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SummerSlam has always been regarded as the second-biggest pay-per-view in the WWE calendar year. Despite having the Royal Rumble and Survivor Series as well, it's safe to say that The Biggest Party of the Summer has crossed both in terms of importance.
Royal Rumble is where the road to WrestleMania begins, while Survivor Series has admittedly decreased in importance over the years. This makes SummerSlam a standout pay-per-view and a rich part of WWE history.
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However, the event has had its share of controversial moments through the last three decades. In this list, we focus on five of the most controversial moments in SummerSlam history.
#6. Brock Lesnar busts Randy Orton open at SummerSlam 2016
SummerSlam 2016 was headlined by a dream match between Randy Orton and Brock Lesnar. While the two mainly crossed paths during their OVW days, this was the case of Lesnar being a megastar and Orton being an established multi-time world champion.
It was essentially an interbrand match as Brock Lesnar was drafted to RAW and Randy Orton to SmackDown. The match was announced in early July 2016, right as The Viper was returning from an extensive injury layoff.
It was a good marquee match for SummerSlam and headlined the show despite the Universal Championship bout between Seth Rollins and Finn Balor. Looking back, the fact that Lesnar and Orton were bigger stars justifies them main eventing the pay-per-view that year.
But the biggest talk of the match wasn't the in-ring bout itself. It was what happened at the end and the aftermath. Brock Lesnar legitimately sliced Randy Orton's forehead open using his elbows. When blood began to pour out from Orton's forehead, the match had to be called immediately - with The Beast Incarnate being declared the winner by TKO.
The finish was, in fact, planned, according to Dave Meltzer of WON. Referee Mike Chioda said he wasn't aware if it was a call from the higher-ups, but admitted that he was surprised it would be allowed given the PG rating and the strict concussion protocol that the company had.
In the aftermath of the main event, Brock Lesnar was confronted by Chris Jericho and the two got into a verbal altercation that looked like it would potentially turn physical. Jericho confirmed that the story was true, but said that it was water under the bridge.
The finish of SummerSlam that year, however, was considered highly controversial.
#5. Brock Lesnar and The Undertaker's controversial SummerSlam finish in 2015
The 2015 edition of SummerSlam was headlined by Brock Lesnar and The Undertaker. At Battleground 2015, Lesnar was on the verge of defeating Seth Rollins to reclaim the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
However, the lights would go off and The Undertaker would return to set up a blockbuster SummerSlam clash against Brock Lesnar. It was well over a year after the streak had ended and Lesnar had been on a tear, minus his defeat at WrestleMania 31.
The return was big enough and a night later on RAW, authority figure Triple H was doing his best to book the main event of SummerSlam. The match itself was far better than their clash at WrestleMania 30, although that bout is remembered more for the outcome than the quality of the match itself.
At the pay-per-view, there was a moment in the finale where Brock Lesnar seemed to make The Undertaker tap out, but it wasn't in the referee's view. Although the time keeper called it, the match went on and The Phenom went on to make Lesnar pass out with the Hell's Gate - but not before getting flipped off by The Beast Incarnate.
All in all, the controversial finish to SummerSlam 2015 was meant to set up their final clash at Hell in a Cell a couple of months later. But it was nothing short of confusing.
#4. CM Punk's controversial win against John Cena at SummerSlam 2011
The Summer of Punk was an incredible one, and so were CM Punk's matches against John Cena. They had another good bout at SummerSlam 2011, but it ended in big controversy, in a storyline sense.
Triple H was the special guest referee and counted the pinfall for Punk when Cena had his leg on the rope. The Game didn't see it, but John Cena let his displeasure be known.
One could argue that it was a bit of karma when Alberto Del Rio cashed-in the Money in the Bank briefcase on CM Punk and won the WWE title. Even then, this finish was viewed as controversial in the storyline.
#3. Shawn Michaels mocks Hulk Hogan at SummerSlam 2005
The main event of SummerSlam 2005 was an "icon vs icon" bout between Hulk Hogan and Shawn Michaels - two leaders of their respective generations. The clash was meant to be a classic, but things didn't work out that way.
As per Michaels, the original plan was to have a trilogy of bouts. Hulk Hogan, however, reportedly refused that offer and only wanted a SummerSlam clash where he predictably won.
In a protest to this, Shawn Michaels took a new approach to the main event. He oversold Hogan's moves comedically and made the match look silly. Hulk Hogan picked up the win but the match is now remembered more for The Heartbreak Kid than for a clash between two icons of their generation.
#2. Daniel Bryan's SummerSlam moment gets stripped away in 2013
Daniel Bryan was the hottest he had ever been heading into SummerSlam 2013. There had been no denying who the superstar of the year was up to that point and even WWE Champion John Cena couldn't deny it.
Cena personally chose Bryan as his SummerSlam 2013 opponent, much to the approval of the fans. The stage was set and the clash between two of the company's top stars took place in the main event of The Biggest Party of the Summer - with the industry's biggest prize on the line.
In an underrated SummerSlam classic, John Cena and Daniel Bryan had a great match, with the latter winning the WWE Championship clean. Cena acknowledged him, with his four-month WWE title reign coming to an end.
This was Bryan's first WWE Championship reign but his second World title overall in the promotion. This victory, however, felt sweeter as it came from him being a babyface who beat the face of WWE clean.
That moment was controversially stripped away from him when special guest referee Triple H turned on him and hit him with a pedigree. This led to the set-up where Randy Orton cashed in the Money in the Bank briefcase, deflating the WWE Universe in attendance.
The decision to have Randy Orton cash in at the pay-per-view was controversial, but it resulted in the long-tem storyline that culminated with Daniel Bryan's win in the main event of WrestleMania 30.
#1. John Cena defeats Nexus at SummerSlam 2010
When it comes to backstage decisions made in SummerSlam history, few are more controversial than the Team WWE vs. Team Nexus match. Team WWE comprised of John Cena, Chris Jericho, Edge, Bret Hart, R-Truth, John Morrison and the returning Daniel Bryan, while Team Nexus was filled with the hottest new superstars in WWE.
The entire premise of the seven-on-seven Elimination match was supposed to be to establish The Nexus as the new dominant force of the promotion. By all means, that may have been the original plan for SummerSlam 2010 as well. But according to reports, it was Cena who had cold feet about it and changed the finish to him submitting leader Wade Barrett.
While John Cena has denied the accusations, the decision to have Team WWE beat Team Nexus at the pay-per-view was a highly controversial one. In an instant, it killed the momentum that the group had built so quickly and possibly stunted Barrett's potential as a singles star.
It still seems to be a baffling decision looking back at it and it is undoubtedly one of the most controversial moments in SummerSlam history.
Ex WWE writer blasts Liv Morgan HERE
