SummerSlam is rapidly approaching and with matches like Jey Uso vs Roman Reigns on the card, it’s safe to say that fans can’t wait.
For 35 years, SummerSlam has been the can’t-miss event of the summer. Widely regarded as WWE’s second biggest PPV of the year, SummerSlam always promises (and usually delivers) electric matches and feel-good moments aplenty.
Today, WrestleTalk and PartsFUNKnown host Adam Blampied joins us to give a rundown of his Top Ten Greatest SummerSlams Ever. And, well, to no one’s surprise, some of his thoughts are a little controversial.
Keep reading to find out.
10. SummerSlam 1992
I know, I know. As a roit snooty British fella, SummerSlam 1992 should be apples and pears, Mary Poppins, it’s chewsday, innit. But honestly, SummerSlam 1992 isn’t really that good. In fact, it’s a bit of a mess. It just happens to be a bit of a mess that has one of the greatest main events ever in front of an insanely hot crowd.
Like, here’s what was on offer; A very s**t Taker vs Kamala match that went 4 minutes. Crush vs Repo Man that went 6 minutes. Nailz vs Virgil in an infamously terrible match, and Rick Martel vs Shawn Michaels being pretty good before a double count-out in EIGHT minutes. Like, there’s a pair of decent tag matches on the card, but without the two marquee matches, sweet Reece’s Pieces, this is a bag of wet hair.
Warrior vs Savage was a whole bunch of fun, running nearly an hour with Flair and Perfect shenanigans aplenty, constantly teasing a heel turn from one of the company’s two top guys, even if it did end in a bit of a cop-out.
And then there’s Bulldog vs Hart, one of the most highly acclaimed matches of all time with one of the biggest pops of all time. Like, this one match alone is enough to make 92 a milestone event, if not a consistently entertaining one.
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9. SummerSlam 2009
Speaking of shows saved by the main event… Actually, that’s not fair, there are like 4 good to great matches on this card, which would have ranked it higher were it not for the presence of Kane vs The Great Khali. No thank you.
Why did Kane and Khali wrestle 3 PPV matches in their careers? And don’t even get me started on the absolutely cruel rug pull that was Christian vs William Regal being hyped as a World Title match only to go a measly 8 seconds. For reference, Kane vs Khali went 10 minutes. I think the bookers got their pages mixed up backstage, otherwise NOTHING MAKES SENSE.
There’s a lot to love on this card though. Mysterio vs Dolph Ziggler is one of the great PPV openers and all-time best Intercontinental Title matches. The old man version of 2006’s old man DX facing off against Legacy was surprisingly great, with the fans having the time of their lives as D-Geriatric X rode in on a freaking tank while Rusev was still a twinkle in Mother Russia’s eye. John Cena vs Randy Orton was an overbooked load of old WWE-style balls but it’s camp fun if you’re willing to forgive its THREE, yes THREE restarts.
So far, a mixed bag of good and not but then, ah, the main event is so awesome! It was wonderful to see Punk and Hardy, who had the feud of the year, go on last at a Big 4 PPV in what was a barnstormer of a TLC match, featuring some all-time great TLC spots.
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8. SummerSlam 2003
And now, to turn the last two entries on their head, a show that was good, despite its main event! Actually, that’s not fair, if Goldberg had just won this match instead of Triple H activating hammer time and using his bad d*ck to mess with Bill’s momentum, the Chamber match, and likely the whole show, might have been seen as one of the greats.
There are a ton of fun matches on the card. Shane McMahon vs Eric Bischoff is TOTAL nonsense, but the crowd loved seeing Austin have some fun. The Fatal Fourway for the US Title saw Guerrero vs Benoit vs Tajiri vs Rhyno, that’s not too shabby. Kane and RVD had a fun match.
Best of all, we Kurt Angle wrassling Brock Lesnar for over 20 minutes, don’t mind if I do. Also, it directly led to the Iron Man match between Lesnar and Angle, which was sensational.
So yeah, let’s talk about the main event. A STACKED Chamber lineup. HBK, Y2J, Orton, Triple H, Goldberg…and also Kevin Nash. Goldberg murders four of them in sensational fashion. He goes on to pin three before Triple H suddenly pulls his controller out of the machine in a huff, hitting him with a hammer and retaining his title despite doing very little. A sad end to what was otherwise a super fun night.
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7. SummerSlam 2008
Talk about an underrated SummerSlam. Looking back at the card, it’s not a show that screams classic, but there’s a whole lot of fun here.
Punk gets pretty much his only good night during his first World Heavyweight title run. Triple H somehow scratches and claws a half-decent match out of the Great Khali. Batista and Cena have probably their best match together, although that depends on your tolerance for both lads.
There’s a bunch of filler here. MVP vs Jeff Hardy was good. Glammerella vs Kofi and Mickie was alright comedy, and Matt Hardy vs Mark Henry was yet another nail in the coffin of ECW Title matches on WWE PPVs.
Like it’s all largely ok, but there’s no way SummerSlam 08 would make the list without two major positives; That WONDERFUL Shawn Michaels fake retirement segment that ends with Jericho clocking Mrs HBK for real reals, like a bad boy. And THAT main event Edge vs Taker in a d*ck-first, balls-last Hell In A Cell match that ends with Edge being sent to ACTUAL HELL. The storyline going into it was very stupid, Vickie Guerrero essentially hired The Undertaker to kill her boyfriend, but man the match went hard, with Edge eating a TONNE of sh*t in some truly horrendous spots, and then yes, as aforementioned, dying in actual hell. The show’s not full of bright spots, but those bright spots burn blindingly.
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6. SummerSlam 1998
We’re on the HIGHWAY TO HELL. Bloody love a WWE show at Madison Square Garden. WWE don’t go home nearly enough, but when they do it’s almost always a good show. Manias 10 and 20, Survivor Series 02, the Rumble 08, such a joy to see WWE’s hometown crowd show up and lend their voice to elevate a PPV, and SummerSlam 98 is no exception.
It would still be a few months before WWE officially rebranded to form the Attitude era but everything that people love about it is present and correct here.
Solid midcard action with the Hair vs Hair match featuring two of the best midcard workers of all the new generation in Jarrett and XPac. A surprisingly good Lions Den match between Owen Hart and Ken Shamrock. The stars of the future, The Rock and Triple H, having a stormer of a ladder match, a ladder match that felt differently violent to the rubber acrobatics of the HBK matches. A great storyline tag match pitting The Outlaws vs a partnerless Mankind. And as blockbuster a main event as WWE had on its books at the time, pre-Silly Ministry Taker vs established face of the company, and pretty much face of pro wrestling at the time, Stone Cold Steve Austin.
There are some bad spots, the Oddities tag match is exactly that, but otherwise this is a show that really delivers on all the elements that made WWE so hot in the late 90s
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5. SummerSlam 2014
I’ll keep banging the drum that 2014 might just have been WWE’s best single calendar year since 2000 in terms of stories and talent and I do not care if you agree or not.
WWE had a pitch-perfect midcard feud on its hands in the violent breakup of The Shield and, by the end of this show, a big boss at the top of the card that WWE hasn’t really been able to recreate since.
Honestly, while most will remember this as a two match show – the amazing Lumberjack Match and the shocking main event, there’s actually nothing really BAD on the card at all. Ziggler vs Miz was good. Rusev got in a strong win during his unstoppable run. Wyatt vs Jericho saw Bray get a MUCH needed win. Stephanie vs Brie Bella was better than ANYONE thought it was going to be. Even Reigns/Orton was good.
But yeah, that main event though… Brock Lesnar trucking the man who would not and could not be trucked, defeating Superman in convincing fashion. Man, a giant shot of adrenaline. It even made ending the streak at Mania 30 seem like a good idea. Great show.
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4. SummerSlam 2013
I love this SummerSlam because it’s probably the perfect hybrid of WWE-style high drama and WWE finally doing big things with the air quotes “indie darlings” it had on its roster.
The show isn’t perfect, Bray Wyatt and Kane’s inferno match was a let down. Natalya and Brie Bella wasn’t anything to write home about. Ziggler and Kaitlyn beating Big E and AJ Lee isn’t EXACTLY a consolation prize from having the World Title kicked straight out of his hands by Alberto Del W*nker, but everything else capital letters RULES.
Del Rio and Christian are top workers and have a fab title match. Cody Rhodes vs Damien Sandow was a fun fallout match to Cody getting super over at Money in the Bank, and honestly Punk vs Brock might still be Brock’s best, actually fun, non-suplex city match of his second WWE run which is a HIGH BAR.
And then, of course, Daniel Bryan actually beating John Cena clean as you like with his debuting Busaiku Knee before walking straight into his own Red Wedding. Paul Levesque sends his regards. A top-class example of how, when they want to, WWE can still break your heart in the best way. The Authority storyline might have run a little long, but it started BEAUTIFULLY.
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3. SummerSlam 2000
Man, it was tough to decide between my top 3. So I’ve just put them in chronological order because screw it, that’s as good an order as any when the shows are as BALLING as these.
2000 was the year where WWE settled into its best creative groove. Russo was gone and took all his bats**t, tangent-stuffed schizophrenic nonsense to poison WCW’s well. Chris Kreski had taken over as writer-in-chief, who specialised in good soap-opera silliness but told with simple, comprehensive steps. The main event was rock solid (pun very much intended) and the midcard had been stuffed with the pick of WCW’s defecting super workers so the wrestling was top b*llocks as well.
Benoit vs Jericho, 2 out of 3 falls. Yes, thank you, I do not mind. Throw in Shane McMahon’s first iconic jump-off-a-big-thing, the first ever TLC match which is EXTRAORDINARILY GOOD with a capital EXTRA GOOD.
The main event saw one of WWE’s best storylines of the year – the Kurt, Triple H, and Steph love triangle – boil over in grand fashion, albeit a fashion that nearly killed Kurt via a botched Pedigree. The fact that he could finish that match despite getting his bell rung harder than the campanology Olympics is further proof that he’s the best of all time.
A wonderful SummerSlam that even an underwhelming Kane/Taker match and the whole Stinkface business couldn’t sully.
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2. SummerSlam 2001
If it wasn’t tainted by association with the Invasion, WWE (creatively at least) dropping the ball on the potentially biggest wrestling storyline of all time, SummerSlam 2001 might be remembered as a serious contender for best SummerSlam ever.
It’s freaking brilliant. RVD and Jeff Hardy’s ladder match is phenomenal. Jericho vs Rhyno is good. Xpac and Tajiri was good. Edge vs Lance Storm is lowkey one of the best SummerSlam openers ever. Honestly, the only match you could consider bad is the steel cage match between Taker and Kane and DDP and Kanyon, not because the fans didn’t enjoy it, far from it, but just because it served as a dispiriting burial for one of WCW’s most beloved top stars. But hey look, don’t think about that, think about the last two matches instead, because they’re mint.
The returning Rock beating Booker T to win the WCW title to much rejoicing, and especially, E-FREAKING-SPECIALLY, Kurt Angle vs Steve Austin for the WWF Title. One of my favourite wrestlers’ best performances of all-time, Angle emerging as a cherished babyface, proudly carrying the flag for the Fed and taking Austin to his limit over 20 marvelous minutes. It might be one of the only World Title matches that’s actually helped by a DQ finish rather than hurt by it. Austin losing his damn mind at being unable to put MY Olympic Hero away, and choosing to murder every referee in the company until someone realised that actually it might be best if not every WWF wrestler died, and finally stopped it.
Glorious match, and a REALLY good show throughout, with WWE still benefiting from their still somehow white-hot attitude era fanbase.
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1. SummerSlam 2002
I mean, yeah. SummerSlam 2002 is the best SummerSlam by a country mile. All the matches you remember as being good are better than you remember, and the matches you can’t remember are almost as good as those.
Here’s just a little list for you. Angle vs Mysterio aka the best opening match to a PPV maybe ever. Flair vs Jericho, Edge vs Guerrero, and Van Dam vs Benoit.
The main event of Brock vs Rock was a wonderfully weird watch where the crowd slow-turned The Rock heel. The Un-Americans were all over the show and even though the matches weren’t five stars, they got some good heat because there’s no b*stard worse than a Canadian b*stard.
And finally Shawn Michaels vs Triple H, which belongs on the podium for top 3 SummerSlam matches of all time. It was a wonderfully inventive and brutal slobberknocker, coupled with the crowd’s heartfelt joy that not only could HBK still go, but somehow he seemed to be EVEN BETTER in his return match than before he left. SummerSlam 2002 truly was the biggest party of the summer.
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