The 1996 SummerSlam was the ninth annual SummerSlam professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation. It took place on August 18, 1996, at the Gund Arena in Cleveland, Ohio in the United States. Nine matches were contested at the event, including one match on the Free for All pre-show.
Promotional poster featuring Shawn Michaels and Vader.
Vader (top) faced Shawn Michaels (bottom) for the WWF Championship in the main event of SummerSlam.
SummerSlam is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by the world's largest professional wrestling promotion, WWE. Dubbed "The Biggest Party of the Summer", it is considered WWE's second biggest event of the year behind their flagship event, WrestleMania. It is also considered one of the company's five biggest events of the year, along with WrestleMania, Royal Rumble, Survivor Series, and Money in the Bank, referred to as the "Big Five". The event has been broadcast on pay-per-view (PPV) since the inaugural 1988 event and via livestreaming since the 2014 event.
Madison Square Garden has hosted SummerSlam three times to date: 1988, 1991, and 1998
Staples Center hosted SummerSlam six years in a row: 2009–2014 and the tagline was California Sun
Barclays Center hosted SummerSlam four years in a row: 2015–2018