10 Fascinating WWE SummerSlam 2011 Facts
2. It Was The First WWE Title Change At SummerSlam In Nine Years
Punk's win over Cena wasn't exactly a title change, as it was a re-solidifying of the WWE Championship (think of Cena as an "interim champion", like in UFC). Del Rio's cash-in, however, was certainly a title change, and the first one for the WWE Championship at SummerSlam in quite some time.
You'd have to go back to Brock Lesnar's win over The Rock at SummerSlam 2002 for the last pre-Del Rio change at SummerSlam. At the eight SummerSlams in between, the likes of Kurt Angle, JBL, John Cena (twice), Edge, Triple H, Randy Orton, and Sheamus entered the August extravaganza with the WWE belt, and left with it in tact.
Del Rio's win marked only the fourth time (out of seven overall) that the WWE Championship changed hands at SummerSlam. Only Bret Hart in 1997, Mick Foley in 1999, and Lesnar in 2002 had done it previously.