It took place on August 17, 2014, at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California for the sixth and final consecutive year.

The main event saw Brock Lesnar defeat John Cena to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship for a fourth time.

Dubbed "The Biggest Party of the Summer",[3] it is one of the promotion's original four pay-per-views, along with WrestleMania, Royal Rumble, and Survivor Series, referred to as the "Big Four".

[5][6] The 2014 event was the 27th SummerSlam and was scheduled to be held on August 17, 2014, at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California for the sixth consecutive year.

On the July 21 episode of Raw, Brie returned to WWE as a fan in the audience to support her sister, but was slapped in the face by McMahon, who came to ringside to confront her.

Later that night, Stephanie was arrested by the police for assault and battery, due to Brie not being part of the WWE roster.

[11] On the August 11 episode of Raw, Stephanie brought in Megan Miller, Bryan's physical therapist, who confessed to having an affair with her client.

On the June 30 episode of Raw, Chris Jericho made his unexpected return to the WWE, only to be attacked by The Wyatt Family.

[15] At Battleground, John Cena defeated Randy Orton, Kane, and Roman Reigns to retain the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.

[14] At Battleground, The Miz won a 19-man battle royal to win the vacated WWE Intercontinental Championship, last eliminating Dolph Ziggler.

Van Dam was switched out at the last minute for Heath Slater, who defeated Rollins, thus giving Ambrose the right to choose.

[17] The SummerSlam Kickoff pre-show match saw Rob Van Dam defeat Cesaro with a Five-Star Frog Splash.

[18] An analytical show which was hosted by Renee Young consisted of a pre-show panel that contained Booker T, Alex Riley, and Ric Flair.

Hulk Hogan also made an appearance at the event before the main card got underway, promoting the WWE Network to the audience.

Lilian Garcia and Justin Roberts were the ring announcers while Tom Phillips conducted backstage interviews.

UFC's Ronda Rousey, Jessamyn Duke, Marina Shafir, and Shayna Baszler (known as "The 4 HorseWomen of MMA"[19][20]) were all present at SummerSlam.

[21] The cast of Pitch Perfect also appeared at the event, quite notably Adam DeVine, Anna Kendrick, Chrissie Fit, Kelley Jakle, and Brittany Snow, with the latter being seen in a backstage segment with Lana.

Ambrose executed a Curb Stomp on Rollins but Kane interfered and broke up the pinfall, starting a brawl involving all the lumberjacks.

Nikki then entered the ring, seemingly to prevent Stephanie from escaping, but instead attacked her sister, turning heel.

After back-and-forth action, Reigns executed a Superman Punch and attempted a Spear but Orton countered with a Snap Scoop Powerslam for a near-fall.

[18] In the main event, John Cena defended his WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Brock Lesnar (accompanied by Paul Heyman).

On the same event, Seth Rollins fell victim to a surprise Ice Bucket Challenge and beating from Dean Ambrose during an interview segment.

[25] The storyline was put to place to allow Ambrose's absence from television in order to film the movie 12 Rounds 3: Lockdown.

On the August 19 edition of Main Event, Triple H announced later that John Cena would invoke his rematch clause at Night of Champions.

The Authority made a Triple Threat match, adding Nikki Bella set for Night of Champions.

On the August 25 edition of Raw, Cesaro defeated Rob Van Dam in a rematch to become the number one contender for Sheamus' WWE United States Championship.

[28] Also on the September 8 edition, Roman Reigns defeated Randy Orton by disqualification in a rematch after Rollins and Kane interfered.