10 Fascinating WWE SummerSlam 2011 Facts
4. It Marked Daniel Bryan's First PPV Singles Match In Nine Months
You know the story by now: wrestler wins Money in the Bank briefcase, loses many high-profile matches while toting around said briefcase, cashes in later and becomes champion, despite losing 400 matches in the interim. That was the kick (no pun intended) Bryan was on, losing to Barrett cleanly at SummerSlam after quite the hard-hitting bout.
The match was Bryan's first pay-per-view singles match since Survivor Series 2010, where he retained the United States title over Ted Dibiase. At the eight pay-per-views in between, Bryan worked four of them in dark matches (including two with Dibiase), missed two pay-per-views altogether (Extreme Rules and Capitol Punishment), and took part in multi-man matches at the others (Royal Rumble and Money in the Bank).
In other words, prior to winning the blue briefcase at Money in the Bank, the only other pay-per-view broadcast he'd wrestled on in all of 2011 was the Rumble.