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Way back in 1988, Vince McMahon and the WWE were riding high on a wave of mainstream success. WrestleMania IV had proved to be a smash hit, with Macho Man Randy Savage successfully elevated to main event babyface.
In order to capitalize on his success, McMahon sought to create a companion pay per view to WrestleMania. Much like WrestleMania was associated with the spring, and Survivor Series with the fall, the new PPV would be a summer celebration, and ideally take advantage of the children who were off school for the season and likely looking for entertainment.
Thus, SummerSlam was born. The inaugural edition of what would become a summertime tradition was a fully loaded card.
The Mega Powers--Hulk Hogan and Macho Man Randy Savage--were due to face the Mega Bucks combination of Million Dollar Man Ted Dibiase and Andre the Giant, with Bobby Heenan.
Throughout the course of its history, SummerSlam has created some outrageous and down right shocking moments. Here are ten of the most shocking in SummerSlam history.
#10 Miss Elizabeth's deliberate Wardrobe Malfunction
For the inaugural SummerSlam's main event, the WWE chose to continue the four way feud between Ted Dibiase, Andre the Giant, Hulk Hogan, and Randy Savage.
Hogan hadn't been part of a formal tag team in ages, and his teaming up with WWE Champion Randy Savage was a huge deal.
The Mega Powers, however, faced a daunting challenge in defeating Andre the Giant and Ted Dibiase, as special guest referee Jesse Ventura had already been blatantly bought off by Dibiase.
So the Mega Powers concocted a scheme to distract their Mega Bucks opponents, and in involved the normally quite demure Miss Elizabeth. You can check out the video below for a history lesson.
#9 Randy Orton Cashes In (2013)
At Sumerslam 2013, Daniel Bryan finally 'made it' to the big leagues. Not only did he win the WWE Championship, he defeated John Cena to do it.
The American Dragon defeated the Face that Runs the Place cleanly, with nary a whiff of controversy. This was a huge deal for the underdog Bryan, and a sign that WWE was willing to make him their marquee star.
But it was not meant to be. During Bryan's victory celebration, Randy Orton would cash in his Money in the Bank contract. Triple H turned heel and attacked Bryan, softening him up for Orton's successful cash in.
The moment was not only shocking, it played with WWE fan's emotions as Bryan was given the ultimate triumph only to have it snatched away.
#8 Owen 3:16 (1997)
Back in 1997, Stone Cold Steve Austin was heating up and fast on his way to becoming the WWE's top babyface.
Often during this era, if a wrestler was being groomed for the world title picture he would enjoy a run as Intercontinental champion first to 'test the waters' and see if they could be a credible main event player.
Stone Cold Steve Austin entered into a rivalry with IC champion Owen Hart. They had a title match scheduled for SummerSlam with the stipulation that if Owen won, Austin would have to kiss him on the bottom.
The match went well enough at first, with both men trading spots in the ring. However, during a tombstone piledriver reversal spot--standard issue during this era--there was a miscommunication and Austin was dropped head first onto the mat. Austin would suffer a 'stinger,' involving partial paralysis and numbness in his body.
Owen Hart knew that the WWE's future literally rested in his hands. He hastily improvised a roll up, which Austin could barely perform, and dropped the belt.
This shocking moment also led to the infamous "Owen 3:16" angle, where Hart bragged about 'breaking Austin's neck."
#7 Shawn Michaels turns his match with Hogan into a farce (2005)
Hulk Hogan and Shawn Michaels are tremendous icons in the sport of pro wrestling. Hulk Hogan was instrumental in creating the new perception with the general public that pro wrestling wasn't just fringe entertainment, but fun for the entire family.
After Hogan's departure, Shawn Michaels became the unlikely top star of the New Generation era. Known for his top notch performances and his ability to 'sell' for even the most incapable opponent, Michaels rose to the top of the WWE and became a grand slam champion.
The two men were booked into a program against each other in 2005. Initially, Hogan was to win the first match of three, then Michaels the second, with Hogan going over on the rubber match.
Hogan claims that Vince changed the plans, while HBK maintains that the Hulkster used his infamous backstage politicking to change the finish. At SummerSlam, HBK would put Hogan over but used ridiculous over selling to rib the Hulkster the entire match.
#6 Alberto Del Rio and Kevin Nash spoil CM Punk's SummerSlam (2011)
In 2011, CM Punk had emerged as the biggest babyface in all of WWE. Despite his normally confrontational attitude, CM Punk was seen as the new incarnation of a Stone Cold Steve Austin type anti-hero.
John Cena was arguably the biggest star in the WWE, but had struggled with polarizing crowd reactions. CM Punk wrestled Cena for the WWE Championship at Summerslam in a grueling contest that saw the Straight Edge Superstar go over clean.
Then, the unthinkable happened. Literally the last person anyone expected to see, Kevin Nash, attacked CM Punk and left him vulnerable for an Alberto Del Rio Money in the Bank Cash in.
The shocking moment led to both Punk's downfall and the rise of Del Rio to the main event. Curiously, CM Punk would never actually wrestle Kevin Nash as part of the program.
#5 Daniel Bryan returns to help Cena defeat the Nexus--2010
In 2010, one of the biggest stories in the WWE was the rise of the Nexus faction. The former NXT rookies turned the tables on the WWE veterans by banding together and forming a stable under the leadership of Wade Barrett.
One member of the Nexus was future Yes Movement leader Daniel Bryan. Bryan had been fired for choking the ring announcer with his own tie. This violated WWE rules about not reminding people of the Chris Benoit tragedy.
However, a groundswell of support by the WWE Universe and backstage politicking by John Cena led to Bryan's reinstatement to the WWE.
He made his shocking return at SummerSlam, joining with Team Cena to defeat the Nexus. Unfortunately, the Miz would lead to Bryan's elimination from the match, which led to a feud between the two.
#4 Paul Bearer turns on the Undertaker (1996)
When the Undertaker debuted in 1990 for the WWE, he was initially managed by Brother Love. Fortunately, this arrangement didn't last long, and Undertaker would be assigned a new, far more apropos manager; Paul Bearer.
By coincidence, Bearer had actually worked as a mortician before joining sports entertainment. His chilling appearance, creepy delivery, and full dedication to his character made him a great companion to Undertaker's monolithic presence.
For six years, Undertaker and Paul Bearer were inseparable. That all changed in the shocking moment from SummerSlam 1996. During the infamous Boiler Room Brawl against Mankind, Paul Bearer would turn on his long time ally and aid Mankind in getting the victory.
No one in the WWE has a better win/loss record against the Undertaker than Mick Foley, and Paul Bearer is a big reason for that.
#3 Shane McMahon takes a big fall (2000)
In 2000, WWE was finally pulling ahead of rival WCW in the Monday Night War. Enjoying ratings victories week after week, the promotion chose to up the ante with insane, death defying performances.
No man was a bigger dare devil during this era than Shane McMahon. The son of WWE CEO Vince McMahon, Shane was largely prohibited from being a full time wrestler on the WWE roster.
Instead, he wrestled mostly in the lower card or for special attractions. Despite this, Shane McMahon would always turn in highly athletic and breath taking performances, even against lower tier wrestlers like Steve Blackman.
It was during the SummerSlam 2000 match against Blackman for the Hardcore title that Shane would take a scary fall from the scaffolding around the stage. His fall, and subsequent elbow drop by Blackman, was one of the most shocking Summerslam moments of all time.
#2 Brock Lesnar Destroys John Cena (2014)
When you're the "Face that Runs the Place," and the "Franchise Player," and the "Champ," no one expects you to lose without putting up a serious, competitive fight.
John Cena in 2014 was one of the most dominant players in the WWE. He had double digit world title reigns, and had been the 'top guy' in WWE for nearly ten years.
His rap music and burgeoning film career notwithstanding, John Cena was arguably the most successful wrestler in the world in this era.
So when he was booked against Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam 2014--a man he had recently defeated--no one expected Cena to be beaten. It was therefore a major shock when Lesnar came out and completely dominated John Cena.
The Beast Incarnate invented Suplex City during the match and demolished Cena with what seemed total ease.
Seeing John Cena, the biggest star in the WWE, completely squashed was a shocking moment that still is talked about today.
#1 Ultimate Warrior ends Honky Tonk Man's historic reign in seconds (1998)
For the inaugural SummerSlam pay per view, one of the most eagerly anticipated matches was scheduled to pit long time rivals Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake against the long running Intercontinental champion The Honky Tonk Man.
However, Vince McMahon decided that it would be too predictable if Beefcake took the title off of Honky Tonk Man. The Outlaw Ron Bass 'injured' Brutus Beefcake, preventing him from making it to SummerSlam for his title match.
Honky Tonk Man took the ring and demanded a replacement opponent so his fans wouldn't be disappointed. But then, the Ultimate Warrior's music hit, and Honky Tonk Man was seen to be shaking his head 'no' in response.
Warrior stormed the ring and destroyed The Honky Tonk Man, quickly pinning him to become the Intercontinental champion and ending Honky's historic reign in our most shocking SummerSlam moment of all time.
There you have it: The ten most Shocking WWE SummerSlam moments of all time. Questions or comments? Please leave them after the article, and as always thanks for reading!
