SummerSlam 1996

With roughly 17,000 watching in attendance inside Cleveland’s Gund Arena, The Undertaker and Mankind brought their rapidly escalating rivalry to a new level at SummerSlam 1996, competing in WWE’s first Boiler Room Brawl, which ended with a treacherous act of betrayal by The Phenom’s longtime ally, Paul Bearer. In the WWE Title Match, meanwhile, new championship threat Vader twice defeated titleholder Shawn Michaels, first by count-out and then by disqualification. Yet, at the urging of The Mastodon’s manager, Jim Cornette, the bout was restarted both times, paving the way for HBK to heroically claim victory.