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SummerSlam (2011)

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SummerSlam
Promotional poster featuring various WWE wrestlers.
PromotionWWE
Brand(s)Raw
SmackDown
DateAugust 14, 2011
CityLos Angeles, California
VenueStaples Center
Attendance17,404[1]
Buy rate296,000[2]
Tagline(s)"The Biggest Party of the Summer"
Pay-per-view chronology
← Previous
Money in the Bank 		Next →
Night of Champions
SummerSlam chronology
← Previous
2010 		Next →
2012

The 2011 SummerSlam was the 24th annual SummerSlam professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by WWE. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. The event took place on August 14, 2011, at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California for the third consecutive year. It was the final WWE pay-per-view event held before the dissolution of the original brand extension, which was introduced in March 2002, although the brand split would be reintroduced in July 2016.

The card consisted of eight matches, but only seven were televised. In the main event, WWE Champion CM Punk defeated WWE Champion John Cena to become the Undisputed WWE Champion with Triple H as the special guest referee, after which, Alberto Del Rio cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase and defeated CM Punk to win the WWE Championship. In another prominent match, Randy Orton defeated Christian in a No Holds Barred match to regain the World Heavyweight Championship. SummerSlam attracted a sellout crowd of 17,404 fans at Staples Center in Los Angeles, grossing more than $1 million, marking the highest grossing SummerSlam held at Staples Center. The event garnered 296,000 pay-per-view buys, down from 350,000 buys the previous year.

Production

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Background

[edit]
The event was held at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.

SummerSlam is an annual pay-per-view (PPV) produced every August by WWE since 1988—in April 2011, the promotion ceased going by its full name of World Wrestling Entertainment, with "WWE" becoming an orphaned initialism.[3] Dubbed "The Biggest Party of the Summer",[4] it is one of the promotion's original four pay-per-views, along with WrestleMania, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series, referred to as the "Big Four".[5] It has since become considered WWE's second biggest event of the year behind WrestleMania.[6][7] The 2011 event was the 24th SummerSlam and was scheduled to be held on August 14, 2011, at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California for the third consecutive year. It featured wrestlers from the Raw and SmackDown brand divisions.[8][9][10][11]

Much like the previous year's SummerSlam, WWE promoted the event with its SummerSlam Axxess fan convention, held at the Nokia Plaza in LA Live on August 13 and 14.[12][13] R&B singer Cee Lo Green performed both "'Bright Lights Bigger City", the official theme song for the event, and his hit "Forget You" during the broadcast.[14] The commentators for this event were Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler and Booker T.

Storylines

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The professional wrestling matches at SummerSlam featured professional wrestlers performing as characters in scripted events pre-determined by the hosting promotion, WWE.[15][16] 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.[17]

The main feud headed into SummerSlam from the SmackDown brand was between Christian and Randy Orton, over Christian's World Heavyweight Championship. At Extreme Rules in May, Christian defeated Alberto Del Rio in a ladder match to win the vacant World Heavyweight Championship for the first time, only to lose it to Orton on the May 6 episode of SmackDown. After two unsuccessful attempts at regaining the title from Orton at the Over the Limit and Capitol Punishment pay-per-views, Christian finally won the championship for the second time at the Money in the Bank event in July, after he spat in Orton's face, provoking the latter to kick Christian in the groin and get himself disqualified; as per pre-match stipulations enacted by Christian, he won the title. On the July 29 episode of SmackDown, the new Chief Operating Officer of WWE, Triple H, scheduled a title defense by Christian against Orton in a No Holds Barred match at SummerSlam.

The main event from the Raw brand for SummerSlam would pit John Cena against CM Punk for the WWE Championship. In the weeks leading to the Money in the Bank pay-per-view in July on Raw, Punk announced the expiration of his WWE contract on the night of the Money in the Bank, en route lambasting WWE for failing to promote him as the "best wrestler in the world", and threatened some high authority figures like WWE Chairman, Vince McMahon, of defeating Cena and leaving WWE with the championship. At Money in the Bank, Punk pinned Cena to win the title, and even after McMahon tried to have Alberto Del Rio – who had won the Raw Money in the Bank briefcase earlier that night – cash in his contract against Punk. The latter nevertheless left the arena with the championship. The following night on Raw, McMahon dismissed Punk's claim to the title, and announced an 8-man tournament to decide the new WWE Champion. Also, on the same night, Triple H relieved McMahon of his duties, and assumed control over WWE as the Chief Operating Officer just as the chairman was about to fire Cena. On the July 25 edition of Raw, Rey Mysterio defeated The Miz in the finals to become the WWE Champion but lost it later on the same night against Cena. After the match, Punk returned to WWE with the title belt he had won at Money in the Bank, initiating a title dispute between Cena and Punk. As they were now two wrestlers with a claim to the WWE Championship, a one-on-one match between Punk and Cena was scheduled for SummerSlam to determine the undisputed WWE Champion. On the August 8 episode of Raw, Triple H made himself the special guest referee for the Undisputed WWE Championship match.[18]

The Divas rivalry heading into SummerSlam was between Kelly Kelly and Beth Phoenix over the WWE Divas Championship. On the August 1 edition of Raw, Phoenix won a Divas battle royal to become the #1 Contender for the Kelly's Divas Championship at SummerSlam. Phoenix turned heel after her victory by attacking Kelly in and out of the ring, and later told Kelly that "her days as the cute, blonde little bimbo are over."[19] On the following week, Phoenix defeated Eve Torres in singles action, but was attacked by Kelly after the match.

Event

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Other on-screen personnel
Role: Name:
English Commentators Michael Cole
Jerry Lawler
Booker T
Spanish Commentators Carlos Cabrera
Marcelo Rodríguez
Ring announcers Tony Chimel (SmackDown)
Justin Roberts (Raw)
Referees Mike Chioda
Justin King
Jack Doan
Scott Armstrong
Chad Patton
Charles Robinson
Triple H (Punk vs. Cena)

Preliminary matches

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The first match was a six-man tag team match pitting Kofi Kingston, John Morrison and Rey Mysterio against The Miz, R-Truth and Alberto Del Rio. Mysterio performed a 619 followed by a slingshot Splash on R-Truth to win the match.[1]

Next, Sheamus faced off against Mark Henry. Sheamus executed a Brogue Kick on Henry but Henry rolled out of the ring. Henry tackled Sheamus through the barricade. Sheamus was counted out, giving Henry the win.[1]

In the next match, Kelly Kelly defended the WWE Divas Championship against Beth Phoenix. Phoenix attempted a Glam Slam on Kelly but Kelly countered the move into a Roll Up to retain the title.[1]

Next, Wade Barrett faced Daniel Bryan. Barrett executed Wasteland to win the match.[1]

Main event matches

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In the SmackDown main event, Christian defended the World Heavyweight Championship against Randy Orton in a No Holds Barred match. Before the match, Christian revealed that Edge will be in his corner for the match, but Edge told Christian that he was disappointed with him and walked away. During the match, Christian attempted an RKO through a broadcast table on Orton but Orton countered the move into an RKO through the broadcast table on Christian. Christian executed a KillSwitch on Orton for a near-fall. Orton performed a Snap Scoop Powerslam through a table on Christian and an Elevated DDT onto a Trash Can. Christian attempted a Sunset Flip out of the corner but Orton countered the move into an RKO on the steel steps to win the title.[1]

In the Raw main event, John Cena wrestled CM Punk to determine the undisputed WWE Champion. Triple H served as guest referee. Cena executed the Attitude Adjustment for a near-fall. Punk performed a GTS on Cena for a near-fall. Punk executed a GTS to win the title, despite Cena's foot being on the bottom rope.[1]

As Punk celebrated his WWE Championship win, Kevin Nash returned and attacked Punk with a Jackknife Powerbomb. Immediately afterwards Alberto Del Rio appeared and cashed in his Money in the Bank contract. Del Rio performed a Step Up Enziguiri on Punk to win the title.[1]

Aftermath

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In March 2002, WWE initiated the brand extension, which promoted its core business of professional wrestling through such brands, named after their two major television shows, Raw and SmackDown.[17] On the August 29 episode of Raw, it was announced that performers from Raw and SmackDown were no longer exclusive to their respective brand.[20] Subsequently, championships previously exclusive to one show or the other were available for wrestlers from any show to compete for; this would mark the end of the brand extension, as all programming and live events featured the full WWE roster.[21] In turn, SummerSlam 2011 was the last pay-per-view to occur under the first brand split. In 2013, Stephanie McMahon revealed in an interview with Advertising Age that WWE's decision to end the brand extension was due to wanting their content to flow across television and online platforms.[22] However, the brand split was reintroduced in July 2016, when SmackDown began broadcasting live on Tuesdays.[23]

Results

[edit]
No.Results[30]StipulationsTimes
1DDolph Ziggler (with Vickie Guerrero) defeated Alex Riley[24]Singles match—
2Kofi Kingston, John Morrison and Rey Mysterio defeated The Miz, R-Truth and Alberto Del Rio (with Ricardo Rodriguez)[25]Six-man tag team match9:40
3Mark Henry defeated Sheamus by countout[26]Singles match9:22
4Kelly Kelly (c) (with Eve Torres) defeated Beth Phoenix (with Natalya)[27]Singles match for the WWE Divas Championship6:48
5Wade Barrett defeated Daniel Bryan[28]Singles match11:48
6Randy Orton defeated Christian (c)[29]No Holds Barred match for the World Heavyweight Championship23:43
7CM Punk (c) defeated John Cena (c)Singles match for the Undisputed WWE Championship with Triple H as special guest referee24:08
8Alberto Del Rio defeated CM Punk (c)Singles match for the WWE Championship
This was Alberto Del Rio's Money in the Bank cash-in match		0:11
(c) – the champion(s) heading into the match
D – this was a dark match

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Canton, John (August 20, 2022). "WWE SummerSlam 2011 Review". TJR Wrestling. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
  2. ^ "WWE Reports 2011 Third Quarter Results" (PDF). WWE (Press release). November 3, 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 4, 2012. Retrieved November 21, 2011.
  3. ^ Sacco, Justine; Weitz, Michael (April 7, 2011). "The New WWE" (Press release). Connecticut: WWE. Retrieved November 25, 2021.
  4. ^ Dee, Louie (May 17, 2006). "Let the Party Begin". WWE. Archived from the original on November 16, 2006. Retrieved May 12, 2008.
  5. ^ Ian Hamilton. Wrestling's Sinking Ship: What Happens to an Industry Without Competition (p. 160)
  6. ^ "Could Brock Lesnar beat three men at SummerSlam to remain in the WWE?". Independent.co.uk. August 21, 2017. Archived from the original on May 25, 2022.
  7. ^ Crosby, Jack (August 19, 2018). "WWE SummerSlam 2018 matches, card, location, date, start time, predictions PPV rumors". CBSSports. Archived from the original on August 8, 2018.
  8. ^ "SummerSlam History". WWE. Retrieved July 24, 2011.
  9. ^ "WWE SummerSlam". Staples Center. Retrieved July 24, 2011.
  10. ^ "WWE Present SummerSlam". WWE. Retrieved July 23, 2011.
  11. ^ "WWE SummerSlam". WWE. Retrieved July 24, 2011.
  12. ^ "WWE SummerSlam Axxess presented by National Guard". WWE. Retrieved July 23, 2011.
  13. ^ "SummerSlam Axxess 2011". WWE. Retrieved July 23, 2011.
  14. ^ Kara A. Medalis (July 25, 2011). "Cee Lo Green comes to SummerSlam 2011". WWE. Retrieved July 25, 2011.
  15. ^ Grabianowski, Ed (January 13, 2006). "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks. Discovery Communications. Archived from the original on November 29, 2013. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
  16. ^ "Live & Televised Entertainment". WWE. Archived from the original on February 18, 2009. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
  17. ^ a b "WWE to make Raw and SmackDown! distinct TV brands" (Press release). WWE. March 27, 2002. Archived from the original on April 17, 2010. Retrieved April 5, 2012.
  18. ^ "Summerslam WWE Title Match Gets Special Guest Referee". Wrestling News PRO!.
  19. ^ Plummer, Dale (August 1, 2011). "RAW: Triple H settles WWE Title controversy". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Archived from the original on July 15, 2012. Retrieved December 18, 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  20. ^ Nemer, Paul (August 30, 2011). "Raw Results – 8/29/11". WrestleView. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
  21. ^ Tom Herrera (January 11, 2014). "The 10 most important moments in Raw history". WWE.com. Retrieved February 2, 2014.
  22. ^ Caldwell, James (January 22, 2013). "WWE NEWS: Stephanie McMahon says why brand split is gone". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved January 22, 2013.
  23. ^ Steinberg, Brian (May 25, 2016). "WWE's 'Smackdown' Will Move To Live Broadcast On USA (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on May 26, 2016. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
  24. ^ "WWE News: Dark Match result prior to Summerslam PPV for the live crowd in Los Angeles". Pro Wrestling Torch. August 14, 2011. Retrieved March 23, 2015.
  25. ^ "Rey Mysterio, John Morrison & Kofi Kingston def. The Miz, R-Truth & Alberto Del Rio". WWE. Retrieved August 14, 2011.
  26. ^ "Sheamus vs. Mark Henry". WWE. Retrieved August 5, 2011.
  27. ^ "Divas Champion Kelly Kelly vs. Beth Phoenix". WWE. Retrieved August 1, 2011.
  28. ^ "Daniel Bryan vs. Wade Barrett". WWE. Retrieved August 12, 2011.
  29. ^ "World Heavyweight Champion Christian vs. Randy Orton (No Holds Barred Match". WWE. Retrieved August 14, 2011.
  30. ^ "WWE SummerSlam 2011 « Events Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
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