WWE SummerSlam 2017 Represents a Major Shift in Booking of Top PPVs

WWE SummerSlam 2017 is just around the corner and has quietly become a noticeable representation of WWE's future, standing in stark contrast to other recent major events.

While most Big Four pay-per-views are defined by nostalgia and star power, this year's SummerSlam is dominated by brand new talent at the top of the card.

In fact, the two world championship bouts this year include four men out of six who have never competed at SummerSlam. Those four have a combined total of six Big Four PPV main card appearances in their careers.

In contrast, John Cena and Randy Orton will be competing at their 14th and 13th SummerSlams, respectively, this year for a total of just over 100 Big Four PPV appearances.

Shinsuke Nakamura and Samoa Joe will be appearing at their first Big Four PPV. Despite debuting in April 2011, Jinder Mahal will only be on the main card of a Big Four PPV for the fourth time in his career, matching Braun Strowman, with the numbers of both helped by two appearances in the Royal Rumble.

The third biggest match of the night, AJ Styles vs. Kevin Owens with Shane McMahon as special guest referee, includes a mere 14 Big Four appearances between the two men. If you included Shane McMahon, he would barely improve the average, with nine Big Four matches to his name.

How different is this SummerSlam from past SummerSlams?

Collecting the total number of Big Four appearances from the competitors of the three top matches at each SummerSlam for the past 29 years (based on marketing ahead of the event and match time for each contest), the statistics tell an impressive story of just how unique this event is in comparison to past SummerSlams.

Note: all stats were collected from Wikipedia results pages and are subject to human error. All tag teams were considered one performer rather than two unless they had a different number of Big Four appearances before the SummerSlam in question.

Created in Microsoft Excel from collected data

This graph shows the average number of Big Four appearances by the top competitors at every single SummerSlam over the years, isolating the performers in the three top-billed matches. The numbers only include appearances on the main card (not in dark matches or on a preshow) of WrestleMania, SummerSlam, Survivor Series and the Royal Rumble.

While there is a clear upward trend in the data, there are a few dips along the way. None are more significant than the difference in representation for 2016 and 2017. In fact, the average number of Big Four appearances in 2017, which comes in at 7.375, is the fourth lowest average in the event's history behind 1988 and 1989, as well as 1993.

That 7.375 average looks even more odd when you consider the average between 2004 and 2016 was 20.91, with no event in that time dipping below an average of 18. Putting the numbers into perspective, that means the average headlining competitor in 2017 has missed three full years of Big Four events in comparison to the preceding 12 years.

This drop in appearances only holds similarities to two other SummerSlams in history, both beginning new eras in the company. SummerSlam 1993 was the beginning of the New Generation Era, headlined by Yokozuna and Lex Luger, bringing a drop to 5.5 appearances among its headliners. SummerSlam 1998 was the first in the Attitude Era and featured only 8.83 appearances from its headliners, a drop in appearances of over nine Big Four shows from 1997.

While WWE has recently called this the New Era, the numbers have often not lined up with that notion. WrestleMania has been dominated by returning stars rather than relying on the new talent, with this year headlined by The Undertaker and Goldberg. SummerSlam, though, has only one veteran at the top of the card, Brock Lesnar, and even he is just one part of a Fatal 4-Way match.

Mankind (1996)	0
Booker T (2001)	0
Brock Lesnar (2002)	0
Goldberg (2003)	0
Randy Orton (2003)	0
Daniel Bryan (2010)	0
Stephanie McMahon (2014)	0
Finn Balor (2016)	0
Shinsuke Nakamura (2017)	0
Samoa Joe (2017)	0

This is not to say that fresh talent at the top of the card is unique, just this sudden overload of new stars. In fact, 18 wrestlers in SummerSlam's history have headlined SummerSlam as their first-ever Big Four appearance. Including those wrestlers, 45 performers have been in one of the top-three matches at SummerSlam their first time they competed at The Biggest Party of the Summer (excluding the first two years).

Some of the legends who were instantly headliners in their first SummerSlam appearance included Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, Kurt Angle, Diesel, Mankind and CM Punk. However, that does also include less successful talent including Kama, Tatanka, D'Lo Brown, R-Truth and the infamous Fake Undertaker, so the honor is not a guarantee of success.

Still, it stands as a sign of good faith, particularly given the talent are competing against one another rather than being paired with legends. The star power of The Greatest Party of the Summer is being undersold so that the new wrestlers have a chance to prove their worth. Typically, those who are not headlining SummerSlam in their first few appearances never get the chance.

The Undertaker (2015)	68
Shawn Michaels (2009)	56
Triple H (2012)	50
Kane (2010)	48
John Cena (2015)	46
Randy Orton (2016)	45
Bret Hart (2010)	42
Big Show (2012)	38
Edge (2010)	36
Chris Jericho (2010)	33

While some of these new stars have barely any appearances to their name, the number of Big Four appearance by the biggest stars in the business are staggering. Any SummerSlam that included The Undertaker over the past decade had its average raised by a significant margin to the point that his appearance at SummerSlam 2015 raised the average from 14.14 to 20.875.

Clearly, this show's average is affected by Cena and Orton's exclusion from the top three matches at the event. Big Show would also have heavily increased the average Big Four appearances if his match with Big Cass was included in the average.

However, the event as a whole is dominated by talent who are newer to the scene. The average Big Four appearances of every wrestler currently scheduled to compete at SummerSlam this year excluding Cena, Orton and Show is 9.2, a number that is still the sixth lowest in the event's history. With the inclusion of the three veterans, the average rises to 15.19, which is still lower than any event since 2003.

These findings show that this event could be an important indicator of the company's future. While it is unlikely all four of these new headliners will define the next generation of WWE, they are an important part of the new movement. Their success or failure will stand out strongly in labeling the New Era.

Other stars, including Cass, Baron Corbin and Alexa Bliss, may not be headlining, but they will get their first chance to prove their mettle and earn an opportunity in the coming years to be among SummerSlam's headliners. The show is loaded with fresh blood getting their first chance to compete at the second biggest event of the year for WWE.

The future of this business has dramatically shifted, but only now has WWE admitted to the changing of the guard. SummerSlam 2017 stands out as history-in-the-making, so pay close attention as this event could change the business if Strowman, Joe, Mahal, Nakamura and more have any say in the matter.