4 WWE stars Triple H buried on Night One of SummerSlam 2025

Night One of WWE SummerSlam 2025 is done and dusted. The premium live event showcased several good matches on Saturday. The aftermath of the main event featured Seth Rollins entering the arena on crutches just after CM Punk defeated Gunther in an absolute classic. However, The Visionary was quick to drop his crutches and his act of feigning an injury to cash in his Money in the Bank contract and win the World Heavyweight Championship from his arch-nemesis.

But the PLE also had several pitfalls and failures. Some matches saw a few superstars get buried, given how Triple H booked them for The Biggest Party of The Summer. Here are four names who hit rock bottom in New Jersey on Night One of SummerSlam.

---

#4. Jade Cargill hit a brick wall against Tiffany Stratton at WWE SummerSlam

Jade Cargill faced Tiffany Stratton for the WWE Women’s Championship on the first night of SummerSlam. The match saw both stars not allowing each other to blink, unloading their movesets in what was a very short match for a major championship.

It seemed that The Storm had the victory in the bag when she landed her signature move, Jaded, on Stratton. However, Tiffy was too close to the ropes and broke the pinfall by placing one of her feet on the bottom rope. This was followed by Cargill trying to deliver a Super Jaded from the top rope, but The Buff Barbie countered the move and then landed The Prettiest Moonsault Ever to win the match.

This was a rather unexpected outcome since the former AEW star was getting a massive push from the company this year. She was consistently winning her matches and even overcame the legendary Asuka in the Queen of the Ring Final to earn her title shot for SummerSlam. Despite this, Tiffany Stratton retained the WWE Women’s Championship.

A Jade Cargill win seemed guaranteed because Naomi had already cashed in her Money in the Bank contract on IYO SKY to steal the Women’s World Championship. However, this defeat now means that The Storm is several steps behind her former ally-turned-enemy. The next steps for Cargill seem uncertain, since she lost her title match and doesn’t have The Glow to feud against anymore.

---

#3. Randy Orton suffered a defeat in a celebrity match

Randy Orton had teamed up with American country music star Jelly Roll to face Drew McIntyre and Logan Paul in tag team action. The heels had the upper hand for most of the match, which is expected in a celebrity bout. What was not expected, however, was that Paul and McIntyre would go on to win the match.

The Maverick sent Roll crashing through the table, which saw several medics taking the musician away from ringside. However, Jelly Roll returned to fight again. Despite being the celebrity partner of Randy Orton, he was the man to receive the hot tag instead of The Apex Predator.

But the musician didn’t receive the hero’s return to the match that he expected. Despite landing a Chokeslam on Logan Paul, he ended up losing the match to a spectacular Frog Splash from the former United States Champion. Randy Orton was mostly stuck playing cheerleader for the musician and didn’t get many chances to unleash the ferocity he is known for.

This was a big setback for The Viper. The only saving grace for him was the fact that he wasn’t the man who got pinned.

---

#2. WWE didn’t protect Gunther once again

Gunther defended the World Heavyweight Championship against CM Punk in the main event of Night One of The Biggest Party of The Summer. The match between The Best in the World and the Austrian lived up to the potential. Both of them refused to be pinned until the match reached a turning point when The Ring General landed face-first on the monitors of the announcers’ desk.

This resulted in the Austrian bleeding profusely and gave CM Punk the advantage he needed to put the champion down. WWE gave Gunther’s resilience some credit by making him pull off a sleeper hold even when he was blinded by the blood covering his eyes.

The Ring General was even standing on his feet after taking a clean GTS from Punk. However, a second GTS put him down and allowed The Second City Saint to pin him to win the match.

While it can be argued that CM Punk’s win was essential to elevate Rollins’ return and subsequent cash-in, WWE could have made The Architect interfere in the match instead of waiting for Gunther to be pinned. This way, both The Second City Saint and The Ring General could have been protected.

After all, the same strategy was used to protect Rhea Ripley and IYO SKY when Naomi cashed in her MITB contract. However, while Punk will still be able to get a chance to redeem himself and feud with Rollins, the chances to do the same seem very slim for Gunther.

This was the second major blow to The Ring General's perceived invincibility, who previously lost to Jey Uso at WrestleMania 41 by tapping out to his own submission move.

---

#1. Karrion Kross suffered a loss in the ring and ideology

Karrion Kross faced Sami Zayn after tormenting him and hitting him with a steel pipe for several weeks. The Herald of Doomsday wanted the Underdog from the Underground to admit that “Kross told the truth” about Zayn wanting to give in to his dark side.

So far, the heelmaker hadn’t gained any success in his pursuit, and WWE SummerSlam seemingly closed the doors for it to happen in the future as well. Karrion Kross had been provoking Sami Zayn for several months before finally getting a match at the 2025 Night of Champions, which he lost.

The continuation of the feud could have given him the ideological victory by making the OG Bloodline member use the steel pipe in the match. However, the former four-time Intercontinental Champion chose to toss the weapon away and end things clean with a Helluva Kick.

The Herald of Doomsday doesn’t seem to have a lot of time left on his WWE contract. However, his character should have received a bigger push considering the work he has done in the last few months and the way he has gotten the fans behind him.

Edited by Arsh Das