WWE SummerSlam: The 13 Most Shocking Moments in SummerSlam History

We are just 10 days away from the 24th annual SummerSlam. Outside of WrestleMania, SummerSlam is considered to be the biggest event WWE puts together all year long. It is because of this that the card for SummerSlam often is stacked like a supercard more than any of the other pay-per-views.

As WWE comes off of a wildly successful Money in the Bank PPV last month, this year's SummerSlam is under a lot of pressure to be especially good and unpredictable.

Unpredictability does occur often at SummerSlam. It is often where feuds get kicked up a notch to fuel them for the rest of the year, as well as the climax for others. SummerSlam is also believed to be the stomping grounds for where the main feuds that will be used up until the times of WrestleMania begin to gain their legs. This means that SummerSlam is the place where anything can happen and usually does.

13. Edge Gets Sent to Hell

The Undertaker and Edge put on a great Hell in a Cell match to end SummerSlam in 2008. The match lasted for over 26 minutes, very nearly doubling the times of every other match that night. It was a solid world title match that ended with The Undertaker victorious. After the match, however, The Undertaker did not feel like he was done.

Edge introduced tables, ladders and chairs into the match due to his specialty with those objects. After The Undertaker looked up and saw Edge moving on the screen above him, he turned around and went back to finish him off. The Deadman set up a ladder and picked Edge up for The Last Ride, only to drop him onto the ladder behind him.

After getting the other ladder set up next to it, The Undertaker grabbed Edge's throat and choke-slammed him through the ring. Moments later, he would raise his arms next to the hole he created and fire would come out of it. This would write Edge off television until returning at Survivor Series to replace Jeff Hardy in a triple threat world title match, winning the championship.

12. Brock Beats Rock, Becomes Youngest WWE Champ

In 2002, SummerSlam was all about Brock vs. Rock for the WWE Undisputed Championship. On a night where Shawn Michaels and Triple H put on a great Unsanctioned Match, Lesnar and The Rock were the main event.

After stopping a People's Elbow, Lesnar hit an F-5 on The Rock to win the match and the world title. At just 25 years of age, Lesnar is still the youngest WWE champion in history.

11. RVD, Jeff Hardy Put on Great Hardcore Ladder Match

At 2001's SummerSlam, the Invasion storyline of WCW/ECW against WWE was in full swing. Rob Van Dam was on a short-term contract for this storyline, winning the Hardcore Championship and getting very over with the crowd.

Van Dam was a big fan favorite despite being portrayed as a heel because of his great reputation from ECW. Van Dam was still entertaining those that knew little of him. SummerSlam would be his official coming out party in a ladder match for Van Dam's Hardcore Championship.

This match was filled with spot after spot and did wonders for both Hardy and Van Dam. In the end, Van Dam would retain and both men would nearly steal the show from the WWF and WCW world title matches that would follow.

10. Chris Benoit Wins U.S. Title in Quick Fashion

Chris Benoit would become United States champion at SummerSlam in 2005 by defeating Orlando Jordan. It didn't take too long for that victory to happen.

In fact, Benoit defeated Jordan in about the amount of time it took to write the words in this slide. After only 25.5 seconds, Benoit was United States champion and Jordan's 173-day reign was over.

9. Paul Bearer Joins Mankind, Turns on Undertaker

Fifteen years ago at SummerSlam, The Undertaker and Mankind would try to settle their feud in a Boiler Room Brawl. The match was a pretty good watch, even all these years later.

The match is best known, however, for Paul Bearer's role. He would come out with The Undertaker, but leave with Mankind. Bearer would turn heel and turn on The Undertaker for the only time in their career outside of his alignments with his brother, Kane.

8. Custody of Dominick Ladder Match

I've made slideshows in the past with me making fun of this match. The match just sounded ridiculous and the storyline was a little too odd to think about. 2005's SummerSlam had Hogan/Michaels, John Cena defend the WWE title against Chris Jericho and Batista needing just nine minutes in a No Holds Barred match to defend his World Heavyweight Championship.

However, the best match that night might be this ladder match.

Lasting just more than 20 minutes, Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio had a match that was practically a highlight reel for ladder matches. There were so many dangerous and jaw-dropping spots in this match that it is truly a shame that the stipulations are more remembered than the match. In looking up moments for this slideshow, I was shocked to see the highlights from this match and see how good it actually was.

7. Daniel Bryan Returns to WWE

Last year's SummerSlam gave us a shocking moment as Daniel Bryan returned to WWE in seven-on-seven main event. Bryan returned to team with John Cena, Edge, Chris Jericho, Bret Hart, R-Truth and John Morrison to take on the seven members of Nexus.

Bryan debuted on the main roster as a member of the faction for its first night, but was released from his contract after a controversial spot. Bryan was seen choking out Justin Roberts with his own necktie on live television, which did not fit with the TV-PG business model for WWE programming.

Two months later, the seven remaining members of Nexus were taking apart Cena's hand-picked team one by one. When The Miz offered his services on the night of SummerSlam, he came out to be the last member, only to have Cena announce Bryan as the last member. Bryan made two Nexus members tap out before being attacked by The Miz and his Money in the Bank briefcase. One year later, it is Bryan with the briefcase.

6. Mankind Wins WWF Championship

Mankind won the WWF Championship at the end of SummerSlam in 1999. The champion, Stone Cold Steve Austin, and the other challenger, Triple H, were in the middle of a pretty good feud, but saw the title go to someone else. Why would that be?

There are a few different stories.

Many believe that Austin refused to drop the championship to Triple H and had Mankind brought in just to win the championship before Triple H won it. Mick Foley, who portrays Mankind, has said that Austin had a torn ligament in his knee and needed a third body in the match to limit his spots in the match. Regardless of the reason, Mankind won and dropped the championship to Triple H the following night. Austin was taken out after Mankind won by a furious Triple H, effectively writing him off of television.

Whatever the reason, Mankind was the champion when all of the attention was on Triple H and Austin, meriting a spot on this list.

5. Michaels Counts Pin for Bret's Last World Title Win

SummerSlam 1997's main event was a very exciting match that was hyped well and did not disappoint. The Undertaker defended his WWF Championship against Bret Hart with the stipulation that Hart would not be able to wrestle in the United States if he did not win the title. What hurt Hart even more is that Shawn Michaels, a rival of Hart's, was the special guest referee. Imagining that the anti-Amercian Hart would make it out of The Meadowlands with the WWF title was hard to understand.

In a frenzy of a match that lasted nearly a half hour, Hart used a steel chair on The Undertaker when Michaels was not watching. Michaels found the chair and confronted Hart about it. Hart would spit on Michaels and The Heartbreak Kid went to use the chair on Hart, only to miss and hit The Undertaker instead. Hart then covered The Undertaker and Michaels counted to three, lingering on that last count.

Michaels was angry at the result as Hart was the champion. This would be Hart's last WWF Championship reign as Michaels would win it from Hart later on that year in what is known as The Montreal Screwjob.

4. Shane McMahon Falls to Blackman

You have to give it up to Shane McMahon, considering that he is not a real professional athlete and not a regular in-ring competitor but will put himself through hell when he is in a match.

Exhibit A in that argument is his match against Steve Blackman in SummerSlam 2000. Blackman let McMahon have a lot of shots from weapons.

The finishing blow for McMahon may be his most famous spot in a wrestling match. Shane was running away from Blackman and decided to climb up the side of the set by the entrance ramp. Climbing roughly 60-70 feet in the air, standing next to the big screen, Blackman chased after him with a kendo stick in hand. After a few shots to the back of McMahon, Shane fell down to the floor from a distance higher than most ever have or ever would fall from.

Even Blackman climbed down a few rungs before thinking about falling onto Shane.

3. Stone Cold Breaks Neck, Still Beats Owen Hart

The other famous match from the 1997 SummerSlam is "Stone Cold" Steve Austin winning the Intercontinental Championship from Owen Hart. The match itself will always be remembered as a good match, but it all is overshadowed by Austin's neck injury.

Toward the end of the match, Austin broke his neck from a piledriver given to him by Hart. Video shows Austin's neck sticking out from the bottom of the piledriver.

Austin still was able to continue the match and win the Intercontinental Championship with a roll-up. Austin would hold the championship officially for about five weeks before the title was officially vacated. Lost in the match forever is the stipulation that Austin would have had to kiss Owen's ass if he lost the match.

2. First-Ever TLC Match

The TLC match debuted at SummerSlam in 2000 with The Dudley Boyz and Hardy Boyz facing Edge and Christian. The three teams had a long-running feud with one another that was made famous by this match. The Dudleys loved their tables, The Hardys were experts with ladders and chairs were the weapon of choice for Edge and Christian. Combined, the three weapons and three teams made for a great new match concept.

The TLC match now has a pay-per-view named after it and each new version of the match tries to outdo the others. Regardless of the match, nothing can quite compare to the original TLC match.

1. Randy Orton Becomes Youngest World Heavyweight Champion

Randy Orton was destined to be a world champion, but did it a lot earlier than anyone would have predicted it to happen. At just 24 years of age, Orton won the World Heavyweight Championship at SummerSlam 2004. To this day, no world champion in WWE history has been younger than Orton. Orton defeated Chris Benoit in Benoit's home country of Canada, which only added to the shock of the moment.

WWE can still admit to the moment being shocking, listing it as the seventh-best SummerSlam moment. Don't get too excited, though. There is no mention of Orton's opponent in that match that night.