On Aug. 17, the WWE presents the 26th annual SummerSlam live from the Staples Center in Los Angeles. There have been many great moments and events in the history of the biggest party of the summer, but some of these spectaculars are more memorable than others. We here at Sports World News will count down the Top 5 SummerSlam events in the history of the event.
Honorable Mentions: 1991, 2004 and 2008
5) SummerSlam 2001-Aug. 19, 2001 Compaq Center, San Jose, Calif.:
In the midst of the much maligned Invasion storyline, SummerSlam 2001 was definitely one of the better events to take place before the whole thing was scrapped that November. The night consisted mostly of WWE stars taking on WCW/ECW stars and Edge and Lance Storm kicked off the hot summer night with a solid opening bout for the Intercontinental Championship that saw Edge become IC champ for the second time. Elsewhere, Rob Van Dam and Jeff Hardy battled in a terrific Ladder Match for the Hardcore Championship, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and Kurt Angle had a great clash for the WWE Championship despite a DQ finish and the WCW Championship changed hands for the first time on a WWE pay-per-view as The Rock defeated Booker T to give the WWE a much needed win in a solid match.
4) SummerSlam 1998-Aug. 30, 1998 Madison Square Garden, New York, N.Y.:
When the summer sun set on Aug. 30, 1998 things only heated up for the WWE as "Stone Cold" Steve Austin defended his WWE Championship against The Undertaker at The World's Most Famous Arena to close out SummerSlam. Austin retained the title in one of the best main events in the history of the biggest party of the summer after nailing the dead man with the Stone Cold Stunner. Elsewhere on the show, Triple H defeated The Rock in a great Ladder Match for the Intercontinental Championship which put both guys on the map and helped launch them into the Superstars they would eventually become, D'Lo Brown defeated Val Venis by DQ in the opener to retain the European Championship and Jeff Jarrett got a haircut after losing to X-Pac. Edge made his SummerSlam debut at this event, teaming with Sable to take on Marc Mero and Jacqueline in a mixed tag match. SummerSlam '98 was the final destination on the Highway to Hell, and it was a very memorable event.
3) SummerSlam 2000-Aug. 27, 2000 Raleigh Entertainment And Sports Arena, Raleigh, N.C.:
This one can go in the forgotten gems category as from top to bottom it is a stacked card at a time when the WWE had arguably the greatest amount of talent assembled on its roster. One of the main highlights on this card include the main event for the WWE Championship where The Rock retained against Kurt Angle and Triple H -- who were involved in a love triangle with Stephanie McMahon. Angle received a legitimate concussion before the match even started on a botched Pedigree through an announce table, but he came back and finished the contest. This event also featured the first ever TLC match between Edge and Christian, The Dudley Boyz and The Hardy Boyz for the WWE Tag Team Championship and a classic two-out-of-three falls match between Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit. Elsewhere, Steve Blackman and Shane McMahon provided a great moment when McMahon fell from high atop the arena through the stage and then Blackman jumped off on top of a prone McMahon during their hardcore brawl.
2) SummerSlam 1992-Aug. 29, 1992 (aired Aug. 31) Wembley Stadium, London, England:
The first and only outdoor SummerSlam was a huge hit from Wembley Stadium in London as the WWE's biggest party of the summer spilled outside. While there were some horrible matches (see: Nailz vs. Virgil, Kamala vs. The Undertaker) this event is fondly remembered for two great matches. The first match pit "Macho Man" Randy Savage against The Ultimate Warrior for the WWE Championship that saw outside involvement from Mr. Perfect and Ric Flair. Perfect and Flair hinted at helping one of the babyfaces win the match, however they ended up turning on both of them. While the countout finish wasn't great, this was still a solid match overall. The second great match was the main event, which saw "The British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith defeat his brother-in-law Bret "Hitman" Hart for the Intercontinental Championship, which stands as one of the greatest matches in SummerSlam -- and possibly WWE -- history as Smith hoisted the IC Championship in front of his fellow countrymen to close out a memorable outdoor show.
1) SummerSlam 2002-Aug 25, 2002 Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Long Island, N.Y.
This event is mostly remembered for two things with Brock Lesnar putting his stamp on professional wrestling and Shawn Michaels returning to the ring for the first time in four years. Lesnar and The Rock fought each other in the main event in a solid contest that saw Lesnar continue the torrent start to his career by pinning The Rock to win his first WWE Championship in a moment where The Rock passed the torch to Lesnar, capping off a memorable rookie year for "The Next Big Thing." Elsewhere, Michaels returned to active competition and battled Triple H in a fantastic unsanctioned match, returning to the squared circle to wrestle for the first time since WrestleMania XIV. Other great matches on the card include a hot opener between Kurt Angle and Rey Mysterio, a great clash between Chris Benoit and Rob Van Dam for the Intercontinental Championship and a solid bout between Edge and Eddie Guerrero. There is certainly a case for SummerSlam 2002 to be the greatest SummerSlam event in the history of the WWE.
SummerSlam 2014 airs on Aug. 17 live from the Staples Center in Los Angeles and it will look to topple this list as a Top 5 pay-per-view in SummerSlam lore.
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