4 Biggest botches in WWE SummerSlam history

WWE SummerSlam is considered one of the biggest wrestling events of the year, and for the right reasons. Over the years, several returns, debuts, and shocking moments have taken place on the show, but there have also been some significant mistakes.

This year's WWE SummerSlam will take place on August 3, 2024, at the Cleveland Browns Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio. Many exciting matches have already been announced, including Liv Morgan vs. Rhea Ripley and Damian Priest vs. Gunther. While The Biggest Party of the Summer is expected to be a memorable affair, there could still be some mistakes due to the nature of the sport.

In this list, we will look at some of the biggest botches in WWE SummerSlam history.

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#4 Seth Rollins accidentally injured Finn Balor in a title match

At SummerSlam 2016, Finn Balor and Seth Rollins battled in a singles match to determine the inaugural Universal Champion. At one point in the match, The Visionary powerbombed The Demon King into the barricade, dislocating the latter's shoulder.

Despite the injury, Balor pushed through and eventually won the gold. Unfortunately for The Judgment Day member, he immediately had to vacate the title the following night.

At the same event in 2023, the duo fought again, and the abovementioned injury played a crucial role in the storyline. The Visionary ultimately retained the World Heavyweight Championship.

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#3 Stone Cold Steve Austin got tangled in the ring ropes

Stone Cold Steve Austin is considered one of the biggest names in pro wrestling history, but he is still not immune to making some mistakes during matches. A major botch occurred at WWE SummerSlam 1999.

At the 1999 event, Stone Cold defended the WWE Championship against Triple H and Mankind, with Jesse Ventura as the guest referee. At one point in the match, Shane McMahon interfered but received a Stunner from The Texas Rattlesnake and was thrown out of the ring by Ventura.

Stone Cold later attempted to taunt McMahon while standing on the ring rope. However, The Texas Rattlesnake got too excited and inadvertently trapped himself in the ropes. Fortunately, The Game helped his opponent and made it seem like he was assaulting him.

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#2 Stone Cold Steve Austin suffered a serious neck injury at WWE SummerSlam 1997

Stone Cold Steve Austin makes his way into this list once more, but this time around it is for a more serious botch than being stuck in the ropes. At WWE SummerSlam, the Hall of Famer locked horns with Owen Hart for the Intercontinental Championship, and unfortunately, the contest did not end well.

Towards the end, Hart delivered a reverse Tombstone Piledriver to Stone Cold instead of executing the move in The Undertaker's style, which was safer. As a result, The Texas Rattlesnake awkwardly landed on his head.

Stone Cold could not feel his fingers for a while but still pushed through to perform the finish sequence, which saw the Hall of Famer emerge victorious. It was later revealed that he suffered temporary paralysis and a bruised spinal cord due to the botched sequence.

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#1 Rob Van Dam missed a high-risk spot during a match with Jeff Hardy

RVD defeated Jeff Hardy at WWE SummerSlam 2001 to become the Hardcore Champion [Image credit: wwe.com]

One of the most memorable SummerSlam bouts occurred in 2001 when Rob Van Dam and Jeff Hardy squared off in a ladder match for the Hardcore Championship. The contest had several exciting and high-risk spots, but one of the sequences turned into a botch.

At one point, Jeff was dangling mid-air while holding the title. RVD was supposed to perform a spinning kick on The Charismatic Enigma from the top rope to bring the latter down. However, Van Dam could not connect the maneuver, leading to the former AEW star falling awkwardly on the mat.