History Awesome / SummerSlam

* Wrestling/{{Goldberg}}, despite [[TheBadGuysWin ultimately losing]] to defending [[Wrestling/BigGoldBelt World Heavyweight Champion]] Wrestling/TripleH, giving a dominant performance inside the Wrestling/EliminationChamber by directly eliminating three (Wrestling/ChrisJericho, Wrestling/ShawnMichaels and Wrestling/RandyOrton) of his five competitors (Jericho eliminated Wrestling/KevinNash earlier).

* Wrestling/{{Natalya|Neidhart}} defeating Wrestling/{{Naomi}} to become the Smackdown Women's Champion (her first title in over six years) in one of the best women's matches the Smackdown brand has had in awhile.

* Natalya defeating Naomi to become the Smackdown Women's Champion (her first title in over six years) in one of the best women's matches the Smackdown brand has had in awhile.

** This would be followed-up by Wrestling/{{Bayley}} returning, with Io Shirai and Dakota Kai (the latter of whom was among those that had been unceremoniously released over the past few months) in tow to put the women's division on notice. Bianca however was not fazed, with Becky cementing her [[HeelFaceTurn face turn]] by standing by Bianca's side to stare down the new challengers.
* Creator/LoganPaul once again overachieves in his singles debut, bumping like crazy for Wrestling/TheMiz, while also impressing everyone with his moves, the big highlight of which was topping his Frog Splash from ''[=WrestleMania=]'' by pulling off a Frog Splash ''from the turnbuckle to the announcer's table''!

* The Triple Threat between Charlotte Flair, Asuka, and Bianca Belair was high-octane from start to finish. Props go to Bianca who hobbles back to the ring with an injured leg while Charlotte's got Asuka in a submission hold and lands on Charlotte with a 450 Splash!

* Wrestling/TheUndertaker beating Wrestling/{{Edge}} in a Wrestling/HellInACell Match in 2008.

* Wrestling/RandyOrton and Wrestling/{{Christian}} put on yet another great match, capping off their series with an intense No Holds Barred match. The HumiliationConga story of Christian was done very well, with a little bit of assistance from a pre-match promo from Wrestling/{{Edge}}, ending with him calling Christian a "whiny [[PrecisionFStrike bitch]]". The ending was a CallBack from their infamous Smackdown title change, with Christian jumping off the second rope, only to be caught in an RKO, only this time he caught it on the steel steps.

* Wrestling/{{Edge}} executing a spear on Wrestling/{{Elias}} signaling he may have recovered from his career ending injury.

* Wrestling/{{Edge}} makes his entrance doing a recreation of when he was in The Brood with a ''real'' RingOfFire and [[Wrestling/DavidHeath Gangrel]]'s theme "Blood".

* Wrestling/{{Edge}} jumps up on one side of the guard rail while Wrestling/MattHardy jumps on the other, both running like they were in a ninja film. When they reach the entrance way they both jump and Edge nails Matt with an unbelievable mid air spear.

** The inaugural Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match saw Wrestling/{{Edge}} and Wrestling/{{Christian}} vs. The [[Wrestling/MattHardy Hardy]] [[Wrestling/JeffHardy Boyz]] vs. Wrestling/{{The Dudley Boy|s}}z. For the past year, various combinations of these teams had been tearing up the Tag Team Division in Ladder matches and Table matches. It all came together here for the first TLC match in which these six men (and Wrestling/{{Lita}}, who took a wicked Spear on the outside) stole the show yet again. The Raleigh crowd was especially hot for this match considering that the Hardy Boyz were from nearby Cameron, North Carolina. Though the Hardys did not win the titles that night, everyone involved walked away with the respect of the fans worldwide.

* In contrast to their [[SquashMatch sub-30 second match]] the previous year, Wrestling/BeckyLynch and Bianca Belair would once again pull off a clinic that saw both women take each other to the limit. Bianca defeating Big Time Becks would eventually [[HeelFaceTurn see the latter regard her opponent as a true champ, shaking her hand in the process]].

* Wrestling/RomanReigns finally ending Wrestling/BrockLesnar's 504-day reign as the Universal Champion, thanks to Wrestling/BraunStrowman's interference. Unfortunately, Reigns' run as champion was cut short only two months later, after revealing his leukemia came back.

* Wrestling/KurtAngle retaining his WWE Championship against Wrestling/BrockLesnar in a terrific ''[=WrestleMania=] XIX'', giving the Beast Incarnate his first loss via submission.
* Wrestling/EddieGuerrero successfully defending his United States Championship against Wrestling/ChrisBenoit, Wrestling/{{Rhyno)) and [[Wrestling/YoshihiroTajiri Tajiri]].

** The main event of ''[=SummerSlam=]'' was a triple threat between [[Wrestling/DwayneHohnson The Rock]], Wrestling/KurtAngle, and Wrestling/TripleH. Kurt Angle would suffer a concussion in the opening moments of the match due to the announce table breaking too early during a Pedigree attempt. While Rock and Triple H continued the match on the inside, Kurt would be stretchered out of the arena (which was likely going to happen if the spot had been done correctly anyway). However, Angle would return to complete the match anyway, despite barely having his wits about him. This was the first time (but certainly not the last) we would see the real-life {{Determinator}} side of Kurt Angle.

** This would be followed-up by Wrestling/{{Bayley}} returning, with Io Shirai and Dakota Kai (the latter of whom was among those that had been unceremoniously released over the past few months) in tow to put the women's division on notice. Bianca however was not fazed, with Becky cementing her [[HeelFaceTurn face turn]] by helping Bianca stare down the new challengers.
* Creator/LoganPaul once again overachieves in his singles debut, bumping like crazy for Wrestling/TheMiz, while also impressing everyone with his moves, the big highlight of which was pulling off a Frog Splash ''from the turnbuckle to the announcer's table''!

[[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome Memorable moments]] from over the years at "The Biggest Party of the Summer" include:

* The Mega Powers vs The Mega Bucks. The feud between newly crowned WWF Champion Wrestling/RandySavage and "The Million Dollar Man" Wrestling/TedDiBiase continued, with Savage teaming with Wrestling/HulkHogan to form "The Mega Powers" in order to fight [=DiBiase=] and his partner, Wrestling/AndreTheGiant. One of the most famous parts of this match was [[ShowSomeLeg Elizabeth's way of distracting the heel team]].
* The Wrestling/UltimateWarrior winning the Intercontinental Championship from the man with the longest reign for that title in history -- [[ElvisImpersonator The Honky Tonk Man]] -- in less than a minute. Regardless of your opinion on Warrior himself, this was -- and still is -- an amazing achievement.

* The Legion of Doom defeating The Nasty Boys in a Street Fight for the WWF Tag Team Titles.

* The main event: Bret Hart vs. The British Bulldog (Davey Boy Smith) for the Intercontinental Championship, the only time an Intercontinental Championship Match has ever been the main event for a major PPV. The event -- moved from Washington to London to capitalize on both the WWF's popularity in England as well as British Bulldog's immense popularity in his home country -- was held within Wembley Stadium, with over ''eighty thousand people'' in attendance. Davey Boy, despite being high on drugs at the time and having suffered a severe knee injury days before the event, put on a match with Bret that is still considered to be one of the best in the history of ''[=SummerSlam=]'' (and easily the best match of Davey Boy's career).
** This is also noteworthy as the only event of the four major annual WWF [=PPVs=] (Wrestling/WrestleMania, Wrestling/SummerSlam, Wrestling/SurvivorSeries, and Wrestling/RoyalRumble) that didn't take place ''anywhere'' in the U.S. or Canada.

* Wrestling/BretHart retaining his title against his brother [[Wrestling/OwenHart Owen]] in a Cage Match for the WWF Championship.

* The opening bout saw Mankind facing [[Wrestling/TripleH Hunter Hearst Helmsley]] in a steel cage match. Despite the interference of Wrestling/{{Chyna}} (who at one point slammed the cage door on Mankind's skull to stop him from escaping, and later took a bump off the side of the cage into the barricade when Mankind slingshotted Helmsley into it), Mankind had the win in the bag, being on the verge of climbing dropping to the floor outside the cage... only to pull off his mask, climb back up to the top of the cage again and then tear open his shirt and deliver a ''massive'' elbow drop to Helmsley in tribute to [[Wrestling/JimmySnuka Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka]], whose own famous leap off the top of a cage in 1983 had inspired young Mick Foley to become a wrestler.

* The ladder match between Triple H and [[Wrestling/DwayneJohnson The Rock]]. Not only did the Great One finally earn the respect of the fans during this match, but it also helped make both Helmsley and Rocky main event players.
* Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin retaining his WWF Title against Wrestling/TheUndertaker.

* Edge jumps up on one side of the guard rail while Matt jumps on the other, both running like they were in a ninja film. When they reach the entrance way they both jump and Edge nails Matt with an unbelievable mid air spear.
* Non-competitor Wrestling/ShaneMcMahon drops an elbow onto Test from the top rope to the announce table.
* [[Wrestling/MickFoley Mankind]] winning his third WWF Championship by winning a Triple Threat Match against Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin and Wrestling/TripleH.

* Summerslam 2000 was a Crowning Moment of Awesome for many superstars that night.
** Shane [=McMahon=] vs. Wrestling/SteveBlackman for the Hardcore title surpassed all expectations, and ended with Shane's first dive off the Titantron. It was especially risky because Blackman knocked him off, thus he had to do the dive ''backwards''. Blackman would finish Shane off with an elbow drop off the Tron much to the shock and delight of the crowd.
** The inagural Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match saw Edge and Christian vs. The Hardy Boyz vs. The Dudley Boyz. For the past year, various combinations of these teams had been tearing up the Tag Team Division in Ladder matches and Table matches. It all came together here for the first TLC match in which these six men (and Wrestling/{{Lita}}, who took a wicked Spear on the outside) stole the show yet again. The Raleigh crowd was especially hot for this match considering that the Hardy Boyz were from nearby Cameron, North Carolina. Though the Hardys did not win the titles that night, everyone involved walked away with the respect of the fans worldwide.
** The main event of Summerslam was a triple threat between The Rock, Kurt Angle, and Triple H. Kurt Angle would suffer a concussion in the opening moments of the match due to the announce table breaking too early during a Pedigree attempt. While Rock and Triple H continued the match on the inside, Kurt would be stretchered out of the arena (which was likely going to happen if the spot had been done correctly anyway). However, Angle would return to complete the match anyway, despite barely having his wits about him. This was the first time (but certainly not the last) we would see the real-life {{Determinator}} side of Kurt Angle.

* 2002 marked the return of Shawn Michaels from injury as he beat Triple H in a Street Fight at Summerslam.
** A smaller CMOA occurred during the Summerslam match thanks to referee Earl Hebner. Despite having no DQ rules, Hebner was warning Triple H about the unnecessary roughness he was putting on Shawn (specifically attacking his wounded back, using a sledgehammer, etc.) Finally, Triple H put Shawn in an abdominal stretch and was using the ropes for leverage (which is usually illegal). Hebner got Triple H to break the hold by pushing on him. Triple H shoved him only for Hebner to bounce off the ropes and shove him back. Hebner then ''backed Triple H into a corner and screamed at him'' to knock it off. Triple H looked sufficiently put in his place. Kudos to Hebner for getting in the face of the top heel in WWE.

* Rey Mysterio defeating Eddie Guerrero in a pretty great ladder match (despite the ridiculous stipulations behind it).

* Wrestling/TheUndertaker beating Wrestling/{{Edge}} in a Hell In A Cell Match in 2008.

* Wrestling/CMPunk defeating Wrestling/JeffHardy in an outstanding TLC match to win the World Heavyweight Championship...while also main eventing over a title match between Cena and Orton, showcasing just how important their feud was going into [=SummerSlam=].

* While ''Summerslam 2010'' is considered by some to be lackluster, one moment has widely been regarded as a SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome. WWE swerved just about '''''everyone''''' by having John Cena announce that the seventh and final member of Team WWE, the team that he masterminded, in the WWE vs. Nexus match and the man that would replace The Great Khali was '''''[[Wrestling/BryanDanielson DANIEL BRYAN.]]''''' Everyone from the IWC on up marked out noticeably as the American Dragon returned to assist Cena and the rest of Team WWE in a victory over the Nexus. Bryan managed to pretty much dominate every second he was in the ring, making both Darren Young and Wrestling/HeathSlater tap in record time with the [=LeBell Lock=]. It took an interfering Miz blindsiding him with the Money in the Bank briefcase to bring him down. Striker also gets a small CMOA for screaming for the Cattle Mutilation and yelling for Bryan to kick Slater's head in. That the return managed to go unspoiled is a CMOA for WWE in itself. In an age where various wrestling dirtsheets manage to figure returns and spoilers within days of them occurring before spoiling them to the world, that Bryan's return managed to surprise perhaps every wrestling fan watching Summerslam is a Crowning Moment of Awesome for WWE themselves.

* Everyone knew coming into the event that someone involved in the main event was going to have a Moment of Awesome. The question was, who would seize the moment. It turned out not to be CM Punk, John Cena or even special guest referee Triple H, but none other '''''Kevin Nash''''', who turned the wrestling world upside down by attacking Punk after he unified both championships. This would allow Alberto Del Rio to [[YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle cash in Money in the Bank]] and win his first World title, all the apparent shock of Triple H (though it remains to be seen that he wasn't involved somehow).
* CM Punk channeling Randy Savage and dropping a Macho Elbow onto Cena to massive RANDY SAVAGE chants from the Staples Center.

* [[Wrestling/BryanDanielson Daniel Bryan]] beating Wrestling/JohnCena via pinfall--''[[CueTheFlyingPigs cleanly]]''--for the WWE Championship. Then after a mass celebration, Wrestling/RandyOrton cashing in the MITB briefcase after Wrestling/TripleH pedigreed Daniel Bryan

* Wrestling/DeanAmbrose vs. Wrestling/SethRollins in a lumberjack match. Already circumspect from the IWC, as lumberjack matches only have a little bit of lumberjacking before breaking down into an all-out brawl, having little bearing on the match itself. So did this one...but with ''style''. Dean goes about five minutes or so before completely disavowing the lumberjacks and takes the beatdown of Rollins ''all around the arena''. They're near the cheap seats when Kane comes down and tells them to go bring them back to the ring. Seth Rollins is eventually captured, hoisted up, and carried by the lumberjacks to the ring...except that Dean was waiting on the top rope to ''jump onto the helpless Seth, flooring him and '''all''' the other lumberjacks''. Dean also had the spot of the night after bouncing off/in the ropes, retaliating with a Clothesline From Hell x10, which hit Seth so hard that '''''[[TheatricsOfPain Seth was fully upside down vertically before landing face first onto the ring]].'''''

* While a lot can be said about the screwy finish, The Undertaker VS Brock Lesnar was a match full of awesome moments.

* Finn Bálor overcoming Seth Rollins to become the first holder of the new Universal title. Moreso when it's later revealed Bálor had [[DramaticDislocation dislocated his shoulder]] after taking a running powerbomb to the outside barrier. Not only does he [[{{Determinator}} pop his shoulder back in]] to resume the match, he ''defeats'' Rollins without anyone ever suspecting that he's injured.
* Big E's BigDamnHeroes moment during the Tag Title match; when his fellow New Day members faced Gallows and Anderson for the titles, Creator/JonStewart accompained the New Day to the ring. At one point, Gallows and Anderson attempted giving Stewart the GroinAttack that had put Big E out of commission, only for Big E to appear, saving Stewart.
* [[Wrestling/BellaTwins Nikki Bella's]] triumphant return in the six-women tag-team match featuring the Smackdown women after career-threatening neck surgery to a ''massive'' pop.
* Though the finish was largely disliked, the match itself between Charlotte and Sasha Banks was an awesome battle with both women beating the holy hell out of each (including a ''horrifically'' botched spot where Charlotte dropped Banks on her neck and back after attempting to do a sidewalk slam from the middle rope).

* Wrestling/TheNewDay and Wrestling/TheUsos tear up the ring in the pre-show, of all places. Xavier Woods in particular was an absolute workhorse in this match, and there were awesome double team moves galore.

* Wrestling/DeanAmbrose and Wrestling/SethRollins overcame their personal differences to beat Wrestling/{{Sheamus}} and [[Wrestling/ClaudioCastagnoli Cesaro]] for the Raw Tag Team Championship. Again, they pulled all sorts of double team moves, with Ambrose and Rollins paying homage to Wrestling/TheShield at one point with a double powerbomb attempt. And the final spot of the match, with Rollins launching Cesaro into Sheamus when they attempted their double team White Noise, has to be seen to be believed.

** And lastly: With this win, Dean Ambrose is not just the 8th Grand Slam Champion (of the current format), but at 31 years and 8 months old as of the PPV, he edges out Wrestling/TheMiz ''by one month'' as the ''youngest ever!''

* Wrestling/AJStyles and [[Wrestling/KevinSteen Kevin Owens]] put on an entertaining match, with storytelling all over thanks to those two and guest referee Wrestling/ShaneMcMahon. Both men fell foul of Shane taking bumps, and there was a very narrow near fall when AJ got his foot on the bottom rope after Owens hit him with a Pop-Up Powerbomb. Owens legitimately thought he'd won at that point, but Shane had spotted AJ's foot at the last possible millisecond and held off the three count, and AJ went on to win the match and retain his United States Championship.

* After Wrestling/CharlotteFlair won back the [=SmackDown=] Women's Championship (in a match that originally only featured Wrestling/BeckyLynch and Wrestling/{{Carmella}}), Becky violently attacked her, angry after being constantly screwed out of title victories time after time. Made even more awesome was that the crowd was firmly behind her throughout the entire assault, even outright booing Charlotte.
* Wrestling/RomanReigns finally ending Wrestling/BrockLesnar's 504-day reign as the Universal Champion, thanks to Strowman's interference. Unfortunately, Reigns' run as champion was cut short only two months later, after revealing his leukemia came back.

* Wrestling/SethRollins defeating Wrestling/BrockLesnar to become the Universal Champion for the second time. This was the [[ThirdTimesTheCharm third time he got a win over Lesnar]] and, apart from the ring post and table-breaking attacks, was also Brock's first clean loss since Wrestling/SurvivorSeries 2016. This is even more impressive when you consider that the build to the match had been booked so badly (combined with some poorly-judged social media behavior by Seth that had soured people on him) that at the start of the match the majority of the crowd were ''against Seth,'' the underdog babyface. But by the end of the match, Seth's sheer in-ring talent and storytelling ability had ''completely'' [[WinBackTheCrowd won over the formerly hostile crowd]] until the same people who had started out booing him were cheering his epic victory!

* Wrestling/RomanReigns making his return and ''[[FaceHeelTurn turning heel]]''. Immediately stealing the thunder from The Fiend's victory over Braun Strowman for the Universal Championship, Roman [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown beat the piss out of both monsters]], declaring that Strowman wouldn't be where he is if not for him, and hoisting the title up in the air himself. The big story was not The Fiend had taken back his prize, but that Roman was coming for it and the day he would reclaim his yard was imminent!

* Wrestling/BeckyLynch making her long awaited return and winning the Smackdown Women’s Championship. Wrestling/BrockLesnar would make a similar shocking return after Roman Reigns won his match.
* Edge makes his entrance doing a recreation of when he was in The Brood with a ''real'' RingOfFire and Gangrel's theme "Blood".

** This would be followed-up by Wrestling/{{Bayley}} returning, with Io Shirai and Dakota Kai (the latter of whom was among those that had been unceremoniously released over the past few months) in tow to put the women's division on notice. Bianca however was not fazed, with Becky cementing her Face turn by helping Bianca staredown the new challengers.

* In contrast to their sub-30 second match the previous year, Wrestling/BeckyLynch and Bianca Belair would once again pull off a clinic that saw both women take each other to the limit. Bianca defeating Big Time Becks would eventually [[HeelFaceTurn see the latter regard her opponent as a true champ, shaking her hand in the process]].
** This would be followed-up by Wrestling/{{Bayley}} returning, with Io Shirai and Dakota Kai (who was among those that had been unceremoniously released over the past few months) in tow to put the women's division on notice. Bianca however was not fazed, with Becky cementing her Face turn by helping Bianca staredown the new challengers.

* Wrestling/BrockLesnar makes his entrance riding a tractor and staring down Wrestling/RomanReigns from the bucket before the two absolutely tear into each other from bell to bell. Just when you've seen it all however, Brock decides to stop playing around and uses the tractor ''to tip over the ring''. Silly? Yes. An awesome sight nonetheless? Absolutely.

* In contrast to their sub-30 second match the previous year, Wrestling/BeckyLynch and Bianca [=BelAir=] would once again pull off a clinic that saw both women take each other to the limit. Bianca defeating Big Time Becks would eventually [[HeelFaceTurn see the latter regard her opponent as a true champ, shaking her hand in the process]].

* Wrestling/BrockLesnar makes his entrance riding a tractor ([[NotMakingThisUpDisclaimer Yes, a tractor]]) and staring down Wrestling/RomanReigns from the bucket before the two absolutely tear into each other from bell to bell. Just when you've seen it all however, Brock decides to stop playing around and uses the tractor ''to tip over the ring''. Silly? Yes. An awesome sight nonetheless? Absolutely.

[[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome Memorable moments]] from over the years include:

* Wrestling/BeckyLynch making her long awaited return and winning the Smackdown Women’s Championship

* Wrestling/RomanReigns making his return and ''[[FaceHeelTurn turning heel]]''. Immediately stealing the thunder from The Fiend's victory over Braun Strowman for the Universal Championship, Roman [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown beat the piss out of both monsters]], declaring that Strowman wouldn't be where he is if not for him, and hoisting the title up in the air himself. The big story was not The Fiend had taken back his prize, but that Roman was coming for it and the day he would reclaim his yard was imminent.!

* Wrestling/RomanReigns making his return and ''[[FaceHeelTurn turning heel]]''. Immediately stealing the thunder from The Fiend's victory over Braun Strowman for the Universal Championship, Roman [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown beat the piss out of both monsters]], declaring that Strowman wouldn't be where he is if not for him, and hoisting the title up in the air himself. The big story was not The Fiend had taken back his prize, but that Roman was coming for it and the day he would reclaim his yard was imminent.

* Wrestling/{{Edge}} executing a spear on Wrstling/{{Elias}} signaling he may have recovered from his career ending injury.