Major former stars reportedly booked for WWE SummerSlam
WWE is days away from the 37th annual SummerSlam Premium Live Event. The WWE Universe continues to speculate on potential surprises and swerves, and now word has come down on notable stars being brought in by the company while one of the biggest names in wrestling history is reacting.
The WWE rosters are invading Cleveland, Ohio, for SummerSlam this week. The Stamford-based company has a full schedule of events lined up for The Forest City, including the SummerSlam Kickoff and the go-home SmackDown on Friday, Damian Priest Live and Sami Zayn & Friends Do Cleveland also on Friday, and The Undertaker's 1 deadMAN Show on Saturday, among others.
Backstage sources reported today that Kane and Rick Steiner were booked for SummerSlam Weekend by the company, according to PWInsider. While The Dog Faced Gremlin is rumored for a special moment, it was later confirmed that The Big Red Mayor is set to appear with The Undertaker at the SummerSlam Photo Experience. Leap Technology's Epic Photo-Ops is running the fan event at Tower City Center in Cleveland - the same location as the SummerSlam Store and just three minutes from Browns Stadium.
Kane has a Friday photo-op scheduled for 2:30pm, priced at $74, while The Brothers of Destruction will reunite for a separate photo-op at 4pm that day, priced at $309. Taker's solo session scheduled for 1:30 on Friday is priced at $229. The Phenom took to X to hype the busy weekend.
"It's a jam-packed #SummerSlam week and I'll see you Friday! [urn emoji]," The Undertaker wrote with the graphics below.
Steiner's SummerSlam Weekend role has not been confirmed as of this writing. The 2022 Hall of Famer will see his son Bron Breakker challenge Sami Zayn for the Intercontinental Championship on Saturday, and speculation is that we could see Scott Steiner's older brother appear for a post-match celebration.
WWE nixed major angle with Kane and rising superstar
Kane reduced his World Wrestling Entertainment schedule in a major way after launching his campaign for the mayorship of Knox County, Tennessee, in 2017. He was elected as the Republican candidate in 2018 and then re-elected in 2022.
The Big Red Mayor has made several special WWE appearances since getting into politics. His sole match in 2021 was the Men's Royal Rumble, where he entered at #18 as a surprise entrant.
It was recently revealed how WWE had plans for a major angle between Kane and Omos, who had been on the main roster for around eight months at that time. A recently released superstar recalled how a training injury forced Omos to miss out on the angle with the Brother of Destruction that night.
The Nigerian Giant did not compete in the 2021 Rumble, but he did serve as AJ Styles' bodyguard from ringside. Kane eliminated Ricochet and Dolph Ziggler but was then tossed out by Damian Priest after being in for less than two minutes.