10 WWE SummerSlam Secrets You Need To Know About

5. Baron Breaks A Streak

Roman Reigns
WWE.com

It was perhaps the worst week of Baron Corbin's professional wrestling career.

Seven days before SummerSlam 2017, he had a contest with John Cena on the horizon and the Money in the Bank briefcase grasped tightly in his hard-hitting right hand. Within a week, his golden ticket was robbed by the man that stole his dignity in the eventual pay-per-view clash.

Cena and Corbin engaged in a wretched opener, with Baron infantilised by Cena's child-like responses to everything he attempted. Everybody stood a chance against this version of Cena - that had been the narrative since he left for Hollywood the first time - but Baron may as well have been Alex Riley in disguise for the burial he received.

It was, in every sense the best chance Baron had of becoming a star. John Cena had lost every SummerSlam match he'd been in since his controversial 2010 WWE/Nexus victory. Six years of hurt - there was no more need for dreaming. It ended up as a living nightmare for the 'Lone Wolf'. One, in fact, he didn't wake up from until he chopped his locks and donned a waistcoat nearly a full year later.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett