The 2010 SummerSlam was the 23rd annual

SummerSlam SummerSlam is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Dubbed "The Biggest Party of the Summer", it is considered WWE's se ...

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program g ...

(PPV) event produced by

World Wrestling Entertainment World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and va ...

(WWE). It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. The event took place on August 15, 2010, at

Staples Center Crypto.com Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Downtown Los Angeles. Adjacent to the L.A. Live development, it is located next to the Los Angeles Convention Center complex along Figueroa Street. The arena opened on October 17, 1999; it ...

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wo ...

for the second consecutive year. Six matches were contested at the event. The main events of the evening included: Team WWE defeating

The Nexus NEXUS is a joint Canada Border Services Agency and U.S. Customs and Border Protection-operated Trusted Traveler and expedited border control program designed for pre-approved, low-risk travelers. Members of the program can avoid waits at border ...

in a 7-on-7 elimination tag team match,

Randy Orton Randal Keith Orton (born April 1, 1980) is an American professional wrestler and actor who is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand but is currently out of action due to a back injury. He is widely regarded as one of the grea ...

defeating

Sheamus Stephen Farrelly (born 28 January 1978) is an Irish professional wrestler and actor. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Sheamus. Prior to joining WWE, he wrestled on the European in ...

via disqualification for the

WWE Championship The WWE Championship is a world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE, representing the Raw brand division. It is one of two world titles on WWE's main roster, alongside SmackDo ...

even though Sheamus retained the title, Melina winning the Divas Championship against

Alicia Fox Victoria Crawford (born June 30, 1986) is an American retired professional wrestler and former model known for her time with WWE under the ring name Alicia Fox. Crawford debuted on '' SmackDown'' on June 13, 2008, using the Alicia Fox name an ...

, Kane retaining the World Heavyweight Championship against

Rey Mysterio Óscar Gutiérrez (born December 11, 1974), better known by his ring name Rey Mysterio, is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand. Widely regarded as one of the greatest pro ...

. Other matches featured on the show were WWE Intercontinental Champion

Dolph Ziggler Nicholas Theodore Nemeth (born July 27, 1980) is an American professional wrestler and stand-up comedian. He is currently signed to WWE under the ring name Dolph Ziggler, where he performs on the Raw brand. After a prolific career in amateu ...

versus

Kofi Kingston Kofi Nahaje Sarkodie-Mensah (born August 14, 1981) is a Ghanaian-born American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Kofi Kingston. He appeared on WWE's NXT brand as one- ...

, but ended in a no contest while

Big Show Paul Donald Wight II (born February 8, 1972) is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as an in-ring performer, and as a commentator for its web television show, '' AEW Dark: Elevation,'' under ...

defeated

The Straight Edge Society The Straight Edge Society was a villainous professional wrestling stable in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) that appeared on its SmackDown brand. The concept behind the group was the straight edge lifestyle, which promotes and abides to di ...

(

CM Punk Phillip Jack Brooks (born October 26, 1978), better known by the ring name CM Punk, is an American professional wrestler, sports commentator, actor, and retired mixed martial artist currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Best known ...

Joey Mercury Adam Birch (born July 18, 1979), better known by the ring names Joey Mercury and Joey Matthews, is an American professional wrestler who is best known for his two tenures in WWE. Birch was most recently signed to Ring of Honor, where he work ...

and Luke Gallows) in a three-on-one handicap match. SummerSlam received 350,000 pay-per-view buys, a decrease on the 369,000 buys garnered by the 2009 event.

Production

Background

is an annual

(PPV), produced every summer by

(WWE) since 1988. Dubbed "The Biggest Party of the Summer," it is one of the promotion's original four pay-per-views, along with

WrestleMania WrestleMania is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event held annually between mid-March and mid-April by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Since premiering in 1985, 37 editions followed, ...

, and

Survivor Series Survivor Series is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, produced annually since 1987 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Held in November generally the week of Thanksgiving, it is the s ...

, referred to as the "Big Four". It has since become considered WWE's second biggest event of the year behind WrestleMania. The 2010 event was the 23rd event in the SummerSlam chronology and was scheduled to be held on August 15, 2010, at

for the second consecutive year. It featured wrestlers from the Raw and SmackDown

brands A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...

. Much like the previous year's SummerSlam, WWE promoted the event with its ''SummerSlam Axxess''

fan convention Fan convention (also known as con or fan meeting), a term that predates 1942, is an event in which fans of a particular topic gather to participate and hold programs and other events, and to meet experts, famous personalities, and each other. Some ...

. The convention was held at the Nokia Plaza in L.A. Live from August 14 to 15. THQ revealed further details of the latest installment of their ''

WWE SmackDown ''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that as of currently airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. Fox Deportes simul ...

'' series, '' WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2011''.

Storylines

The

professional wrestling matches Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

at SummerSlam featured professional wrestlers performing as

characters Character or Characters may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''Character'' (novel), a 1936 Dutch novel by Ferdinand Bordewijk * ''Characters'' (Theophrastus), a classical Greek set of character sketches attributed to The ...

in scripted events pre-determined by the hosting

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). Storylines between the characters were produced on WWE's weekly television shows ''Raw'' and ''SmackDown'' with the Raw and SmackDown brands—storyline divisions in which WWE assigned its employees to different programs. The main

rivalry A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant ...

heading into SummerSlam from the Raw

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create a ...

was between the champion

and

over the

. On the July 19 episode of ''Raw'', Orton defeated

Edge Edge or EDGE may refer to: Technology Computing * Edge computing, a network load-balancing system * Edge device, an entry point to a computer network * Adobe Edge, a graphical development application * Microsoft Edge, a web browser developed b ...

and

Chris Jericho Christopher Keith Irvine (born November 9, 1970), better known by the ring name Chris Jericho, is an American-Canadian professional wrestler and singer. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is the leader of the Jeri ...

in a

triple threat match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

to become the number one contender for Sheamus' WWE Championship at SummerSlam. On the August 9 episode of ''Raw'', the

anonymous Raw general manager The Anonymous Raw General Manager was a professional wrestling authority figure in WWE, who anonymously controlled the Raw brand from June 21, 2010 to July 18, 2011. The Anonymous General Manager controlled the show by sending emails to a lapto ...

added two stipulations to the match, stating that anyone who interfered in this match would be suspended indefinitely and if Orton lost, he would not receive another match for the championship while Sheamus is champion. The main rivalry heading into SummerSlam from the SmackDown brand was between the champion Kane and

over the World Heavyweight Championship. On the May 28 episode of ''SmackDown'' Kane's storyline brother,

The Undertaker Mark William Calaway (born March 24, 1965), better known by the ring name The Undertaker, is an American retired professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Calaway spent the vast majorit ...

defeated Mysterio to qualify for the fatal four-way match for the World Heavyweight Championship at the Fatal 4-Way pay-per view in June. During the match however, The Undertaker suffered a legitimate injury, forcing him to be written out of the match by having him found in a "vegetative state" by Kane over

Memorial Day Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who have fought and died while serving in the United States armed forces. It is observed on the last Monda ...

weekend. As a result, Kane accused several wrestlers of incapacitating his brother and attacked them. Mysterio won a

battle royal Battle royal (; also royale) traditionally refers to a fight involving many combatants that is fought until only one fighter remains standing, usually conducted under either boxing or wrestling rules. In recent times, the term has been used in a ...

to replace The Undertaker by last eliminating Kane, and went on to defeat the defending champion Jack Swagger,

and CM Punk at Fatal 4-Way to win his second World Heavyweight Championship. At Money in the Bank, Kane won a

Money in the Bank ladder match The Money in the Bank ladder match is a multi-person ladder match held by the professional wrestling promotion WWE. First contested at WWE's annual WrestleMania event beginning in 2005, a separate Money in the Bank pay-per-view was establish ...

and cashed in his championship opportunity on Mysterio later that night, after Mysterio had defeated Swagger to retain. Kane defeated Mysterio to win his first World Heavyweight Championship. On the July 23 episode of ''SmackDown'', Mysterio defeated Swagger in a

two-out-of-three falls match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

to earn a rematch against Kane for the World Heavyweight Championship at SummerSlam. On the July 30 episode of ''SmackDown'', Kane revealed that The Undertaker had disclosed that his attacker was Mysterio, and vowed to get revenge. Another main rivalry from Raw featured

, a stable consisting of former '' NXT'' 'rookies' led by the season's winner

Wade Barrett Stuart Alexander Bennett (born 10 August 1980) is an English-American professional wrestling commentator, actor, and former professional wrestler who holds both British and American citizenship. He is currently signed to WWE, where he is a col ...

, against 'Team WWE', led by

John Cena John Felix Anthony Cena ( ; born April 23, 1977) is an American part-time professional wrestler, actor, and former rapper. He is currently signed to WWE. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, he is tied ...

. The Nexus made their debut as a collective unit on the June 7 episode of ''Raw'', attacking Cena,

, and members of the ringside crew, on the pretext of demanding guaranteed WWE contracts for all of them. The following week on ''Raw'', the then-

General Manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all ...

Bret Hart Bret Hart (born July 2, 1957) is a Canadian-American retired professional wrestler, currently signed to WWE under a legend's contract. A member of the Hart wrestling family and a second-generation wrestler, he has an amateur wrestling back ...

refused and as a result, The Nexus attacked and incapacitated him, forcing WWE Chairman

Vince McMahon Vincent Kennedy McMahon (; born August 24, 1945) is an American media proprietor and retired professional wrestling promoter, executive, and performer. From 1982 to 2022, he served as the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of WWE, the ...

to appoint a new,

anonymous General Manager The Anonymous Raw General Manager was a professional wrestling authority figure in WWE, who anonymously controlled the Raw brand from June 21, 2010 to July 18, 2011. The Anonymous General Manager controlled the show by sending emails to a lapto ...

, who ultimately signed all members of The Nexus to the show. The Nexus continued to frequently attack various

WWE wrestlers WWE is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Stamford, Connecticut. WWE personnel consists of professional wrestlers, managers, play-by-play and color commentators, ring announcers, interviewers, referees, trainers, producers, ...

, crew, and legends to display their dominance, although they focused mainly on Cena, costing him the WWE Championship twice at Fatal 4-Way and Money in the Bank. On the July 19 episode of ''Raw'', Cena confronted The Nexus, who offered him a place in their stable, which he refused and instead revealed that he had assembled a team, christened 'Team WWE' (consisting of Cena himself,

John Morrison John Morrison or Morison may refer to: In politics * John Morrison (Manitoba politician) (1868–1930), politician in Manitoba, Canada * John Morrison (Saskatchewan politician) (1872–1950), Canadian Member of Parliament * John Morrison (intelli ...

R-Truth Ronnie Aaron Killings (born January 19, 1972) is an American professional wrestler and rapper. He is currently signed to WWE, performing on the Raw brand under the ring name R-Truth. Killings worked for World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now ...

The Great Khali Dalip Singh Rana (born 27 August 1972) is an Indian professional wrestler and wrestling promoter better known by his ring name The Great Khali. He is best known for his tenure in WWE where he became the first Indian-born WWE World Heavyw ...

, and Bret Hart), to face The Nexus in a seven-on-seven tag team match at SummerSlam. On the July 26 episode of ''Raw'', the anonymous general manager changed the match to an elimination format. Following dissension on Cena's team in the next few weeks, Edge and Jericho left the SummerSlam match on the August 2 episode of ''Raw''. They rejoined the following week, however, when The Nexus tried to attack the members of Team WWE and Edge and Jericho. On the same episode, Khali was attacked by The Nexus, removing him from the match at SummerSlam.

The Miz Michael Gregory Mizanin (born October 8, 1980) is an American professional wrestler, actor, and television personality. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name The Miz. Mizanin first gained fame ...

offered his services to the team as Khali's substitute, ultimately saying that he would reveal his final decision at SummerSlam itself. Another rivalry from the SmackDown brand pitted

against

, a stable preaching the hardlined straight edge lifestyle, led by CM Punk and consisting of Luke Gallows,

and

Serena Serena most commonly refers to: * Serena Williams (born 1981), professional tennis player Serena may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Serena (genre), 13th-century Occitan poetic genre * ''Serena'' (1962 film), a British crime t ...

. In May, at the Over the Limit pay-per-view, Punk lost a match to Rey Mysterio, forcing Punk to have his head shaved bald as a result of the stipulation. In order to conceal his baldness, Punk started wearing a

mask A mask is an object normally worn on the face, typically for protection, disguise, performance, or entertainment and often they have been employed for rituals and rights. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and pra ...

until Big Show forcibly removed it on the July 16 episode of ''SmackDown''. In attempt to avenge Punk's humiliation, the Straight Edge Society's masked "mystery man" faced Big Show in a match, but had his own mask removed during the match, revealing him to be Joey Mercury. On the July 30 episode of ''SmackDown'', the Straight Edge Society attacked Big Show and repeatedly stomped his right hand into the steel ring steps. The following week, it was announced that the Straight Edge Society would be facing Big Show in a three-on-one handicap match at SummerSlam. Another rivalry from the Raw brand was between the champion

and Melina over the

WWE Divas Championship The WWE Divas Championship was a women's professional wrestling championship in WWE. The championship was created by WWE in 2008, and was introduced as part of the WWE brand extension via a storyline by then SmackDown General Manager Vickie G ...

. In December 2009, Melina tore her ACL at a

live event A house show or live event is a professional wrestling event produced by a major promotion that is not televised, though they can be recorded. Promotions use house shows mainly to cash in on the exposure that they and their wrestlers receive du ...

, which caused her to

vacate A vacated judgment (also known as vacatur relief) makes a previous legal judgment legally void. A vacated judgment is usually the result of the judgment of an appellate court, which overturns, reverses, or sets aside the judgment of a lower court. ...

the Divas Championship. At Fatal 4-Way in June, Fox won the title in a fatal four-way match against Maryse,

Gail Kim Gail Kim-Irvine (born February 20, 1977) is a Canadian-American retired professional wrestler, currently signed to Impact Wrestling, where she serves as a producer. In Impact Wrestling she was the inaugural and record setting seven-time Knockout ...

and defending champion Eve, and retained the championship against Eve at Money in the Bank. On the August 2 episode of ''Raw'', Melina made her return and attacked Fox. The following week on ''Raw'', Melina defeated Fox in a non-title match and was rewarded with a title opportunity at the Divas Championship at SummerSlam.

Event

Preliminary matches

The actual pay-per-view opened with

defending the

WWE Intercontinental Championship The WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE, currently defended on the SmackDown brand division. It is one of two secondary championships for WWE's main r ...

against

. The match ended in a no-contest after

attacked both competitors. Next,

defended the Divas Championship against Melina. Melina executed a snapmare driver on Fox to win the title. Post match, co-Women's Champions LayCool (

Layla "Layla" is a song written by Eric Clapton and Jim Gordon, originally recorded by Derek and the Dominos, as the thirteenth track from their only studio album, '' Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs'' (1970). Its contrasting movements were compo ...

and

Michelle McCool Michelle Leigh Calaway (née McCool; born January 25, 1980) is an American retired professional wrestler. She is best known for her time with WWE, where she is a former two-time WWE Divas Champion and a two-time WWE Women's Champion. McCool ...

) attacked Melina. After that,

(

and Luke Gallows) faced

in a

handicap match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

. In the end, Big Show delivered a KO Punch to Gallows and delivered a chokeslam to Mercury onto Gallows, pinning Mercury to win the match.

Main event matches

In the fourth match,

faced

for the

in a last chance match, with the stipulations being that anyone who interfered in the match will be suspended indefinitely along with if Orton lost, he would never get another shot at the title as long as Sheamus is champion. In the climax, Sheamus performed a Brogue Kick on Orton for a near-fall. Sheamus retrieved a steel chair and fought with the referee over the chair, resulting in Orton winning by disqualification. After the match, Orton attacked Sheamus with a low-blow and performed an RKO on the broadcast table on Sheamus. In the fifth match, Kane faced

for the World Heavyweight Championship. The match ended when Kane performed a chokeslam on Mysterio to retain the title. After the match, Kane attempted to put Mysterio in a casket, but

was revealed to be inside the casket. Kane delivered a Tombstone Piledriver to Undertaker. The Nexus at SummerSlam 2010

In the main event,

faced Team WWE in a 7-on-7 elimination tag team match. Before the match started, Daniel Bryan was announced as the seventh member of Team WWE. In the climax of the match, after every other member of Team WWE had been eliminated, Barrett delivered a DDT to Cena onto the concrete floor and scored a near-fall. Cena eliminated Gabriel after Gabriel missed a 450º splash. Cena then eliminated Barrett with the STF, giving his team the win.

Reception

Overall, the event received mixed-to-negative reviews from critics, who praised the quality of the main event match (although panning the finish) while panning the remainder of the event.

Bleacher Report Bleacher Report (often abbreviated as B/R) is a website that focuses on sport and sports culture. Its headquarters are in San Francisco, with offices in New York City and London. Bleacher Report was acquired by Turner Broadcasting System in Au ...

's Andre Harrison rated the event 5 out of 10, calling it a "one match show" (referring to the 7-on-7 tag team match as the only good match in the event), although stating that "WWE dropped the ball huge" on the finish. 411mania.com rated the event 2.75 out of 5.

Aftermath

The next night on ''Raw'', the anonymous general manager of Raw announced that members of The Nexus would face off against members of Team WWE in a series of matches throughout the evening. In order to find the "weak links" of the group, The Nexus' leader, Wade Barrett, declared that anyone in The Nexus who lost their match would be excommunicated from the group. Ultimately, each Nexus member won their match except for Darren Young, who lost to

by submission. After the match, the remaining six members brutally attacked Young, symbolizing his banishment from The Nexus. According to Chris Jericho and Edge, the original plan steered toward a victory for The Nexus. However, John Cena asked for the finish to be changed, which Jericho felt affected The Nexus' momentum. Nexus members Heath Slater and Darren Young have shared similar sentiments. In April 2011, the promotion ceased using its full name with the "WWE" abbreviation becoming an

orphaned initialism An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in ''NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, as ...

Results

7-on-7 elimination tag eliminations

References

External links

Official SummerSlam websiteOfficial SummerSlam minisite
{{WWEPPV, SummerSlam

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

Professional wrestling in Los Angeles 2010 in Los Angeles Events in Los Angeles 2010 WWE pay-per-view events August 2010 events in the United States