SummerSlam 2010 SummerSlam 2010 was a professional wrestling pay - per - view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment ( WWE ) , that took place on August 15 , 2010 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles , California for the second consecutive year . It was the 23rd annual SummerSlam event and six matches took place . This event received 350 , 000 buys , slightly down on the 369 , 000 buys that SummerSlam 2009 received . Background . SummerSlam featured professional wrestling matches involving different wrestlers from pre - existing scripted feuds , plots , and storylines that played out on World Wrestling Entertainment ' s ( WWE ) television programs . Wrestlers portrayed villains or heroes as they followed a series of events that built tension , and culminated into a wrestling match or series of matches . The main rivalry heading into SummerSlam from the Raw brand was between the champion Sheamus and Randy Orton over the WWE Championship . On the July 19 episode of " Raw " , Orton defeated Edge and Chris Jericho in a Triple Threat match to earn the right to face Sheamus for the WWE Championship at SummerSlam . On the August 9 episode of " Raw " , the Raw General Manager added two stipulations to the match , stating that anyone who interfered in this match would be suspended indefinitely and if Orton lost , he would not receive another match for the championship while Sheamus is champion . Another major rivalry from " Raw " featured The Nexus , a stable consisting of former " WWE NXT " ' rookies ' led by the season ' s winner Wade Barrett , against ' Team WWE ' , led by John Cena . The Nexus made their debut as a collective unit on the June 7 episode of " Raw " , attacking Cena , CM Punk , and members of the ringside crew , on the pretext of demanding guaranteed WWE contracts for all of them . The following week on " Raw " , the then - General Manager Bret Hart refused and as a result , The Nexus attacked him , incapacitating him , and forcing WWE Chairman Vince McMahon to appoint a new , anonymous General Manager , who ultimately signed all members of The Nexus to the show . The Nexus continued to frequently attack various WWE Superstars , crew , and legends to display their dominance , although they focused mainly on Cena , costing him the WWE Championship twice . On the July 19 episode of " Raw " , Cena confronted The Nexus , who offered him a place in their stable , which he refused and instead revealed that he had assembled a team , christened ' Team WWE ' ( consisting of Cena himself , Edge , Chris Jericho , John Morrison , R - Truth , The Great Khali , and Bret Hart ) , to face The Nexus in a seven - on - seven tag team match at SummerSlam . On the July 26 episode of " Raw " , the anonymous general manager changed the match to an elimination format . Following dissension on Cena ' s team in the next few weeks , Edge and Jericho left the SummerSlam match on the August 2 episode of " Raw " . They rejoined the following week , however , when The Nexus tried to attack the members of Team WWE and Edge and Jericho . On the same episode of " Raw " , Khali was attacked by The Nexus , removing him from the match at SummerSlam . The Miz offered his services to the team as Khali ' s substitute , ultimately saying he would reveal his final decision at SummerSlam itself . The main rivalry heading into SummerSlam from the SmackDown brand was between the champion Kane and Rey Mysterio over the World Heavyweight Championship . On the May 28 episode of " SmackDown " Kane ' s storyline brother , The Undertaker defeated Mysterio to qualify for the fatal four - way match for the World Heavyweight Championship at the Fatal 4 - Way pay - per - view in June . During the match however , The Undertaker suffered a legitimate injury , forcing him to be written out of the match by having him found in a " vegetative state " by Kane over the Memorial Day weekend . As a result , Kane accused several WWE Superstars of incapacitating his brother , and attacked them . Mysterio won a battle royal to replace The Undertaker , and went on to defeat the defending champion Jack Swagger , The Big Show and CM Punk at Fatal 4 - Way to win the World Heavyweight Championship . At the Money in the Bank Kane won a Money in the Bank ladder match and cashed in his championship opportunity on Mysterio , after Mysterio had defeated Swagger to retain . Kane defeated Mysterio to win the World Heavyweight Championship . On the July 23 episode of " SmackDown " , Mysterio defeated Swagger in a two out of three falls match to earn the right to face Kane for the World Championship at SummerSlam . On the July 30 episode of " SmackDown " , Kane revealed that The Undertaker had disclosed that his attacker was Rey Mysterio , and vowed to get revenge . Another rivalry from the " SmackDown " brand pitted The Big Show against the Straight Edge Society ( S . E . S . ) , a stable preaching the hardlined straight edge lifestyle , led by CM Punk and consisting of Luke Gallows , Joey Mercury and Serena . In May , at the Over the Limit pay - per - view , Punk lost a match to Rey Mysterio , forcing Punk to have his head shaved bald as a result of the stipulation . In order to conceal his baldness , Punk started wearing a mask until The Big Show forcible removed it on the July 16 episode of " SmackDown " . In attempt to avenge Punk ' s humiliation , the S . E . S . ' s masked " mystery man " faced The Big Show in a match , but had his own mask removed during the match , revealing him to be Joey Mercury . On the July 30 episode of " SmackDown " , the S . E . S . attacked The Big Show and repeatedly stomped on his right hand into the steel ring steps . The following week , it was announced that the S . E . S . would be facing The Big Show in a three - on - one handicap match at SummerSlam . Another rivalry from the Raw brand was between the champion Alicia Fox and Melina over the WWE Divas Championship . In December 2009 , Melina tore her ACL at a live event , which caused her to vacate the Divas Championship . At Fatal 4 - Way in June , Fox won the title in a Fatal Four - Way match , also featuring the then - champion Eve , Maryse and Gail Kim , and retained the championship against Eve at Money in the Bank . On the August 2 episode of " Raw " , Melina made her return and attacked Fox . The following week on " Raw " , Melina defeated Fox in a non - title match and was rewarded with an title opportunity at the Divas Championship at SummerSlam . Production . Much like the previous year ' s SummerSlam , WWE promoted the event with its " SummerSlam Axxess " fan convention . The convention was held at the Nokia Plaza in L . A . Live from August 14 to August 15 . THQ revealed further details of the latest installment of their " WWE SmackDown " series , " WWE SmackDown vs . Raw 2011 " . Aftermath . The following night on " Raw " , the anonymous general manager of Raw announced that members of The Nexus would face off against members of Team WWE in a series of matches throughout the evening . In order to find the " weak links " of the group , The Nexus ' leader , Wade Barrett , declared that anyone in The Nexus who lost their match would be exiled from the group . Ultimately , each Nexus member won their match except for Darren Young , who lost to John Cena via submission . After the match , the remaining six members brutally attacked Young , symbolizing his banishment from The Nexus . Randy Orton would go on to capture the WWE Championship by defeating Sheamus , Barrett , Cena , Edge , and Chris Jericho in a Six - Pack Elimination Challenge at Night of Champions . Orton retained the title at Hell In A Cell against Sheamus , ending their feud . After being attacked by The Undertaker at SummerSlam , Kane later confessed to attacking Undertaker and leaving him in a vegetative state , which started the latest chapter of their storied feud . Kane defeated Undertaker at Night of Champions in a No Holds Barred Match to retain the World Heavyweight Championship . LayCool challenged Melina to a match to unify the Women ' s and Divas Championships at Night of Champions . Melina accepted , but only if the match was made into a lumberjill match . Michelle represented LayCool in the match at the PPV and defeated Melina , thus retiring the Women ' s Championship in the process . Reception . " The Sun " < nowiki > ' < / nowiki > s Rob McNichol said the event " failed to deliver in the ring , leaving us feeling lukewarm at best . " He also stated that Daniel Bryan ' s return and the high - quality main event saved the PPV because of the first 2 - and - a - bit hours . Summing up , he gave the event a 5 . 5 out of 10 , which was lower than the 8 out of 10 the previous year ' s event had received .