One of WWE’s biggest annual events is imminent. SummerSlam has long been considered one of WWE’s “Big Four” events. This year’s spectacle takes place on Saturday at Ford Field in Detroit with Roman Reigns vs. Jey Uso among the big matches.

Reigns will defend his undisputed WWE universal championship and “Tribal Chief” status against his cousin Jey Uso in a no holds barred match dubbed “Tribal Combat.” The Usos’ split from The Bloodline predicated this highly-anticipated match. It’s the next chapter in a story being labeled as one of the best to be told in the long history of professional wrestling.

This year’s SummerSlam features three other title tilts. Bianca Belair and Charlotte Flair challenged Asuka for the latter’s WWE women’s championship in a triple-threat match. Seth Rollins stakes his world heavyweight title in a rematch against Finn Balor. Finally, Gunther and Drew McIntyre collide in a hard-hitting intercontinental title match with high expectations following their acclaimed encounter at WrestleMania 39 with Sheamus.

The rest of the card is also sure to deliver high thrills. Look no further than the matchup between social media star Logan Paul and Ricochet. The two delivered an epic moment at WrestleMania when they collided midair and have continued to feud since. Now, Paul faces another freak athlete as he also hopes to finish his match in time to catch his brother, Jake Paul, box against Nate Diaz later in the night from Dallas.

Below is how you can catch all the action on Saturday night in SummerSlam.

Watch 2023 WWE SummerSlam
Date: Aug. 5
Location: Ford Field — Detroit
Start time: 8 p.m. ET
Watch live: Peacock

2023 WWE SummerSlam match card
WWE Undisputed Universal Championship — Roman Reigns (c) vs. Jey Uso (“Tribal Combat” match)
Cody Rhodes vs. Brock Lesnar
World Heavyweight Championship — Seth Rollins (c) vs. Finn Balor
WWE Women’s Championship — Asuka (c) vs. Bianca Belair vs. Charlotte Flair
Intercontinental Championship — Gunther (c) vs. Drew McIntyre
Logan Paul vs. Ricochet
Ronda Rousey vs. Shayna Baszler (“MMA Rules” Match)
SummerSlam Battle Royal (featuring LA Knight, Sheamus, Tommaso Ciampa, Shinsuke Nakamura, Otis, Chad Gable and 14 more superstars)

Legendary professional wrestler Terry Funk, whose influence was felt across multiple generations, has died at the age of 79. News broke of Funk’s death on Wednesday afternoon.

During his career, which spanned more than 50 years, there was almost no meaningful wrestling promotion in which Funk did not have an impact. After starting his career in 1965 for Western States Sports, a promotion ran by his father, Dory Funk, Terry Funk often wrestled alongside his brother, Dory Funk Jr.

Terry Funk is gone. I just talked to Terry’s daughter, Brandee, who gave me the awful news. He was my mentor, my idol, one of the closest friends. He was the greatest wrestler I ever saw.

If you get the chance, look up a Terry Funk match or a Terry Funk promo, and give thanks… pic.twitter.com/WwdFLwXqZ0

— Mick Foley (@foleyispod) August 23, 2023
Funk exploded to the top of wrestling in 1975, defeating Jack Brisco to win the NWA world heavyweight championship. He held the title for more than 420 days before dropping the title to Harley Race. Race was also the man who ended Dory Jr.’s title reign in 1973.

Funk earned a reputation as a rough and rugged brawler through various rivalries, including a feud with Jerry Lawler that led to a now-iconic empty-arena match and a lengthy rivalry with Ric Flair that included a shocking moment for the time that saw Funk piledrive Flair onto a ringside table.

After stints in Japan, NWA, WWF and WCW, Funk’s career found a second wind when he joined Eastern Championship Wrestling, later Extreme Championship Wrestling. Funk had appeared in Japan as a “hardcore” wrestler, participating in brutal and violent contests.

In My Entire Life, I’ve Never Met A Guy Who Worked Harder. Terry Funk Was A Great Wrestler, Entertainer, Unbelievably Fearless, And A Great Friend! Rest In Peace My Friend Terry Funk Knowing That No One Will Ever Replace You In The World Of Professional Wrestling! 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻 pic.twitter.com/EYMAKOzxnx

— Ric Flair® (@RicFlairNatrBoy) August 23, 2023
Funk utilized that hardcore style as a cornerstone of ECW, eventually winning the promotion’s top title in the main event of their first-ever pay-per-view event, Barely Legal on April 13, 1997. He would go on to have more stints in WWE, WCW and ECW throughout his career, as well as time in TNA and on the independent circuit.

During that time, Funk would routinely retire, only to return to the ring again and again. He would have his final match in September 2017, finally hanging up his boots for good.

Funk also took on several acting roles, most notably appearing in the 1989 Patrick Swayze film Roadhouse.

Funk was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2009.

Windham Rotunda, better known to WWE fans as Bray Wyatt, has died at age 36. WWE chief content officer Paul Levesque shared the devastating news on social media noting that Rotunda’s passing was unexpected.

A three-time champion in WWE, Wyatt re-signed with the promotion last year, returning to significant fanfare at WWE Extreme Rules on Oct. 8, 2022. Wyatt was in the middle of a program involving a mysterious and manipulating force called “Uncle Howdy” but was quietly removed from WWE programming in late February amid injury rumors.

“Just received a call from WWE Hall of Famer Mike Rotunda who informed us of the tragic news that our WWE family member for life Windham Rotunda — also known as Bray Wyatt — unexpectedly passed earlier today,” wrote Levesque, better known to fans as Hall of Famer superstar Triple H. “Our thoughts are with his family and we ask that everyone respect their privacy at this time.”

No further information is available regarding the nature of Rotunda’s death.

WWE is saddened to learn that Windham Rotunda, also known as Bray Wyatt, passed away on Thursday, Aug. 24, at age 36.

WWE extends its condolences to Rotunda’s family, friends and fans. pic.twitter.com/pabVuaKlnP

— WWE (@WWE) August 24, 2023
Windham’s father, Mike Rotunda, previously wrestled in WWE as Irwin R. Schyster (IRS). He was best known his association with Ted DiBiase. Windham’s younger brother, Taylor Michael Rotunda, also wrestled for WWE as Bo Dallas. It is believed that Taylor is signed to the promotion and had been working with his brother under the mask of the “Uncle Howdy” persona.

Windham Rotunda extended wrestling family included grandfather Blackjack Mulligan (Robert Windham) and uncles Barry Windham and Kendall Windham, for whom he was named.

Rotunda pushed the boundaries for modern character portrayals in not just WWE but all of professional wrestling.

He started with WWE in 2009 as a relatively generic superstar named Husky Harris before later being repackaged as Bray Wyatt. His unnerving portrayal as the cult leader of the Wyatt Family captured the imagination of fans worldwide and made him one of the company’s most popular superstars.

A later adaptation of his character, The Fiend, was a masked, sinister entity that became a focal point of programming and earned him two reigns as WWE universal champion.

Wyatt also won the WWE championship and two tag team championships. He famously wrestled legendary superstars Randy Orton and John Cena at two of WWE’s biggest shows, losing the WWE title to Orton at WrestleMania 33 and beating Cena in a one-of-a-kind “Firefly Fun House” match at WrestleMania 36 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

His death comes less than three years after his best friend Jonathan Huber — former Wyatt Family member Luke Harper and AEW wrestler Brodie Lee — died unexpectedly at age 41.

In the wake of the shocking death of Windham Rotunda — WWE superstar Bray Wyatt — there has been an outpouring of support from fans as well as professional wrestlers from every promotion of note. Along with the memories and support for Wyatt’s family being shared, many have been posting their favorite memories of Wyatt’s unique WWE run.

Those moments run the gamut of Wyatt’s time in NXT, on the main roster as the leader of The Wyatt Family, through his time as The Fiend. Even as Wyatt was released by WWE only to return a year later, he capitvated fans again with one of the most viral comebacks in the history of professional wrestling.

With that in mind, we’ve taken a look back through Wyatt’s incredible run to identify five of our favorite moments from his WWE career.

5. Every time Wyatt debuted or returned
   Is it cheating to tie all of these together? Maybe. But this is a top-five list and you could take up nearly the entire list with Wyatt’s debuts and returns alone. From his haunting videos prior to debuting in-ring in NXT to the vignettes and debut of The Wyatt Family on the WWE main roster to the debut of The Fiend and the Firefly Fun House to his most recent return at 2022’s edition of Extreme Rules, every time Wyatt arrived on the scene, he did so in a way that changed the scene and reinvigorated his career. At times, the ideas Wyatt was trying to present didn’t translate perfectly as a part of a wrestling show, but the ideas were always fresh and unique and the hits far outnumbered the misses.
6. Firefly Fun House match (WrestleMania 36)
   As with every business, the COVID-19 pandemic created unprecedented hurdles for professional wrestling. WWE charged ahead, moving their shows from the usual packed arenas to the empty WWE Performance Center in Orlando — and eventually to the “Thunderdome” complete with virtual fans. WrestleMania 36 is arguably the most striking example of WWE’s approach to the early days of the pandemic.

Holding the biggest show of the year with no fans in attendance, WWE leaned into some unexpected avenues of creativity, including Wyatt facing John Cena in a Firefly Fun House match. Rather than a standard match, what followed was a trippy version of a “cinematic match” with Wyatt’s The Fiend forcing Cena to “face himself” in a series of dream-like sequences before Wyatt ultimately won one of the most creative matches in WWE history.

3. The Wyatt Family vs. The Shield
   WWE struck gold when they matched The Wyatt Family with The Shield, putting two dominant — and massively over — three-man factions into direct conflict. What followed was a brief series of matches that showed the two groups had a unique chemistry as a collection of big personalities and talented in-ring performers.

The first match between the factions at Elimination Chamber 2014 was a near-perfect example of the WWE’s ideal match structure in the modern era while also featuring six men who were all different but blended to create a wonderful mix of violence and storytelling. The teams would have three more matches, all good but none touched the heights of the Elimination Chamber clash, which may have been WWE’s best match of 2014. The relatively brief rivalry also provided a foundation for the incredible chemistry Wyatt had with Roman Reigns (more on that later).

2. Finally capturing the WWE championship
   Wyatt was established as a top act in WWE for years, but aside from a 23-day run with the SmackDown tag team titles, had not held championship gold. That finally changed in February 2017 when Wyatt won the Elimination Chamber to capture the WWE championship. Wyatt would only make one successful defense of the belt before losing the belt to Randy Orton at WrestleMania 33. Wyatt would have two more world title reigns, both times holding the universal championship.

None of Wyatt’s runs as world champion were particularly memorable and all ended in odd or unsatisfying ways. Still, as a measure of a wrestler’s legacy, being trusted to hold a world title even briefly is a tremendous resume booster.

1. Iconic moment with Roman Reigns
   For all of his incredible ideas, character work, matches, video packages and promos, there’s nothing that quite distills how simply cool Wyatt was as a wrestler. Little moments can show just how much a performer really understands how to stand out from the pack and there are few moments as perfect as the end of Wyatt’s match teaming with Reigns on April 11, 2016. As previously mentioned, Wyatt and Reigns had built tremendous chemistry together over the years. On that night, though, they found themselves as unlikely allies against Alberto Del Rio and Sheamus of the League of Nations.

The how and why of it all doesn’t matter. What does matter, however, is the way the match ended. Wyatt hit Del Rio with Sister Abigail, securing the pin while simultaneously pointing at Sheamus as the Irishman entered the ring, directing Reigns to deliver a spear to help secure the win. Not too many wrestlers have had a moment as iconic as that.

With SummerSlam done, WWE now turns its attention to Sept. 2 when Payback comes to Pittsburgh. The event kicks off the march to the next of WWE’s “big four” pay-per-views, Survivor Series.

There are three title matches set for Saturday night. The top billing goes to world heavyweight champion Seth Rollins looking to turn away Shinsuke Nakamura’s bid for the title. Plus, women’s world champion Rhea Ripley takes on Raquel Rodriguez in hard-hitting action. And the undisputed tag team titles are on the line when champs Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens takes on Damian Priest and Finn Balor of The Judgement Day.

Plus, one of the big featured matches pits Becky Lynch against Trish Stratus inside of a steel cage. After months of Stratus taking shortcuts to get the better of Lynch, “The Man” will finally be in an environment with no easy escapes for her WWE Hall of Fame opponent. Although, you can expect Stratus’ protege Zoey Stark to play a role in the match in one way or another.

Take a look below at the confirmed matches for Payback and take a glance at the crystal ball of what may come. The event streams live on Peacock on Sept. 2 with the main card starting at 8 p.m. ET.

2023 WWE Payback matches
World Heavyweight Championship — Seth Rollins (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura: Nakamura turned on Rollins after the two teamed together in a six-man tag match, Rollins responded by offering Nakamura a shot at the belt “any time.” Nakamura also whispered into Rollins’ ear, visibly shaking the champion. Nakamura would later reveal that he told Rollins he knew that his back was failing and that he is living with pain every day and now Nakamura will end him.

Women’s World Championship — Rhea Ripley (c) vs. Raquel Rodriguez: Ripley and Rodriguez had engaged in a series of brawls before Ripley injured Rodriguez’s knee. Ripley also attacked Rodriguez’s tag partner and friend Liv Morgan before injuring Rodriguez again. For weeks, Rodriguez was not medically cleared to get back in the ring. Finally, Rodriguez was cleared, attacking Ripley before announcing that she had secured a match with the champion at Payback.

Trish Stratus vs. Becky Lynch (Steel Cage Match): The rivalry between Stratus and Lynch has been ongoing for months. Their last two matches did not go as planned, with interference from Zoey Stark ending one match and a wild brawl — again featuring interference from Stark in a match where she was banned from ringside — ending in a countout. To try and make sure the two women can end things without any outside interference, Adam Pearce booked a cage match for Payback. Of course, matches designed to “prevent outside interference” almost always result in outside interference.

United States Championship — Rey Mysterio (c) vs. Austin Theory: Theory earned a rematch against Mysterio after defeating LA Knight with help from The Miz in a No. 1 contender’s match on SmackDown. Mysterio defeated Theory to capture the U.S. title on an earlier episode of SmackDown. Mysterio had subbed in for his injured LWO teammate Santos Escobar after the latter was sidelined by Theory on the evening of their scheduled match.

The Miz vs. LA Knight: Miz and Knight have exchanged words on across various WWE programming. Miz cost Knight a U.S. title shot on SmackDown. Knight returned fire by appearing on Raw and aiding Akira Tozawa in an upset victory against Miz. SmackDown commentators confirmed the match for Payback during the Bray Wyatt and Terry Funk tribute show.

Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship — Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn vs. Judgment Day (Damian Priest & Finn Balor): Zayn and Owens have had plenty of issues with Judgment Day, as has Cody Rhodes who is on the show to appear as a guest on The Waller Report. But the real story here is the internal strife among Judgment Day members, specifically Priest and Balor. Balor has been pushing to bring his friend JD McDonaugh into the fold after multiple attempts from Priest to help Balor beat Seth Rollins backfired. Priest wants to focus on the team but has grown increasingly irritated as Balor seems jealous of Priest holding the Money in the Bank briefcase.