| Bash in Berlin | |
| Promotion: | WWE |
| Brand: | Raw SmackDown |
| Date: | August 31, 2024 |
| City: | Berlin, Germany |
| Venue: | Uber Arena |
| Wwenlast: | SummerSlam |
| Wwennext: | NXT No Mercy |
| Event: | WWE in Europe |
WWE Bash in Berlin is an upcoming 2024 professional wrestling event produced by the American promotion WWE. It will take place on Saturday, August 31, 2024, at the Uber Arena in Berlin, Germany and will feature wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. The event will air via pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming, marking WWE's first PPV and livestreaming event to be held in Germany.
On October 25, 2023, the American professional wrestling promotion WWE announced that it would hold its first-ever pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event in Germany called Bash in Berlin. The event is scheduled for Saturday, August 31, 2024, at the Uber Arena (formerly Mercedes-Benz Arena) in Berlin, Germany and will feature wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. The event will air on traditional PPV worldwide and will be available to livestream on Peacock in the United States and the WWE Network in most international markets.[1] It was also announced that the August 30 episode of Friday Night SmackDown would air live locally from the same venue, which will be the first time for the program to broadcast from Germany. Tickets went on sale on November 30, 2023.[2] An additional three nights of WWE Live shows in Europe preceding Friday's SmackDown were also scheduled as part of the "Road to Bash in Berlin" tour, concluding with Bash in Berlin itself.[3] The official theme song of the event is "Ratatata" by Babymetal and Electric Callboy.[4]
The card will include matches that result from scripted storylines. Results are predetermined by WWE's writers on the Raw and SmackDown brands, while storylines are produced on WWE's weekly television programs, Monday Night Raw and Friday Night SmackDown.[5] [6]
At King and Queen of the Ring in May, Raw's Gunther defeated SmackDown's Randy Orton in the final of the King of the Ring tournament, which earned him a match for Raw's World Heavyweight Championship at SummerSlam in August. During the King of the Ring final, however, Orton's shoulder was not fully on the mat when the referee counted the pin.[7] After the show, WWE Chief Content Officer Paul "Triple H" Levesque noted the mistake and said the referee's decision was final but that there would likely be a rematch between the two.[8] At SummerSlam, Gunther won the World Heavyweight Championship,[9] and during his speech on the following Raw, he was interrupted by Orton, who noted that because of that mistake in the King of the Ring final, that ultimately allowed Gunther to become champion. He then said that he wanted his rematch at Bash in Berlin so he could take the World Heavyweight Championship from Gunther, who accepted the challenge. It was later stipulated that if Orton won the championship, he would be transferred to Raw with Gunther transferred to SmackDown.[10]
At SummerSlam, Cody Rhodes retained the Undisputed WWE Championship against Solo Sikoa in a Bloodline Rules match, which included aid from Kevin Owens in fending off other members of The Bloodline (Jacob Fatu, Tama Tonga, and Tonga Loa).[9] On the following episode of SmackDown, as Rhodes was about to say who he wanted to defend the title against at Bash in Berlin, he was interrupted by The Bloodline (Sikoa and The Tongans), as Sikoa wanted a rematch. Rhodes declined, stating that Sikoa did not deserve it, and as The Bloodline were about to enter the ring and attack Rhodes, Owens again came to his aid. After The Bloodline retreated, Rhodes said that due to all the times Owens had helped Rhodes in fending off The Bloodline, he felt that Owens deserved an opportunity and wanted to defend the title against Owens, who felt that he had not earned it due to his win/loss record. Rhodes then left to go talk to SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis to have the match approved, and despite Owens's objection, the match was made official.[11]
At SummerSlam, Liv Morgan defeated Rhea Ripley to retain the Women's World Championship after seemingly accidental interference from Ripley's on-screen love interest and Judgment Day stablemate, "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio. After the match, however, Mysterio betrayed Ripley and kissed Morgan, ending their partnership. Later that night, fellow Judgment Day member Damian Priest lost the World Heavyweight Championship to Gunther after being betrayed by fellow stablemate Finn Bálor.[9] On the following episode of Raw, Bálor excommunicated Priest and Ripley from the group, with it subsequently consisting of himself, Mysterio, Morgan, JD McDonagh, and Carlito. Later that night, Priest was attacked by Bálor during his match against McDonagh before Ripley came out to save him.[10] The following week, a mixed tag team match between the team of Priest and Ripley, who would take on the name The Terror Twins, and Judgment Day's Mysterio and Morgan was made official for Bash in Berlin.[12]
At SummerSlam, Drew McIntyre defeated CM Punk, which had Seth "Freakin" Rollins as the special guest referee. Weeks prior to the event, McIntyre had stolen Punk's bracelet that had his wife (AJ Lee) and dog's (Larry) names on it. During the match at SummerSlam, Punk retrieved the bracelet but accidentally dropped it. Rollins picked it up to get it out of the way and Punk attacked Rollins as he thought Rollins was messing with him, which ultimately cost Punk the match, after which, McIntyre stole the bracelet again.[9] On the August 12 episode of Raw, the two brawled which ended with Punk whipping McIntyre with a belt.[12] On the following episode, Punk announced that Raw General Manager Adam Pearce approved a Strap match at Bash in Berlin between him and McIntyre, who came out and accepted the challenge.[13]