25 Lamest WWE SummerSlam Moments Of All Time

WWE's original concept for NXT was a goofy wrestling/reality show hybrid that saw eight newcomers vying for a spot on the main roster, but nobody was sneering when all eight attacked John Cena on Raw and formed The Nexus, the stable that looked ready to lead WWE into the new decade. In the months that followed, The Nexus continued to disrupt WWE programming, becoming the biggest story in all of wrestling. They looked like future stars, especially leader Wade Barrett.

At SummerSlam, it was decided that The Nexus would clash with a WWE all-star team in an elimination bout. The match was highly anticipated, and things got even hotter at the event, when it was revealed that a mystery competitor on Team WWE was exiled Nexus member Daniel Bryan. The two teams clashed in a marathon encounter, and in the end, it came down to John Cena versus Wade Barrett and Justin Gabriel. Cena pinned Gabriel after he missed a 450 Splash, then immediately submitted Barrett with the STF.

The Nexus wasn't forced to disband as a result of the loss, but the group lost all impact -- just imagine if the NWO had lost their first big match together as a team. The astonishingly bad decision (reportedly insisted upon by Cena) robbed WWE of new stars and helped keep the company in a stagnant cycle that, many would argue, continues today.