WWE SummerSlam 2015: 10 Most Memorable Moments in Event's History
As one of WWE's premiere events, SummerSlam is rich with matches and moments that have stood the test of time.
There have been championships won and lost, unions forged and the crowning of wrestling's future.
Featuring stars the likes of Hall of Famers Bret Hart, Steve Austin, The Ultimate Warrior and "Macho Man" Randy Savage as well as today's industry giants such as Brock Lesnar, Daniel Bryan, Randy Orton and John Cena, the moments have helped establish the summertime event as one of the biggest nights in all of professional wrestling.
On August 23, Brooklyn's Barclays Center will host the first four-hour show in the event's history. With a main event pitting The Undertaker against Brock Lesnar and a champion vs. champion match between John Cena and Seth Rollins, the 2015 edition of the spectacular should produce its own series of unforgettable moments.
In preparation for this year's broadcast, let's relive the top 10 moments that have helped define SummerSlam.
10. A Match Made in Heaven (1991)
1 of 10The story of "Macho Man" Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth was one of many highs and lows. They had their bright moments, as well as ones shrouded in the darkness that came along with the former's considerable ego.
After two years apart, however, they reunited in one of the most epic and beautiful moments in WrestleMania history in April 1991.
Shortly thereafter, Savage proposed to his longtime manager, setting up a grand wedding to take place in front of the rabid fans inside New York's famed Madison Squared Garden.
Though the couple had been married for years and were actually headed toward divorce in their personal lives, they delivered what the company promoted as a "Match Made in Heaven."
Fans fought tears as they watched the greatest love story in WWE history climax in the emotional ceremony.
While not a wrestling match, the segment helped cement the importance of SummerSlam on the company's pay-per-view schedule while also paying off years of soap opera-like storylines involving the Macho Man and The First Lady of Wrestling.
9. Icon vs. Icon (2005)
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Hulk Hogan was the face of the Rock 'n' Wrestling Era, a pop culture phenomenon throughout the 1980s and early '90s.
Shawn Michaels was the driving force behind this new generation, an era that saw business fall off but the quality of ring work increase tremendously with The Heartbreak Kid at the helm.
In 2005, the sports entertainment icons met in the main event of SummerSlam, a show that touted one of the most impressive rosters in the history of the company.
Heading into the bout, Michaels took on a much more heelish persona, reverting back to the Attitude days in 1997. It was a side of The Showstopper few ever thought they would see again, a side that earned him notoriety for all the wrong reasons near the end of the first half of his career.
But fans ate it up. With Michaels making edgy and pointed comments about the age and lack of traditional wrestling abilities on the part of The Hulkster, the program became more personal than it would have otherwise.
The storytelling prowess of the old pros allowed them to wrestle a match that was infinitely better than it had any right to be. Michaels mocked his opponent, overselling his trademark offense, but it was Hogan who had the last laugh as he dropped the big leg and added yet another monumental victory to his resume.
8. The Authority Is Born (2013)
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SummerSlam 2013 should have been the greatest night in Daniel Bryan's career.
On that hot August evening in Los Angeles, the bearded star from Olympia, Washington, was poised to prove all doubters wrong by beating John Cena and capturing the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, a title few ever expected the indy darling to achieve.
But he did, storming across the squared circle and catching the franchise star of Vince McMahon's sports-entertainment empire with a knee to the face. It was a rare instance of a star scoring an absolutely clean pinfall victory over Cena, a fact that was not lost on the fans in the City of Angels, who erupted for the underdog's triumph.
As pyro exploded and confetti fell, it felt very much like the dawning of a new era in WWE. Bryan, long touted as the best worker in the industry, had seen his popularity and hard work pay off in the form of a reign with the most coveted prize in pro wrestling.
Then it happened.
Randy Orton's music played, and the holder of the Money in the Bank briefcase stalked toward the ring. Seemingly thinking better of ruining Bryan's celebration, he turned his back to walk away...just for Triple H to drop Bryan with a Pedigree.
Orton cashed in, and The Authority was born.
The effects of that moment continue to be felt some two years later.
7. Bret Hart Wins His First Singles Championship (1991)
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SummerSlam was dubbed "The Match Made in Heaven...and Hell," thanks to a stacked top of the card that would see Hulk Hogan and Ultimate Warrior battle Sgt. Slaughter, Gen. Adnan and Col. Mustafa in a handicap tag match while Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth were married in front of the WWE Universe in Madison Square Garden.
But now, some 24 years after the event thrilled the New York fans, it is Bret Hart's Intercontinental Championship victory over Mr. Perfect in an instant classic that remains the most vivid moment of that night's festivities.
Hart was, to that point, one of the most celebrated and decorated tag team wrestlers in WWE, but on that night in the Big Apple, he was determined to prove that he could succeed on his own. He wanted the world to know that he could achieve greatness without the safety net of a tag team partner.
And he did.
Overcoming one of the best wrestlers on the planet at that point, Hart used Mr. Perfect's hubris against him, trapping his leg in his own and applying the Sharpshooter to force the quick submission and earn the biggest win, to that point, of what would become a Hall of Fame career.
6. Systematic Destruction (2014)
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Sixteen times.
Sixteen times over the course of a 16-minute match, Brock Lesnar hoisted John Cena in the air and delivered a suplex of some sort. Most were of the German variety, but there was the occasional overhead one to change things up a bit.
Regardless of the type, fans could not believe the utter dominance The Beast Incarnate demonstrated over Cena, who had been compared to Superman so many times over the course of his career thanks to an unwillingness to give up.
Cena would have no choice in the matter, though, as Lesnar withstood a pathetic last attempt at a comeback to deliver the F5 and end the franchise player's 15th reign as WWE world heavyweight champion.
It was a beating the likes of which had never been seen before. Lesnar mercilessly mauled Cena, beating down the face of the company in the most one-sided main event in WWE history.
Never before had WWE allowed its poster boy to be treated in such a manner, to be portrayed as weak as he was on that night.
5. The Next Big Thing Arrives (2002)
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There was no hotter star in the summer of 2002 than Brock Lesnar. Undefeated and an unstoppable beast of a competitor, the 25-year-old Superstar rolled over everyone unlucky enough to oppose him.
Rob Van Dam, Test and Ric Flair were just a few of the prominent names to fall at the feet of the man dubbed "The Next Big Thing."
He demolished Hulk Hogan in a way no other Superstar had ever done before, bloodying him and sapping the life out of him with a massive bear hug. It was yet another instance of Lesnar's dominance over the entire WWE roster.
Leading into SummerSlam, videos aired of both his and The Rock's grueling training routines as they prepared to headline the event.
There was hardly any suspense surrounding the contest.
Rock was returning from Hollywood to put Lesnar over before taking off again, while WWE had spared no expense to let the world know that the former Minnesota Golden Gophers wrestler was the future of its company.
In a match that saw fans in Long Island boo The Great One, Lesnar caught his opponent with the F5 and picked up the first of his world championships.
It was the birth of the persona that would go on to become the biggest box office attraction in both WWE and UFC in the years that followed, not to mention one of the most legitimate badasses to ever lace a pair of boots.
4. A Perfect Match (1992)
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One year after Bret Hart announced to the world that he was among the hottest stars in the industry with his IC title win over Mr. Perfect, the Hitman returned to SummerSlam, this time as the defending champion.
His opponent, brother-in-law "British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith, was the hometown hero. Stepping foot into Wembley Stadium in London in front of 80,000-plus fans, he was the overwhelming crowd favorite. And for the first time in WWE pay-per-view history, the intercontinental championship headlined the show.
There was tremendous pressure on the Superstars involved to reward Vince McMahon's faith in them with a quality match. Not only did they deliver that, but they provided fans with a masterful performance that would stand the test of time and rank as arguably the greatest bout in SummerSlam history.
Hart was phenomenal, carrying a very visibly nervous and shaken Bulldog to a five-star classic. In the end, though, the challenger came through and scored his first singles title, countering a roll-up from his opponent for the three-count.
As the two family members and Diana Hart came together in the center of the squared circle, it was not only clear that Bulldog had just picked up the biggest victory of his career, but that Hart was a Superstar around whom McMahon could build his promotion and expect extremely high quality in main event matches.
3. Glass Shatters...Almost Permanently (1997)
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There is no denying the effect "Stone Cold" Steve Austin had on the wrestling boom of the late 1990s. As the anti-authority rebel who raised hell, drank beer, cursed and flipped off the boss, he was an extension of the fans in the audience. He appealed to the 18-35 demographic because he was everything those fans wanted to be at that age.
His rise to the top of the industry coincided with the birth of the Attitude Era and WWE's victory over WCW in the Monday Night Wars. Without him, Eric Bischoff may have been recognized as the promotional genius of his era.
That is why the neck injury suffered by Austin at the 1997 SummerSlam event remains one of the most memorable moments in the show's long history, for all the wrong reasons.
When Owen Hart dropped the Texas Rattlesnake with the sitdown Tombstone piledriver, Austin's head smashed into the mat, compressing his neck and leaving him momentarily paralyzed. Hart stalled for time as the official checked on the fallen competitor.
Austin would eventually score an awful roll-up to put Hart away and win the intercontinental title, but it was clear he was very much injured.
Fans would get a taste of just how serious the injury was over the years that followed. Continued issues with his neck left Austin sidelined on more than one occasion, and in 2003 he would retire from the industry, having left a legacy matched by few.
2. The Comeback Kid (2002)
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The 2002 SummerSlam is recognized by many as the best ever produced by WWE, and with good reason.
A strong undercard laid the foundation for the night's two main events, one of which saw Shawn Michaels return to the squared circle for the first time in four years to battle longtime friend-turned-enemy Triple H.
It was the marquee match from the Raw brand and one that certainly piqued the interest of longtime fans, many of whom wondered what they could expect from The Heartbreak Kid's first foray back into in-ring action.
Proving to be the same Showstopper he was at the height of his career, Michaels turned in a performance that was nothing short of miraculous. He took a beating but proved resilient, overcoming the vicious and targeted attack of The Game to catch him with a roll-up and score the biggest upset of the year.
That match sparked a renewed interest in The Heartbreak Kid, who was comfortable enough with the way he felt following the contest to step back in the ring on a more regular basis. By 2003, he was a full-time performer for the Raw brand, feuding with the likes of Chris Jericho, Randy Orton and Chris Benoit while delivering the Match of the Year candidates he had become so closely associated with over the years.
1. The Ultimate Warrior Ends Honky Tonk Man's Reign (1988)
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For a year, The Honky Tonk Man infuriated fans with his hip-shaking and loudmouthed promos, all the while successfully retaining the WWE's coveted intercontinental title by hook or by crook in arenas all over the country.
Members of the audience would buy tickets specifically to see the Elvis knockoff get his comeuppance and, in every situation, were devastated when he managed to squeak past the likes of Tito Santana, Brutus Beefcake, Koko B. Ware and Ricky Steamboat, retaining his title and living to fight another day.
It was a brilliant bit of storytelling that allowed Vince McMahon to book his secondary champion as the headline attraction on B-level house shows, thanks to the strong demand to see him unseated.
By August of 1988, the act had run its course, and it was time to bring an end to Honky Tonk Man's title reign. While Beefcake was originally scheduled to challenge for the title, he was eliminated from the scenario prior to the event thanks to a storyline injury suffered at the hands of Ron Bass.
In front of a rabid fanbase in the historic Madison Square Garden, the champion made the mistake of issuing an open challenge, which was accepted promptly by The Ultimate Warrior.
The maniacal Superstar rushed to the squared circle, bowled over Honky Tonk Man and claimed the title in near-record time.
It was the perfect conclusion to a historic title reign, as the champion's mouth, which had been one of his greatest gifts to that point in terms of getting himself over, proved his greatest downfall.
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