SummerSlam
SummerSlam is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event, produced every August by professional wrestling promotion WWE. The event was created in 1988, with its inaugural event taking place on August 29, 1988 at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. The event was a pay-per-view unlike the Royal Rumble of that year which was broadcast as a television special on USA Network. SummerSlam was created as a pay-per-view to help the company compete against rival promotion World Championship Wrestling (formerly Jim Crockett Promotions). The event has been dubbed as "The Biggest Event of the Summer."[1] Along with WrestleMania, Royal Rumble and Survivor Series, the event is considered as one of the "Big Four", the original four annual WWE pay-per-views.[2]
History
Development
In the 1980s, Vince McMahon's World Wrestling Federation (WWF)'s main competition in the professional wrestling industry was from Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP). McMahon countered Jim Crockett's successful Starrcade pay-per-view, which began airing in 1983, by making the WrestleMania franchise. After WrestleMania III, the most successful professional wrestling pay-per-view event in history, McMahon made the Survivor Series franchise, which aired the same day as Starrcade '87 in November 1987. After defeating Crockett in the ratings, McMahon made the Royal Rumble, an event airing for free on the USA Network in January 1988, which set a ratings record for the network with eight million households tuning in to watch the event. In retaliation, Crockett made the Clash of the Champions event, which aired simultaneously with WrestleMania IV. WrestleMania IV garnered higher ratings, and not long after, Crockett filed for bankruptcy and sold his company to Ted Turner, who renamed it World Championship Wrestling (WCW).[3]
As the WWF continued to replace its closed circuit programming with pay-per-view programming, McMahon added more pay-per-views to the lineup to capitalize on the success of his previous events. In addition to WrestleMania in March, the Royal Rumble in January, and Survivor Series in November, McMahon made an event for August, which he named SummerSlam. To keep the WWF from having a pay-per-view market monopoly, Turner began airing monthly WCW pay-per-views, and both companies began bringing in hundreds of millions of dollars of revenue.[2] SummerSlam became one of World Wrestling Federation (later World Wrestling Entertainment, and eventually just WWE)'s most successful events and one of the "Big Four" pay-per-views, along with WrestleMania, Survivor Series, and the Royal Rumble.[4][5] Those four events, along with King of the Ring, are known as the "Classic Five".[6]
Brand extension
The first SummerSlam was held on August 29, 1988 in Madison Square Garden in New York City. In 2002, WWE instituted a brand extension,where the roster was split and wrestlers and pay-per-views were made exclusive to the RAW and SmackDown! brands. As a result, SummerSlam, WrestleMania, the Royal Rumble, and Survivor Series were the only four events featuring wrestlers and matches from both brands.[7] The 2006 event was the first to also feature the newly made ECW brand.[8] In 2007, however, all pay-per-views began once again featuring talent from all three brands.[7]
Dates and venues
| Event | Date | City | Venue | Main Event |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SummerSlam (1988) | August 29, 1988 | New York, New York | Madison Square Garden | Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage vs. Ted DiBiase and André the Giant |
| SummerSlam (1989) | August 28, 1989 | East Rutherford, New Jersey | Meadowlands Arena | Hulk Hogan and Brutus Beefcake vs. Randy Savage and Zeus |
| SummerSlam (1990) | August 27, 1990 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | The Spectrum | Hulk Hogan vs. Earthquake The Ultimate Warrior (c) vs. Rick Rude in a Steel Cage match for the WWF Championship |
| SummerSlam (1991) | August 26, 1991 | New York, New York | Madison Square Garden | Hulk Hogan and The Ultimate Warrior vs. Sgt. Slaughter, Colonel Mustafa, and General Adnan in a 2-on-3 Handicap match |
| SummerSlam (1992) | August 29, 1992 | London, England | Wembley Stadium | Randy Savage (c) vs. Ultimate Warrior for the WWF Championship The Undertaker vs. Kamala Bret Hart (c) vs. The British Bulldog for the WWF Intercontinental Championship |
| SummerSlam (1993) | August 30, 1993 | Auburn Hills, Michigan | The Palace of Auburn Hills | The Undertaker vs. Giant Gonzalez in a Rest in Peace match Yokozuna (c) vs. Lex Luger for the WWF Championship |
| SummerSlam (1994) | August 29, 1994 | Chicago, Illinois | United Center | Bret Hart (c) vs. Owen Hart in a Steel Cage match for the WWF Championship The Undertaker vs. "The Undertaker" |
| SummerSlam (1995) | August 27, 1995 | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | Pittsburgh Civic Arena | Diesel (c) vs. King Mabel for the WWF Championship |
| SummerSlam (1996) | August 18, 1996 | Cleveland, Ohio | Gund Arena | Shawn Michaels (c) vs. Vader for the WWF Championship |
| SummerSlam (1997) | August 3, 1997 | East Rutherford, New Jersey | Continental Airlines Arena | Steve Austin vs. Owen Hart for the WWE Intercontinental Championship The Undertaker (c) vs. Bret Hart for the WWF Championship |
| SummerSlam (1998) | August 30, 1998 | New York, New York | Madison Square Garden | The Rock (c) vs. Triple H in a Ladder match for the WWF Intercontinental Championship Steve Austin (c) vs. The Undertaker for the WWF Championship |
| SummerSlam (1999) | August 22, 1999 | Minneapolis, Minnesota | Target Center | Steve Austin (c) vs. Mankind vs. Triple H in a Triple Threat match for the WWF Championship |
| SummerSlam (2000) | August 27, 2000 | Raleigh, North Carolina | Entertainment and Sports Arena | The Rock (c) vs. Kurt Angle vs. Triple H in a Triple Threat match for the WWF Championship |
| SummerSlam (2001) | August 19, 2001 | San Jose, California | Compaq Center | Booker T (c) vs. The Rock for the WCW Championship |
| SummerSlam (2002) | August 25, 2002 | Uniondale, New York | Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum | Chris Benoit (c) vs. Rob Van Dam for the WWE Intercontinental Championship Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels in an Unsanctioned Street Fight The Rock (c) vs. Brock Lesnar for the WWE Undisputed Championship |
| SummerSlam (2003) | August 24, 2003 | Phoenix, Arizona | America West Arena | Kurt Angle (c) vs. Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship Kane vs. Rob Van Dam in a No Holds Barred match Triple H (c) vs. Chris Jericho vs. Kevin Nash vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Randy Orton vs. Goldberg in an Elimination Chamber match for the World Heavyweight Championship |
| SummerSlam (2004) | August 15, 2004 | Toronto, Ontario | Air Canada Centre | John Bradshaw Layfield (c) vs. The Undertaker for the WWE Championship Chris Benoit (c) vs. Randy Orton for the World Heavyweight Championship |
| SummerSlam (2005) | August 21, 2005 | Washington, D.C. | MCI Center | Batista (c) vs. John Bradshaw Layfield for the World Heavyweight Championship Hulk Hogan vs. Shawn Michaels |
| SummerSlam (2006) | August 20, 2006 | Boston, Massachusetts | TD Banknorth Garden | Hulk Hogan vs. Randy Orton Edge (c) vs. John Cena for the WWE Championship |
| SummerSlam (2007) | August 26, 2007 | East Rutherford, New Jersey | Continental Airlines Arena | John Cena (c) vs. Randy Orton for the WWE Championship |
| SummerSlam (2008) | August 17, 2008 | Indianapolis, Indiana[9] | Conseco Fieldhouse | Batista vs. John Cena The Undertaker vs. Edge in a Hell in a Cell match |
| SummerSlam (2009) | August 23, 2009[10] | Los Angeles, California[10] | Staples Center[10] | Jeff Hardy (c) vs. CM Punk in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match for the World Heavyweight Championship |
| SummerSlam (2010) | August 15, 2010[11] | Los Angeles, California[11] | Staples Center[11] | Kane (c) vs. Rey Mysterio for the World Heavyweight Championship Team WWE (John Cena, John Morrison, R-Truth, Edge, Daniel Bryan, Bret Hart, and Chris Jericho) vs. The Nexus (Wade Barrett, Justin Gabriel, Heath Slater, David Otunga, Skip Sheffield, Michael Tarver, Darren Young) in a seven-on-seven elimination tag team match |
| SummerSlam (2011) | August 14, 2011[12] | Los Angeles, California[12] | Staples Center[12] | Alberto Del Rio vs. John Cena (c) for the WWE Championship |
DVD box set
WWE released a complete DVD box set entitled SummerSlam: The Complete Anthology, which showcases every SummerSlam event from 1988 to 2007 in its entirety, on August 5, 2008.[13]
Footnotes
- ^ Dee, Louie (2006-05-17). "Let the Party Begin". WWE.com. Retrieved 2008-05-12.
- ^ a b Assael, Shaun. Sex, Lies, & Headlocks, 94–95.
- ^ Assael, Shaun. Sex, Lies, & Headlocks, 74–80.
- ^ Keith, Scott (2004). Wrestling's One Ring Circus: The Death of the World Wrestling Federation. Citadel Press. p. 160. ISBN 080652619X.
- ^ Hamilton, Ian (2006). Wrestling's Sinking Ship: What Happens to an Industry Without Competition. Lulu.com. p. 160. ISBN 1411612108.
- ^ Shields, Brian (4th Edition 2006). Main Event: WWE in the Raging 80s. Pocket Books. p. 166. ISBN 9781416532576.
{{cite book}}: Check date values in:|year=(help)CS1 maint: year (link) - ^ a b "WWE Pay-Per-Views To Follow WrestleMania Formula". WWE. 2007-03-14. Retrieved 2008-05-14.
- ^ Dale Plummer and Nick Tylwalk (2006-08-21). "Flair & Hogan top average SummerSlam". SLAM! Wrestling. Retrieved 2008-05-14.
- ^ "Greatest Moments in Pay-Per-View History". WWE Magazine: 64–65. 2007.
{{cite journal}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - ^ a b c Martin, Adam (2008-11-20). "Reader Notes: Bret Hart, WWE in Elmira, 2009 PPVs". WrestleView. Retrieved 2008-11-21.
- ^ a b c "SummerSlam". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2010-03-18.
- ^ a b c ">"Home-Pro Wrestling Events". ProWrestlingEvents. Retrieved 2010-11-18.
- ^ WWE: SummerSlam: The Complete Anthology (DVD). WWE Home Video. 2008.
References
- General
- "SummerSlam Event History". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved 2008-05-12.
- Specific
- Shaun Assael and Mike Mooneyham (2002). Sex, Lies, and Headlocks: The Real Story of Vince McMahon and World Wrestling Entertainment. Crown. ISBN 1400051436.
- Shields, Brian (4th Edition 2006). Main Event: WWE in the Raging 80s. Pocket Books. ISBN 9781416532576.
{{cite book}}: Check date values in:|year=(help)CS1 maint: year (link) - Hamilton, Ian (2006). Wrestling's Sinking Ship: What Happens to an Industry Without Competition. Lulu.com. ISBN 1411612108.
External links
