The 2025 Night of Champions event is over. With WWE’s trip to Saudi Arabia complete, the company now moves its focus to bringing the Premium Live Event stage back to the tri-state area. SummerSlam 2025 will take place at MetLife Stadium on August 2 and 3, marking its first wrestling event there since WrestleMania 35 in 2019.
This year, WWE’s biggest summer event will be in a two-night format, an approach first launched by WrestleMania 36 in 2020. Tickets for each night of the show went on sale Wednesday morning. As wrestling returns to MetLife, it adds another chapter to the Tri-State’s legacy of hosting major shows.
The event will feature John Cena in his 17th championship reign as he defends his title against Cody Rhodes, who won the men’s King of the Ring tournament. This will be a rematch of WrestleMania 41 in Las Vegas, where Cena defeated Rhodes to break Ric Flair’s record for most world title reigns.
WWE first staged an event at the venue in 2013 with WrestleMania 29. The nine-match card included highlights like the main event where The Rock defended the WWE Championship against Cena, resulting in Cena winning his 11th world title.
The undercard saw The Shield defeat Sheamus, the Big Show, and Randy Orton, and featured Living Colour playing CM Punk to the ring before he lost to The Undertaker. Fandango surprised Chris Jericho, and Triple H defeated Brock Lesnar in a No-Holds-Barred match. The following night had an unforgettable Monday Night Raw after Mania.
That night, Dolph Ziggler cashed in his Money in the Bank contract on Alberto Del Rio to win the World Heavyweight Championship, eliciting a massive reaction from the Izod Center crowd. Later, the crowd took over Orton’s match with Sheamus, chanting for various figures and singing along to Fandango’s theme music, creating one of the most renowned wrestling audiences ever.
Six years later, WrestleMania returned to MetLife for its 35th edition, featuring 16 matches. The undercard saw significant title changes, with Seth Rollins defeating Lesnar to end his long reign as Universal Champion and Kofi Kingston winning his first WWE title from Daniel Bryan. The main event was historic as Becky Lynch won both Raw and SmackDown Women’s Championships in a match against Ronda Rousey and Charlotte Flair.
Despite triumphs, the event had its lows, with matches like Baron Corbin retiring Kurt Angle in a short bout, Drew McIntyre vs. Roman Reigns lacking impact, and Samoa Joe’s quick squash match against Rey Mysterio. Nevertheless, the memorable moments stand out in what was an uneven Mania.
Beyond MetLife’s history, Madison Square Garden has hosted WrestleMania three times, covering the first, tenth, and twentieth events. SummerSlam has previously visited New York four times, at MSG twice, Nassau Coliseum, and Barclays Center from 2015 to 2018, with 2025 marking its return to the area.
Plans for the event’s match card remain uncertain but enticing. On the women’s side, Queen of the Ring winner Jade Cargill faces Tiffany Stratton for the WWE Women’s Championship, with Cargill’s rival Naomi holding the Money in the Bank contract.
Punk has returned to the company after his nine-year absence, and Randy Orton is pursuing a world title, which he hasn’t held since 2020. With seven episodes of TV programming to establish the storyline, it continues with SmackDown on Friday. The buildup proceeds this weekend in Atlanta with Saturday Night’s Main Event and the Evolution Premium Live Event on July 12 and 13.
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