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SummerSlam has an illustrious history in WWE. The first event took place in 1988 and has become a key part of the annual WWE calendar. It is considered one of WWE's top four pay-per-views of the year.
There have been several high-profile star-studded matches over the years such as The Rock vs. Brock Lesnar, Hulk Hogan vs. Shawn Michaels and John Cena vs. Randy Orton. On the flip side of that, there have been some very questionable stipulations that came straight out of the bizarre box.
That being said, let's take a look at five bizarre WWE match stipulations in SummerSlam history.
#5. Kurt Angle's Olympic Gold Medal on the line at SummerSlam 2005
In 2005, Kurt Angle introduced his 'Kurt Angle Invitational' where he invited wrestlers to compete against him. The stipulation was that if Angle was unable to beat an opponent within three minutes, he would surrender his Olympic Gold Medal.
An Olympic Gold Medal is one of the most prestigious sporting achievements one can win, and it was now being used as part of a storyline. During one of the invitationals, Angle came up against Eugene. Angle was unable to beat Eugene and lost his Olympic Gold Medal. Eugene was theoretically an Olympic Gold Medalist.
Kurt Angle got his revenge at the SummerSlam pay-per-view where he made Eugene tap-out to win his Gold Medal back. After the match, Angle made the referee present him the Medal just like he received it at the Olympics.
Eugene confirmed in an interview on WZWA Network’s Insiders Edge Podcast that he was hand-picked for the feud:
"They were grooming Kurt to wrestle Cena for the title and they wanted Kurt to become a vicious heel. And Kurt was like, ‘I couldn’t get any more heat than beating up Eugene,’ so he wanted to wrestle me. He picked me out of the whole roster, which I thought was really cool. But he had ideas. He wanted to do a lot of comedy. The ideas he had were really great," Eugene said.
It was a bizarre stipulation having the Olympic Gold Medal on the line at SummerSlam, considering just how prestigious a Gold Medal is in the world of sport. The feud did its job in cementing Angle as a heel further throughout the remainder of the year where he went on to feud with John Cena.
#4. Til Death Do Us Part Match at SummerSlam 2004
At the SummerSlam pay-per-view in 2004, Kane battled Matt Hardy in a 'Til Death Do Us Part' match. The match was part of the ongoing love triangle between Kane, Lita and Matt Hardy, with the latter being Lita's boyfriend.
Following Kane's defeat against The Undertaker at WrestleMania 20, he set his sights on Lita in an attempt to seduce her. It was a love triangle that had it all. Lita announced that she was pregnant after which Kane claimed the baby was his. It was later revealed that he was telling the truth.
Matt Hardy proposed to Lita, but upon the news revealing Kane to be the father Hardy retreated. The love triangle culminated at SummerSlam with the stipulation that the winner would marry Lita. Kane won the match which resulted in Kane marrying Lita live on Monday Night RAW.
Following the wedding, Lita began rebelling and aided Kane's opponents in his matches. Lita eventually lost her baby after newcomer Gene Snitsky hit Kane on the back with a steel chair, causing Kane to fall on top of Lita.
It was a soap opera that just kept on giving, but it will go down as one of the most bizarre SummerSlam stipulations that we've seen.
#3. Jailhouse Match at SummerSlam 1991
SummerSlam in 1991 will be remembered for The Ultimate Warrior controversy that surrounded the event. Warrior was in a dispute with WWE over his pay and continued his strained relations with the company. The event will also be remembered for the on-screen wedding of Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth.
On the card, The Mountie cemented his place as a Mounted Policeman, making sure that he "always gets his man!"
He faced The Big Boss Man in a Jailhouse Match. The stipulation of the match was that the loser would have to spend the night in a New York City jail.
Unfortunately for The Mountie, he lost, and the NYPD came down to handcuff him and take him to jail for the night. It was a blow to The Mountie who was enforcing the fact that he was the sole legitimate law enforcer in the WWE.
It was a stipulation that we haven't seen since. It suited The Mountie and Big Boss Man's gimmicks at the time but, looking back, it was one of the most bizarre stipulations WWE ever introduced at SummerSlam.
#2. Love Her or Leave Her Match at SummerSlam 1999
Leading into the SummerSlam pay-per-view in 1999, Stephanie McMahon was dating Test. Stephanie's brother Shane felt that Stephanie was dating beneath the McMahon family standards. This resulted in a feud between Shane and Test.
Shane was aligned with the Mean Street Posse at the time, but eventually Stephanie had enough and told them to stay out of her business. Shane decided that the only way to settle it was for the first-ever 'Love Her or Leave Her' match at SummerSlam. If Shane won, Stephanie and Test could no longer see each other. If Test won, Shane would give them his blessing.
The match eventually became a Greenwich Street Fight to add to the drama. Test picked up the victory went on to to continue his relationship with Stephanie McMahon. Of course, we all know what came next. Test and Stephanie were due to get married when Triple H appeared on the Titantron to announce that he had married Stephanie at a drive-thru wedding chapel in Las Vegas!
Oh how we miss the Attitude Era and these bizarre stipulations!
#1. Custody of Dominik Ladder Match at SummerSlam 2005
SummerSlam 2005 saw Hulk Hogan and Shawn Michaels collided in a legendary star-studded main event. A child's legal custody papers were on the line on the card as well.
That's right, Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio battled in a Ladder Match to retrieve custody papers of a young Dominik Mysterio. Eddie convinced the world that Rey's son Dominik was really his, so they battled to settle the score and decide who would take custody.
It was by far one of the most bizarre stipulations not only in SummerSlam history, but in WWE history overall. Eddie's daughter, Shaul Guerrero, spoke with Inside The Ropes and discussed the feud:
"Honestly, we’ve grown up as performers, my sister and I – whether it was in the wrestling industry or not – so we were pretty smart to “it’s a work” kind of thing. And my mom and dad also wanted to make sure that my sister and I were comfortable because it was such an emotional storyline for everybody involved. So, I think they wanted to make sure that we came out of the storyline – and that Dominik came out of the storyline – with our mental health intact, and our family unit intact," Shaul Guerrero said. (h/t WrestleTalk)
In the end, Rey Mysterio won the match at SummerSlam, with special thanks to interference from Eddie's wife Vickie Guerrero. Dominik, of course, is now a WWE superstar, flourishing with his papi on SmackDown.
