SummerSlam (2002)

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SummerSlam
Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Attendance14,797[1]
Buy rate540,000[2]
Pay-per-view chronology
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SummerSlam chronology
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2003

The 2002 SummerSlam was the 15th annual

Izod Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey hosted the event in 1989, 1997, and later in 2007
. This was also the first SummerSlam held under the WWE name, after the promotion was renamed from World Wrestling Federation (WWF) to WWE in May, and the first SummerSlam held following the introduction of the brand extension in March.

The main match on the SmackDown! brand was for the

undercard included The Undertaker versus Test and Kurt Angle versus Rey Mysterio. SummerSlam 2002 is widely regarded among fans and critics as the greatest SummerSlam of all time as well as one of the greatest professional wrestling pay-per-views of all time, often receiving comparisons to WrestleMania X-Seven
from the previous year in 2001.

Production

Background

Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York
.

Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York.[8][9][10][11] It was the first SummerSlam to occur under the first brand extension introduced in March, which split the roster between the Raw and SmackDown! brands where wrestlers were exclusively assigned to perform; SummerSlam featured wrestlers from both brands.[12] It was also the first SummerSlam to occur under the WWE name, following the promotion being renamed from World Wrestling Federation (WWF) to WWE in May.[13]

Storylines

The

promotion, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).[14][15] Storylines between the characters were produced on WWE's weekly television shows Raw and SmackDown! with the Raw and SmackDown! brands—storyline divisions in which WWE assigned its employees to different programs.[16]

SmackDown!

The main

disqualification, but not the titles. On the August 8 episode of SmackDown!, Lesnar put his SummerSlam title shot on the line against Hogan with the stipulation added that if Hogan were to defeat Lesnar, he would face The Rock in a WrestleMania X8 rematch at SummerSlam for the WWE Undisputed Championship. At the end, Lesnar locked Hogan in a bear hug. When Hogan (kayfabe) passed out, the referee stopped the contest. After the match, Lesnar then nailed Hogan in the head with the steel chair, causing Hogan to bleed. On the August 15 episode of SmackDown!, The Rock took on the WWE Intercontinental Champion Chris Benoit in a "Champion vs. Champion" match, which Lesnar interfered once again. During the match, Lesnar taunted The Rock while The Rock was placed in the Crippler Crossface by Benoit. The Rock, however, was able to defeat Benoit following a Rock Bottom. On the August 22 episode of SmackDown!, after The Rock and Edge defeated Benoit and Eddie Guerrero in a tag team match
, Lesnar appeared for another stare down with The Rock, which led to a brawl between the two that ended the show.

On the July 25 episode of SmackDown!, Rey Mysterio made his WWE debut by defeating Chavo Guerrero. On the August 8 episode of SmackDown!, the team of Mysterio, Edge and John Cena defeated Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero and Kurt Angle when Mysterio pinned Angle. On the August 15 episode of SmackDown!, Angle insulted Mysterio during a backstage interview and Mysterio confronted him and challenged him to a match at SummerSlam, which Angle accepted. Later that night, Mysterio attacked Angle after his match against Mark Henry and delivered a 619 to Angle. On the August 22 episode of SmackDown!, Mysterio cost Angle a match against Billy Kidman by attacking Angle.

Raw

Another feud heading into SummerSlam was between

Sweet Chin Music
to Lesnar. Michaels then leaped on top of Triple H and the security and ended the show by knocking Triple H down, sending a clear message that he was not weak as they headed into their match at SummerSlam.

drafted. Benoit was still required to defend the title against a member of the Raw roster at SummerSlam and Van Dam defeated Jeff Hardy
on the August 12 episode of Raw in a match to determine the #1 contender.


Event

Other on-screen personnel
Role: Name:
English
commentators
 Jim Ross (Raw)
Jerry Lawler (Raw)
Michael Cole (SmackDown!)
Tazz
(SmackDown!)
Spanish commentators Carlos Cabrera
Hugo Savinovich
Backstage
interviewers
 Jonathan Coachman
Lilian Garcia
Ring announcers Howard Finkel (Raw)
Tony Chimel (SmackDown!)
Referees Charles Robinson
Mike Chioda
Nick Patrick
Jack Doan
Earl Hebner
Chad Patton
Brian Hebner
Jim Korderas
General Managers Eric Bischoff (Raw)
Stephanie McMahon (SmackDown!)

The event unofficially began with a Sunday Night Heat match between Spike Dudley and Steven Richards. Dudley pinned Richards.[21][22]

Preliminary matches

The first match was between

ankle lock, to which Mysterio submitted.[21][22]

The next match was a contest between

figure-four leglock. Jericho insisted that Flair submitted, but the referee ordered the match to continue. Flair then won the match by applying the hold on Jericho.[21][22]

The third match of the night was between

frog splash onto Edge's shoulder. Edge retaliated with an Edgecution and a spear for the win.[21][22]

The next match was for the

big boot. Christian pinned Booker T to retain the titles for The Un-Americans.[21][22]

The fifth match on the card was for the

Five Star Frog Splash.[21][22]

Tombstone Piledriver. After the match, The Undertaker waved an American flag.[21][22]

The seventh match was the

Sweet Chin Music, which Triple H countered into a Pedigree attempt, but Michaels countered into a jackknife roll-up for the win. After the match, Triple H hit Michaels with a sledgehammer twice, forcing Michaels to be carried away on a stretcher.[21][22]

Main event match

The main event was for the

F-5 on The Rock for the win and the title.[21][22] Lesnar remained the youngest world champion in WWE history until Randy Orton won the World Heavyweight Championship in 2004
.

Aftermath

On the August 26 episode of Raw, due to the requirements of the WWE Undisputed Championship being defended on both shows, Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff expected Brock Lesnar to be able to return on Raw the next night. Lesnar and SmackDown! General Manager Stephanie McMahon appeared to announce that Lesnar's contract only required him to defend the title on SmackDown!; subsequently Bischoff established the World Heavyweight Championship as a separate world title.[23][24] On the September 2 episode of Raw, Bischoff awarded Triple H, Raw's designated number-one contender, the World Heavyweight Championship in the form of the Big Gold Belt.[25][26]

The Undertaker went on to challenge Lesnar for the now-renamed WWE Championship at Unforgiven, and again at No Mercy in a Hell in a Cell match. Shawn Michaels would return full-time to the ring at Survivor Series and win the World Heavyweight Championship from Triple H in the first ever Elimination Chamber match.

After the broadcasting of the event had stopped after the main event, former WWE Undisputed Champion

Mr. McMahon
both interfered and helped The Rock defeat Hogan.

Results

No.Results
WWE Undisputed Championship
16:01
(c) – the champion(s) heading into the match
H – the match was broadcast prior to the pay-per-view on Sunday Night Heat

References

  1. ^ a b "SummerSlam 2002". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved January 25, 2008.
  2. ^ "WWE Pay-Per-View Buys (1993-2015)". Wrestlenomics. March 25, 2020. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
  3. ^ Dee, Louie (May 17, 2006). "Let the Party Begin". WWE. Archived from the original on November 16, 2006. Retrieved May 12, 2008.
  4. ^ Ian Hamilton. Wrestling's Sinking Ship: What Happens to an Industry Without Competition (p. 160)
  5. ISBN 9781439193211
    . At the time, SummerSlam was one of WWE's "big five" Pay-Per-Views (Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, King of the Ring, and Survivor Series were the others), ...
  6. Independent.co.uk. August 21, 2017. Archived
    from the original on May 25, 2022.
  7. CBSSports. Archived
    from the original on August 8, 2018.
  8. ^ "SummerSlam 2002". PWWEW.net. Retrieved January 23, 2008.
  9. ^ "SummerSlam 2002 Results". WWE. Archived from the original on December 31, 2007. Retrieved January 25, 2008.
  10. ^ "SummerSlam 2002 Results". hoffco-inc. Retrieved January 25, 2008.
  11. ^ "SummerSlam 2002 Results". twnpnews.com. Retrieved January 25, 2008.
  12. ^ "WWE Entertainment To Make RAW and SMACKDOWN Distinct Television Brands" (Press release). WWE. March 27, 2002. Archived from the original on April 17, 2010. Retrieved April 5, 2012.
  13. ^ "World Wrestling Federation Entertainment Drops The "F" To Emphasize the "E" for Entertainment". WWE. Archived from the original on January 19, 2009. Retrieved August 28, 2008.
  14. Discovery Communications. Archived
    from the original on November 29, 2013. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
  15. ^ "Live & Televised Entertainment". WWE. Archived from the original on November 22, 2013. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
  16. ^ "WWE to make Raw and SmackDown! distinct TV brands" (Press release). WWE. March 27, 2002. Archived from the original on April 17, 2010. Retrieved April 5, 2012.
  17. 411Mania
    . Retrieved January 24, 2008.
  18. ^ "The Rock defeated Undertaker and Kurt Angle in a Triple Threat Match to become WWE Champion". WWE. July 21, 2002. Archived from the original on January 1, 2008. Retrieved January 24, 2008.
  19. ^ Martin, Adam (July 21, 2002). "WWE Vengeance Results – 7/21". WrestleView. Retrieved 2008-01-24.
  20. ^ "WWF / WWE RAW (1993-Present) 2002". thehistoryofwwe.com.
  21. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Scaia, Rick (August 25, 2002). "WWE SummerSlam". Online Onslaught. Archived from the original on June 9, 2008. Retrieved January 23, 2008.
  22. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "SummerSlam 2002 Results". twnpnews.com. Retrieved January 25, 2008.
  23. ^ "RAW results – August 26, 2002". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved January 25, 2008.
  24. ^ McAvennie, Michael (2003). "WWE The Yearbook: 2003 Edition". Pocket Books. pp. 220–222.
  25. ^ "RAW results – September 2, 2002". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved January 25, 2008.
  26. ^ "Raw is War – September 2, 2002". PWWEW.net. September 2, 2002. Retrieved January 25, 2008.

External links

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