Top 10 greatest Summerslam events of all time

#7. Summerslam 1997

From start to finish, #SummerSlam 1997 brought the 🔥 24 years ago today!🎥: @WWENetwork pic.twitter.com/JGUk6pvjbT

— WWE (@WWE) August 3, 2021

Heading into Summerslam 1997, WWE was on fire with many exciting feuds and stars firing on all cylinders. The biggest angle of the summer would center on the top faction in the company, the Hart Foundation. The most memorable moment was one that would change the course of wrestling history and shorten the career of who would become the biggest superstar in WWE.

Stone Cold Steve Austin faced Owen Hart for the Intercontinental Championship. The added stipulation for this contest was if Austin lost, he would kiss Owen's ass. In an almost fatal incident, Owen dropped Stone Cold on his neck with a tombstone piledriver that paralyzed the Texas Rattlesnake. Austin still won with one of the ugliest rollups ever, but this neck injury shortened his legendary career.

On this day in 1997, WWF SummerSlam saw Bret Hart battle The Undertaker with Shawn Michaels as special guest referee, what went down at night in New Jersey? Read our retro review to find out at https://t.co/SHRVpStIRx #WWE #WWF #SummerSlam #SummerSlam1997 #BretHart #Undertaker pic.twitter.com/xvQeh3jmHL

— Writebase Wrestling (@WBaseWrestling) August 3, 2020

The main event of Summerslam 1997 was the most anticipated contest of the night with The Undertaker defending the WWE Championship against Bret 'The Hitman' Hart. Bret's arch rival Shawn Michaels served as special guest referee and would be the deciding factor.

After Bret tried to use a chair and Shawn stopped him, Hart spit in his face and made HBK swing, but Shawn hit Taker instead of Bret. This led to Hart winning the WWE Championship for the fifth time. Other Hart Foundation matches saw Goldust beat Brian Pillman and The British Bulldog retain the European Championship via disqualification over Ken Shamrock.

Summerslam 1997's opener saw Mankind get a huge win over Hunter Hearst Helmsley in a fun steel cage match. This was the latest chapter in their summer series of matches. This event foreshadowed what the Attitude Era would offer and was one of the best pay-per-views of that year.