SummerSlam By The Numbers WWE DON'T Want You To Remember

4. 0:08

SummerSlam 92 thumb
WWE.com

If fans were angry when Sheamus booted Daniel Bryan into oblivion in just 18 seconds at WrestleMania XXVIII, they were flipped into a whole new flavour of fury at the following year's SummerSlam.

Moments after the perennially impeded favourite finally bagged the big one, Randy Orton answered the c*nt klaxxon faster than you can spell 'RKO'. Eight seconds later, the establishment was back on top, via a Pedigree from ref Triple H.

Try as WWE might to subtly suggest this was an attempt to inflate the grass-roots support for their 'purposefully' misused superstar, it absolutely wasn't. In fact, the goal was 100% in the other direction: the company hoped to give the 'vocal minority' what they wanted, before burying Bryan's momentum then and there in view of moving onto a pre-ordained Batista vs. Randy Orton WrestleMania feud. It was sheer serendipity that it backfired spectacularly and WWE were left with no choice but to fan the flames of the American Dragon, resulting in one of the promotion's greatest ever climaxes.

Editorial Team
Editorial Team

Benjamin was born in 1987, and is still not dead. He variously enjoys classical music, old-school adventure games (they're not dead), and walks on the beach (albeit short - asthma, you know). He's currently trying to compile a comprehensive history of video game music, yet denies accusations that he purposefully targets niche audiences. He's often wrong about these things.