The 2002 SummerSlam was a

professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...

pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program ...

(PPV)

event Event may refer to: Gatherings of people * Ceremony, an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion * Convention (meeting), a gathering of individuals engaged in some common interest * Event management, the organization of eve ...

produced by

World Wrestling Entertainment World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

(WWE). It was the 15th annual

SummerSlam SummerSlam is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by the world's largest professional wrestling promotion, WWE. Dubbed "The Biggest Party of the Summer", it is considered WWE's second biggest event of the year behind th ...

and took place on August 25, 2002, at the

Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum (or simply the Nassau Coliseum) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Uniondale, New York, on Long Island. The venue is situated approximately east of the eastern limits of the borough of Queens in New York City, a ...

in Uniondale,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and

SmackDown! ''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE. It airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on USA Network in the United ...

brand divisions. With this event, SummerSlam became the first pay-per-view to have events in the three major indoor venues in the

New York metropolitan area The New York metropolitan area, also called the Tri-State area and sometimes referred to as Greater New York, is the List of cities by GDP, largest metropolitan economy in the world, with a List of U.S. metropolitan areas by GDP, gross metropo ...

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...

hosted the event in

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

, and

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

, and the

Izod Center Meadowlands Arena (formerly Brendan Byrne Arena, Continental Airlines Arena and Izod Center) is a closed indoor sports and concert venue located in the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States. Since closing, ...

East Rutherford, New Jersey East Rutherford is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is an inner suburb, inner-ring suburb of New York City, located west of Midtown Manhattan. As of the 2020 Unit ...

hosted the event in

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

, and later in

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

. 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

WWE Undisputed Championship The WWE Championship, also referred to as the Undisputed WWE Championship since April 2024, is a men's professional wrestling World championship (professional wrestling), world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American profe ...

between The Rock and

Brock Lesnar Brock Edward Lesnar ( ; born July 12, 1977) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and former Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist, Amateur wrestling, amateur wrestler and professional American football player. As a ...

. Lesnar won the match and the championship after pinning Rock following an F-5. The main match on the Raw brand featured an Unsanctioned Street Fight between the returning

Shawn Michaels Shawn Michaels (born Michael Shawn Hickenbottom on July 22, 1965) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he is the Senior Vice President of Talent Development, Creative, and oversees the creative aspects of th ...

and

Triple H Paul Michael Levesque (; born July 27, 1969), also known by the ring name Triple H, is an American business executive and former professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he serves as its chief content officer. Levesque began his wres ...

, which Michaels won after pinning Triple H by reversing Triple H's

Pedigree Breeding * Pedigree chart, a document to record ancestry, used by genealogists in study of human family lines, and in selective breeding of other animals ** Pedigree, a human genealogy (ancestry chart) ** Pedigree (animal), a breed registry *** ...

attempt into a jackknife roll-up. There was also an interpromotional match for the Intercontinental Championship between

Rob Van Dam Robert Szatkowski (born December 18, 1970) better known by his ring name Rob Van Dam (frequently abbreviated to RVD) is an American professional wrestler. Known for his unique ring style—which includes his variety of kicks, acrobatic movemen ...

from Raw and

Chris Benoit Christopher Michael Benoit ( ; May 21, 1967 – June 24, 2007) was a Canadian Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He worked for various pro-wrestling promotions during his 22-year career, but is notorious for Chris Benoit double-murd ...

from SmackDown!, which Van Dam won by pinfall after performing a Five-Star Frog Splash. The other matches on the

undercard In sports, a card lists the matches taking place in a title match combat-sport event. Cards include a main event match and the undercard listing the rest of the matches. The undercard may be divided into a midcard and a lower card, according to ...

included

The Undertaker Mark William Calaway (born March 24, 1965), better known by his ring name the Undertaker, is an American retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Calaway ...

versus

Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film) ...

and

Kurt Angle Kurt Steven Angle (born December 9, 1968) is an American retired professional wrestler and amateur wrestling, amateur wrestler. He first earned recognition for winning a Wrestling at the 1996 Summer Olympics – Men's freestyle 100 kg, gold me ...

versus

Rey Mysterio Óscar Gutiérrez Rubio (born December 11, 1974), better known by his ring name Rey Mysterio, is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand. Widely regarded as both one of the greatest '' luch ...

. 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 WrestleMania X-Seven, also known as WrestleMania 17, was a 2001 professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It was the 17th annual WrestleMania and took place on April 1, 2001, at t ...

from the previous year in 2001.

Production

Background

is an annual

(PPV) produced every August by

(WWE) since 1988. Dubbed "The Biggest Party of the Summer", it is one of the promotion's original four pay-per-views, along with WrestleMania,

Royal Rumble The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. It is named after, and centered on, the Royal Rumble match, a modified Battle royal (professional wre ...

, and

Survivor Series Survivor Series, branded as Survivor Series: WarGames since 2022, is a professional wrestling event produced annually since 1987 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Held in November generally the week of Thanksgiving ( ...

, referred to as the "Big Four", and was considered one of the "Big Five" PPVs, along with

King of the Ring King and Queen of the Ring, formerly and still commonly known as simply King of the Ring, was a professional wrestling event produced by WWE, a Connecticut-based professional wrestling promotion. The event was established in 1993 and originally c ...

until its discontinuation after its 2002 event. It has since become considered WWE's second biggest event of the year behind WrestleMania. The 2002 event was the 15th SummerSlam and was scheduled to be held on August 25, 2002, at the

in Uniondale,

. It was the first SummerSlam to occur under the first

brand extension Brand extension or brand stretching is a marketing strategy in which a firm marketing a product with a well-developed image uses the same brand name in a different product category. The new product is called a spin-off. Organizations use this ...

introduced in March, which split the roster between the Raw and

brands where wrestlers were exclusively assigned to perform; SummerSlam featured wrestlers from both brands. 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.

Storylines

The

professional wrestling matches Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Gimmick, gimmick matches" in the Glossary of professional wrestling terms, jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick m ...

at SummerSlam featured professional wrestlers performing as

characters Character or Characters may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''Character'' (novel), a 1936 Dutch novel by Ferdinand Bordewijk * ''Characters'' (Theophrastus), a classical Greek set of character sketches attributed to Theoph ...

in scripted events pre-determined by the hosting

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). 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.

SmackDown!

The main

feud A feud , also known in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, private war, or mob war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially family, families or clans. Feuds begin ...

heading into SummerSlam on the SmackDown!

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's goods or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create and ...

was between The Rock and

, with the two feuding over the

. On the June 24 episode of ''Raw'', it was announced that Lesnar would face off against the WWE Undisputed Champion at SummerSlam, as a result of winning the

King of the Ring tournament The King of the Ring tournament is a men's professional wrestling single-elimination tournament held periodically by WWE, a Connecticut-based professional wrestling promotion. Established in 1985, the winner of the inaugural tournament was Don Mur ...

. At

Vengeance Vengeance may refer to: *Vengeance (concept) or revenge, a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance Film * ''Vengeance'' (1930 film), action adventure film directed by Archie Mayo * ''Vengeance'' (1937 film) or ''W ...

, The Rock defeated

and

in a

triple threat match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called " gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a storyline. ...

to win the WWE Undisputed Championship by pinning Angle after executing a Rock Bottom. On the July 25 episode of ''

'', during The Rock's

WWE Tag Team Championship The WWE Tag Team Championship is a men's professional wrestling world tag team championship created and promoted by the United States, American professional wrestling promotion, promotion WWE, defended on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown WWE ...

match against

The Un-Americans The Un-Americans (originally known as The Anti-Americans) were a villainous professional wrestling stable in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) who were active from 2002 to 2003. The stable was originally composed of three Canadian wrestlers: L ...

(

Lance Storm Lance Timothy Evers (; born April 3, 1969), known professionally by his ring name Lance Storm, is a Canadians, Canadian retired professional wrestler. He is signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he works as a producer. He is best known ...

and

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

), Lesnar interfered by nailing The Rock's tag team partner

Hollywood Hulk Hogan Terry Gene Bollea (; born August 11, 1953), better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE as a brand ambassador. Known for his flamboyance and massive physiq ...

with an F-5. Due to Lesnar's interference, The Rock and Hogan won the match by 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 WrestleMania X8, also known as WrestleMania 18, was a 2002 professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It was the 18th annual WrestleMania and took place on St Patrick’s Day on Ma ...

rematch at SummerSlam for the WWE Undisputed Championship. At the end, Lesnar locked Hogan in a

bear hug The bear hug is a grappling maneuver often seen in sports, such as wrestling. It also exists outside sports, such as street fighting, martial arts personal defense, military hand-to-hand combat, and even affectionate hugging. Bear hugs can be d ...

. When Hogan (

kayfabe In professional wrestling, kayfabe (pronounced ) is the portrayal of staged events within the industry as "real" or "true", specifically competition, rivalries, and relationships between participants. The term has evolved to become a code word ...

) 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 The WWE Intercontinental Championship is a men's professional wrestling Professional wrestling championship#Location-specific championships, championship created and promoted by the United States, American professional wrestling promotion, promo ...

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 Edge or EDGE may refer to: Technology Computing * Edge computing, a network load-balancing system * Edge device, an entry point to a computer network * Adobe Edge, a graphical development application * Microsoft Edge, a web browser developed by ...

defeated Benoit and

Eddie Guerrero Eduardo Gory Guerrero Llanes (October 9, 1967 – November 13, 2005) was an American professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He was best known for his tenures in WWE, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and World Championship Wrestling ...

in a

tag team match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a storyline. ...

, 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!'',

made his WWE debut by defeating

Chavo Guerrero Salvador Guerrero IV (born October 20, 1970) better known by his ring names Chavo Guerrero and Chavo Guerrero Jr., is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenures in World Championship Wrestling (WCW), World Wrestling Fe ...

. On the August 8 episode of ''SmackDown!'', the team of Mysterio, Edge and

John Cena John Felix Anthony Cena ( ; born April 23, 1977) is an American actor and professional wrestler. As a wrestler, he has been signed to WWE , where he is the current WWE Championship, Undisputed WWE Champion in his record 14th reign, which is ...

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 Mark Jerrold Henry (born June 12, 1971) is an American former powerlifter, Olympic weightlifter, strongman, and retired professional wrestler currently signed to WWE under a Legends contract. Henry is a two-time Olympian (1992 and 19 ...

and delivered a 619 to Angle. On the August 22 episode of ''SmackDown!'', Mysterio cost Angle a match against

Billy Kidman Peter Alan Gruner Jr.(born May 11, 1974) is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Billy Kidman. He works for WWE, where he is a producer. As a wrestler, Kidman is best known for his work with World Championsh ...

by attacking Angle.

Raw

Another feud heading into SummerSlam was between

and

. At

, Michaels returned after being out of wrestling (due to a back injury) for four years. Triple H was given the choice of deciding which brand he would appear for, Raw or SmackDown!, and Michaels helped him decide by offering to reform

D-Generation X D-Generation X (DX), is an American professional wrestling Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Stable, stable, and later a tag team, who consisted of various members mostly Generation X wrestlers, most notably Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Ch ...

(DX) on the Raw brand. Triple H chose to go to the Raw brand, but on the July 22 episode of ''Raw'', as Michaels and Triple H were in the middle of reforming DX, Triple H turned on Michaels by nailing him with the

. On the July 29 episode of ''Raw'', Michaels was found in the parking lot, laying motionless following an ambush. He was also bleeding from the head due to someone putting his head through a car window. On the August 5 episode of ''Raw'', a security camera revealed to be Triple H that had attacked Michaels from behind. Triple H told Michaels that he did it to prove a point that Michaels was "weak". Michaels then told Triple H that he wasn't 100%, but he would be at SummerSlam. On the August 19 episode of ''Raw'', Raw General Manager

Eric Bischoff Eric Aaron Bischoff (born May 27, 1955) is an American television producer, Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Booker, professional wrestling booker, promoter, and performer. He is best known for serving as Executive Producer and later Sen ...

announced an Unsanctioned Street Fight between Triple H and Michaels for SummerSlam. Later that night, Michaels interfered in Triple H's non-title match with The Rock and assaulted Triple H. At the beginning of the show, Brock Lesnar bought a front-row seat ticket to watch the main event between The Rock and Triple H, but even when Lesnar tried to interfere on Triple H's behalf, Michaels delivered a 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.

and Chris Benoit, meanwhile, had been feuding over the WWE Intercontinental Championship since Benoit won it from Van Dam on the July 29 episode of ''Raw''. Shortly after this match, Benoit took advantage of what was referred to as "open season" on wrestler contracts and took his title with him to the SmackDown! brand, where he had originally been drafted. Benoit was still required to defend the title against a member of the Raw roster at SummerSlam and Van Dam defeated

Jeff Hardy Jeffrey Nero Hardy (born August 31, 1977) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) and also appears on partner promotion WWE on its NXT (WWE brand), NXT brand. He is re ...

on the August 12 episode of ''Raw'' in a match to determine the #1 contender.

Event

The event unofficially began with a '' Sunday Night Heat'' match between

Spike Dudley Matthew Jonathan Hyson (born August 13, 1970) is an American semi-retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler best known for his tenure in WWE, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) as Spike Dudley. Prior to WWE, Hyson began performing ...

and

Steven Richards Steven James Richards (born 11 July 1972) is a New Zealand-Australian racing driver, currently competing in the Porsche Carrera Cup Australia Championship. Richards, the son of seven-time Bathurst 1000 winner Jim Richards (race driver), Jim Ri ...

. Dudley pinned Richards.

Preliminary matches

The first match was between

and

. The match started off with Mysterio getting the advantage over Angle, as he hid under the ring, and when Mysterio's music hit, he took down Angle with a

headscissors Professional wrestling holds include a number of set moves and pins used by performers to immobilize their opponents or lead to a submission. This article covers the various pins, stretches and transition holds used in the ring. Some wrestlers use ...

. The two entered the ring, which saw Mysterio execute a headscissors takeover. Mysterio attempted the

619 __NOTOC__ Year 619 ( DCXIX) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 619 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe f ...

but Angle ducked and dominated Mysterio. However, Mysterio was able to execute a senton from the ring to the floor on Angle. Mysterio then delivered the 619 and the West Coast Pop for a nearfall. Angle reversed a diving hurricarana into the

ankle lock A leglock is a joint lock that is directed at joints of the leg such as the ankle, knee or hip joint. A leglock which is directed at joints in the foot is sometimes referred to as a foot lock and a lock at the hip as a hip lock. Leglocks are featu ...

, to which Mysterio submitted. The next match was a contest between

Ric Flair Richard Morgan Fliehr (born February 25, 1949), known professionally as Ric Flair, is an American retired professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Flair's career spanned 50 years. He is ...

and

Chris Jericho Christopher Keith Irvine (born November 9, 1970), better known by the ring name Chris Jericho, is an American-Canadian professional wrestler, rock musician, and actor. As a wrestler, he has been signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) , where he ...

. Jericho put Flair into the

figure-four leglock Professional wrestling holds include a number of set moves and pins used by performers to immobilize their opponents or lead to a submission. This article covers the various pins, stretches and transition holds used in the ring. Some wrestlers use ...

. Jericho insisted that Flair submitted, but the referee ordered the match to continue. Flair then won the match by applying the hold on Jericho. The third match of the night was between

and

. During the match, Guerrero targeted Edge's shoulder. Guerrero also countered a

spear A spear is a polearm consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with Fire hardening, fire hardened spears, or it may be made of a more durable materia ...

attempt with a

dropkick A dropkick is an Professional wrestling strikes, attacking maneuver in professional wrestling. It is defined as an attack where the wrestler jumps up and kicks the opponent with the soles of both feet; this sees the wrestler twist as they ju ...

to the shoulder, and executed a

frog splash Aerial techniques, also known as "high-flying moves" are performance techniques used in professional wrestling for simulated assault on opponents. The techniques involve jumping from the ring's posts and ropes, demonstrating the speed and agility o ...

onto Edge's shoulder. Edge retaliated with an Edgecution and a spear for the win. The next match was for the

between

(

and

) and

Booker T Booker T or Booker T. may refer to * Booker T. Washington (1856–1915), African American political leader at the turn of the 20th century ** List of things named after Booker T. Washington, some nicknamed "Booker T." * Booker T. Jones (born 194 ...

and

Goldust Dustin Patrick Runnels (born April 11, 1969) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Dustin Rhodes, with a nickname of "The Natural" and is a member of The Sons of ...

. During the match, Booker T executed a scissors kick to both Storm and Christian, but

made a run-in and gave Booker T a

big boot Big or BIG may refer to: * Big, of great size or degree Film and television * ''Big'' (film), a 1988 fantasy-comedy film starring Tom Hanks * ''Big'', a 2023 Taiwanese children's film starring Van Fan and Chie Tanaka * '' Big!'', a Discover ...

. Christian pinned Booker T to retain the titles for The Un-Americans. The fifth match on the card was for the Intercontinental Championship between

and

. Van Dam won the title by pinning Benoit after a Five Star Frog Splash.

against Test was next. Lance Storm and Christian both interfered in the match, but received a

chokeslam A chokeslam is a type of body slam in professional wrestling, in which a wrestler grasps an opponent's neck, lifts them up, and slams them to the mat. It is common in televised wrestling because it is simple and relatively safe, yet looks powerf ...

from The Undertaker. The Undertaker won the match with a

Tombstone Piledriver A piledriver is a professional wrestling driver move in which the wrestler grabs their opponent, turns them upside-down, and drops into a sitting or kneeling position, driving the opponent head-first into the mat. The technique is said to have b ...

. After the match, The Undertaker waved an

American flag The national flag of the United States, often referred to as the American flag or the U.S. flag, consists of thirteen horizontal Bar (heraldry), stripes, Variation of the field, alternating red and white, with a blue rectangle in the Canton ( ...

. The seventh match was the Unsanctioned Street Fight between

and

. This was Shawn Michaels' first wrestling match since

WrestleMania XIV WrestleMania XIV, also promoted as WrestleMania dX raided, was a 1998 professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF; WWE as of 2002). It was the 14th annual WrestleMania and took place on March ...

. Michaels came out fast, using a punch-kick offense to start and executing a plancha. Triple H executed a series of

backbreaker Backbreaker refers to a kind of professional wrestling move which sees a wrestler dropping an opponent so that the opponent's back impacts or is bent backwards against a part of the wrestler's body, usually the knee. The standard version of the ...

s on Michaels. Michaels hit Triple H with a ladder. Michaels executed a splash on Triple H from the top rope through a table on the floor and a diving elbow drop off a ladder. The match came to an end when Michaels went for the Sweet Chin Music, which Triple H countered into a

attempt, but Michaels countered into a jackknife roll-up for the win. After the match, Triple H hit Michaels with a

sledgehammer A sledgehammer is a tool with a large, flat, massive, often metal head, attached to a long wooden or solid handle. The long handle is combined with a heavy head which allows the sledgehammer to pick up momentum during a swing and applying a large ...

twice, forcing Michaels to be carried away on a stretcher.

Main event match

The main event was for the

between The Rock and

. Lesnar dominated early with some power moves. The Rock went for the

Sharpshooter A sharpshooter is one who is highly proficient at firing firearms or other projectile weapons accurately. Military units composed of sharpshooters were important factors in 19th-century combat. Along with " marksman" and "expert", "sharpshooter" ...

. Lesnar's

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

Paul Heyman Paul Heyman (born September 11, 1965) is an American professional wrestling manager, former executive, promoter, and commentator. He is signed to WWE as the on-screen manager of Seth Rollins, Bron Breakker, and Bronson Reed, and is widely regard ...

got involved in the match, as he was attacked by The Rock, who executed a Rock Bottom through a broadcast table on Heyman. The Rock and Lesnar gave each other a Rock Bottom. The match came to an end when Lesnar stopped a People's Elbow and a ''Rock Bottom'' and then executed the F-5 on The Rock for the win and the title. Lesnar remained the youngest

world champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

in WWE history until

Randy Orton Randal Keith Orton (born April 1, 1980) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He has been signed to WWE since 2000, where he performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown brand. Orton is widely regarded as one of t ...

won the World Heavyweight Championship in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

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

expected

to be able to return on ''Raw'' the next night. Lesnar and SmackDown! General Manager

Stephanie McMahon Stephanie Marie McMahon Levesque ( ; ; born September 24, 1976) is an American businesswoman and retired professional wrestler. She is known for her various roles within WWE between 1998 and 2023. The daughter of Vince McMahon, Vince and Lind ...

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. On the September 2 episode of ''Raw'', Bischoff awarded Triple H, ''Raws designated number-one contender, the World Heavyweight Championship in the form of the Big Gold Belt.

went on to challenge Lesnar for the now-renamed WWE Championship at

Unforgiven ''Unforgiven'' is a 1992 American revisionist Western film produced and directed by Clint Eastwood from a screenplay by David Webb Peoples. It stars Eastwood as William Munny, an aging outlaw and killer who takes on one more job years after ...

, and again at No Mercy in a

Hell in a Cell Hell in a Cell is a professional wrestling steel cage-based match which originated in 1997 in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It features a large cell structure, a four-sided cuboid made from open-weave steel mesh chain-link f ...

match.

would return full-time to the ring at

and win the World Heavyweight Championship from Triple H in the first ever

Elimination Chamber The Elimination Chamber is a professional wrestling elimination-based match held in the WWE. The match was created by Triple H, and introduced by Eric Bischoff in November 2002. It features a large chain-linked circular steel structure which ...

match. After the broadcasting of the event had stopped after the main event, former WWE Undisputed Champion The Rock was visibly angry at the crowd reaction. The Rock had faced a negative response from fans during the main event. When he tried to do a post-show speech for the crowd, the fans attending the Nassau Coliseum still booed him. He eventually cut a promo, declaring that ''"sing-along with The Rock is over!"'', before taking a six-month hiatus from WWE. The Rock did not return until late January 2003, where he turned

heel The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower leg. Structure To distribute the compressive forces exerted ...

Hulk Hogan Terry Gene Bollea (; born August 11, 1953), better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE as a brand ambassador. Known for his flamboyance and massive physiq ...

, leading to a

rematch at No Way Out where

special guest referee Special or specials may refer to: Policing * Specials, Ulster Special Constabulary, the Northern Ireland police force * Specials, Special Constable, an auxiliary, volunteer, or temporary; police worker or police officer * Special police forces M ...

Sylvain Grenier Sylvain Grenier (born March 26, 1977) is a Canadian retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure in WWE, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). He is best known for his time wrestling for WWE between 2002 ...

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

Results

References

External links

Official 2002 SummerSlam site

twnpnews.com – SummerSlam
{{DEFAULTSORT:Summerslam 2002

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

2002 in New York (state) 2002 WWE pay-per-view events August 2002 in the United States Professional wrestling shows in Uniondale, New York