The main rivalry heading into SummerSlam was between The Rock and Booker T, battling over the WCW Championship. After losing the WWF Championship to Stone Cold Steve Austin at WrestleMania X-Seven, The Rock took a hiatus from professional wrestling to film the movie The Scorpion King.[8] On the July 9, 2001 edition of Raw Is War, campaigning for The Rock's return began.[9][10] Following the campaigning, The Rock returned to the WWF on the July 30, 2001 edition of Raw Is War, where he chose to align himself with the WWF instead of The Alliance for The Invasion.[11][12] This action was shown by The Rock delivering a Rock Bottom and the People's Elbow onto Shane McMahon, The Alliance leader.[10][12] Later that week on SmackDown!, Booker T and The Rock cut a promo, where Booker T challenged The Rock to a match at SummerSlam; the beginning of the Rock-Booker T rivalry.[13][14] Seeking revenge for the attack from the previous week, McMahon fought The Rock in a Street Fight on the August 6 edition of Raw Is War, where The Rock pinned McMahon. The rivalry between The Rock and Booker T intensified after the match, where Booker T and Shane McMahon double-teamed The Rock.[15][16] Later that week on SmackDown!, in retaliation, The Rock accepted Booker T's challenge.[17][18] On the August 13 edition of Raw Is War, The Rock was involved in a tag team match, where he teamed with Chris Jericho in a loss to Booker T and Rhyno.[19][20] After the match, Booker T delivered his variation of the Rock Bottom on The Rock, a move dubbed, The Book End.[19][20] On the final edition of SmackDown! before SummerSlam, McMahon announced that Booker T would defend the WCW Championship at SummerSlam against The Rock.[21][22] Later that night, the rivalry continued to intensify during a Lights Out match between Booker T and The Rock, after Booker T delivered a Book End onto The Rock through a commentators announce table.[21][22]
The other main match on the card was Stone Cold Steve Austin versus Kurt Angle for the WWF Championship. The previous month at Invasion, Team WCW/ECW (Booker T, Diamond Dallas Page, Rhyno and Bubba Ray and D-Von Dudley) defeated Team WWF (Austin, Angle, Chris Jericho, The Undertaker and Kane). Team WCW/ECW won after Austin turned on the WWF when he executed a Stunner on Angle. On the following night's edition of Raw Is War, Austin stated that he did this because he felt that Vince McMahon was grooming Angle to take over his spot, and that he was "unappreciated" when McMahon insisted he return to the old Austin. Later that evening, Austin interfered during a six man Elimination Tables match by assaulting Angle. Then on the July 26, 2001 edition of SmackDown!, Angle appeared in his hometown of Pittsburgh and challenged Austin for the WWF Championship but Austin instead chose Booker T to defend his WCW Championship against Angle. Later on that night, Angle won the WCW Championship from Booker despite Austin's interference. On the July 30, 2001 edition of Raw Is War, Angle lost the WCW Championship back to Booker with the help of Austin and Shane McMahon. Afterwards, Angle challenged Austin for the WWF Championship at SummerSlam, which Austin accepted. The feud between Austin and Angle would escalate in the following couple of weeks leading up to SummerSlam especially in a Six Man Tag Team Elimination match pitting Austin and the Dudley Boyz against Angle and The Hardy Boyz, which Austin and the Dudley Boyz won.
Another main match heading into the event was Jeff Hardy versus Rob Van Dam in a Ladder match for the WWF Hardcore Championship. At Invasion Van Dam defeated Hardy to win the Hardcore Championship. In the following weeks, Van Dam and Hardy faced each other in Tag Team matches. On the August 13 edition of Raw, Van Dam was scheduled to defend his title against Kurt Angle, and as the match was underway, Hardy interfered and pinned Van Dam to win the title for himself. This led to a Ladder match for the title at SummerSlam between Hardy and Van Dam.
Before the event began, a dark match took place on Heat. The match was originally a handicap match featuring Lita and Jacqueline against Torrie Wilson, Stacy Keibler, and Ivory. Backstage, Wilson, Ivory and Keibler attacked Lita, preventing her from competing. Molly Holly replaced Lita. Lita performed the Twist of Fate on Ivory, allowing Jacqueline to pin her for the win.[23]
Preliminary matches
The event opened with Lance Storm defending the WWF Intercontinental Championship against Edge. Storm applied the Canadian Crab on Edge but Edge countered and applied the Canadian Crab on Storm. Storm threw Edge into the referee to escape the hold. Christian interfered, attempting a Spear on Storm but Storm avoided the move and Christian performed a Spear on Edge. Storm performed a Superkick on Christian and pinned Edge for a near-fall. Edge performed an Edgecution on Storm to win the title.
Next, The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray Dudley and D-Von Dudley) and Test faced The APA (Faarooq and Bradshaw) and Spike Dudley. Spike attempted a Dudley Dog on Test but Test countered by throwing Spike through a table. Bradshaw performed a Clothesline from Hell on Test but the referee checked on Spike. Shane McMahon hit Bradshaw with a steel chair, allowing Test to pin Bradshaw to win the match.
Next, Chris Jericho faced Rhyno. Jericho forced Rhyno to submit to the Walls of Jericho to win the match.
After that, Jeff Hardy defended the WWF Hardcore Championship against Rob Van Dam in a Ladder match. Hardy attempted to retrieve the title belt but Van Dam pushed the ladder, causing Hardy to fall into the ring ropes. Van Dam retrieved the title belt to win the title.
In the seventh match, Stone Cold Steve Austin defended the WWF Championship against Kurt Angle. Austin performed a Stone Cold Stunner on Angle for a near-fall. Austin performed a second Stone Cold Stunner on Angle, causing Angle to roll out of the ring. Angle applied the Ankle Lock on Austin but Austin touched the ring ropes, forcing Angle to break the hold. Austin applied a Cobra Clutch on Angle but Angle ran forwards, causing Austin to roll out of the ring. Austin performed a third Stone Cold Stunner on Angle for a near-fall. Angle performed an Angle Slam on Austin for a near-fall. Austin attacked the referee and Angle performed a DDT on Austin for another near-fall. Austin attacked Angle with a low blow and performed a Stone Cold Stunner on another referee. Austin hit another referee with the title belt and ran into Angle, who performed an Angle Slam on Austin. Angle pinned Austin but another referee stopped the count to disqualify Austin. Angle won by disqualification but Austin retained the title. After the match, Angle applied the Ankle lock on the referee.
Main event
In the main event, Booker T defended the WCW Championship against The Rock. The Rock applied the Sharpshooter on Booker T but Shane McMahon distracted the referee. The Rock attacked McMahon, allowing Booker T to perform a Superkick on The Rock for a near-fall. The Rock performed a Catapult into an exposed turnbuckle on Booker T and performed a DDT on Booker T for a near-fall. Booker T distracted the referee by trying to retrieve a steel chair placed in the ring by McMahon, allowing McMahon to hit The Rock with the title belt. The APA appeared, with Bradshaw performing a Clothesline from Hell on McMahon in retaliation for McMahon costing the APA their six-man tag team match. Booker T performed a Book End on The Rock for a near-fall. The Rock performed a Spinebuster and a People's Elbow on Booker T but McMahon pulled the referee out of the ring, voiding the pinfall. The Rock performed a Rock Bottom on McMahon outside the ring. Booker T performed a Scissors Kick on The Rock and performed the Spinarooni. However; The Rock quickly got up with a kip-up, no-selling the attack, and performed a Rock Bottom on Booker T to win the WCW Championship, his seventh World Championship overall and first WCW Championship reign.
Reception
In 2013, Dylan Diot of 411Mania gave the event a rating of 8.5 [Very Good], writing, "This was a damn good edition of Summerslam. Nothing on the show was bad and two of the matches were absolutely outstanding. [This] show is well worth a watch, especially for Angle's memorable performance and another classic ladder match. The Invasion angle may have [sucked], but at least the effort in the ring was great."[24]
Aftermath
This was the last SummerSlam to occur before the introduction of the first brand extension in March 2002, which split the roster between the Raw and SmackDown! brands where wrestlers were exclusively assigned to perform.[25] It was also the last SummerSlam event to occur under the WWF name, as the promotion was renamed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in May 2002.[26] Additionally, King of the Ring was discontinued as a PPV following its 2002 event, thus SummerSlam, along with WrestleMania, Royal Rumble, and Survivor Series, reverted to being called the "Big Four" until October 2021 when Money in the Bank was recognized as one of the "Big Five".[27]
^Ian Hamilton. Wrestling's Sinking Ship: What Happens to an Industry Without Competition (p. 160)
^Sullivan, Kevin (November 23, 2010). The WWE Championship: A Look Back at the Rich History of the WWE Championship. Gallery Books. p. 124. ISBN9781439193211. 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), ...
^"The Rock's Biography". Canoe: SLAM! Wrestling. Archived from the original on July 14, 2012. Retrieved March 22, 2008. The Rock would head to Hollywood after WrestleMania to assume his first starring role as the title character in The Scorpion King.
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