WWE SummerSlam 2015: Biggest Missed Opportunities in Event's History

WWE will be hoping that its decision to leave Sting off this year's edition of SummerSlam will not be on the biggest missed opportunities in the history of the show.

With The Icon waiting in the wings for his return to the company, it looks like he will have to bid his time awhile longer before he gets back into a WWE ring.

There have been plenty of missed opportunities in the past when it comes to SummerSlam, with some of the most notable and infamous booking mishaps happening on the biggest show of the summer.

Some other missed opportunities may have either slipped your memory or completely gone under the radar, so here's a rundown of the biggest missed chances WWE failed to grasp during the history of SummerSlam.

Taking the Limelight off Dusty Rhodes vs. Randy Savage (1990)

Credit: WWE.com

Dusty Rhodes vs. Randy Savage at the 1990 edition of SummerSlam could have been one of the finest matches in the history of the pay-per-view.

The two iconic performers were arguably in the prime of their careers. Their mouthwatering feud and rivalry was set to enthrall fans, culminating in a bout at SummerSlam.

But instead of that, WWE opted to focus on the women who were accompanying each wrestler, Sensational Queen Sherri and Sapphire. 

It even got to the point where they wrestled each other at SummerSlam, or they were slated to at least; Sapphire didn't show up.

Then the much-anticipated bout between Rhodes and Savage failed to deliver enormously; already watered down after the ludicrous booking that went too heavy on the female competitors, the match ended farcically when Savage scored a quick roll-up win after Ted DiBiase emerged to distract the competitors.

This should have been one of SummerSlam's greatest matches; instead, it ended up feeling tremendously flat and has to be regarded as a missed opportunity. 

WWE Taking a Chance on Billy Gunn (1999)

Credit: WWE.com

Around the time of the 1999 edition of SummerSlam, Billy Gunn's stock was about as high as it ever had been before.

The members of D-Generation X had practically gone their separate ways, and WWE had invested enough attention and effort into Gunn to suggest he was in for a decent push. 

After all, he had just won the 1999 King of the Ring, beating Ken Shamrock, Kane and even X-Pac in the final.

What should have happened was a major breakthrough feud that culminated in him taking the step up to the next level. So WWE inserted him into a rivalry with The Rock, and instead of giving Gunn a chance and potentially pushing him into stardom by letting him beat one of the company's biggest guys, the company had him roll over.

It was a disastrous loss that practically consigned Gunn to a return to tag wrestling; he was never to enjoy the kind of sustained singles success he had done here ever again.

Had WWE taken a chance and put Gunn over that night, who knows what could have been in his future. 

Randy Orton Not Beating Hulk Hogan (2006)

When Randy Orton first burst onto the scene in WWE in the mid-2000s, he instantly gained a hot reputation as a "Legend Killer."

Orton would take out a whole host of big names to boost his reputation, and by the time SummerSlam 2006 had rolled around, Hulk Hogan was in his sights.

The angle and storyline were good, and it even dragged Hogan's daughter Brooke into the feud, with Orton flirting with her on numerous occasions. 

But Orton had all his momentum, and even his Legend Killer moniker, ripped to shreds in the match, which Hogan won despite looking nowhere near his best.

A win here for Orton over arguably the most famous wrestler of all time could have sent his reputation and momentum to unprecedented heights. Thankfully, he still managed to be a major success in WWE, but you just wonder what might have been if Orton had gone over here. 

CM Punk Not Leaving as WWE Champion (2011)

Credit: WWE.com

The summer of 2011 is affectionately referred to as the Summer of Punk, and had WWE not let this missed opportunity slip through its fingers at SummerSlam, that statement may have been spot on.

2011 was Punk's real breakthrough year as a megastar. From the infamous promo that catapulted him into the mainstream to the win against John Cena at Money in the Bank, everything was going Punk's way.

So when he beat Cena again at SummerSlam, it instantly felt like the right call. He was the undisputed WWE champion, and a lengthy reign stood before him.

Therefore, why WWE opted to have Alberto Del Rio cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase on that particular night is anyone's guess. It stunted Punk's momentum, sent him into a peculiar feud with Kevin Nash and didn't satisfy any of the fans.

Throw in the fact that Del Rio lost the title to Cena soon after, and it all felt like Punk's iconic push was a complete waste.

The Nexus Losing to Team WWE (2010)

Credit: WWE.com

There can be little doubting that the biggest angle of 2010 by far concerned Wade Barrett and a group of renegades from NXT who quickly became known as The Nexus.

They shook WWE to its core, causing ripples and drama that hadn't been seen in a WWE ring for years. When they crashed Raw and took out everyone and everything, it instantly had everyone's attention. The only problem was, the inevitable and disappointing ending to it all was fast approaching.

At SummerSlam, The Nexus would face what was their first real challenge in truth when they took on a team of WWE stars led by John Cena.

The match should have been an opportunity for The Nexus to confirm their standing as WWE's most fearsome group, setting up a reign of terror similar to the kind we saw from The Shield. There were plenty of reasons for Team WWE to lose, but none for The Nexus.

So when they somehow lost and Cena practically disbanded The Nexus on his own, it left fans with a bitter taste in their mouth.

Of all the missed opportunities down the years at SummerSlam, this was without a doubt one of the biggest.