WWE SummerSlam 2021 live stream: how to watch, match card and start time
Will Cena get #17 on the WWE SummerSlam live stream?
The WWE SummerSlam 2021 live stream gets going very soon, and the so-called "hottest party of the summer" looks to be even bigger than ever. Word has it that WWE wants it to be the true WrestleMania for this year, hence why John Cena and Bill Goldberg have returned for highly anticipated championship matches.
SummerSlam main card: Today (Saturday, August 21) at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT.
Kickoff show: 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT.
Neither should win their matches, though. Right now, WWE does not need part-time champions, no matter how many additional weeks Cena may be here for. Plus, it would only help the runs for Roman Reigns and Bobby Lashley for them to have big wins over such marquee names.
That said, we'd absolutely love to see one of these champs drop the title to Big E. The Money In The Bank champion is waiting in the rafters for the right opportunity — and has spoken extensively about both his want to wrestle Goldberg and how Reigns is the guy right now.
Of course Cena still talks a good game, telling Reigns last night that he is "protected in this egomaniac bubble" and "needs to be brought down to earth." Reigns, for his part, replied, "Let's raise the stakes. Either I'm leaving that stadium as the universal champion or I'm leaving WWE."
In the women's championship picture, you've got Nikki A.S.H. up against the numbers of Rhea Ripley and Charlotte Flair. We're curious how this one plays out, and had a hard time making a prediction. One assumes Becky Lynch could make an appearance, especially if the almost-superhero wins but gets beaten-down post-match.
Then, you've got Bianca Belair defending the SmackDown Women's Championship against Sasha Banks, and that should be one hell of a match.
- How to watch the Marvel movies in order
- The best streaming devices, ranked
And in addition to this being the third fan-attended PPV since the start of the pandemic, you wonder about who else could arrive. The likes of Becky Lynch, Nikki and Brie Bella and Brock Lesnar have all been mentioned as returning over the last months.
Sign up now to get the best Black Friday deals!
Discover the hottest deals, best product picks and the latest tech news from our experts at Tom’s Guide.
Right now, though, there are numerous top stars without matches. After Friday Night Smackdown, it seems like Baron Corbin and Big E will share the squared circle in some way, possibly fighting for control of the Money In The Bank briefcase.
Riddle and Randy Orton just got announced to fight AJ Styles and Omos for the Raw Men's Tag titles. Plus, Alexa Bliss vs. Eva Marie is now a thing.
And then there's the curious case of Keith Lee, who just recently revealed that he was off TV for months for a number of health reasons. Now that he's healthy, will he be on the card against Karrion Kross? Since WWE may not want either titan to lose, there's always Jeff Hardy to take the pinfall.
How to watch WWE SummerSlam live streams with a VPN
While Peacock is available all across the U.S. and the WWE Network is still the standard around the world, WWE SummerSlam live streams can get a bit confusing. You might want to check out a VPN if you can't watch with the service you normally use.
International audiences will be pretty jealous of U.S. audiences, which will save up to 50% by switching to Peacock (unless you get the no-ads tier at $9.99 per month).
The best VPN is ExpressVPN. It meets the VPN needs of the vast majority of users, offering outstanding compatibility with most devices and impressive connection speeds.
ExpressVPN can access more than 3,000 servers spread out across 160 locations in 94 countries. The service performed reliably in our testing, and we found customer service responsive.
WWE SummerSlam live streams in the U.S. are cheaper
The only place to watch WWE SummerSlam in the U.S. is Peacock, which has a 7-day free trial of Peacock Premium, the tier you will need for this event.
There's no need to pay for the ad-free tier for WWE live events, as there are always ads in the live editions of Peacock programming.
WWE SummerSlam streams in the UK and around the world
The rest of the world will grab WWE SummerSlam live streams on the WWE Network, for a higher price — closer to the $9.99 that Americans used to pay.
That said, don't expect this to last forever. Peacock is expanding internationally later in 2021, so you might be watching WWE events without the Network no matter where you live.
While those in the States pay less now, there is less content available — and the ad breaks are weird — so it's a monkey's paw situation on getting that discount.
WWE SummerSlam card and predictions
Predicted winners are in bold.
- John Cena vs Roman Reigns (c) for the Universal Championship
- Rhea Ripley vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Nikki A.S.H. (c) for the Raw Women's Championship
- Goldberg vs. Bobby Lashley (c) for the WWE Championship
- Rey & Dominik Mysterio vs. The Usos (c) for the SmackDown Tag Team Championship
- Sasha Banks vs. Bianca Belair (c) SmackDown Women’s Championship
- Edge vs. Seth Rollins
- Damian Priest vs. Sheamus (c) for the United States Championship
- Drew McIntyre vs. Jinder Mahal
- RK-Bro vs. AJ Styles & Omos (c) for the Raw tag team Championship
- Alexa Bliss vs. Eva Marie
Henry is a managing editor at Tom’s Guide covering streaming media, laptops and all things Apple, reviewing devices and services for the past seven years. Prior to joining Tom's Guide, he reviewed software and hardware for TechRadar Pro, and interviewed artists for Patek Philippe International Magazine. He's also covered the wild world of professional wrestling for Cageside Seats, interviewing athletes and other industry veterans.