"While Michaels rode the match's momentum into another main event run (and seven-plus year wrestling tenure before ultimately retiring), it was originally designed to be just a one-off..."
Aug 16, 2020
One has to consider the 2002 SummerSlam to be not only among the greatest in the history of the event's chronology, but one of the best overall events in WWE history. Could it be the WrestleMania 17 of SummerSlams? Well, you've got an all-time classic bout between Triple H and a returning Shawn Michaels, a torch-passing WWE title match where The Rock functionally endorsed Brock Lesnar, and an undercard that included Kurt Angle vs. Rey Mysterio (in his first WWE PPV match), Eddie Guerrero vs. Edge, and Rob Van Dam vs. Chris Benoit. It's an arguable case to make.
If WrestleMania 17 were the wild party that concluded the Attitude Era, then SummerSlam 2002 was the raucous shindig that demonstrated the shiny potential of the Ruthless Aggression period. Future events would find it hard to match the greatness of this event, but of course - when 15 of the 18 working wrestlers were former or future World champions, excellence is expected, and thus hard to equal.
That said, let's take a look back at the brilliant 2002 SummerSlam, and uncover a few forgotten tidbits from that night.
One has to consider the 2002 SummerSlam to be not only among the greatest in the history of the event's chronology, but one of the best overall events in WWE history. Could it be the WrestleMania 17 of SummerSlams? Well, you've got an all-time classic bout between Triple H and a returning Shawn Michaels, a torch-passing WWE title match where The Rock functionally endorsed Brock Lesnar, and an undercard that included Kurt Angle vs. Rey Mysterio (in his first WWE PPV match), Eddie Guerrero vs. Edge, and Rob Van Dam vs. Chris Benoit. It's an arguable case to make.
If WrestleMania 17 were the wild party that concluded the Attitude Era, then SummerSlam 2002 was the raucous shindig that demonstrated the shiny potential of the Ruthless Aggression period. Future events would find it hard to match the greatness of this event, but of course - when 15 of the 18 working wrestlers were former or future World champions, excellence is expected, and thus hard to equal.
That said, let's take a look back at the brilliant 2002 SummerSlam, and uncover a few forgotten tidbits from that night.
Well, sort of. Technically at Vengeance the month before, SmackDown announcers Michael Cole and Tazz barged their way onto the show "uninvited", despite it being a split-brand PPV. Raw's Jim Ross charitably allowed the two to call the first half of that show.
For SummerSlam, we saw the birth of the "traditional" arrangement, where SmackDown announcers called SmackDown matches and (you guessed it) Raw announcers called Raw matches. Weird that five months into the split, only then did this format become standard.
At age 53, Ric Flair wasn't the "Naitch" of his prime, though he could still go at a pretty high level. But as he admitted in his 2004 memoirs, he didn't exactly believe it at the time. For years, dating back through his WCW run, Flair struggled to believe in himself.
His ongoing confidence issues reared in time for his match with Chris Jericho. According to Y2J, he'd suggested Flair win with the Figure Four, and Flair said he didn't feel worthy. This prompted Jericho to give him a fiery pep talk, reminding him that he was Ric Effing Flair.
At the first 15 SummerSlams between 1988 and 2002, the IC title changed hands 12 times in a possible 14 matches (no match in 1996), with Rob Van Dam's victory over Chris Benoit capping off that decade-and-a-half-run. From then on, the IC title grew to mean less to the event.
From 2003 through 2019 (17 SummerSlams in all), the IC title has only changed hands on three occasions, with winners including Santino Marella in 2008, Dolph Ziggler in 2014, and Seth Rollins in 2018. There've been many SummerSlams in that stretch to not feature the IC title at all.
Nobody will ever forget Shawn Michaels' incredible performance in his WWE comeback bout. The old gunslinger dusted off the boots once more to defeat Triple H in a blood-soaked "Unsanctioned" brawl for the ages, a match that was as brutal as it was inspiring.
While Michaels rode the match's momentum into another main event run (and seven-plus year wrestling tenure before ultimately retiring), it was originally designed to be just a one-off. Michaels wanted to see how his body felt afterward before committing to any more matches.
As expected, "The Next Big Thing" Brock Lesnar conquered Hollywood's Dwayne Johnson in the main event to become WWE Champion, making him the youngest man to ever win at the belt (25 years, six weeks). It was Lesnar's time to shine, while Rock ventured back to Tinseltown.
After SummerSlam went off the air, Rock went to cut a promo for the live crowd, only to be booed mercilessly (as he had been during the match). Improvising in kind, Rock insulted the fans, turning all of his catchphrases against them, thereby setting up his eventual return as heel "Hollywood" Rock.
