Rhea Ripley Knee Injury Surfaces Amid Reports of WWE’s Original SummerSlam 2026 Plans

A knee injury suffered by Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley during WWE’s recent tour of Italy has brought the company’s early SummerSlam 2026 blueprint into focus — and it turns out the champion wasn’t necessarily at the center of it to begin with.

According to Dave Meltzer of F4WOnline.com, Ripley has been undergoing medical evaluation following the injury. Despite holding the Women’s World Championship, Ripley was reportedly never slated to defend the title at SummerSlam. Instead, Iyo Sky’s Queen of the Ring victory had already set up a championship match against Liv Morgan, and that course was already locked in before Ripley’s setback.

The reported card WWE had mapped out for SummerSlam is a loaded one. Cody Rhodes and CM Punk were set to collide for the WWE Championship, while Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins were penciled in for the World Heavyweight title. Oba Femi and Brock Lesnar were reportedly headed for a Hell in a Cell encounter, and Trick Williams versus Carmelo Hayes for the United States Championship was also on the docket. Additional bouts included Charlotte Flair vs. Jade Cargill, Gunther vs. Royce Keys, and a WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship match pitting Paige and Brie Bella against Fallon Henley and Lainey Reid.

As for Ripley’s own SummerSlam spot before the injury, she was said to be lined up against either Alexa Bliss or Jacy Jayne.

One notable detail: Ripley has not been stripped of the Women’s World Championship, which Meltzer suggested is a sign the situation may not require major surgery or an extended absence. WWE has not issued an official statement on her condition as of this writing, so the full picture remains unclear.

How the company adjusts its plans — both for Ripley’s match and the championship picture — will be worth watching in the weeks ahead as SummerSlam approaches.