12 Most Shocking WWE SummerSlam Moments Of All Time
8. Daniel Bryan Returns (And Cena Defeats The Nexus)
The Nexus vs. Team John Cena - sorry, Team WWE - at SummerSlam 2010 was shocking for two reasons.
Firstly, it saw the return of Daniel Bryan, who had been harshly released following his strangling of Justin Roberts. The indie stalwart had made a very underwhelming start to life in WWE, undergoing a losing streak gimmick in NXT, and suffering the constant abuse hurled his way by heel commentator Michael Cole.
This match can be seen as his rebirth, but simultaneously signalled a loss of hope for the rest of his NXT Season 1 compadres.
This ties into the other reason for the match's shock value: the fact that John Cena won. Technically Team WWE won, but Cena was the sole survivor, and triumphed by himself over two of his most promising opponents, Wade Barrett and Justin Gabriel.
The rookies had their legs cut out from beneath them, becoming the latest victims in a long line of bodies left in Cena's wake. Bryan's elimination was at least logical, as a disgruntled Miz jumped him with the MITB briefcase. Nexus, on the other hand, lost the sense of menace they had carried for the previous couple of months.