# SummerSlam (2001)
**SummerSlam (2001)** was the fourteenth annual [SummerSlam](https://www.edgepedia.org/summerslam) professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), held on August 19, 2001 at the Compaq Center at San Jose in [San Jose, California](https://www.edgepedia.org/san-jose-california).[1](https://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/supercards/usa/wwf/summer.html) • [2](https://wrestlefile.com/events/summerslam-2001/) The card was built around the WWF's rivalry with The Alliance, a coalition of WCW and ECW wrestlers led by [Paul Heyman](https://www.edgepedia.org/paul-heyman), Stephanie McMahon, and Shane McMahon, and it featured two world championship matches: The Rock defeating Booker T for the WCW Championship, and Kurt Angle beating champion "Stone Cold" Steve Austin by disqualification in a WWE (then WWF) Championship match that left Austin still champion.[3](https://www.wwe.com/shows/summerslam/2001/mainevent) • [4](https://www.wwe.com/shows/summerslam/2001/results)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Date and venue | August 19, 2001, Compaq Center at San Jose, San Jose, California[1](https://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/supercards/usa/wwf/summer.html) |
| Attendance and gate | 15,293 (a sellout), drawing $907,105[1](https://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/supercards/usa/wwf/summer.html) • [5](https://thehistoryofwwe.com/wwf-results-2001/) |
| Main event | The Rock pinned Booker T (15:19) to win the WCW Championship[1](https://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/supercards/usa/wwf/summer.html) • [4](https://www.wwe.com/shows/summerslam/2001/results) |
| WWE Championship | Kurt Angle beat Steve Austin (22:30) via disqualification; Austin retained[1](https://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/supercards/usa/wwf/summer.html) |
| Title unifications | X-Pac unified the Cruiserweight and Light Heavyweight Championships; Undertaker and Kane unified the World Tag Team and WCW Tag Team Championships in a steel cage match[4](https://www.wwe.com/shows/summerslam/2001/results) |
| Other title change | Edge defeated Lance Storm (11:16) to win the Intercontinental Championship; Rob Van Dam defeated Jeff Hardy (16:33) in a ladder match for the Hardcore Championship[1](https://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/supercards/usa/wwf/summer.html) |
| Historical position | The final SummerSlam held before the WWF became WWE and introduced the first brand extension in 2002[2](https://wrestlefile.com/events/summerslam-2001/) |
## Context: the Invasion storyline
The 2001 edition took place amid the WWF's war with The Alliance. Amid the feud between the WWF and the Alliance, a group of wrestlers from WCW and ECW, led by Paul Heyman along with [Stephanie](https://www.edgepedia.org/stephanie) and [Shane McMahon](https://www.edgepedia.org/shane-mcmahon), had joined forces to oppose Mr. McMahon and the remainder of the WWF, and in both of the event's world title matches Alliance members faced WWF loyalists.[3](https://www.wwe.com/shows/summerslam/2001/mainevent) [Stone Cold Steve Austin](https://www.edgepedia.org/stone-cold-steve-austin) had defected to the Alliance at the Invasion pay-per-view a month earlier, Kurt Angle had become one of the WWF's central defenders, and The Rock had returned from a post-WrestleMania hiatus and chosen the WWF side.[2](https://wrestlefile.com/events/summerslam-2001/)
The main event itself was a match that had been impossible months before. Booker T, a five-time WCW Champion, put his WCW Championship on the line against The Rock, and WWE's own event page notes that once WCW was bought out, a dream match such as this was made possible.[3](https://www.wwe.com/shows/summerslam/2001/mainevent)
## The card
Eight matches aired on the pay-per-view, with a women's six-person tag (Jacqueline, [Molly Holly](https://www.edgepedia.org/molly-holly), and Lita defeating [Stacy Keibler](https://www.edgepedia.org/stacy-keibler), Torrie Wilson, and Ivory) airing beforehand on Sunday Night Heat.[2](https://wrestlefile.com/events/summerslam-2001/) • [5](https://thehistoryofwwe.com/wwf-results-2001/) The results, in order:[4](https://www.wwe.com/shows/summerslam/2001/results) • [1](https://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/supercards/usa/wwf/summer.html)
1. Edge pinned [Lance Storm](https://www.edgepedia.org/lance-storm) (11:16) to win the WWF Intercontinental Championship.
2. The [Dudley Boyz](https://www.edgepedia.org/dudley-boyz) and Test defeated The APA and [Spike Dudley](https://www.edgepedia.org/spike-dudley) (7:19) when Test pinned Bradshaw, after Shane McMahon interfered with a chair.[2](https://wrestlefile.com/events/summerslam-2001/)
3. WCW Cruiserweight Champion X-Pac pinned Yoshihiro Tajiri (7:33) to win the WWF Light Heavyweight Title, unifying the two championships.[1](https://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/supercards/usa/wwf/summer.html)
4. Chris Jericho beat Rhyno (12:34) by submission with the Walls of Jericho.[1](https://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/supercards/usa/wwf/summer.html) • [2](https://wrestlefile.com/events/summerslam-2001/)
5. Rob Van Dam pinned Jeff Hardy (16:33) in a ladder match to win the WWF Hardcore Championship.
6. WCW Tag Team Champions The Undertaker and Kane defeated Diamond Dallas Page and Chris Kanyon (10:13) in a steel cage match to win the WWF Tag Team Title, unifying both championships when Undertaker pinned Page.[1](https://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/supercards/usa/wwf/summer.html)
7. Kurt Angle beat WWF Champion Steve Austin (22:30) via disqualification.
8. The Rock pinned Booker T (15:19) to win the WCW World Title.
The two headline matches carried the show's stakes. In the [WWE Championship](https://www.edgepedia.org/wwe-championship) match, Angle hit seven German suplexes early, absorbed Austin's punishment including a suplex on the concrete, and locked in the Ankle Lock twice; after Austin took out three officials in succession, referee Nick Patrick disqualified Austin for mistreatment of referees, so Austin kept the title.[3](https://www.wwe.com/shows/summerslam/2001/mainevent) In the main event, Booker T leveled The Rock with the WCW Championship belt and later hit an axe kick, but while he performed the Spinarooni, The Rock recovered and delivered a Rock Bottom for the win and the championship.[3](https://www.wwe.com/shows/summerslam/2001/mainevent)
## Venue
The Compaq Center at San Jose (later known as the [HP Pavilion](https://www.edgepedia.org/hp-pavilion), now the [SAP Center](https://www.edgepedia.org/sap-center)) opened in 1993 and contains 33,000 cubic yards of concrete, which WWE's venue page compares to a 3-foot sidewalk running from the building's main entrance to the South Shore of Lake Tahoe. The [Golden State Warriors](https://www.edgepedia.org/golden-state-warriors) played there until moving out in 1997, and the San Jose Sharks of the NHL are the venue's current tenants.[6](https://www.wwe.com/shows/summerslam/2001/venue)
## Reception and legacy
The show drew a strong retrospective consensus. Cagematch's community rating for the event is 6.84 based on 151 votes,[7](https://www.cagematch.net/?id=1&nr=2221) while F4W/WON's ranking of SummerSlams by Cagematch rating lists the 2001 edition at 7.99.[8](https://www.f4wonline.com/event-guides/best-summerslams-wwe-cagematch-dave-meltzer-star-ratings/) TJR Wrestling gave the show 8 out of 10 and rated Austin versus Angle at four and three-quarter stars and Rob Van Dam versus Jeff Hardy at four stars, placing both among the highest-rated SummerSlam matches on its list.[9](https://tjrwrestling.net/review/tjr-wwe-summerslam-reviews-2001-austin-vs-angle-rock-vs-booker-t/) KB's Wrestling Reviews graded the full card A- in its 2021 redo, up from an original B+.[10](https://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2026/07/10/summerslam-count-up-summerslam-2001-2021-redo-the-definitive-version/?print=print)
WrestleFile records a reported 570,000 pay-per-view buys and calls the event the strongest major pay-per-view produced during the Invasion storyline, noting that it was the only SummerSlam to feature both the WCW Championship and the WCW Tag Team Championship as active prizes.[2](https://wrestlefile.com/events/summerslam-2001/) It was also the final SummerSlam before the WWF became WWE and introduced the first brand extension in 2002.[2](https://wrestlefile.com/events/summerslam-2001/) The event established Rob Van Dam as a major player, gave Edge his first Intercontinental Championship victory, and gave The Rock his first WCW Championship reign, while the Austin-Angle match led directly into their continuing WWF Championship rivalry.[2](https://wrestlefile.com/events/summerslam-2001/)
## References
1. [SummerSlam 2001 results, Pro Wrestling History](https://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/supercards/usa/wwf/summer.html)
2. [SummerSlam 2001 Review & Final Grade, WrestleFile](https://wrestlefile.com/events/summerslam-2001/)
3. [Main Event, WWE.com SummerSlam 2001](https://www.wwe.com/shows/summerslam/2001/mainevent)
4. [Full Event Results, WWE.com SummerSlam 2001](https://www.wwe.com/shows/summerslam/2001/results)
5. [WWF 2001 Results, The History of WWE](https://thehistoryofwwe.com/wwf-results-2001/)
6. [Event Venue, WWE.com SummerSlam 2001](https://www.wwe.com/shows/summerslam/2001/venue)
7. [WWF SummerSlam 2001, CAGEMATCH](https://www.cagematch.net/?id=1&nr=2221)
8. [Best SummerSlams: Top 5 Cagematch ratings ranked, F4W/WON](https://www.f4wonline.com/event-guides/best-summerslams-wwe-cagematch-dave-meltzer-star-ratings/)
9. [TJR WWE SummerSlam Reviews: 2001, TJR Wrestling](https://tjrwrestling.net/review/tjr-wwe-summerslam-reviews-2001-austin-vs-angle-rock-vs-booker-t/)
10. [Summerslam Count-Up 2001 (2021 Redo), KB's Wrestling Reviews](https://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2026/07/10/summerslam-count-up-summerslam-2001-2021-redo-the-definitive-version/?print=print)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Individual sports and outdoor recreation › Combat sports and professional wrestling › Professional wrestling promotions and championships › SummerSlam*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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