena then made a surprise return to WWE, marking his first appearance with the company since WrestleMania 36 in April 2020, where he had a brief stare down with Reigns before performing his signature "You Can't See Me" taunt at Reigns. Instead of waiting until SmackDown, Cena appeared on Raw the next night to explain himself, declaring that he wanted to put Reigns in his place. He then officially challenged Reigns for the Universal Championship at SummerSlam. On SmackDown, Cena appeared to confront Reigns, however, Reigns rejected the challenge and instead accepted a challenge from Finn Bálor, who himself had returned to SmackDown the previous week. During the contract signing the following week, Reigns signed the contract first, however, as Bálor attempted his signature, he was attacked by Baron Corbin, who instead tried to sign it. Cena then came out, attacked Corbin, and signed the contract himself, thus booking Reigns to defend the Universal Championship against Cena at SummerSlam. After getting into a heated promo on the SmackDown the night before SummerSlam, Reigns said he would leave WWE if he could not defeat Cena.
At Money in the Bank, Nikki A.S.H. won the women's Money in the Bank ladder match, earning a contract for a women's championship match of her choice at anytime of her choosing, while later that night, Charlotte Flair defeated Rhea Ripley to win the Raw Women's Championship. The following night on Raw, Flair defended the title against Ripley in a rematch; however, Flair was disqualified after striking Ripley with the title belt, thus Ripley won the match but not the championship as titles do not change hands by disqualification unless stipulated. Ripley and Flair then brawled and Ripley performed the Riptide on Flair at ringside. Nikki then ran out and cashed in her Money in the Bank contract on Flair to win the Raw Women's Championship. The following week, Flair and Ripley staked their claims to challenge Nikki for the title at SummerSlam. WWE officials Adam Pearce and Sonya Deville resolved the matter by scheduling Nikki to defend the championship against Flair and Ripley in a triple threat match at the event.
On the July 19 episode of Raw, after Bobby Lashley's successful WWE Championship defense, Lashley and his manager MVP were confronted by WWE Hall of Famer Goldberg, appearing for the first time since the Royal Rumble in January. Goldberg proclaimed that he would be Lashley's next challenger for the title. The following week, however, Lashley rejected Goldberg's challenge. On the August 2 episode, Goldberg appeared and confronted the champion face-to-face, stating that he would defeat Lashley for the title. The match was subsequently confirmed for SummerSlam.
After Edge was granted a Universal Championship match at Money in the Bank, Seth Rollins took issue with this decision, feeling that he deserved the opportunity. At the event, Rollins cost Edge his championship match and the two brawled into the crowd. On the following episode of SmackDown, Edge called out Rollins and stated that their issues dated back to December 2014 when Rollins had attempted to injure Edge's surgically repaired neck and definitively put an end to his career. Rollins then came out and claimed he despised older wrestlers like Edge and John Cena for coming back and taking opportunities from the current wrestlers who earned them. A brawl then ensued. The following week, Rollins attacked Edge during his entrance and declared that if he could not be Universal Champion, then neither could Edge. On the August 6 episode, Edge challenged Rollins to a match at SummerSlam, which Rollins accepted.
On the July 5 episode of Raw, Drew McIntyre faced and defeated his old 3MB stablemate Jinder Mahal (accompanied by Shanky and Veer) after Mahal felt that McIntyre had cost him an opportunity to compete in the men's Money in the Bank ladder match. Following the match, Mahal, Shanky, and Veer attacked McIntyre and stole McIntyre's family sword that he used for his entrance theatrics. The following week, Mahal, Shanky, and Veer dismantled the sword only for McIntyre to reveal that it was a replica. McIntyre then proceeded to dismantle Mahal's motorcycle. At Money in the Bank, Mahal, Shanky, and Veer cost McIntyre the men's Money in the Bank ladder match. On the following night's episode of Raw, Mahal, Shanky, and Veer gloated about costing McIntyre the match only for McIntyre to attack all three with a steel chair. McIntyre then defeated Shanky and Veer in matches over the next couple of weeks. On August 13, a match between McIntyre and Mahal was scheduled for SummerSlam. On the August 16 episode of Raw, McIntyre defeated Shanky and Veer in a handicap match, thus banning the two from ringside at SummerSlam.