Overview

SummerSlam (2000) was a major professional wrestling pay-per-view produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) on August 27, 2000. The event took place at the Raleigh Entertainment and Sports Arena (venue) in Raleigh, North Carolina. It was the thirteenth SummerSlam (SummerSlam series) and formed part of the promotion's peak period around the turn of the millennium. As with other major cards, SummerSlam combined championship matches, personal rivalries and multi-person spectacles intended for a pay-per-view audience (pay-per-view) and television promotion (show).

Notable matches and outcomes

The headline match was a Triple Threat contest for the WWF Championship in which The Rock defended his title against Triple H and Kurt Angle. The Rock emerged victorious after pinning Triple H following his signature finisher, the People’s Elbow, retaining the championship (WWF Championship). Another high-profile undercard contest involved Kane and The Undertaker, a long-running storyline pairing. That match ended in a no contest after a dramatic moment in which Undertaker forcibly removed Kane’s mask, a result that left the feud unresolved at the event.

The first official TLC match

SummerSlam 2000 is widely remembered for hosting the first sanctioned Tables, Ladders, and Chairs (TLC) match for the WWF Tag Team Championship. The three teams involved were Edge and Christian (the defending champions), The Hardy Boyz (Matt Hardy and Jeff Hardy), and The Dudley Boyz. In a high-risk multi-team ladder match, Edge and Christian retained the tag titles by climbing a ladder and retrieving the belts that hung above the ring (Tag Team Championship). This match helped define the TLC format and showcased innovative teamwork mixed with extreme, aerial spots that became closely associated with these teams.

Context and significance

The event occurred during the WWF’s Attitude Era, a time notable for its emphasis on larger-than-life personalities and boundary-pushing matches. SummerSlam 2000 reinforced The Rock’s position as a top draw and elevated the profile of multi-person, stunt-heavy tag-team encounters. The debut of the formally billed TLC match at a major pay-per-view helped popularize that stipulation in mainstream wrestling and contributed to the long-term legacies of Edge & Christian, The Hardy Boyz and The Dudley Boyz.

Aftermath and legacy

Outcomes from SummerSlam 2000 influenced storylines in the months that followed: title changes were avoided in the marquee matches, keeping championship feuds active, while the unresolved finish to Kane vs. Undertaker extended their storyline into subsequent programming. The TLC match, meanwhile, became a recurring concept used by the promotion in later years and by other promotions that adopted similar high-risk tag-team spectacles. For fans and historians, the show is often cited for its combination of big-name star power and a memorable, career-defining tag-team encounter.

Further reading and references