Why SummerSlam 2005 Was One Of WWE’s Wildest Ever PPV’s

SummerSlam has had plenty of notable events over the years, whether that be weird, show-stealing, history-making, or downright awful, but the 2005 edition of WWE’s ‘Biggest Party of the Summer’ might be the absolute wildest of the whole bunch. Whether that is for the right or wrong reasons is something that is up to you to decide. We’ll take a revisit to August 21, 2005, rewinding 20 years ago to what used to be known as the MCI Center (now Capitol One Arena) in Washington D.C. for what was a weird, wacky, and completely wild WWE PPV event for several reasons.

SummerSlam 2005 Had Some Big Stars And Weird Finishes

• The SummerSlam 2005 card had high profile world title bouts.
• Kurt Angle squashed Eugene.
• ‘Cowboy’ Bob Orton helped Randy Orton beat The Undertaker.

SummerSlam 2005 was littered with several big stars and matches, such as John Cena defending the WWE Title against Chris Jericho and Batista defending the World Heavyweight Title against JBL. That is pretty much where normalcy ended for SummerSlam that year. The first match to go off the rails was the highly anticipated blood feud between Matt Hardy and Edge, with fans desperate to see them go at it. The match wasn’t what many thought it would be, especially as it ended after four minutes via referee stoppage after Edge bashed Hardy’s head into the ring post.

Things then got a little weird as multi-time world champion Kurt Angle did battle with the comedic Eugene in another short match in which Angle won the bout after four minutes. Despite a couple of flurries from Eugene, Angle beat down his opponent with ease and had his hand raised without much of an issue. This was a completely pointless match, and Angle would have been far better served having an actual match on the card.

Randy Orton and The Undertaker continued their feud after a strong clash at WrestleMania 21, though this one ended in a very wild manner. A fan entered the ring to distract Undertaker, allowing Orton to score the win. This turned out to be Orton’s father, ‘Cowboy’ Bob Orton, who became a part of this storyline. Having a screwy finish was a questionable one, and the feud continued to get even more bizarre, spooky, and supernatural as the months pressed on.

Eddie Guerrero & Rey Mysterio Fought For The Custody Of Dominik

• This is one of WWE’s most bizarre storylines ever.
• Domink was revealed to be Guerrero’s child.
• Rey Mysterio battled Guerrero in a ladder match for his custodial papers.

Perhaps the most surreal match at SummerSlam came between Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero, two friends-turned-rivals who will forever have their legacies entwined. Their soap opera storyline revealed that Eddie Guerrero was the biological father of Dominik Mysterio, Rey Mysterio’s son. Guerrero noted that he allowed his friends to adopt his child due to their issues with conceiving, but never revealed the truth (how Rey Mysterio never found out about this was a complete mystery, but who are we to question the logic of this story?!) Their fractured relationship led to Guerrero divulging this dark secret, prompting a custody battle. In typical WWE fashion, this was resolved in the ring rather than through a legal process and courtroom. The papers to Dominik’s custody were raised above the ring to be retrieved by a ladder.

In a storyline that even had Dominik’s school teachers questioning if the narrative was actually real, Rey Mysterio and Guerrero went to war in a ladder match. The match itself was, admittedly, a lot of fun despite its complete absurdity, and it was all happy families as Rey Mysterio emerged victorious and got his son back – until years later when he was cast off as a ‘deadbeat dad’ by his heelish and arrogant son, who became a WWE superstar.

The Hulk Hogan Vs. Shawn Michaels Main Event Is Infamous

• This was a legit WWE dream match.
• Shawn Michaels oversold Hulk Hogan and made the match surreal.
• Michaels wasn’t happy with losing to Hogan.

The main event of SummerSlam pitted Shawn Michaels against Hulk Hogan in a massive dream match between two icons. Fans had high hopes for this first-time-ever encounter, but then the bell rang. Michaels, unhappy at putting over Hogan, decided to take some liberties, overselling to the maximum degree, bumping and flipping like crazy at all of Hogan’s offensive moves. In an attempt to make Hogan look foolish, he accomplished exactly that, as the aging name often looks helpless as Michaels moved his body in ridiculous ways in response to Irish Whips, punches, kicks, and more.

Overall, the quality of the match wasn’t too bad, with the two being seasoned veterans having a strong connection to the crowd, so the fans loved what they were seeing. However, this still exists as one of the weirdest, wildest, and most uncomfortable WWE matches to sit through, and it capped off what had been, quite frankly, a very wild SummerSlam in 2005.