Summer Slam (2007) - Background

Background

World Wrestling Entertainment had originally planned a storyline between the cast of the Jackass TV series and Umaga, with the conclusion in a match at SummerSlam. It was scheduled to begin at the previous pay-per-view event, The Great American Bash, but was canceled after the Jackass cast dropped out due to the negative media attention surrounding the Chris Benoit double murder and suicide.

The main staged rivalry heading into SummerSlam on the Raw brand was between John Cena and Randy Orton over the WWE Championship. At The Great American Bash, Cena defeated Bobby Lashley to retain the WWE Championship. The next night on Raw, one of three main television programs of WWE (along with WWE SmackDown and ECW on Sci Fi), after a Handicap match involving Cena, Orton came out and executed an RKO on Cena. Shortly thereafter, Executive Assistant Jonathan Coachman announced Orton as the new number-one contender to the WWE Championship. Before that, Orton claimed that he had never faced Cena in a one-on-one WWE Championship match. On the July 30 episode of Raw, Carlito defeated Cena in a non-title match after Orton interfered and distracted Cena. Three weeks later, on the August 18 episode of Saturday Night's Main Event, Cena faced off against Carlito in another non-title match, which Cena won. After the match, Orton came out and attacked Cena, which led to a RKO from Orton through a steel chair.

The main storyline on the SmackDown brand was between The Great Khali and Batista over the World Heavyweight Championship. On the July 6 episode of SmackDown, Khali issued an open challenge for a match at The Great American Bash, which was accepted by Batista later that night. On SmackDown the following week, the match between Khali and Batista was made official after a contract signing. That same night, then-World Heavyweight Champion Edge, who was scheduled to face Kane for the title at The Great American Bash, suffered a real injury—a left pectoral muscle tear—after Kane interrupted his Mardi Gras style celebration. On the July 20 episode of SmackDown, Edge was forced to vacate the World Heavyweight Championship due to the severity of his injury. He later commented-

I’m still the rightful champion. My pectoral muscle is hanging on by a single fiber; literally hanging from the bone. Theodore Long comes out and strips me of what I’ve worked for my entire career—from childhood until now. My mood is obviously not great right now. I’m disgusted.

I go out there and put my body through hell. I’ve broken my neck, dislocated my shoulder twice, torn my other pec, my elbows are mush, I have two protruding discs in my lower back. I even got bit by a brown recluse spider that turned into a flesh-eating disease—the list goes on. I still go out there and prove that I am the best.

Why do I still do this? Not for them. I do it for my pride. I don't give a rat's ass what the fans think. I never have. That's not how I operate. I know that fans will be happy with this, and that pisses me off. I've come to the realization that our fans never will appreciate me. But they had to live with me as their champion, and when I return and become a four-time World Champion, they'll have to deal with me again. —Edge (kayfabe) commenting on his injury.

SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long then announced that there would be a 20-man Battle Royal later that night to determine a new World Heavyweight Champion. As part of the scripted events, Khali won the Battle Royal and became the new World Heavyweight Champion by last eliminating Kane and Batista. Khali defeated the two, as part of the storyline, and retained the title at The Great American Bash. Five days later, on SmackDown, Batista, as part of the scripted events, interrupted Khali's celebration and challenged him to a match at SummerSlam. The next week, on the August 3 episode of SmackDown, Long announced that Khali would defend his title against Batista at SummerSlam.

The predominant staged rivalry from the ECW brand was between John Morrison and CM Punk over the ECW Championship. Morrison, as part of the storyline, won the title at Vengeance: Night of Champions, the pay-per-view two months before SummerSlam, by defeating CM Punk. At the following pay-per-view, The Great American Bash, Morrison defeated Punk, as part of the scripted events, to retain the ECW Championship. On the July 31 episode of ECW on Sci Fi, Punk defeated Tommy Dreamer and Elijah Burke, as part of the scripted events, in a match between the three to earn a 15 Minutes of Fame match with Morrison. The following week, on ECW on Sci Fi, Punk defeated Morrison, as part of the storyline, by pinfall after executing a GTS (Go To Sleep). As a result of this victory, Punk earned himself a championship match against Morrison at SummerSlam.

One of the primary preliminary matches was a standard one-on-one match between Rey Mysterio and Chavo Guerrero. Their storyline first began in July 2006 at The Great American Bash. Guerrero, as part of the scripted events, interfered in Mysterio's World Heavyweight Championship match with King Booker (Booker Huffman) by hitting Mysterio with a steel chair. As part of the storyline, Guerrero defeated Mysterio the following month at SummerSlam, winning the match after performing a frog splash At No Mercy, the pay-per-view two months after SummerSlam 2006, Mysterio, as part of the scripted events, defeated Guerrero in a match where pinfalls could occur anywhere, pinning him after performing a crossbody off a guard rail. Two weeks later, Guerrero defeated Mysterio in an "I Quit" match as part of the storyline, forcing him to quit after hitting his left knee repeatedly with a steel chair. During the match, Mysterio suffered a real injury—an ACL and patella tendon tear in his left knee. Ten months later, on the August 3 episode of SmackDown!, a match between Mysterio and Guerrero was booked for SummerSlam.