Bash in Berlin

Bash in Berlin was a 2024 professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by the American company WWE. It took place on Saturday, August 31, 2024, at the Uber Arena in Berlin, Germany, held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. This was WWE's first PPV and livestreaming event to be held in Germany.

Five matches were contested at the event. In the main event, which was the main match from Raw which was also an interbrand match, Gunther defeated SmackDown's Randy Orton by technical submission to retain the World Heavyweight Championship. In the opening match, which was SmackDown's main match, Cody Rhodes defeated Kevin Owens to retain the Undisputed WWE Championship. In another prominent match, CM Punk defeated Drew McIntyre in a strap match, in his first televised win at WWE in over a decade.

The event received generally positive reviews, with praise directed towards the World Heavyweight Championship match.

On October 25, 2023, Bash in Berlin was announced by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE, scheduled to take place on Saturday, August 31, 2024, in Berlin at the Uber Arena (at the time of the event's announcement still known as Mercedes-Benz Arena). The event featured wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. Bash in Berlin was WWE's first-ever pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event in Germany—this is not to be confused with WWE's first-ever event in the country, which was held on April 14, 1992 as part of the European Rampage Tour (then as World Wrestling Federation; WWF).

The event aired on traditional PPV worldwide and was available to livestream on Peacock in the United States and the WWE Network in most international markets. It was also announced that the August 30 episode of Friday Night SmackDown would air live locally from the same venue, which was the first time for the program to broadcast from Germany. Tickets went on sale on November 30, 2023. An additional five 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. The official theme song of the event was "Ratatata" by Babymetal and Electric Callboy.

The card included five matches that resulted from scripted storylines. Results were predetermined by WWE's writers on the Raw and SmackDown brands, while storylines were produced on WWE's weekly television programs, Monday Night Raw and Friday Night SmackDown.

At King and Queen of the Ring, 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. During the King of the Ring final, however, Orton's shoulder was not fully on the mat when the referee counted the pin. 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. At SummerSlam, Gunther won the World Heavyweight Championship, 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. Orton 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.

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). On the following episode of SmackDown, Rhodes spoke about who he wanted to defend the title against at Bash in Berlin, but was interrupted by The Bloodline (Sikoa, Tama, and Loa), with Sikoa wanting a rematch. Rhodes declined, stating that Sikoa did not deserve it, and as The Bloodline were about to enter the ring to attack Rhodes, Owens again came to his aid. Rhodes then revealed that he wanted to defend the title against Owens as a token of gratitude for all the times Owens had helped Rhodes fend off The Bloodline. Owens felt that he had not earned the opportunity due to his win/loss record, but despite his objection, Rhodes spoke to SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis and had the match approved for Bash in Berlin.