SummerSlam 2015 Location New York: 5 Best Big Apple Moments From The Spectacle's Past [VIDEOS]

The WWE has confirmed that this year's SummerSlam will take place live from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Aug. 23.

Countdown to WrestleMania 31: 3 Best Moments From WrestleMania VIII (8)

This will mark the fifth time that the WWE's summer spectacle emanates from New York and breaks up a streak of six consecutive years of the event taking place from the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

The WWE originally planned to run the event at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, N.J., but after it was announced that the building would be torn down, the WWE looked for another location.

WWE Power Rankings: Top 10 Superstars and Divas After Monday Night RAW

SummerSlam will also mark just the second pay-per-view and/or WWE Network special to take place from Brooklyn, following in the footsteps of TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs in 2012.

In honor of SummerSlam returning to the Big Apple, we take a look at the five best moments in SummerSlam history in New York.

5) Brawl in the Big Apple: At SummerSlam 1998, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and The Undertaker were on top of their games as they got ready for a clash over the WWE Championship at the Mecca known as Madison Square Garden in New York City.

'Taker and Austin had a hellacious brawl that spilled all over ringside and the bout was a seesaw affair until the end when Austin was finally able to hit his adversary with the Stone Cold Stunner to retain the WWE Championship.

The two then showed some respect for each other, shaking hands after the bout.

4) An Ultimate Surprise: The Honky Tonk Man was set to face Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake at the inaugural SummerSlam in 1988 from Madison Square Garden, but a creative change was in the works and Beefcake was written out of the match after an attack from "Outlaw" Ron Bass.

This left Honky Tonk Man, who was a cocky heel and had the longest Intercontinental Championship reign up to that point at 18 months, with a surprise opponent that August afternoon.

All of a sudden, the familiar blare of The Ultimate Warrior's music hit and he came out of the curtain as the new No. 1 contender. Warrior dominated Honky Tonk Man, defeating him in 31 seconds to end the reign and capture his first title in the WWE as pandemonium ran all over the Garden.
Honorable Mention: Also at this event, Miss Elizabeth shockingly removed her skirt in the main event to cause a distraction that aided The Mega Powers ("Macho Man" Randy Savage & Hulk Hogan) over The Mega Bucks ("The Million Dollar Man" Ted Dibiase & Andre the Giant) marking a rare time Miss Elizabeth got involved in a match.

3) "The Beast" is Born: The 2002 edition of SummerSlam emanated from the Nassau Coliseum on Long Island, a short trip away from New York City, and it is highly regarded as one of the best SummerSlam events of all time.

The main event pitted Brock Lesnar against The Rock for the WWE Championship and culminated Lesnar's short journey to the top as he had one of the most dominant rookie years in WWE history.

"The Beast," then nicknamed "The Next Big Thing" battled The Rock in one of the most high-profile main events in the history of the event and the two traded blows for over 16 minutes in the entertaining affair.

In the end, Lesnar, fresh off of winning the King of the Ring tournament in June, defeated The Rock in what was considered a passing of the torch moment with an F-5.

Lesnar won the first of his eventual four WWE World Heavyweight Championships while The Rock's in-ring career began to wind down.

2) Hart of a Champion: Bret "Hitman" Hart branched off into singles wrestling by the time the 1991 SummerSlam rolled around at Madison Square Garden and he took on Mr. Perfect in search of his first singles title at the event.

Hart and Perfect, two of the best workers to ever enter the squared circle, put on a wrestling clinic in that match, which is highly considered a five-star classic and one of the best bouts in SummerSlam history, all over the Intercontinental Championship.

After the two went back-and-forth on offense, Hart eventually gained control, causing Mr. Perfect to submit to the Sharpshooter en route to winning the Intercontinental Championship.

It put Hart on the map and notched his first of many singles title victories in the WWE.

1) The Comeback Kid: Going back to the 2002 event at the Nassau Coliseum, Shawn Michaels made an epic comeback at the spectacle, taking on his good friend-turned-enemy Triple H in a Street Fight.

"The Game" and "The Heartbreak Kid" walloped on each other for nearly a half hour, using any weapon they could find to gain an advantage.

This marked Michaels' first match in over four years following him suffering what at the time was deemed a career-ending back injury at the Royal Rumble in 1998 and wrestling what was expected to be his final match at WrestleMania XIV two months later.

Michaels showed he could still go at this event, pulling out all of the stops and eventually putting Triple H away with a roll-up out of nowhere.

Michaels' comeback would prove to be more than a one-off situation as he would eventually win the World Heavyweight Championship in November 2002 at the Survivor Series and would go on to wrestle regularly until 2010.

The WWE has had many amazing moments in SummerSlam history in New York and more great memories will undoubtedly be made when SummerSlam 2015 emanates live from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Aug. 23.

For more content, follow us on Twitter @SportsWN or LIKE US on Facebook

© Copyright 2024 Sports World News, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.

Real Time Analytics