Review by Adam Stephen Kelly
UK Certification 15 | UK RRP £17.99 | DVD Region 2 | Runtime 177 minutes
Out of the “big four” pay-per-view events in the WWE calendar (Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, SummerSlam and Survivor Series), SummerSlam is widely attributed as being the second biggest of the year, behind the granddaddy of them all, WrestleMania of course, but in 2010 the show was in fact the second biggest disappointment of the year instead. And yes, behind WrestleMania 26. Where 'Mania was concerned, it lacked matches that felt like they should be on the card, instead looking like the line-up for a minor event, and unfortunately SummerSlam suffered from the same action ailment, failing to put on the star-studded, all-out wrestling showcase in Hollywood that we had hoped, instead delivering a completely forgettable undercard and a second half that just about saved it from verging on disaster. 
There couldn't have been a more sour way to kick off the event, especially being that it was SummerSlam. I expected great things from a Ziggler/Kingston match, but I was sorely disappointed by their performance. It was short, slow-paced and for the most part just had the champion reigning down dominance over his challenger. This could have been good rather than purely underwhelming. Take a look at Dolph's match at SummerSlam last year against Rey Mysterio over the very title he was defending – it was a spectacular bout. It's such a shame that he couldn't live up to it the following year with the title around his waist. And what was up with the Nexus interference? If they were going to dismantle a match, it would have been best to do it later on in the card, not in the opener. There should have been a clear, decisive winner here, not a draw. The Nexus simply didn't need to carry out such a feral assault after their antics on RAW in the weeks leading up to the event.
Divas Championship: Alicia Fox (c) vs. Melina ?
This horrible encounter overshadowed Melina's valiant return to the squared circle and Divas Championship victory, as did the post-match beat down that she received at the hands of the most annoying divas in recent memory, Laycool (which included a stomp from Alicia Fox). This is not the way I'd want to win a Title if I was competing in the WWE.
3-on-1 Handicap Match: The Big Show vs. The Straight Edge Society ??
The Straight Edge Society, with Serena in their corner, united to take on the World's Largest Athlete at the biggest event of the summer. Now, the allure of an entire stable taking on an almost quarter-tonne giant may look like a true SummerSlam kind of outing on paper, but when all was said and done, it didn't pack much of a punch. This probably would have gone down better in the ring one-on-one as Show against faction leader CM Punk, because with all four guys in there not a lot happened. It was capped off in a smart way with Serena carting the Straight Edge Superstar away to the backstage area to save his heat, as Show Chokeslammed Joseph Mercury onto an out-of-it Festus, I mean Luke Gallows, but the bout itself was forgettable.
WWE Championship: Sheamus (c) vs. Randy Orton ???
This was a solid 20-minute match almost derailed by a horrible ending. We'd already had the opening bout ruled a no contest thanks to the interference of Nexus, and an hour later the WWE Title stayed with Sheamus after he got himself disqualified. I'm not a fan of having more than one indecisive victory on a pay-per-view. But regardless of the frustrating finish, these two had the first good match of the night, which, again, an hour into the show isn't exactly wonderful. It was certainly better than their match at the Royal Rumble, though. And boy, did referee Jack Doan ever take a hard bump to the outside.
World Heavyweight Championship: Kane (c) vs. Rey Mysterio ???
Fueled by Kane's accusation that Rey Mysterio was the one who attacked The Undertaker and left him in a “vegetative state”, this match for the World Heavyweight Title was another enjoyable championship collision. The only problem with the storyline behind the match was that you could never really believe that the 175-pound Mysterio could actually physically take the Deadman out, so instead pointing the finger at the accuser Kane was the only real option for fans. Of course, the story furthered after the match, which concluded with a humungous Chokeslam for the gold-retaining victory, when The Undertaker returned by appearing inside the casket (bright red no less) that Kane brought out to ringside during his entrance. Unfortunately the wow factor of his surprise comeback was quickly quelled when the Big Red Monster took him for a deadly ride known as the Tombstone Piledriver, which just about killed the live crowd.
7-on-7 Elimination Match: Team WWE vs. The Nexus ????
Well at least the main event of the evening was definitely the best match. It packed a genuine big fight feel similar to the Survivor Series 2001 main event that pitted the WWE against the ECW/WCW Alliance. Now although I would have liked the addition of The Miz to Team WWE as the seventh member, the surprise of Daniel Bryan's return was very nice indeed as he joined John Cena, Chris Jericho, Edge, R-Truth, John Morrison and Bret Hart to combat Wade Barrett, Justin Gabriel, Heath Slater, David Otunga, Skip Sheffield, Michael Tarver and Darren Young. Well, I say surprise but someone over on WWE.com spoiled it about 15 minutes prior to the match with the premature posting of an article. That aside, apart from his horribly generic, pre-Ride of the Valkyries theme music, he put on a great showing and got a huge reaction from the WWE Universe, “Daniel Bryan” chants and all. It was definitely a spectacular moment for the American Dragon, and sweeter still with him competing alongside the legendary Bret Hart. After his debilitating stroke left him a shell of his former self wrestling-wise (he retired only to return a decade later when he re-signed with WWE this year), Hart put on a great performance when he was tagged into the match against the Nexus seven, and his disqualification elimination made perfect sense, for the first time of the night no less. I really loved the team descension that played out between Jericho and Edge as they got physical with Cena and put a logical spin on the match as a whole. I was also extremely glad that Daniel Bryan was the last member of Team WWE to be eliminated as following this bout his stock went a hell of a way up.
EXTRAS ? A home video exclusive interview with Daniel Bryan conducted by Josh Mathews.
• WWE SummerSlam 2010 is also available in a strictly limited edition SteelBook DVD, as well in a two-disc Blu-ray set that features the episodes of RAW and SmackDown from the week leading up to the event.