SummerSlam 2011 SummerSlam 2011 was a professional wrestling pay - per - view event produced by WWE that took place on August 14 , 2011 . For the third consecutive year , SummerSlam was held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles , California , and it was the 24th annual SummerSlam event . Six matches were originally scheduled for the event , but a seventh was added during the show when Alberto Del Rio cashed in his " Money in the Bank " briefcase and defeated CM Punk . It was later announced that SummerSlam attracted a sellout crowd of 17 , 404 fans at the Staples Center in Los Angeles , grossing more than $ 1 million . This marks the highest grossing SummerSlam ever held at the Staples Center . The event garnered 296 , 000 pay - per - view buys , down from 350 , 000 buys the previous year . 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 feud heading into SummerSlam from the SmackDown brand is between Christian and Randy Orton , over the former ' s World Heavyweight Championship . At Extreme Rules in May , Christian defeated Alberto Del Rio in a Ladder match to win the vacant World Heavyweight Championship for the first time , only to lose it to Orton on the May 3 tapings of SmackDown ( aired on May 6 ) . After two unsuccessful attempts at regaining the title from Orton at the Over the Limit and Capitol Punishment pay - per - views , Christian finally won the championship for the second time at the Money in the Bank event in July , after he spat in Orton ' s face , provoking the latter to kick Christian in the groin and get himself disqualified ; as per pre - match stipulations enacted by Christian , he won the title . At the July 29 episode of SmackDown , the Chief Operating Officer of WWE , Triple H , officially announced that Christian will defend his World title against Orton in a No Holds Barred match at SummerSlam . The main event from the Raw brand for SummerSlam would pit John Cena against CM Punk , both vying for the right of being called the " undisputed " WWE Champion . In the weeks leading to the Money in the Bank pay - per - view in July on Raw , Punk announced the expiry of his WWE contract on the night of the July 17 event , en route lambasting the WWE for failing to promote him as the " best wrestler in the world " , and threatened some high authority figures like WWE Chairman , Vince McMahon , of defeating Cena and leaving the venue with the WWE Championship . At Money in the Bank , Punk succeeded in pinning Cena to win the title , and even after McMahon tried to have Alberto Del Rio - who had won the Raw Money in the Bank briefcase earlier that night - cash in his contract against Punk , the latter nevertheless left the arena with the championship . The following night on Raw , McMahon dismissed Punk ' s claim to the title , and announced an 8 - man tournament to decide the new WWE Champion . Also , on the same night , Triple H ( kayfabe ) " fired " McMahon from his position of the Chairman , and himself assumed control over WWE as the Chief Operating Officer . On the July 25 edition of Raw , Rey Mysterio defeated The Miz in the finals to become the WWE Champion ; however , under Triple H ' s orders , Mysterio defended his title later on the same night against Cena , who beat Mysterio to win the title for a record ninth time . However , after the match , Punk returned to the WWE with his own title belt that he won at Money in the Bank , thereby creating an ambiguous situation of the presence of " two WWE Champions " . On the August 1 episode of Raw , Triple H announced that Punk would face Cena in a one - on - one match at SummerSlam to crown the " undisputed " WWE Champion . The Divas feud entering SummerSlam was between Kelly Kelly and Beth Phoenix over the WWE Divas Championship . On the August 1 episode of Raw , Phoenix won a Divas battle royal to become the # 1 Contender for Kelly ' s title at SummerSlam . Phoenix turned villainous by attacking Kelly in and out of the ring , and subsequently told Kelly that " her days as the perky blonde bimbo were over . " Production . Much like the previous year ' s SummerSlam , WWE will promote the event with its " SummerSlam Axxess " fan convention . The convention will be held at the Nokia Plaza in LA Live from August 13 to August 14 . THQ will reveal further details of the latest installment of their new video game that will replace the " WWE SmackDown " series .