A major WWE title bout has reportedly been set for the free first-hour broadcast of the SummerSlam pay-per-view event on ESPN.
Penta‘s WWE Intercontinental Championship defence against Chad Gable is reportedly expected to air during one of ESPN’s pre-show windows ahead of SummerSlam. According to WrestleVotes on Fightful Select, the title match is currently the leading candidate to take place during ESPN’s coverage before either night one or night two of SummerSlam next weekend in Minnesota.
Gable earned the opportunity by winning a gauntlet match on WWE Raw earlier this month and will be aiming to capture the Intercontinental Championship for the first time. The match also marks another chapter in the rivals’ history, with Gable having been Penta’s first opponent following the latter’s WWE debut in January 2025.
Penta has held the Intercontinental Championship for more than 140 days and has successfully retained the title nine times, most recently defeating Rey Mysterio in June.
WWE has yet to officially announce when the match will take place as the full SummerSlam card continues to take shape.
WWE SummerSlam 2026 Card So Far
The current lineup for WWE SummerSlam is as follows:
- WWE Women’s World Title Match: Liv Morgan (c) vs. Iyo Sky
- Hell In A Cell Match: Brock Lesnar vs. Oba Femi
- WWE World Heavyweight Title Match: Roman Reigns (c) vs. Seth Rollins
- WWE Intercontinental Title Match: Penta (c) vs. Chad Gable
- Undisputed WWE Title Match: CM Punk (c) vs. Cody Rhodes
- LA Knight, Solo Sikoa & Royce Keys vs. The Bloodline (Jacob Fatu, Jey Uso & Jimmy Uso)
- Interim WWE Women’s Title Five-Way Ladder Match: Tiffany Stratton vs. Jade Cargill vs. Charlotte Flair or Nia Jax vs. TBA vs. TBA
- Gunther vs. Nick Aldis
- $100,000 Match: Danhausen vs. Dominik Mysterio
