10 Fascinating WWE SummerSlam 2007 Facts

9. McMahon Nixed An Undertaker Return

Jackass Umaga WWE SummerSlam 2007 Poster
WWE.com

WWE's main event scene in 2007 was repeatedly compromised by injuries to the point where it feels like Randy Orton was the only top guy that made it through the year unscathed. Even WWE's Grim Reaper was not immune to this plague, tearing his biceps tendon in early-May, necessitating dropping the World Heavyweight Title to Edge.

If Undertaker had his way, he would have returned at SummerSlam, but it was Vince McMahon that put the kibosh on that. In the fallout of Benoit's double murder-suicide, after which copious amounts of steroids and other drugs were found in his home, WWE was painted as a callous promotion that ran its performers into the ground (which isn't an unfair assessment).

To reportedly send the message to other wrestlers that they didn't need to rush back early from injury, Vince held off on bringing Undertaker back at SummerSlam (though he did return to the ring at Unforgiven three weeks later). Additionally, since Helmsley and Mysterio were returning at SummerSlam, it made sense to prevent return-overkill with three monumental comebacks.

Contributor
Contributor

Justin has been a wrestling fan since 1989, and has been writing about it since 2009. Since 2014, Justin has been a features writer and interviewer for Fighting Spirit Magazine. Justin also writes for History of Wrestling, and is a contributing author to James Dixon's Titan series.