Want to do a catch up of all the best SummerSlam matches before the big event on 22nd August? Here’s our rundown of the best bouts of all time.
If Wrestlemania is the trilogy-ending finale, where good finally overcomes evil and all the plot points are wrapped up, then SummerSlam is the WWE’s Empire Strikes Back – the darker, angrier, point in the tale.
Normally when things go south for your favourite WWE wrestlers, SummerSlam is where heroes often found themselves stuck in “Hell” – the villains huge and tasks seemingly insurmountable.
SummerSlam is the big wrestling event for big wrestling fans. After all, most Star Wars fans do end up thinking Empire is the best one…
(All of these matches are available to watch via the WWE Network.)
Honourable mentions
There are two SummerSlam matches that stand out for not being “good” in the traditional sense, but more enjoyable bouts that take on a different edge when you explain them to friends. Give them a watch:
Rey Mysterio vs. Eddie Guerrero – Ladder Match – SummerSlam 2005
Rey and Eddie are two of the greatest Mexican wrestlers to ever feature in the WWE, with both stars having glittering singles and tag team careers. The former team mates also had one of the best feuds of the early 2000s, with Eddie turning on Rey in May 2005 (Eddie’s heel promo after is the borderline Shakespeare – watch it).
Their 2005 feud would be capped off with this ladder match at SummerSlam. It’s a rather good ladder match… that strays in WTF territory when you realise the winner gained parental custody of Rey Mysterio’s son Dominick. We’d explain more, but just know, that 2005, there was a wrestling match for the custody of a child.
Hulk Hogan vs. Shawn Michaels – SummerSlam 2005
Hulk Hogan was the face of WWE for company’s “Golden Age”. Shawn Michaels is one of the greatest wrestlers of all time. This *should* have been an amazing match, even with Hogan’s advancing years.
But Hulk Hogan isn’t a man who plays by *shoulds*. Originally the Hogan vs Michaels feud was meant to run for three matches, with Hogan winning the first, Shawn the second before heading to a grandstanding finale. But the Hulkster pulled out of the agreed deal, claiming injury and saying he’d only be available for the first win. Annoyed by the change of heart Shawn then decided to turn their SummerSlam match into a farce, comically overselling (looking hurt) everything.
Their 2005 match wasn’t great, but its moments.
Now onto the real list…
15) Owen Hart vs. Ken Shamrock – Lion’s Den Match – SummerSlam 1998
UFC Hall of Famer Ken Shamrock faced off against Owen Hart in this most curious of wrestling matches in ’98. Fighting inside a steel cage with no ropes, the two worked a brutal match that wouldn’t look out of place in the early days of UFC.
14) Bret Hart vs. The Undertaker – WWE Title Match – SummerSlam 1997
Expect to see Bret Hart pop up a lot on this list – no man contributed to SummerSlam’s greatness than “The Best There Is, The Best There Was and The Best There Ever Will Be.”
Back in 1997, Bret saw himself facing The Undertaker in a match for the heavyweight title. The only wrinkle? His biggest rival and most hated enemy Shawn Michaels was the Guest Referee.
The trio combined for a barnstormer of a main event for SummerSlam 1997. Undertaker bludgeoned, Hart grappled and Shawn was riddled with angst as he tried to call the match fairly. That The Undertaker’s ghouls fought The Hart Family ringside as the battle raged on only added to the spectacle. This was three wrestlers at the top of their game, putting on one a hell of a show.
13) Jeff Hardy vs. CM Punk – World Heavyweight Title Match – SummerSlam 2009
Jeff Hardy and CM Punk clattered each other with tables, ladders and chairs in this high energy championship match.
The pair don’t like each other much in real life, and the animosity showed as both men tried their hardest to put each other in the ground. That Jeff jumped off a 20ft ladder to send Punk through a table only underlined how great this feud was.
12) Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon – Intercontinental Title Match – SummerSlam 1995
The sequel to their legendary Ladder match at Wrestlemania X, Shawn and Razor combined once again for a fantastic match that served as a signpost for wrestling’s future. It’s often said that Shawn Michaels could have a good match with a mop, but in Razor Ramon (aka Scott Hall) he got the perfect foil, an adversary as athletic and attuned to feeding off a crowd as he was.
11) The Rock vs. Brock Lesnar – Undisputed WWE Title- SummerSlam 2002
Brock Lesnar’s rise through the WWE was akin to Mike Tyson’s through the heavyweight boxing division. The Next Big Thing tore through the pro wrestling ranks in his debut year of 2002, landing himself a title shot within five months.
SummerSlam 2002 is widely considered to be the greatest in the events history and this main event match went a long way to gaining that reputation. With The Rock in typically electrifying form and Brock Lesnar his usual foreboding self, the match made for of the of best main events of the early 2000s.
10) The Undertaker vs. Edge – Hell in the Cell – SummerSlam 2008
Legendary commentator Jim Ross once said “The Hell in the Cell match is life church – many attend, but few understand”.
More than just a big steel cage, the Hell in the Cell is a harsh, career shortening bout, best saved for closing feuds that have reached boiling point. By 2008, Edge had reached that point with The Undertaker, battering the Phenom three months earlier in a Tables, Ladders and Chairs match.
It takes a special man to match The Undertaker seem beatable, but in Edge the Deadman found the perfect foil, a chickenshit baddie willing to do anything to keep his hands on the World Heavyweight Title. The two had a direct and wicked match in 2008 as both men used all manner of weaponry to send one another to hell.
9) John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar – WWE Title -SummerSlam 2014
John Cena was the newly crowned WWE World Heavyweight Champion. Brock Lesnar had just done the unthinkable and defeated The Undertaker’s Wrestlemania streak.
Most fans were expecting the SummerSlam 2014 main event to be an evenly matched battle of wills. Instead Brock Lesnar was a one man stampede, dropping John Cena on his head multiple times as he ran riot on his way to the title.
Lesnar hit SIXTEEN suplexes on his way to victory at SummerSlam in a match ended up more “Death of Superman” fan fiction than WWE title match. At one point Cena breaks character and whispers at Brock to “give me a minute” before the suplexes begin anew.
The match picks up another edge when you listen for an announce microphone that picks up the desolate “Let’s Go Cena” chants of a nine year old (who turned out to be journalist Bill Simmons’ child). This was a haunting and brilliant.
8) Daniel Bryan vs. John Cena – WWE Title – SummerSlam 2013
This was it. This was the match that started one of the greatest storylines in WWE history.
In one corner lay a former indie wrestling darling. Daniel Bryan had been a crowd favourite for months, winning over fans with a hard hitting, high flying style that marked him out as one of the wrestlers of a generation.
In the other corner was John Cena, the cookie-cutter Superman character who had long grown stale in the eyes of older wrestling fans.
SummerSlam 2013’s main event gave us one of wrestling’s rare things – a changing of the guard, a shocking swerve and a superb battle all in one. Cena wrestled ably, working through an odd elbow injury, while Bryan was phenomenal, flicking through wrestling styles to weave one of the best David vs Goliath battles in recent wrestling memory. Capped off with a Triple H-related bit of SHENANIGANS at the fight’s end and this match would set in motion one of the most rewarding story arcs in wrestling history.
7) Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Kurt Angle – WWE Title – SummerSlam 2001
By 2001 Stone Cold was approaching the end of his wrestling career. His knee problems were getting to him, he was missing half a step and relied more and more on an angry brawling style to get past opponents.
That the WWE was in turmoil with an Invasion storyline (WCW and ECW had come to disrupt things) only heightened things. Stone Cold was a paranoid mad king, trying to deal with challenging young pretenders.
By the time Kurt Angle arrived for SummerSlam 2001 things had reached breaking point. Try as he might, Stone Cold couldn’t beat Kurt Angle. He would punch, brutalise and end up hitting Angle with THREE Stone Cold Stunners, but the Olympic technician kept on going, plugging away in a fight that made for a great contrast in styles.
6) Bret Hart vs. Mr. Perfect – Intercontinental Title – SummerSlam 1991
Often considered to be the first big singles match in Bret Hart’s career, Bret and Perfect teamed up for a technically impressive match that did away with the WWE’s more cartoony style of the 1980s.
It was the The Best There Is vs. Absolute Perfection. For once the billing was more than just hyperbole.
5) CM Punk vs. Brock Lesnar – SummerSlam 2013
The Best vs. The Beast. CM Punk was not having a great 2013 when he met Brock Lesnar. He’d lost the WWE Title to The Rock at the Royal Rumble and failed to end The Undertaker’s winning streak at Wrestlemania.
Most wrestlers coming off heavy losses like that get into a smaller feud, just to get a few wins in. CM Punk gunned straight for Brock Lesnar. Incensed at having his friend Paul Heyman turned on him, Punk faced Brock in brutal no DQ match. Most mortal men don’t stand a chance in hell against Brock Lesnar, but Punk was fearless in the fight, giving as good as he got in a topsy turvy brawl.
4) Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels – Street Fight – SummerSlam 2002
In storyline terms, the HHH-Michaels bout was an “unsanctioned street fight” – RAW General Manager said it would be off the books and “technically didn’t happen”.
Oh but it did happen. And how. Shawn Michaels first WWE match after four years out because of back injury, the match was a helpful reminder for fans who’d forgotten the all time. With best friend, now turned enemy Triple H as his opponent, this was a wonderfully entertaining and nasty fight – a wrestling match as directed by Michael Bay, made better thanks to Jim Ross’ apoplectic calls from commentary.
3) TLC I – SummerSlam 2000
The Hardy Brothers were a tag team good with ladders. The Dudley Boyz had a knack for putting people through tables. Edge & Christian would beat you like xylophone with steel chairs. Put all three teams together and you get this: the first ever Tables, Ladders and Chairs match at SummerSlam 2000.
A new match for the new Millennium, TLC is nothing short of an athletic car crash. A hyperkinetic fender bender, TLC saw each of the six men involved risk life and limb in an effort to get win the Tag Team belts. It’s one thing to have a good match. It’s another to invent a new match type entirely. TLC changed WWE in more ways than one.
2) Bret Hart vs. British Bulldog – Intercontinental Title SummerSlam 1992
80,000 people packed the Wembley Arena to cheer on homegrown hero British Bulldog as he took on brother-in-law Bret Hart. The first and only SummerSlam to be set in the UK (although we would love you to come back, WWE), this Intercontinental match had a young Lennox Lewis ringside as British Bulldog’s bodyguard.
Yet another Bret Hart classic, the match saw crowd loyalty divided, as fans couldn’t quite decide which of their heroes should get the rub. The match that put SummerSlam on the map.
1) Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart – Steel Cage match – SummerSlam 1994
For the best part of two years the WWE had teased Owen’s unhappiness as younger brother Bret began to eclipse him. It all came to a head in this spectacular steel cage match in SummerSlam 1994 that served as the culmination of one of WWE’s most celebrated feuds.
Rather than work as a standard pinfall or submission match, the cage added as escape stipulation, where exiting the ring could make you winner. This turned a match from a fight between two brothers, into something about brotherhood and fraternal bond. As the list will show you, Owen and Bret were specialists when it came to SummerSlam events, and this match was their zenith – a chaotic battle where two of the most skilled wrestlers in the world eventually fought each other with an intensity and fury that every man with a sibling will know.
Bret vs. Owen was how your brain imagines every squabble with your sibling. A desperate, epic scrap for supremacy over someone you love and hate in equal measure.
The match is one of only five matches given a full rating by noted wrestling writer and critic Dave Meltzer. It’s Act V of a Shakespearean sibling rivalry, set in a steel cage. One of the greatest pieces of soap opera ever, a “beautiful disaster” and number one in our list.
All other images via WWE.
WWE Summerslam is live on the WWE Network on 21 August.
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