The 2005 SummerSlam was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was the 18th annual SummerSlam and took place on August 21, 2005, at the MCI Center in Washington, D.C., held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown! brand divisions. Nine matches were contested at the event, including one on the Sunday Night Heat pre-show.
The main match on the Raw brand was Hulk Hogan versus Shawn Michaels, which Hogan won by pinfall after executing a leg drop. The predominant match on the SmackDown! brand was a No Holds Barred match for the World Heavyweight Championship between Batista and John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL), which Batista won by pinfall after executing two Batista Bombs, with the second on the steel ring steps. Another primary match on the Raw brand was for the WWE Championship between John Cena and Chris Jericho, which Cena won by pinfall after performing an FU. The main match on the undercard was from SmackDown! and was a ladder match for the custody of Rey Mysterio's son Dominik between Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero, which Mysterio won by retrieving the briefcase suspended above the ring. The original match was supposed to see Batista defend the World Heavyweight Championship against Muhammad Hassan and have Hassan defeat Batista but was written off and fired a month earlier due to the July 7 2005 London Bombings in London England.
Production Background
SummerSlam is an annual professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) produced every August by World Wrestling Entertainment (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, and Survivor Series, referred to as the "Big Four".Ian Hamilton. Wrestling's Sinking Ship: What Happens to an Industry Without Competition (p. 160) It has since become considered WWE's second biggest event of the year behind WrestleMania. The 18th SummerSlam was scheduled to be held on August 21, 2005, at the MCI Center in Washington, D.C., and featured wrestlers from the Raw and SmackDown! brand divisions.
WWE had originally planned a match between Muhammad Hassan and Batista for SmackDown!'s World Heavyweight Championship, which would have made Hassan the youngest world champion in WWE history at 23, breaking Randy Orton's record. The storyline was scheduled to begin at The Great American Bash the prior month in which he faced The Undertaker in a number one contenders match, but it was scrapped in the aftermath of the London bombings that occurred three days after SmackDown! was taped.
Storylines Eight professional wrestling matches were scheduled on the event's card, which were planned with predetermined outcomes by WWE's script writers. The storylines revolving around these matches before, during, and after the event were also planned by the script writers. The event featured wrestlers and other talent from both the Raw and SmackDown! brands – a storyline expansion to which WWE assigned its employees.
The main feud heading into SummerSlam on the Raw brand was between Hulk Hogan and Shawn Michaels. A feud between Michaels, Muhammad Hassan, and Daivari began on the April 4 episode of Raw, when Hassan and Daivari attacked Michaels. Michaels demanded a match against the two, but he would only be given one if he found a partner. Hogan eventually became Michaels' partner, and they defeated Hassan and Daivari at Backlash. Hogan did not appear again until the June 27 episode of Raw in a six-man tag match joining Michaels and John Cena against Chris Jericho, Christian, and Tyson Tomko, a match which Hogan's team won. His next appearance was on the July 4 episode of Raw on Carlito's talk show segment Carlito's Cabana. Carlito, along with Kurt Angle, made comments about Hogan's daughter Brooke and eventually attacked him. Michaels came out to help Hogan, and they defeated Carlito and Angle in a match later that night. The match saw Hogan and Michaels get the victory. During the post-match pose, Michaels superkicked Hogan, which knocked Hogan to the ground and turning Michaels heel for the first time since returning to the company in 2002. The following week, Michaels challenged Hogan to a match at SummerSlam, which Hogan accepted.
The predominant feud on the SmackDown! brand was between Batista and John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL), with the two feuding over the World Heavyweight Championship. During the WWE Draft Lottery, SmackDown! was left temporarily without a top championship after John Cena, the reigning WWE Champion, was drafted to Raw. On the June 30 edition of SmackDown!, a six-man elimination match between JBL, The Undertaker, Booker T, and SmackDown! draftees Chris Benoit, Christian, and Muhammad Hassan was made and General Manager Theodore Long was to present a new title to the winner called the SmackDown! Championship. JBL won the match by eliminating Christian last, but Long announced that plans had changed and there was no need for a SmackDown! Championship. Instead, Long revealed that Batista, who had been the reigning World Heavyweight Champion since defeating Triple H at WrestleMania 21, was joining the brand as the final draft pick and by winning the match, JBL was the number one contender for the World Heavyweight Championship. JBL faced Batista for the World Heavyweight Championship at The Great American Bash, where JBL won by disqualification when Batista used a steel chair. JBL was given a rematch at SummerSlam on the following episode of SmackDown! after defeating The Undertaker. Batista allowed JBL to choose the stipulation, and JBL made it a No Holds Barred match. On the August 11 episode of SmackDown!, during Batista's match with Christian, JBL interfered and hit Batista with a steel chair. The following week, JBL faced Funaki in a No Holds Barred match, during which Batista interfered and attacked JBL.
Another rivalry leading into the event was between John Cena and Chris Jericho, with the two battling over the WWE Championship. Their feud began when Cena was drafted to Raw during the draft lottery and began a feud with Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff. Cena refused to comply with Bischoff, who saw Cena as an unfit champion. After Cena successfully defended the WWE Championship in a triple threat match at Vengeance against Jericho and Christian, Bischoff hand-picked Jericho to face Cena for the WWE Championship at SummerSlam. On the August 1 episode of Raw, Jericho refereed a WWE Championship match between Cena and Carlito (which Cena won). After the match, Jericho attacked Cena with a television camera. On the August 15 episode of Raw, Cena defeated Jericho and Carlito in a handicap match. At the end, Jericho hit Cena with a steel chair.
Another rivalry heading into the event on the SmackDown! brand was between Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio in a Ladder Match. Guerrero and Mysterio had been feuding for past three months ever since they lost the WWE Tag Team Championship to MNM in May when Guerrero walked out on Mysterio during the match. Guerrero frustrated over losing to Mysterio in a match at WrestleMania turned heel on Mysterio and vertical suplexed him on the ring steps. The two had a match at Judgment Day which ended in a disqualification when Guerrero repeatedly hit Mysterio with a steel chair. The rivalry resumed between the two when Guerrero promised to reveal a secret concerning Mysterio's son Dominik. Mysterio and Guerrero had another match at The Great American Bash in which if Guerrero lost he would not reveal the secret. Mysterio won the match at the event. On the July 28 episode of SmackDown!, Guerrero revealed to Mysterio that he lied and then told Dominik that Mysterio was not his father and that Guerrero himself was his real father. Over the following weeks, Guerrero reveal the details of his secret claiming that he had a child out of wedlock (Dominik) while his marriage was going through hard times and stated that he allowed Mysterio and his wife Angie who were "having trouble conceiving" to adopt the child as their own. Guerrero even had his lawyer served official custody papers to Mysterio demanding that he signed them to give Guerrero custody of Dominik. On the August 11th episode of SmackDown!, Guerrero and a social services representative came to the ring and demanded that Mysterio and Angie hand over Dominik to him. During the segment, Mysterio pointed out that Guerrero had beaten his drug addiction and his inner demons but he hasn't beaten Mysterio. Mysterio then challenged Guerrero to a match at SummerSlam for the custody of Dominik. After Guerrero accepted the challenge, the social worker told the two that their conflict has nothing to do with Dominik and until they can resolve their differences, Dominik must go into foster care. The following week, it was announced that the match would be a Ladder Match with the custody papers in a briefcase hanging above the ring.
Event Preliminary matches + Other on-screen personnelRole:Name:English commentatorJim Ross Jerry Lawler Jonathan Coachman Michael Cole Tazz Spanish commentatorsCarlos CabreraHugo SavinovichInterviewerTodd GrishamRing announcersLilian GarciaTony ChimelGeneral ManagersEric Bischoff Theodore LongRefereesMike Chioda Jack Doan Chad Patton Brian Hebner Jim Korderas Nick Patrick Charles Robinson Before the event officially began, Chris Masters defeated The Hurricane in a match taped for Sunday Night Heat.
In the first match, Orlando Jordan faced Chris Benoit for the United States Championship. The match started with both locked up in a collar-and-elbow. Benoit forced Jordan into the corner, and as the referee was trying to break them up, Jordan punched Benoit. Benoit then avoided a clothesline and performed a German suplex. Benoit applied the Crippler Crossface to force Jordan to submit to win the match and the title in 25.5 seconds.
In the second match, Edge faced Matt Hardy. Fueled by a storyline stemming from previous real-life tensions between the two former friends over Hardy's real-life girlfriend Lita having an affair with Edge, the fight started outside the ring, with Hardy gaining the early advantage. After repeated punches, Hardy applied a rear naked choke. Edge fought back with a headbutt and punches. Edge then performed a spear to the outside. Both were down briefly before Edge brought Hardy back into the ring. Hardy fought back with punches and mounted punches in the corner. During this, Edge pushed Hardy upwards, causing his head to hit the ringpost and bleed. Edge attacked Hardy's head repeatedly, and Hardy was incapable of defending himself. The referee finally stopped the match and awarded Edge the victory. This match, seen by many as a disappointment, was highly anticipated due to WWE's storyline exploiting real life events between Edge and Hardy.