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SummerSlam 2020 is just over a week away and for the first time, this year's SummerSlam might take place without the WWE Universe. The 33rd annual SummerSlam was supposed to emanate from the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts but due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the mayor of Boston has announced the suspension of all events that will involve the participation of large crowds.
Although the weekly episodes of WWE RAW, SmackDown, and NXT along with all the PPV events of the past few months have emanated from the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida, with the Performance Center trainees as spectators, WWE declared that The Biggest Party of the Summer will take place at a different venue, the Amway Center, also in Orlando.
Even though the WWE Universe might not be present, this year's SummerSlam still promises to be an exciting event that is bound to create a few unforgettable moments.
As the Superstars of WWE look forward to creating new moments and breaking milestones on August 23 at SummerSlam, we will take a look back at some of the most unforgettable moments from SummerSlam over the last decade. We will focus on a single moment from each SummerSlam starting in 2010 and ending in 2019.
#10 Team WWE vs. Team Nexus - SummerSlam 2010
Heading into 2010's SummerSlam, the most anticipated match of the night was between Wade Barett's Team Nexus against Team WWE led by John Cena in a seven-on-seven Tag Team Elimination match. After causing enough trouble to the Superstars of the WWE locker-room and especially to John Cena, the Leader of the Cenation took a stand and decided to settle things once and for all with The Nexus.
The highlight of the night was Cena announcing Daniel Bryan as the seventh member of his team before the match, who had been previously banished from The Nexus. Towards the end of the match, the last remaining member of Team WWE was Cena, who eliminated Justin Gabriel after the latter missed a 450 splash and then finally eliminated Barrett to secure the victory for his team.
#9 WWE Champion vs. WWE Champion - SummerSlam 2011
The main event of the 2011 SummerSlam saw John Cena and CM Punk, both of whom claimed ownership to the WWE Championship, face each other to determine the undisputed WWE Champion with WWE COO Triple H presiding as the special guest referee for the match. The match was a back-and-forth affair between the two Superstars. Although it might have not been as good as the match they had at the 2011 Money in the Bank, it still had its fair share of unforgettable moments.
Near the end of the match, Cena hit his Attitude Adjustment on Punk for a near-fall but Punk soon rallied back with the Go To Sleep to get the pinfall victory, even though Cena's foot touched the bottom rope. However, Punk's title celebration would be cut short with the return of Kevin Nash, who laid him out with the Jackknife Powerbomb. Shortly after that, Alberto Del Rio — who was that year's RAW Money in the Bank briefcase winner — cashed in his contract and defeated Punk to become the new WWE Champion.
#8 Brock Lesnar breaks Triple H - SummerSlam 2012
Triple H, who was then acting as WWE's Chief Operating Officer, challenged Brock Lesnar to a match at the 2012 SummerSlam after the latter broke his arm with the Kimura lock for having been denied a contract renegotiation. Even though Lesnar's advocate Paul Heyman declined The Game's challenge on Lesnar's behalf, he would later accept it after getting slapped by Triple H's wife, Stephanie McMahon, for insulting their children.
The match took place as the main event and from the minute the bell rang, Lesnar focused his attacks on Triple H's arm, which he broke with the Kimura lock a few months ago. However, The Cerebral Assassin rallied back with a counter-attack by focusing on Lesnar's stomach, keeping in mind the stomach ailment that led to The Beast Incarnate retiring from UFC.
After both Superstars got near-falls on one another, Lesnar applied the Kimura lock on Triple H for the second time in the match and forced him to submit. After the match, Triple H was left in a broken and battered state.
#7 The Best vs. The Beast - SummerSlam 2013
Few Superstars in WWE can boast of having consecutive dominant performances at The Biggest Party of the Summer. But that's exactly what Brock Lesnar did. After obliterating Triple H at SummerSlam 2012, The Beast Incarnate was hell-bent on destroying CM Punk the following year at the 2013 SummerSlam.
Lesnar squared off against Punk in a No Disqualification match and the two Superstars went at each other with everything they had, producing a 25-minute instant classic. However, thanks to Paul Heyman's interference, The Beast Incarnate was able to defeat The Best in the World after dropping Punk onto a steel-chair by executing the F-5.
#6 Nikki Bella's betrayal - SummerSlam 2014
In 2014, Brie Bella began a heated feud with Stephanie McMahon which culminated in a match at 2014's SummerSlam. Stephanie took charge from the beginning of the match but Brie soon found a way to turn the tide in her favor when she applied her husband Daniel Bryan's finisher, the Yes Lock, on Stephanie.
At this moment Triple H tried to intervene by pulling the referee out of the ring which resulted in Brie attacking The Game with a running baseball slide. Brie's sister, Nikki Bella ran in, seemingly to stop Stephanie from escaping but in a surprising turn of events, laid out Brie with an attack. This allowed Stephanie to pick up the victory after hitting Brie with the Pedigree.
#5 A match made in Hell - SummerSlam 2015
Brock Lesnar has made a legacy of showcasing dominating performances at SummerSlam ever since he defeated The Rock at SummerSlam 2002 to become the youngest WWE Champion in history. At the 2015 edition, Brock Lesnar faced another monstrous Superstar in the form of The Undertaker.
After a back-and-forth battle that put both men through hell, The Deadman picked up the win in controversial fashion. Toward the end of the match, Lesnar put Undertaker in the Kimura lock and the timekeeper rang the bell as he thought Undertaker had tapped out. However, the referee did not stop the match as he never saw a submission and allowed the match to continue.
The bedlam allowed Undertaker to attack a distracted Lesnar with a low blow. Following this, he put Lesnar in his Hell's Gate submission which made The Beast Incarnate pass out, thereby making Undertaker the winner. However, this will not be the last we see of Brock Lesnar in a SummerSlam match.
#4 The Beast defangs The Viper - SummerSlam 2016
Brock Lesnar faced off against Randy Orton in the main event of SummerSlam 2016 in a match which was billed by WWE as "15 years in the making." In the weeks building up to their match, Orton claimed that he could beat Lesnar with only one RKO and took shots at Lesnar's failed drug tests.
The match began with Orton hitting Lesnar with an RKO, followed by an off-the-rope DDT and a second RKO to get a near fall. When Orton went to attack Lesnar with the punt kick, The Beast Incarnate countered it and hit an F-5 to get a near fall.
The match soon turned into a one-sided contest as Lesnar removed his gloves and went on attacking Orton's head with multiple bare-knuckle and elbow strikes which left The Viper in a bloody heap. The match was won by Lesnar via technical knockout after referees separated him from Orton.
#3 Jinder Mahal's Khallas on Nakamura - SummerSlam 2017
Heading into SummerSlam 2017, Jinder Mahal was on a roll as he defended the WWE Championship against Shinsuke Nakamura. The WWE Universe was in complete support of The King of Strong Style who was in control of the match from the get-go and mocked Mahal.
However, owing to distractions caused by The Singh Brothers, The Modern Day Maharaja was able to get the last laugh. As Nakamura was distracted while dealing with Sunil and Samir Singh, Mahal was able to sneak up and drop Nakamura with the Khallas to get the pin, retain his title, and shock the WWE Universe.
#2 Roman Reigns dethrones Lesnar - SummerSlam 2018
Brock Lesnar made his ninth SummerSlam appearance when he defended the WWE Universal Championship against Roman Reigns at the 2018 edition of the event. Heading into the match, Lesnar was the longest reigning Universal Champion, and Reigns vowed to end The Beast Incarnate's reign.
The match began with that year's Money in the Bank winner, Braun Strowman, at ringside who stated his intention to cash in his contract on the winner. At the start of the match, Reigns took the champion by surprise when he attacked him with a triplet of Superman punches and Spears. Following a back-and-forth attack and counter-attack, Reigns inadvertently hit Strowman with a suicide dive outside the ring when Lesnar dodged a spear from The Big Dog.
The Beast Incarnate then attacked Strowman and threw his MITB briefcase up the aisle to make sure that The Monster Among Men was unable to cash in. This distraction allowed Reigns to hit Lesnar with another Spear to win the Universal Championship, thereby ending Lesnar's reign at 504 days.
#1 Debut of 'The Fiend' - SummerSlam 2019
The debut of Bray Wyatt's new sinister persona, The Fiend, was one of the most talked-about moments from last year's SummerSlam. After weeks of teasing The Fiend's existence on the Firefly Fun House segments, The Fiend Bray Wyatt attacked Finn Balor on July 15, 2019, episode of RAW and the following week on SmackDown, Balor challenged Wyatt to a match.
Wyatt responded by saying that The Fiend accepted his match. At SummerSlam 2019, The Fiend made his in-ring debut against Balor and dominated the latter throughout the entirety of the match. At one point in the match, The Fiend even snapped Balor's neck which horrified the WWE Universe. Balor would later go for the Coup de Grace but The Fiend countered it into the Mandible Claw, causing Balor to pass out and making him the winner.
