The 19th Annual Summerslam came to us live from Boston. SummerSlam 2011 – It was a stacked card from top to bottom. Involving some huge name in wrestling history the anticipation was high for the Biggest Party of the Summer. Unfortunately, the card did not pan out the way that WWE would have hoped but with the star power involved, there was a hope that we could witness one of the greatest Summerslam of all time.
However, the main event and tag match were the only ones to deliver the goods while the others fell short of the mark. What has become of the wrestlers who comprised the Biggest Letdown of the Summer? Let’s take a look below.
1/ Chavo Guerrero Vs. Rey Mysterio Jr.
Mysterio had just lost his World Championship the previous month and needed an opponent. This was still when WWE was milking the death of Eddie Guerrero so it followed that Eddies nephew Chavo would be going up against Rey. WWE had Rey and Chavo butt heads over the memory of Eddie leading up to their encounter at Summerslam.
Rey Mysterio Jr.
The master of the 619 stuck around with WWE for a while until his departure in 2015. After that, he spent time in the independents before making a surprise return at the Royal Rumble in 2018. Since then he has been involved with the company, most recently helping to break his son, Dominik, into WWE.
Chavo Guerrero
Chavo followed the same path as Rey Mysterio. He was around in the company for a few more years wrestling on the ECW brand. After he left in 2011 he wrestled for AAA, Impact, and Lucha Underground. Recently, Chavo has become All Elite when he debuted with Andrade El Idolo as his executive consultant.
2/ ECW World Championship Match
The Big Show v Sabu
After falling out of favour with WWE management RVD was booked to drop the ECW title to The Big Show. The heel run by The Big Show in ECW wasn’t the greatest but it did have some ECW originals clamouring to take the title away. Sabu was the first one to step up facing The Big Show in an Extreme Rules match at Summerslam.
The Big Show
Following Summerslam, The Big Show stuck around with WWE for a while before leaving the company. He did make his return shortly after, spending the next few years with the company before leaving for good earlier this year. He has since moved over to AEW where he is a commentator for their Youtube series, AEW Dark: Elevation.
Sabu
After losing to The Big Show Sabu stuck around on the ECW brand until his release in May of the next year. Following his release Sabu went back to the independents, spending the rest of his in-ring career wrestling with various promotions. He is still available for bookings today for whoever wants to shell out the cash.
SummerSlam 2011 – 3/ Hulk Hogan Vs. Randy Orton
In 2006 Orton had pushed himself into the main event picture by adopting his Legend Killer gimmick. Once Hogan had returned with his daughter Brooke, Orton took it upon himself to flirt with the attractive young woman. Hogan put a stop to this but Orton took the opportunity to attack Hogan with an RKO. This led to the two men meeting at the Biggest Party of the Summer.
Hulk Hogan
Following his third WWE run, Hogan left the company to join TNA. There he led a charge to put WWE out of business, which we all know fell flat. Since then Hogan has made two returns to WWE. Amid controversy surround racial comments Hogan is a part of WWE now, most recently hosting Wrestlemania this year with Titus O’Neil.
Randy Orton
Orton has remained with WWE since his showdown with Hogan in 2006. He has gone on to win 14 World Championships and is considered one of the greatest the company has produced. He currently is in an uneasy partnership with Riddle with their fantastically named tag team RK-Bro.
SummerSlam 2011 – 4/ Ric Flair Vs. Mick Foley – I Quit Match
The build leading up to this match became very personal, very quickly. It was based on the real-life heat between the two after Ric Flair made some rather unflattering remarks about Foley. The Nature Boy had compared Foley to a glorified stuntman and downplayed his contributions to the business. This back and forth brought us to their I Quit Match at Summerslam.
Ric Flair
After this match Flair bounced around on both brands until his retirement in 2008. After that, he spent time with WWE, Impact, and Ring of Honour. He returned to WWE in 2012 where he filled out various on-screen roles. Most recently, Flair has been released from WWE and has joined forces with his future son-in-law Andrade in AAA.
Mick Foley
Following his loss at Summerslam, Foley went back into retirement and he briefly served as the Smackdown colour commentator. After this WWE run, Foley spent 3 years in TNA before returning to WWE in 2011. Since his return, he has taken on various on-screen roles, most recently appearing to unveil the 24/7 Championship.
SummerSlam 2011 – 5/ WWE World Heavyweight Championship
King Booker (with Queen Sharmell) Vs. Batista
In January, Batista suffered a tricep tear and was forced to vacate the World Title. After 5 months of rehab, he returned to the company in July. Upon his return, he made it known that he was gunning for World Champion Booker T and that King Booker’s reign was as good as over. This set up their title match at Summerslam.
King Booker
King Booker eventually lost the World Title back to Batista and was subsequently drafted to Raw. There pursued the WWE Championship until he departed from the company in 2007. He then spent time with TNA and other promotions in Mexico and Puerto Rico. He has since returned to WWE and remains with the company today, filling out pre-show panellist and commentary roles.
Queen Sharmell
Sharmell also left WWE with her real-life husband, Booker T, in 2007 and performed for TNA. After retiring from in-ring competition Sharmell has tried her hand at acting, appearing in various made-for-television movies.
Batista
Big Dave remained with the company, full time, for another 4 years before scaling back his in-ring commitments. He then focussed on his acting career and has become one of the biggest names in Hollywood. He just starred in Zack Synder’s Army of the Dead and he has starring roles in the Dune remake and Thor sequel, both coming soon.
SummerSlam 2011 – 6/ Shawn Michaels and Triple H Vs. Vince and Shane McMahon
Both having their run-ins with Mr. McMahon HBK and HHH reformed D-X earlier on in the year. Throughout the summer the McMahons and D-X engaged in games of one-upmanship. This back and forth eventually led to a tag match being booked between the four men at Summerslam.
Shawn Michaels
HBK remained on the roster for 4 more years before losing a retirement match to The Undertaker at Wrestlemania 26. After his retirement, he remained with WWE making sporadic appearances on WWE programming. In 2016, he became a trainer for NXT, a position that he holds today.
HHH
HHH had continued to compete in WWE until the present day. He has scaled back his in-ring duties significantly as he is the COO of WWE and his behind-the-scenes responsibilities have taken over. He has also appeared as the on-screen authority figure for WWE since 2013. Currently, he is still the COO of WWE and is also in charge of NXT.
Vince McMahon
Vince has continued to maintain his on-screen authority figure role with WWE. He is the owner of the company and he has kept himself busy, micro-managing every aspect of WWE. He has recently drawn much criticism for his dismantling of the incredibly popular NXT.
Shane McMahon
Shane remained as on-screen talent and maintaining a backstage role for a further three years before leaving the company entirely. For 7 years Shane stayed away from the wrestling world before returning to feud with his father in 2016. Since then he has become an authority figure and in-ring performer. His most recent appearance was a loss to Braun Strowman at Wrestlemania in April.
SummerSlam 2011 – 7/ WWE World Heavyweight Championship
Edge (with Lita) Vs. John Cena
After winning the WWE Championship from RVD, in July, Edge entered into a feud with John Cena. Cena challenged Edge for the title at Saturday Night’s Main Event, with Lita causing a disqualification to save the championship. This led to a title match being booked at Summerslam where if Edge got DQ’d he would lose the WWE Championship.
Edge remained at the top of the card for a further 5 years until his forced retirement in 2011. After leaving WWE he appeared in various television and movie roles. In 2020, Edge made a shocking return from injury and has been competing on a reduced schedule ever since. Recently, he entered into a feud with Seth Rollins and is slated to face The Architect at Summerslam this Saturday.
Lita
Lita stayed with WWE for a few more months before retiring in 2006. After that, she made her way back to the Indies for a few years. When she returned to WWE she made the odd television appearance and became a trainer and producer for WWE. She has recently attempted to get a television show, named Kayfabe, off and running but has cited the Covid-19 as a hindrance to the show getting off and running.
John Cena
Big Match John was the Face That Runs The Place for close to 8 years after the main event of Summerslam. He has since made various appearances with the company but has spent more time away with his acting career.
This year has been a big one for John. He is starring in The Suicide Squad as well as making his return at WWE at Money in the Bank. He will be challenging Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship this Saturday at Summerslam.