This is going to be the 20^th Summerslam. Summerslam has been one of the most successful and popular PPV’s in WWE history. It may be only second to WrestleMania. With Summerslam right around the corner, why not do some Summerslam theme columns to help spread some knowledge of the history of Summerslam. There have been plenty of matches that have been some of the best in WWE history that have taken place at Summerslam. This is a list of the greatest matches Summerslam has ever seen. Let’s get to the list.

10. WWF SummerSlam 1989 – WWF Intercontinental Championship Title Match

“Ravishing” Rick Rude (c) w/ Bobby “The Brain” Heenan vs. The Ultimate Warrior

It was a tough decision to cut my list down to just 10 and was extremely difficult to pick the #10 spot but I think I made the right choice. The Ultimate Warrior was establishing himself as one of the top stars in WWF. He put his name on the map at the previous SummerSlam by defeating the longest reigning WWF Intercontinental Champion in WWE history, The Honky Tonk Man, in less than in a minute to capture the IC title while filling in for an injured Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake. Warrior was on top as champion with no real threat to his belt. At the 1989 Royal Rumble, the Warrior and Rick Rude had a posedown in which the Warrior won. Rude was upset over the victory, due to his belief he had the perfect body and was Gods gift to women, and he attacked the Warrior in anger. The feud continued throughout the months leading up to WrestleMania V, where Warrior was set to defend the title against Rude. Rude went on to win with the help of his manager, Bobby Heenan. Warrior got his opportunity for vengeance when he was set for a rematch at SummerSlam. The match started out fast with the Warrior jumping onto quickly after a gorilla press slam from the ring onto the arena floor. The Warrior owned the start of the match until the leverage changed when Rude knocked the Warrior from the top rope onto the turnbuckle. The rest of the match was pretty much even with each exchanging blows. Roddy Piper made his way down to ringside during the match to distract Rick Rude, which allowed Warrior to finish off Rude to recapture the Intercontinental Championship. Even though Warrior won the match, it was not the end of their meetings.

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=7596179

9. WWF SummerSlam 1991 – WWF Intercontinental Championship Title Match

Bret “The Hitman” Hart vs. Mr. Perfect (Curt Hennig) (c) w/ Coach

Mr. Perfect was dominant upon arriving in the WWF. He was undefeated for over a year. He went on to capture the WWE Intercontinental Championship and held it on and off throughout his first few years in the WWF. Bret Hart was a rising star who was just breaking out onto the scene as a singles competitor after being a top tag team competitor with his partner Jim Neidhart as apart of the Hart Foundation. Bret was getting over extremely well with the fans as a face and Perfect was one of the top heels in the WWF. Both were extremely talented wrestlers and some of the best in ring competitors in wrestling history so you had a tremendous match. It was a pretty back and forth match that saw Hart come out on top as the new Intercontinental champion after making Perfect submit to the sharpshooter. The rivalry would have went on longer and could have been a very good feud with tremendous matches but unfortunately Perfect was battling back injuries that forced him to drop the title to Hart and be out of action for a long period of time.

 http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&VideoID=8982445

8. WWF SummerSlam 1992 – WWF Championship Title Match

“Macho Man” Randy Savage (c) vs. The Ultimate Warrior

Randy Savage defeated Ric Flair at WrestleMania VIII for the WWF Championship. Ric Flair was still upset about Savage’s victory and demanded a rematch but The Ultimate Warrior was granted the title shot at WrestleMania and not Ric Flair. The Warrior and Randy Savage were bitter rivals from the past and were renewing a big time rivalry even though both were faces. Since Flair wasn’t involved, he decided to try and sabotage the match between the two. Flair’s protégé, Mr. Perfect, tried to stir up trouble when he announced he had been in talks with Randy Savage about being in his corner during the match. The following week he made the same accusations about The Ultimate Warrior and at SummerSlam it would be apparent on whose side Perfect and Flair were taking. At the start of the match, Perfect was not at ringside. The match was pretty back and forth between the two competitors with Savage using speed and The Warrior using his power. After the superstars returned inside the ring after battling on the arena floor, Perfect and Flair made their way down to ringside. Later in the match, when Savage went to bounce off the ropes he was tripped by Perfect. The Warrior then accidentally threw Savage into the referee, knocking him unconscious. Savage nailed Warrior with his signature elbow drop but the ref was unable to make the count. Perfect and Flair helped Warrior snap out of it until he stood up when they attacked him and Flair nailed him across the back with a steel chair. Flair then hit Savage on the leg when he jumped off the top rope to attack him. Savage was unable to make it back into the ring after the injury once the ref was revived and The Warrior won the match via countout. Flair and Perfect continued the assault until the Warrior chased them to the back. The Warrior and Savage hugged at the end of the match and walked backstage together. This would be The Ultimate Warrior’s last high profile match before leaving the company with frustration over the direction creative had for him.

7. WWF SummerSlam 1997 –WWF Championship Title Match

The Undertaker (c) vs. Bret “The Hitman” Hart

(Special Referee: Shawn Michaels)

The Undertaker went on to become WWF Championship at WrestleMania 13 defeating Sid Vicious. Throughout the months The Undertaker was dominant defending the championship against the likes of Steve Austin, Farooq, Mankind, Shawn Michaels and Vader. Bret Hart, now the company’s top heel, was in line for the next WWF Championship title shot. Shawn Michaels was currently in a feud with both men. After an unsuccessful attempt to capture the gold from The Undertaker at the previous PPV, Shawn Michaels was named the special guest referee. To keep the match interesting and make sure the match was officiated fair, their were some intriguing stipulations added to the match. If Shawn Michaels officiated the match unfair, he would be banned from wrestling in the United States forever and if Bret Hart lost, he would be banned from wrestling in the United States forever. The match was pretty back and forth throughout with Bret Hart probably getting the upper hand. After Bret Hart put The Undertaker in two sharpshooters, HBK got injured on the outside of the ring. While HBK was injured outside the ring, Hart nailed Taker with a steel chair and attempted to win the match when HBK crawled back into the ring. Afterwards HBK questioned Bret on the steel chair and Hart spitted in his face. HBK then went to nail Hart with the steel chair but instead accidentally nailed Taker after Bret ducked. Bret went on to cover the Taker and Michaels had no choice than make the count and allow Hart to win. The Undertaker took off looking for Michaels after the match which led to a big time feud between them over the next few months.

6. SummerSlam 1996 – 1^st Ever Boiler Room Brawl Match

The Undertaker w/ Paul Bearer vs. Mankind (Mick Foley)

The night after defeating Diesel at WrestleMania XII, The Undertaker had a match with Justin Hawk Bradshaw. During the match, The Undertaker was attacked by a debuting Mick Foley who at the time was under a mask and known as Mankind which resembled The Undertaker’s former mask he wore during an injury and Hannibal Lecter’s mask put together. In the weeks leading up to his debut, there had been several vignettes anticipating his arrival. He was a sadistic “mama’s boy” that was a tortured soul and lived in a boiler room talking to a rat. During his matches he would often pull out his own hair. He would continue to stalk The Undertaker and interfere in his matches until The Undertaker challenged him to a match at the King of the Ring in which Mankind defeated him after Taker’s manager accidentally hit Taker with the urn and allowed Mankind to lock on the Mandible Claw for the victory. The feud continued throughout the summer with each interfering in each other’s matches. Finally, a match was booked between the two at SummerSlam in WWF’s first ever Boiler Room Brawl. The idea of the match was to battle each other starting in the Boiler Room with the winner getting out to the ring and retrieving Paul Bearer’s urn. The match was hard from a great showing of professional wrestling but was a very entertaining hardcore match that the audience watching really got into. It was a very enjoyable match that never got boring and was suspenseful throughout. At the end of the match, The Undertaker reached the ring first and as it appeared as he was the winner of the match, his manager Paul Bearer turned his back on him, striking him with the urn and allowing Mankind to lock on the Mandible Claw before capturing the urn and winning the match. The feud went on and off for years and has become one of the greatest feuds in WWE history.

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&VideoID=27895194

5. WWF SummerSlam 1995 – WWF Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match

“The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels (c) vs. Razor Ramon (Scott Hall)

Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon had a classic match at WrestleMania X in WWE’s first ever ladder match. It was a classic and some consider it one of the greatest matches in WWE history. The match was won by Razor Ramon who went on to become the undisputed WWF Intercontinental Championship. Shawn was a heel at the time but now is a face. Shawn defeated “Double J” Jeff Jarrett for the title at the previous In Your House PPV. Later in the night, HBK was a lumberjack during Diesel and Sid Vicious’s WWF Championship match and was a key component in helping Diesel take the title from Sid. Sid and Shawn had passed history as Sid was his new bodyguard after Diesel left him. On an edition of Monday Night Raw on July 31^st, Sid turned on HBK turning HBK face and Sid heel. Sid powerbombed HBK 3 times in a row sidelining Michaels for almost 2 months. Sid was then expected to face HBK at SummerSlam for the WWF Intercontinental Championship but that was later scrapped and Michaels would have a rematch with Razor Ramon with Sid taking on the winner the following night on Raw. This time both competitors were big time faces and extremely over with the crowd. WWF thought this was their money maker for SummerSlam and it didn’t disappoint. During a Raw before the PPV, Ramon came out and helped Michaels during an altercation with Jerry Lawler and Sid Vicious. Afterwards, they had a staredown and began to brawl themselves with Ramon getting the upper hand. The match was great with Shawn Michaels winning and retaining the championship. Although I dug the original match, some believe this one was even better.

 PART 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syUtUccsKzU

PART 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BR7QhSTEFBY

4. WWF SummerSlam 1994 WWF Championship Title Cage Match

Bret “The Hitman” Hart (c) vs. Owen Hart w/ Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart

Even though it was not the main event, this was the most anticipated match of the night. The feud between the Hart brothers began in at the Survivor Series the previous year. At the time, Bret Hart was currently engaged in a feud with Jerry Lawler. At the Survivor Series, Hart picked a team of family members to team with him to take on Shawn Michaels and Lawler’s Knights. During the match, Bret accidentally bumped Owen Hart which distracted Owen and allowed Michaels to pin him and eliminate him from the match. After the match, the Harts celebrated the victory in the ring only to be verbally attacked by Owen due to the elimination. The brothers patched up their relationship and put their issues behind them. At the Royal Rumble, Owen and Bret challenged The Quebecers for the WWF Tag Team Championship. During the match, an injured knee of Bret Hart’s forced the referee to stop the match. Furious, Owen Hart attacked his brother Bret, kicking him in the injured knee and left him lying in the middle of the ring. The feud continued through WrestleMania X where Bret lost to Owen in a great match. Later in the night however, Bret went on to defeat WWF Champion Yokozuna for the title. To finally settle the feud between the Harts, a steel cage match was booked for SummerSlam. One thing that Bret didn’t expect was that his former partner from the past, Jim Neidhart had aligned himself with Owen Hart at the King of the Ring. As soon as the Owen Hart entered the steel cage he attacked his brother Bret and got on top early on. Bret then gained momentum and took the advantage after a DDT. Both tried to escape the cage numerous times but were unsuccessful with the one pulling the other down. Owen actually got over on the other side of the catch before getting pulled back over by his hair by Bret. The two exchanged Sharpshooters and Bret then threw Owen’s head into the cage. Owen’s leg got stuck in the cage bars after Bret threw him and it allowed Bret to escape and win the match to retain the WWF Championship. This would not be the end of the feud for sure.

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=6403015&searchid=03633f1b-e799-48a5-8064-5db6cd097e1d

3. WWF SummerSlam 1998 – WWF Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match

“The Rock” Rocky Maivia (c) w/ Mark Henry vs. Triple H (Hunter Hearst Helmsley) w/ Chyna

During 1998, stables dominated the WWF with the likes of the Nation of Domination, D-Generation X, The Hart Foundation, etc. The biggest rivalry amongst the stables was between the Nation of Domination and D-Generation X. It was a back and forth war with mostly smack talk between leaders of each stable, Triple H and The Rock. It was a heated rivalry. Each group would try and out do each other embarrassing each other with DX even mocking the NOD by dressing up as them. The rivalry took a big time turn at SummerSlam when The Rock was due to defend his WWF Intercontinental Championship against DX leader, Triple H. The match was very back and forth and intense with tons of action. Each other used the ladder as a weapon beating each other. Chyna and Mark Henry even got involved in the match. The Rock slammed HHH on the ladder and followed it with a Rock Bottom and People’s Elbow. As The Rock was heading up the ladder, Triple H ripped him off and gave him a Pedigree. After a low blow from HHH’s manager Chyna to The Rock, HHH was able to reach the title and become the new WWF Intercontinental Champion. This was a great match and pretty much stole the show. It may have been the match of the year. This match helped make both wrestlers into true superstar status and helped propel them into greater things.

http://megavideo.com/?v=N0OUEYEY

2. WWE SummerSlam 2002 – WWE Undisputed Championship Title Match

The Rock (c) vs. “The Next Big Thing” Brock Lesnar w/ Paul Heyman

This is a personal favorite of mine of what I like to call the current era of wrestling. I think it was an excellent bout that may have been one of the best of all time. It had tremendous build up and lived up to every bit of the hype. The Rock was the current WWE Champion and was a fan favorite. He was on top of the WWE and becoming a top Hollywood star. Brock Lesnar was a young star who was unstoppable upon arrival in the WWE. He may have been the fastest rising young star in wrestling history. Even though he was a heel, he still got over big time with fans. He pummeled and destroyed every opponent he faced. Brock went on to win the King of the Ring tournament defeating Rob Van Dam in the finals and earned a shot at the WWE Championship at SummerSlam. Brock and Rock went on to have multiple staredowns week after week leading up to SummerSlam. The Smackdown before SummerSlam they began brawling as it went off the air.  Brock Lesnar dominated throughout the beginning of the match tossing the “Brahma Bull” around. The Rock locked on a sharpshooter later in the match on “The Next Big Thing” until Lesnar’s manager, Paul Heyman interfered. The Rock then went and attacked Heyman, he gave him a “Rock Bottom” through an announce table. Lesnar and The Rock then brawled with each other. The Rock was going for a “People’s Elbow” when Lesnar stopped him and gave him a “F-5” for the three count to become the new WWE Undisputed Champion. The Rock dropped the title due to movie roles he was scheduled for and many fans knew it was destined for Lesnar to become champion. The fans were actually on Lesnar’s side throughout the whole match and got an enormous pop when he finally got the victory.

 http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2svtg_wwe-summerslam-2002-the-rock-vs-bro_events

1.WWF SummerSlam 1992 – WWF Intercontinental Championship Title Match

Bret “The Hitman” Hart (c) vs. “The British Bulldog” Davey Boy Smith w/ Lennox Lewis

This match was one of the greatest matches in professional wrestling history. I mean, this was a wonderful match. This match was one of the greatest matches in professional wrestling history. I mean, this was a wonderful match. This is a perfect example that you don’t need a dramatic storyline draw for a terrific match. There was really nothing that sparked a feud or anything it was just a simple championship match. Leading up to the match though, there was some intrigue surrounding due to the fact that they were brother in laws. Smith was married to Bret’s sister. Leading up to the event, Helen (their mother) and Diana (Bret’s sister/Smith’s wife) were claiming the match was tearing the family apart. Brother Bruce supported Smith while Owen sided with his brother Bret. Diana didn’t side with either hoping the best for both men without injury. The match was set to headline SummerSlam even though there was a WWF Championship Title Match on the same card. Professional boxer Lennox Lewis accompanied Davey Boy Smith to the ring. The two styles contrast very well for a great match with Bret being a great in ring technical wrestler and Davey using power moves. Hart got the upper hand in the match after an atomic drop followed by a Samoan drop. The two went back and forth afterwards and then Hart tried to break down the bulldog with a number of sleeper holds. Smith recovered and soon took advantage of the match with some power moves and suplexes. Bret then managed to lock the Sharpshooter on Smith. Smith powered out and threw Hart into the ropes. Hart ran at Smith and attempted a sunset flip but Smith countered and pinned Hart for the win and became the WWF Intercontinental Champion. After the match, Hart refused to shake Smith’s hand but later gave him a hug and celebrated with him in the ring with Diana.  

This entry was posted on Saturday, August 16th, 2008 at 9:20 pm and is filed under Editorial Columns, Wrestling News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.