For nearly three decades, SummerSlam has been the WWE's annual summer spectacle and the card for this year's event is shaping up.
5 Greatest Moments From SummerSlams 1998-2002
The WWE has already announced that Brock Lesnar vs. The Undertaker in a WrestleMania XXX rematch will headline the event while WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins vs. WWE United States Champion John Cena in a title-for-title clash has also been hinted at.
With those two marquee matches set to occur, this year's edition, which emanates from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Aug. 23, will likely be filled with moments that live up to the classic stories that have unfolded since the event's inception in 1988.
Ranking The 5 Best Moments From SummerSlams 1993-97
As part of an ongoing series on Sports World News, we've looked into every SummerSlam and picked the best moments and matches from each event.
In Part 4 of this series, we delve into SummerSlams 2003-08 and pick out the best moment from each one before ranking them up against each other.
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Here are our best moments from SummerSlams 2003-08:
6) Summer Returns, SummerSlam 2007
This wasn't the best edition of the WWE's summer spectacle ever, but it was buoyed by two major returns as Triple H came back to the WWE from injury and Rey Mysterio also resurfaced in the company.
The Game defeated King Booker with the Pedigree while Mysterio took out Chavo Guerrero with a 619 and splash at the Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, N.J. on Aug. 26, 2007.
5) Hell In A Cell, SummerSlam 2008
The Undertaker and Edge had a heated rivalry on the SmackDown brand and it all came to a head when the two clashed inside Hell in a Cell at the Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Aug. 17, 2008.
The Rated 'R' Superstar and The Deadman battled in an epic encounter that saw the use of chairs and tables. The back-and-forth war waged on for nearly a half hour until The Undertaker finally took Edge out with the Tombstone to put him away once and for all.
After the match, The Demon from Death Valley returned to the ring and chokeslammed Edge off of a ladder through the canvas below and set the ring ablaze.
4) The Rated 'R' Reign Continues, SummerSlam 2006
One of Edge's biggest rivalries in his Hall of Fame career was with John Cena and the Rated 'R' Superstar put his WWE Championship on the line against the Cenation leader at SummerSlam live from the TD Garden in Boston on Aug. 20, 2006.
Edge and Cena knocked each other around the ring for over 15 minutes and Edge's valet Lita got involved throughout the bout.
In the end, Lita took an F-U from Cena, but it allowed Edge to take some brass knuckles and hit Cena with them to knock him out and retain his championship.
3) Hulkamania vs. Heartbreak Kid, SummerSlam 2005
For the first time ever, WWE Hall of Famers Hulk Hogan and Shawn Michaels went one-on-one in the middle of the ring. The Hulkster and The Show Stopper clashed at the MCI Center in Washington, D.C. on Aug. 21, 2005.
The match was made legendary by Michaels' over-the-top selling of Hogan's offense after The Hulkster's backstage politics reportedly caused HBK to be booked to turn heel, much to Michaels' chagrin.
The ending saw the classic Hogan comeback, with him overcoming Sweet Chin Music, hulking up and hitting his big boot and leg drop to win the matchup. After the contest, both wrestling icons shook hands.
2) Stealing The Show, SummerSlam 2003
While this event also included an Elimination Chamber bout, the biggest highlight of the night saw Kurt Angle and Brock Lesnar go one-on-one for the WWE Championship at the America West Arena in Phoenix, Ariz. on Aug. 24, 2003.
Angle, who lost to Lesnar at WrestleMania XIX earlier that year, was out to prove he was better than Lesnar while The Beast looked to make it two straight wins over the Olympic hero.
The match was a classic encounter between two of the best in the game and it saw outside interference from Vince McMahon on Lesnar's behalf.
When the smoke cleared, Angle was able to counter an F-5 into the Ankle Lock to make Lesnar tap and retain his championship. To this day, it marks the only bout Lesnar has ever lost at WrestleMania.
1) The Viper Is Born, SummerSlam 2004
Randy Orton had the opportunity of a lifetime when the WWE booked him to battle Chris Benoit for the World Heavyweight Championship at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto on Aug. 15, 2004.
The Legend Killer faced Benoit in a fantastic match that spanned over 20 minutes and in the end, Orton survived the Crippler Crossface and hit an RKO out of nowhere to capture his first World Championship.
At age 24, Orton became the youngest person to ever win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
BONUS RANKING
Here is our ranking for these six events as a whole from worst to first:
6) SummerSlam 2007: This is a fairly weak card with a strong main event of Cena vs. Orton, but it was at the height of the Cenation leader's act wearing thing.
5) SummerSlam 2003: Angle/Lesnar is a classic, but the rest of the card is shaky and Triple H retaining in the chamber was awful booking.
4) SummerSlam 2008: Solid event with 'Taker/Edge and Batista/Cena and also notable for CM Punk retaining against JBL.
3) SummerSlam 2006: Edge retaining against Cena is a highlight while Ric Flair vs. Mick Foley and Hogan vs. Orton is also memorable.
2) SummerSlam 2004: Orton's defining moment was huge while Edge vs. Jericho vs. Batista and Kurt Angle vs. Eddie Guerrero were also very good.
1) SummerSlam 2005: Very strong card with Hogan/Michaels, Guerrero/Mysterio, Cena/Jericho and Orton/Undertaker.
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