One MIND-BLOWING Secret For Every WWE SummerSlam

2. 2024 | A Sobering Statistic

WWE pushes wrestlers at a glacial pace. There are several explanatory factors at play here.

Despite the existence of the Performance Center, wrestlers from NXT are expected to learn the supposed intricacies of the main roster. This flawed and prolonged system is the byproduct of WWE’s mentality. Both Triple H and Road Dogg have spoken about this in years past. Triple H, when at the helm of NXT, often talked about WWE’s “playbook”, and how new signings are required to learn it and run it. Road Dogg was altogether less subtle when asked about scripted promos, saying that WWE must trust a wrestler before allowing them any leeway. A wrestler seems to take forever to headline a big show; more often than not, they are trialled at the B-level pay-per-view. To put into perspective just how slow WWE is, SummerSlam 2024 yielded a sobering statistic. 

Randy Orton headlined his first pay-per-view in a singles match at SummerSlam 2004, where he dethroned World Heavyweight champion Chris Benoit. Even then, there’s a caveat. 

Cynical whispers suggest that Orton only won the belt so that he could take another title from persona non grata Brock Lesnar: that of the youngest WWE World champion ever. It took 20 years - two full decades - for another male WWE wrestler to make their singles PPV main event debut at SummerSlam. That man was Solo Sikoa, who lost to Cody Rhodes in the headline attraction of 2024.

At this rate, Trick Williams will only get his chance to headline a PLE at SummerSlam 2044.