SummerSlam (2000)

World Wrestling Federation pay per view event

The 2000 SummerSlam was the 13th annual SummerSlam professional wrestling pay per view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It took place on August 27, 2000, at the Raleigh Entertainment and Sports Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina. Ten matches were contested at the event. The main event was a triple threat match for the WWF Championship involving champion The Rock, Triple H, and Kurt Angle. The Rock won the match and retained the title after pinning Triple H following a People's Elbow. One of the predominant matches on the undercard was Kane versus The Undertaker, which ended in a no contest after Undertaker ripped Kane's mask off which caused Kane to flee. Another featured match on the undercard was the first Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match for the Tag Team Championship involving champions Edge and Christian, The Hardy Boyz (Matt Hardy and Jeff Hardy), and The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray Dudley and D Von Dudley). Edge and Christian won the match by retrieving the belts suspended above the ring.

SummerSlam is an annual pay per view (PPV) produced every August by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now 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, and was considered one of the "Big Five" PPVs, along with King of the Ring. It has since become considered WWF's second biggest event of the year behind WrestleMania. The 2000 event was the 13th event in the SummerSlam chronology and was scheduled to be held on August 27, 2000, at the Raleigh Entertainment and Sports Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina.

The professional wrestling matches at SummerSlam featured professional wrestlers performing as characters in scripted events pre determined by the hosting promotion, World Wrestling Federation (WWF). Storylines between the characters played out on WWF's primary television programs, Raw Is War and SmackDown!. On the August 3 episode of SmackDown!, Triple H and his wife, Stephanie McMahon Helmsley, along with Kurt Angle, were booked in a six man tag team match by Commissioner Mick Foley, against the Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray Dudley and D Von Dudley) and Lita which Triple H, McMahon, and Angle won. After the match, as Triple H left the ring, Angle and McMahon hugged in a victory celebration, frustrating Triple H and marking the beginning of a Triple H Angle feud. On the August 7 edition of Raw is War, Angle and Triple H were booked in a triple threat match, along with Chris Jericho, to determine the number one contender for a WWF Championship match against the defending champion, The Rock. Both Angle and Triple H simultaneously pinned Jericho, which made both Angle and Triple H co number one contenders; in frustration, Rock delivered a Rock Bottom on Triple H, Angle, and McMahon, who was at ringside during the match. He also booked a tag team match, where Angle and Triple H would team up against Rock and The Undertaker. During the match, Edge and Christian interfered by attacking the Dudley Boyz, which resulted in Angle, Triple H, and McMahon winning the match when Triple H pinned Rock; as a result of neither Triple H nor Angle walking out on the match, they both were able to keep their number one contender status. On the August 20 edition of Sunday Night Heat, it was made official that The Undertaker would face Kane at SummerSlam. On the August 10 episode of SmackDown!, the Hardy Boyz (Matt Hardy and Jeff Hardy) attacked the WWF Tag Team Champions, Edge and Christian, after their championship match against the Dudley Boyz. After the match, Matt and Bubba came down to the ring, and the Hardys and the Dudleys brawled until they were pulled apart by WWF officials. On the final episode of SmackDown! prior to SummerSlam, the Dudley Boyz interfered in a six man tag team match between the team of the Hardy Boyz and Chris Jericho and the team of Edge, Christian, and Chris Benoit, which resulted in another brawl between the three teams. The interference allowed Jericho to pin Edge for the win. On the July 27 episode of SmackDown!, Chris Jericho and Lita defeated Chris Benoit and Trish Stratus in a mixed tag team match when Jericho pinned Benoit. Backstage after the match, Jericho in an interview mocked Benoit's claim of being the best "technical wrestler in the world" when Benoit viciously attacked Jericho from behind and threw him under a steel door before slamming it on his injured ribs. As Jericho coughed up blood, Benoit hit him with a steel chair. On the August 7 episode of Raw is War, Benoit challenged The Rock for the WWF Championship in a no disqualification match. As Benoit was putting the Crippler Crossface on Rock, Jericho interfered in the match and attacked Benoit before running off Shane McMahon who attempted to interfere in the match on Benoit's behalf. Rock retained the title after a Rock Bottom. When Benoit and Shane complained to Commissioner Foley about Jericho's interference, Foley put Jericho in the number one contender's match with Triple H and Kurt Angle which Jericho would lose when both men pinned him simultaneously. On the August 10 episode of SmackDown!, Benoit and Intercontinental Champion Val Venis defeated Jericho and Eddie Guerrero when Benoit pinned Guerrero after a Diving Headbutt. After the match, Jericho attacked Benoit and put him in the Walls of Jericho. When Shane tried to make the save, Jericho put him in the same maneuver. Later that night, Jericho demanded a match against Benoit which Foley made for SummerSlam. The weeks leading up to the match would see Benoit and Jericho attacking each other and interfering in title matches by one costing the other. The match was later announced to be a Two out of three falls match.

{| class=wikitable style="font size:90%; margin: 0.5em 0 0.5em 1em; float: right; clear: right;"
|+ Other on screen personnel Too Cool gained the early advantage, but The Goodfather retaliated by hitting a Big Boot on Sexay. Right to Censor continued with the advantage until midway into the match, when Richards attempted an aerial technique. The next match was the encounter of Road Dogg and X Pac. The third match was an Intercontinental Championship Intergender Tag Team match between the team of Trish Stratus and defending champion Val Venis against the team of Chyna and Eddie Guerrero. After the incident, The Rock made his entrance down to the ring. He wrestled Triple H as Angle was attended by EMTs, who transported Angle backstage. Stephanie McMahon Helmsley then came down to the ring and attempted to interfere by hitting The Rock with the WWF Championship belt. She accidentally hit Triple H, however, which resulted in Triple H ordering McMahon to the backstage area.