10 Biggest WWE Summerslam Controversies

8.Hogan Crushes Orton's Momentum For A Reality TV Show

By2006, Randy Ortonhad transitioned to a main event-level heel via his Legend Killer gimmick, which had seen numerousicons of the sport putting over the young star on his way to the top.

The Undertaker had put him over the previous year at SummerSlam, and various other legends like Shawn Michaels, Dusty Rhodes, Jake Roberts, Sgt Slaughter, The Fabulous Moolah, Roddy Piper, Jerry Lawler, Mick Foley all let themselves be taken out by Orton as part of the attention-grabbing gimmick.

At SummerSlam 2006 the match was Hogan vs Orton, Legend vs Legend Killer. And Hogan won.

In a result that was controversial simply in its ridiculousness, Randy Orton, 26, was beaten by a man overdouble his age, who wasn't working a full schedule and already had decadesof accomplishments. Hogan had nothing to gain by beating Orton, who had everything to lose, including his new main-event credibility. So why did it happen?

Well, Hogan's ego and hatred of being pinned is pretty infamous, and it's not a stretch to imagine him vetoing the company breaking his SummerSlam undefeated streak. But what's far more likely is also far more depressing. Hogan Knows Bestwas a reality TV show that had been insanely popular and even featured in the build for the match. The likelihood is that Orton had his Legend Killer gimmick permanently damaged for the sake of hyping a VH1 show.