The Contentious Ten 08.10.09: The SummerSlams (Part 2: The Top Ten)

Alright, the formula I applied last week was literally an “Epic” Failure. I put hours and hours of time into creating a way to rank the events to try and apply a degree of objectivity to an otherwise highly subjective process. However, a huge percentage of you seemed to hate it and others claimed that it was a way to mask my bias. I don’t blame people for hating the unnecessary complexity, but I truly tried to be as unbiased as possible, going as far as looking at other reviews of the shows to see if I was really out of line anywhere. The system was, of course, arbitrary (I went so far as to say it was still subjective). After all I am ranking wrestling cards and matches! However, filtering all of my opinions through such a complex system took my gut feeling about each event as a whole out of the equation. I certainly wouldn’t have ranked this week’s number one at number one if I had just been going with my overall opinions of the shows.

For those of you who either liked my system, or at least didn’t hate it, I appreciated your words of encouragement. However, the fact remains that this is a wrestling column and it should be fun, not pseudo-academic. The system made the article less fun to read, and truthfully, less fun to write. I guess I’m still learning to split the college teacher from the wrestling writer.

I’m leaving the math out of this week’s column, but I’m going to stick with the results I got from it, because it’s too late to turn back now. I promise that I’ll never subject the readers of 411mania to that kind analysis ever…Ever again. I’m going to chalk up that mistake to being new at this.

Once again, the length of the article has forced me to cut the feedback section, but it will be back next week, and I’ll cover comments from this week and last week. That said, I’d really like your input on next week’s column on “The Top Ten Summer Slam Moments” otherwise I might have to devise a twelve part mathematical equation to help me decide how I feel about various SummerSlam moments…I’ll do it too, I’m crazy that way. I may need an intervention.

The Top Ten SummerSlams

Honorable Mention

XI

SummerSlam 1993

Somebody Has To Stop Him
August 30, 1993
The Palace of Auburn Hills
Auburn Hills (Suburban Detroit), Michigan
Attendance: 23,954

Razor Ramon defeated Ted DiBiase.

WWF Tag Team Champions The Steiner Brother (Rick and Scott Steiner) defeated The Heavenly Bodies (Tom Pritchard and Jimmy Del Ray) w/Jim Cornette.

WWF Intercontinental Champion Shawn Michaels w/Diesel defeated Mr. Perfect via count-out.

Irwin R. Schyster defeated The 1-2-3 Kid.

Bret Hart defeated Doink the Clown w/Jerry Lawler.

Jerry Lawler defeated Bret “Hit Man” Hart via disqualification when the referee reversed his decision when Hart refused to relinquish the Sharpshooter.

Ludvig Borga defeated Maty Jannetty.

Undertaker w/Paul Bearer defeated Giant Gonzalez w/Harvey Wippleman in a “Rest in Peace” Match

Tatanka and The Smokin’ Gunns (Billy and Bart Gunn) defeated Bam Bam Bigelow and The Headshrinkers (Samu and Fatu) w/Afa.

Lex Luger defeated WWF Champion Yokozuna w/Jim Cornette and Mr. Fuji via count-out.

I saw a few people harping on this show last week in the comments section. However, I thought it was a very solid and well put together show. The two main feuds heading into SummerSlam 93 were Bret Hart and Jerry Lawler, and Lex Luger and Yokozuna. In addition to these two big matches Shawn Michaels defended his Intercontinental Title against Mr. Perfect in a highly anticipated match.

The issue between Jerry Lawler and Bret Hart started after Hart won the King of the Ring and Lawler jumped him during the coronation ceremony. Then Lawler proceeded to run down Hart and his entire family for nearly two months leading up to the event. The fans were ravenous to see Lawler get his comeuppance. However, when it came time to wrestle Hart at SummerSlam, Lawler hobbled out on crutches, and had a sob story about a car accident. Lawler introduced his replacement, the evil Doink the Clown. Unable to restrain his anger Hart took it right to Doink, and while the match was fairly competitive, Hart quickly got the upper hand and locked the clown into the Sharpshooter, at which point Lawler slid into the ring at hit Hart with a crutch. Lawler was headed toward the back but Jack Tunney came out and forced Lawler to wrestle or face termination. Hart immediately began to beat the hell out of Lawler, much to the delight of the fans, and after picking him apart, and piledriving him, locked him in the Sharpshooter. Lawler submitted but Hart refused to relinquish the hold, leading to the referee reversing the decision and disqualifying Hart. However, the loss didn’t seem to matter to Hart or the fans as he got his revenge.

The main event of the show was the epic showdown between the WWF Champion Yokozuna and Lex Luger. Their feud began on July 4th when Luger met Yokozuna on the deck of a battleship and bodyslammed him. Then, as though he were running for President, Luger crisscrossed the country in the Lex Express bus, hyping his showdown with the WWF Champion. Yokozuna’s managers inserted two stipulations: This would be Luger’s only title shot, and he had to wear a pad to cover the steel plate in his forearm. I think a lot of people don’t like this match, because in the end Luger hit Yokozuna with his forearm and Yokozuna fell out of the ring and got counted-out. The disappointing ending taints it, but the match itself was pretty fun. Yokozuna, despite his size, was a very good performer and played his role in this match perfectly, and Luger more than held up his side of the match. I was watching this match just last week, and I still found myself rooting for Luger to win. I still can’t believe they didn’t put the title on Luger here, as he was supposed to be the WWF’s new Hulk Hogan, and this was like Hogan losing to the Iron Sheik.

The rest of the show was alright, but featured two squash matches, a bad match between Undertaker and Giant Gonzales, and the Shawn Michaels and Mr. Perfect match really failed to live up to expectations. Ted DiBiase wrestled in his final match against Razor Ramon, and the Steiner Brothers had a decent match against the Heavenly Bodies. For the most part, I feel the good outweighed the bad at this event, because anything that wasn’t good was at least short.

The Top Ten SummerSlams

X

SummerSlam 1994

So Hot It’s Scary
August 29, 1994
United Center
Chicago, Illinois
Attendance: 23,000 (approx.)

Bam Bam Bigelow & Irwin R. Schyster defeated The Headshrinkers (Samu and Fatu) w/Capt. Lou Albano and Afa by disqualification.

WWF Women’s Champion Alundra Blayze defeated Bull Nakano w/Luna Vachon.

Razor Ramon w/Walter Payton defeated WWF Intercontinental Champion Diesel w/Shawn Michaels.

Tatanka defeated Lex Luger.

Jeff Jarrett defeated Mabel.

WWF Champion Bret Hart defeated Owen Hart in a Steel Cage Match.

The Undertaker w/Paul Bearer defeated The Undertaker w/Ted DiBiase.

Although this show could be seen as featuring a double main event, it’s a bit of a one match show, but man is that match good. Of course, I’m talking about the Owen Hart, Bret Hart steel cage match. While I wouldn’t call it the greatest steel cage match ever, it should make just about anybody’s list. I talked about Owen’s feud with Bret two weeks ago, and I posted this match along with it. I have never seen a cage match with better psychology than this one, as both brothers are immediately and equally desperate to get out of the cage. Owen wants nothing more than to be WWF Champion and Bret wants to keep his belt, but mainly doesn’t want to destroy his brother in the process. All of this results in countless near cage escapes and a scientific-style cage match that I feel surpasses their incredible match at WrestleMania X. It’s not all science though, as both men take their share of tumbles off the cage, the craziest of which is a superplex off the top of the cage. I feel comfortable saying the ending is the most exciting finish to any cage match ever (call me a Hart mark, I don’t care), as both men are on the outside of the cage, fighting the whole way down. Owen gets his legs tangled up in between the bars and Bret is able to reach the floor.

The rest of the show is hit or miss. The value of the opener sunk due to the fact that Shawn Michaels and Diesel won the Tag Team Titles from the Headshrinkers the night before, rendering the match nearly pointless. Jeff Jarrett vs. Mable was simply bad, and while there was an interesting build toward it (Did Luger sell out to the Million Dollar Man?) the Lex Luger vs. Tatanka match was a letdown and had a predictable outcome. However, both the Women’s Title and Intercontinental Title matches were quite good and helped make the generally weak undercard seem half-way decent.

Of course the real stinker of the night was the Undertaker vs. Undertaker match featuring Brian Lee as DiBiase’s fake Undertaker, but what could you expect from this kind of goofy booking. As a kid I actually wondered if the Underfaker was the real deal, but it became very easy to tell which one was real when they were standing next to each other. The match was boring, predictable and absolutely killed the crowd and would have been better served going on earlier in the night. Bad matches aside, the Hart vs. Hart cage match outshines all of the crap, and the few good undercard matches make this show a winner and a solid number 10.

IX

SummerSlam 1999

An Out of Body Experience
August 22, 1999
Target Center
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Attendance: 17,370

Jeff Jarrett defeated WWF Intercontinental and European Champion D-Lo Brown w/Debra.

The Acolytes (Faarooq and Bradshaw) defeated Hardcore and Crash Holly, Edge and Christian, Droz & Prince Albert, and Mideon and Viscera and The Hardy Boyz (Matt and Jeff Hardy), in a Tag Team Turmoil Match.

Al Snow defeated WWF Hardcore Champion The Big Bossman.

WWF Women’s Champion Ivory defeated Tori.

Ken Shamrock defeated Steve Blackman in a Lion’s Den Weapons Match.

Test defeated Shane McMahon in a Love Her or Leave Her, Street Fight Match

The Big Show & Undertaker defeated WWF Tag Team Champions X-Pac & Kane.

The Rock defeated Billy Gunn in a “Kiss My Ass” Match.

Mankind defeated Triple H w/Chyna and WWF Champion Steve Austin in a Triple Threat Match with Jesse Ventura as the referee.

I thought this was a really fun event, but I personally didn’t care for it as much as 96 or 97, but I feel that overall the card is better. The event was built up around three big matches: Steve Austin vs. Triple H for the WWF Title (Mankind was added a the last minute), The Rock vs. the new King of the Ring Billy Gunn, and to a lesser extent a feud between Test and Shane McMahon over Test dating Stephanie McMahon.

After the breakup of D-generation X, two members X-Pac and Road Dogg stayed true to their degenerate roots and Triple H and Chyna aligned themselves with Vince McMahon’s corporation. Billy Gunn also turned on the other DX members but was kind of on his own. For years he had been touted as one of the best athletes in the WWF, and when he won the 1999 King of the Ring tournament it seemed like he was going to be the next breakout star. In fact, he was put into a major feud with the super popular Rock. Unfortunately for Gunn, The Rock was far too big a star to sacrifice. The end of the match saw Gunn hit the Fame-ass-er and call in an obese woman he brought to the ring with him with the intent of shoving Rock’s face into her ass. Of course, The Rock turned the tables on Gunn, and immediately hit the Rock Bottom and the People’s Elbow. The match itself wasn’t horrible, but it wasn’t good either, and certainly didn’t live up to its hype. Especially in hindsight, it was hard to buy into Billy Gunn as a serious threat, and his loss to The Rock pretty much killed off his push as King Ass.

The build up to the main event centered on Triple H’s feud with WWF Champion Steve Austin. The feud started after Triple H attacked Austin at Fully Loaded. The resulting build up to the event involved Austin and Triple H attacking each other during their matches. At one point Chyna was actually named number one contender for the WWF Title when Austin cost Triple H a match against her. The next week Mankind was added to the mix when he challenged and defeated Chyna for her title shot. Later in the night Triple H and Mankind fought to a draw resulting in both of them being declared as number one contender. The added draw to the match was then Minnesota Governor, Jesse Ventura, serving as the referee. Ventura vowed that the best wrestler would win the match, a sentiment that came into play when Triple H hit Mankind with a chair, causing Ventura to refuse to count the pin. The speculation at the time was that Mankind was added so Triple H could get the win without beating Austin. However, Triple H executed the Pedigree on Austin, Mankind broke up the pin, DDT Austin and got the three count and his third WWF Title reign. Of course, he ended up losing it the next night to Triple H, thus undercutting the importance of the SummerSlam main event.

The rest of the matches were pretty good. D’Lo Brown and Jeff Jarrett put on a strong opening bout. The Hardcore match between Al Snow and Bossman was a fun brawl that left the arena and found its way into a bar across the street, and featured Road Dogg following the action around doing commentary. Ken Shamrock and Steve Blackman had a unique match inside the Lion’s Den cage. X-Pac and Kane vs. Undertake and Big Show put on an entertaining story, and the street fight between Test and Shane stole the show. The only match I really didn’t care for was the tag team turmoil match. In addition to that, the entire event seemed contested under brawl rules, which took away from the matches that were actually scheduled to be brawls, but in 1999 that was pretty normal for the WWF. Overall this SummerSlam was a good show, not great, but good.

VIII

SummerSlam 2005

Hogan vs. Michaels: For the First Time Ever
August 21, 2005
MCI Center
Washington, D.C.
Attendance: 18,156

Chris Benoit defeated WWE United States Champion Orlando Jordan.

Edge defeated Matt Hardy when the referee stopped the match.

Rey Mysterio defeated Eddie Guerrero in Ladder Match for custody of Dominick.

Kurt Angle defeated Eugene w/Christy Hemme to reclaim his gold medal.

Randy Orton defeated Undertaker.

WWE Champion John Cena defeated Chris Jericho.

World Heavyweight Champion Batista defeated John “Bradshaw” Layfield in a No Holds Barred Match.

Hulk Hogan defeated Shawn Michaels.

On one level it’s pretty easy to tear this show apart. You’ve got two matches (the US Title Match and Edge vs. Hardy) with ridiculous finishes, an absurd soap opera storyline getting played out in a ladder match, and a retired Hall of Famer going over a main event level member of the active roster. However, if you look past some of the questionable booking and build up, this show was a lot of fun, and one of the better SummerSlams.

The two big matches scheduled for this event were John Cena defending his WWE Title against Chris Jericho, and Hulk Hogan taking on Shawn Michaels for the first time ever. Jericho had wrestled Cena at Vengeance back in June in a triple threat match also involving Christian, but it was Christian who was pinned, not Jericho. As a result Eric Bischoff, who didn’t like Cena, chose Jericho to be Cena’s SummerSlam opponent. The match was quite fun. Unlike most Cena matches where his opponent dominates him until a big Cena comeback this match went back and forth. At this point in his career the crowd had begun to turn on Cena, and large sections of it were cheering Jericho. The end of the match saw Jericho counter Cena’s Five Knuckle Shuffle (I can’t believe that PG WWE still calls it that) into the Walls of Jericho. Cena escaped and then out of nowhere countered one of Jericho’s attacks into the FU for the win.

The main event of the night showcased Hulk Hogan taking on Shawn Michaels. Unlike Hogan’s match with Orton a year later this match had been built up extremely well. Hogan had been inducted into the Hall of Fame, and had been met with a chant of “one more match.” A month later he gave the fans what they wanted when he teamed with Shawn Michaels to take on Muhammad Hassan and Daivari. In June Hogan made a surprise return to team with Shawn Michaels and John Cena, and on July 4th he hyped his reality show on Carlito’s Cabana, which resulted in a tag team match between him and Michaels against Carlito and Kurt Angle. After the match the two were posing when Michaels suddenly kicked him in the face. In the ensuing weeks Michaels ran down Hogan, swerved the Montreal fans by playing Bret Hart’s music during an interview, and mocked Hogan on a Larry King like segment. All of it was really fun. The match itself was pretty good too, although some people criticize Michaels for selling Hogan’s offence to an absurd degree. Rumor has it that Michaels thought he could match Hogan’s backstage politics and would actually get a win over Hogan in a rematch. When that plan was refused he simply made the match seem comical as a protest. Ultimately, Hogan hulked up after receiving a chair shot, a flying elbow and Sweet Chin Music; hit the big boot and the legdrop and got the victory.

A number of the other matches were very good, especially the ladder match between Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero (the ridiculous Dominick storyline aside), and the WrestleMania rematch between Randy Orton and The Undertaker. Batista and JBL had a mediocre brawl over the World Heavyweight Title, and while the match wasn’t any good if was fun seeing Chris Benoit make Orlando Jordan tap out in under a minute. The only big disappointment came when Edge just beat the crap out of Matt Hardy and the referee stopped the fight. Overall this was a very good SummerSlam.

VII

SummerSlam 2000

August 27, 2000
Raleigh Entertainment and Sports Arena
Raleigh, North Carolina
Attendance: 17,002

Right to Censor (Steven Richards, Bull Buchanan and The Goodfather) defeated Too Cool (Grand Master Sexay and Scotty 2 Hotty) and Rikishi.

X-Pac defeated Jesse James.

Eddie Guerrero and Chyna defeated Trish Stratus and WWF Intercontinental Champion Val Venis in a match with a stipulation where the title could change hands (Chyna won the title).

Jerry “The King” Lawler defeated Tazz.

Steve Blackman defeated WWF Hardcore Champion Shane McMahon.

Chris Benoit defeated Chris Jericho in a 2 out of 3 falls match.

WWF Tag Team Champions Edge and Christian defeated The Hardy Boyz (Matt and Jeff Hardy) w/Lita, and The Dudleys (Bubba Ray and D-Von) in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs Match.

The Kat w/Al Snow defeated Terri w/Perry Saturn in a “Stinkface” Match.

Undertaker and Kane fought to a no contest.

WWF Champion The Rock defeated Kurt Angle and Triple H in a Triple Threat Match.

SummerSlam 2000 was a heavily packed ten match card which resulted in a few great matches and a few short and uneventful ones. There were several big rivalries heading into SummerSlam. Triple H and Kurt Angle were immersed in a love triangle, with Hunter’s wife Stephanie McMahon at the center of it, and were on a collision course with The Rock over the WWF Title. The Undertaker (now in biker form) renewed his rivalry with Kane. The Hardys, Dudleys, and Edge and Christian had continued feuding since WrestleMania and were scheduled to meet once again in a ladder match. Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho were set to cap off their feud in a 2 out of 3 falls match. Finally, Shane McMahon would defend his Hardcore title against Steve Blackman, the man he stole it from.

McMahon and Blackman delivered the spot of the night when Shane climbed up the side of the Titan-Tron and was knocked off by Blackman and plunged at least twenty-some feet. Blackman followed with an elbowdrop on to Shane to win the Hardcore Title. Chris Benoit won his exciting and fast-paced match against Chris Jericho, reversing the Lionsault into the crossface for the first fall, tapping out to the Walls of Jericho for the second fall, and using the ropes to score the third fall. Also, Edge and Christian retained their Tag Team Titles in an incredible Table, Ladders, and Chairs match, that saw Bubba Ray learn from the previous match between the three teams and move before Jeff Hardy could hit him with the Swanton Bomb off the top of a ladder.

The main event of the evening was pretty good too, especially considering that it had to be heavily improvised when Triple H tried to Pedigree Angle through a table, only to have the table collapse beneath them, causing Angle to suffer a legitimate concussion. The Rock and Triple H kind of went into cruise control, until Stephanie interfered and accidentally hit Triple H with the belt. Triple H ordered her to the back, but she returned with an obviously still dazed Kurt Angle, who kept Triple H from winning the title. Later Triple H and Angle were fighting over a sledgehammer and Triple H accidentally punched Stephanie. The Rock quickly dispatched of Angle and hit the People’s Elbow on Triple H to retain the WWF Title.

Overall SummerSlam 2000 was a very good show but had its share of bad matches, the worst of which was the no-contest slugfest between The Undertaker and Kane. In addition to that, The Kat and Terri had a “Stinkface” Match that was about as bad as it sounds, Tazz and Jerry Lawler had a disappointing confrontation, and X-Pac and Road Dogg produced a weak showing. However, all of the bad stuff was short and didn’t detract from the event much, making this edition of SummerSlam a very enjoyable show.

VI

SummerSlam 1991

A Match Made in Heaven, and A Match Made in Hell
August 26, 1991
Madison Square Garden
New York, New York
Attendance: 20,000 (approx.)

Ricky Steamboat, Kerry Von Erich, and Davey Boy Smith defeated Power and Glory (Paul Roma and Hercules) and the Warlord w/Slick.

Bret Hart defeated WWF Intercontinental Champion Mr. Perfect w/The Coach.

The Natural Disasters (Earthquake and Typhoon)w/Jimmy Hart defeated The Bushwackers (Luke and Butch).

Virgil defeated The Million Dollar Champion Ted DiBiase w/ Sensational Sherri.

Big Boss Man defeated The Mountie w/Jimmy Hart in a match where the loser would spend the night in jail.

The Legion of Doom (Hawk and Animal) defeated WWF Tag Team Champions The Nasty Boys (Brian Knobbs and Jerry Sags) w/Jimmy Hart in a No Countouts, No Disqualifications Match.

Irwin R. Schyster defeated Greg “The Hammer” Valentine.

Hulk Hogan & Ultimate Warrior defeated Sgt. Slaughter, Col. Mustafa & Gen. Adnan in “The Match Made in Hell” Handicap Match with Sid Justice as the referee.

Randy Savage married Miss Elizabeth in “The Match Made in Heaven.”

This event holds a special place in my heart because it was the first pay per view I ordered (or should I say begged my parents to order). I couldn’t wait to see Hulk Hogan and the Ultimate Warrior team up. However, it was another match on the card that took me from being slightly into wrestling to being an obsessed wrestling nut.

The event was built up around “The Match Made in Heaven,” the wedding of “Macho Man” Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth who reunited at WrestleMania VII, and “The Match Made in Hell,” the culmination of Hulk Hogan and The Ultimate Warrior’s feud with Sgt. Slaughter and his goons. However, in addition to the main event there were several other big matches. The Road Warriors got their first shot at the WWF Tag Team Titles in a no disqualifications match, Virgil, the former bodyguard of Ted DiBiase finally got a chance to take the Million Dollar Belt from his longtime tormentor, and Bret Hart got his first opportunity at singles title against Mr. Perfect.

I’ve been called out a few times in the comments section already for being a Bret Hart mark, and I’ll admit that I am. The simple fact is that Bret Hart vs. Mr. Perfect at SummerSlam 1991 is the reason I’m a wrestling fan, and I got to tell Hart that at a book signing. I know the match isn’t flawless, but it’s an incredible match. Hart and Perfect put on a wrestling clinic for nearly twenty minutes. The match was very realistic, and went back and forth between the two, with both men taking turns picking the other apart, and grew significantly in intensity as the it went on. Hart truly displayed his “excellence of execution” moving from one part of Perfect’s anatomy to another, breaking him down for the Sharpshooter. At one point Perfect tried to walk away from the fight but Hart stopped him, tearing his singlet as he tossed him back in the ring. In the end Hart kicked out of the Perfect-Plex and eventually countered one of Perfect’s legdrops into the Sharpshooter causing Perfect to submit immediately, giving Hart his first WWF singles championship. The post match saw Hart tear off Hennig’s singlet as a souvenir.

Although it seems like WWE features a handicap match once a week these days, in 1991 they were a kind of special event. This was the third SummerSlam to feature a tag team match in the main event, and this one like the other tag match main events was decent, but not great. This wasn’t a very standard handicap match because Hogan and Warrior more than matched up to Slaughter, Mustafa and Adnan (who was really just Slaughter’s manager). The real drama of the match really centered on whether or not Sid was in Slaughter’s back pocket. The end of the match saw Warrior chase Slaughter’s thugs to the back with a chair and Hogan toss powder in Slaughter’s eyes. After that he hit the legdrop and ended the feud. After the match Hogan got Sid to come back out and pose with him. This was the match that the Ultimate Warrior supposedly threatened to no show unless he was paid a large sum of money.

The rest of the card was pretty fun. The six man tag was a good opener, Virgil finally got the better of “The Million Dollar Man,” and the Road Warriors became the only team to win the NWA, AWA and WWF Tag Team Titles. Also, the Mountie lost his match with the Big Bossman resulting in a number of amusing skits featuring the belligerent Mountie getting booked and put in a cell with some colorful characters. All said, SummerSlam 1991 was a wonderful show that delivered on all of its big matches and produced several memorable moments.

Another thing I want to say about this event is that the announcers, Gorilla Monsoon, Bobby Heenan, and Roddy Piper did an incredible job making every match feel important. Piper especially did a great job expressing the emotion of the moment, and I think he’s really underrated as a color commentator. It’s not like this was the first time these guys teamed up, but I think a number of today’s announcers could really learn a few things by listing to the older guys. When watching these events in order it was almost unbearable to go from listing to these three to listing to Vince McMahon. He was just awful during the 90s (“one…two…he got him – no he didn’t” ten seconds later “one…two…he got him – no he didn’t”).

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V

SummerSlam 1992

The SummerSlam You Thought You’d Never See!
August 29, 1992
Wembley Stadium
London, England
Attendance: 80,355

The Legion of Doom (Hawk and Animal) w/Paul Ellering defeated Money Inc. (Ted DiBiase and Irwin R. Schyster) w/ Jimmy Hart.

Nailz defeated Virgil.

Shawn Michaels w/Sensational Sherri vs. Rick Martel ended in a double countout in a match where the wrestlers agreed not to hit each other in the face.

WWF Tag Team Champions The Natural Disasters (Earthquake and Typhoon) defeated The Beverly Brothers (Beau and Blake Beverly) w/The Genius.

Crush defeated Repo Man.

The Ultimate Warrior defeated WWF Champion Randy Savage via count-out.

Undertaker w/Paul Bearer defeated Kamala w/Harvey Wippleman and Kim Chee via disqualification.

Davey Boy Smith defeated WWF Intercontinental Champion Bret Hart to become new champion.

This SummerSlam is an event of highs and lows. On the one hand you have what might just be the greatest match in SummerSlam history, and on the other hand you have a show that features guys like Repo Man, and Nailz. The two big matches going into this event were the Intercontinental Title match between Bret Hart and his brother-in-law Davey Boy Smith, and the WWF Title Match between Randy Savage and his old nemesis The Ultimate Warrior.

In a somewhat surprising move the WWF decided to make the Intercontinental Title match the main event. This made sense since the London crowd was more invested in cheering their fellow countryman than anything else, but as a result the WWF Title match went on third-to-last. Instead of really playing up the outcome of their “loser must retire” match at WrestleMania VII, the drama surrounding the Savage vs. Warrior match was the question of “who’s corner would Mr. Perfect be in.” The match started just as the sun was beginning to set, which added a special feeling to the epic showdown. Both the champion and the challenger entered without Mr. Perfect, and set a quick pace immediately. About halfway through the match Mr. Perfect and Ric Flair made their way down to the ring and began interfering in the match, first against Savage then against Warrior. By the end of the match Warrior looked to have things all tied up after press-slamming Savage. However, Flair hit him with a chair allowing Savage the time to recover. Savage climbed the ropes but then realized that he didn’t knock the Warrior out so he leaped at Flair instead. On his way down Flair struck his knee with a chair and Savage was counted-out as a result. Flair and Perfect continued the assault on Savage’s knee until Warrior chased them off and helped Savage to his feet out of respect. While this match wasn’t as good as their WrestleMania match and had an indecisive ending, it was still quite good. Savage lost the WWF Title to Flair just days later.

The story surrounding the Bret Hart, Davey Boy Smith match was pretty simple. Hart was the Intercontinental Champion, and his brother-in-law, The British Bulldog, earned a title shot. The feud was more emotional than it was physical, as the rivalry divided up the Hart family. Smith was the clear favorite in his home country, but Hart was by no means hated, but played more of a heel role throughout the match. The match was a technical-wrestling masterpiece that saw Hart slowly pick apart Smith ultimately setting him up for the Sharpshooter, creating a very high level of tension for the audience. By the time Hart kicked out of the powerslam and locked Smith in the Sharpshooter the crowd had come completely unglued and wild with anticipation. Eventually Smith made it to the ropes and moments later reversed a sunset-flip to pin Hart’s shoulders to the mat. After the match Hart teased a heel turn, but embraced his brother-in-law and his sister. The match has been regarded as one of the greatest ever in the history of WWE, and it’s success propelled Bret Hart to the WWF Title just over a month later.

The rest of the show was pretty run of the mill. On the plus side The Legion of Doom defeated Money Inc. in their last match in the WWF for several years. Shawn Michaels and Rick Martel had a fun and rare heel vs. heel match where they both agreed not to hit each other in the face because Sherri thought they were both so handsome. On the negative side there were two squash matches: Nailz vs. Virgil and Crush vs. Repo Man, a pretty bad Tag Team Title Match, and Undertaker vs. Kamala, which and been heavily hyped but lasted less than four minutes. Overall, the good heavily outweighed the bad; despite the disappointing ending the WWF Title match was good, and the main event was incredible. Finally the setting, outside at Wembley Stadium, in front of 80,000 fans created an epic feeling for this event that has yet to be duplicated at a SummerSlam.

IV

SummerSlam 1998

Highway to Hell
August 30, 1998
Madison Square Garden
New York, New York
Attendance: 21,588

WWF European Champion D-Lo Brown defeated Val Venis via disqualification.

The Oddities (Giant Silva, Golga, and Kurrgan) w/Luna Vachon and the Insane Clown Posse defeated Kaientai (WWF Light Heavyweight Champion Taka Michinoku, Dick Togo, Mens Teioh, and Sho Funaki) w/Yamaguchi-san.

X-Pac w/Howard Finkel defeated Jeff Jarrett w/Mark Canterbury and Dennis Knight in a Hair vs. Hair Match.

Sable & Edge defeated Marc Mero & Jacqueline.

Ken Shamrock defeated Owen Hart w/Dan Severn in a Lion’s Den Match.

The New Age Outlaws (Billy Gunn and Jesse James) defeated WWF Tag Team Champions Mankind and Kane (who no-showed).

Triple H w/Chyna defeated WWF Intercontinental Champion The Rock w/Mark Henry in a Ladder Match.

WWF Champion Steve Austin defeated The Undertaker.

The WWF was riding high on the success of Steve Austin’s run as WWF Champion, and this event really reflects how strong the WWF had become at that point. The two major feuds going into SummerSlam 98 were Steve Austin against The Undertaker, and D-generation X against the Nation of Domination, represented by their respective leaders Triple H and The Rock.

DX and the Nation had been feuding for months and just the month before Triple H and The Rock had fought to a time limit draw in a 2 out of 3 falls match for the Intercontinental Title. To make sure there would be a winner at SummerSlam their rematch was made into a ladder match. Perhaps the WWF was hoping to recreate the success they had with Michaels and Ramon, but the ladder match format didn’t suit them as well as it did their predecessors. I’m not saying that the match was by any means bad, but the two could have probably put on just as exciting a match without the stipulation. The one thing that stood out in my mind about the match wasn’t any particular spot, but the almost comically slow climbing on the part of the Rock. In the end Chyna got involved, helping Triple H capture the Intercontinental Title. Unfortunately, Triple H sustained an injury and was out for several months following the match. My minor nitpicks aside the ladder match delivered and elevated both men significantly because they showed that they could perform on such a high profile stage.

The main event of the show pitted the Undertaker against the WWF Champion Steve Austin. This really was the biggest possible match the WWF could have put on at the time and it made the show seem extra special. The feud between the two really started at the King of the Ring when the Undertaker cost Austin the WWF Title in a first Blood Match against Kane. Undertaker, dressed as Kane, to fool McMahon, won a number one contender’s match against Mankind. However, he and Austin managed to get along long enough to win the Tag Team Titles from Mankind and Kane but lost them back to the pair a few weeks. By the time they met at SummerSlam the match had been built up to that of a WrestleMania level main event. The match didn’t disappoint either. The wild brawl spilled out of the ring and into the crowd. In the spot of the match (and maybe the night) Undertaker laid a prone Austin on an announce table and proceeded to execute a legdrop from the top rope onto the table. In the end, however, Austin countered “old school,” and hit the Stunner for the three count, after which Undertaker graciously handed him the title belt.

Outside of the two big matches the rest of the show was quite good. The “Champion of Europe,” D’Lo Brown battled Val Venis in a fun, but slightly long opening bout. Jeff Jarrett got his hair cut courtesy of X-Pac. Edge made his pay per view debut teaming with Sable. Ken Shamrock battled Owen Hart in a custom-built cage match called the Lion’s Den. Finally, the New Age Outlaws got the best of Mankind when his championship partner, Kane, left him high and dry. To top it all off it was this SummerSlam that really started the trend of pay per view theme music with the AC/DC song Highway to Hell. Over all this was a very good show, with a few flaws that keep it from the top of the list.

III

SummerSlam 2002

Rock vs. Brock
August 25, 2002
Nassau Coliseum
Uniondale, New York
Attendance: 14,797

Kurt Angle defeated Rey Mysterio.

Ric Flair defeated Chris Jericho.

Edge defeated Eddie Guerrero.

World Tag Team Championship Match

WWE Tag Team Champions The Un-Americans (Lance Storm and Christian) defeated Booker T & Goldust.

Rob Van Dam defeated WWE Intercontinental Champion Chris Benoit.

Undertaker defeated Test.

Shawn Michaels defeated Triple H in a Street Fight.

Brock Lesnar defeated WWE Undisputed Champion The Rock.

This was the first SummerSlam after the WWE’s brand extension, and I’ve seen it declared the greatest SummerSlam ever. The truth is, I wasn’t all that fired up over this event. At the time I didn’t like the brand extension (I would still prefer it if they just got rid of it), and I didn’t think Brock Lesnar was worth all of the hype he received. However, for me, watching this show with the benefit of hindsight has drastically changed my opinion of it. I still don’t think it’s the best one ever, but it is one of the best. The two big feuds going into the show were the WWE Championship match between The Rock and Brock Lesnar and Shawn Michaels’s return match against Triple H.

Shawn Michaels left active competition in 1998 after suffering a severe back injury, but had on-again off-again on screen roles, and had returned a few months before to join his old friends Nash and Sean Waltman in the nWo. However, this version of the group was short lived as Nash went down with a torn quad. Michaels then managed to talk Triple H into coming over to Raw. Triple H agreed but turned on Michaels while teasing a DX reunion, setting up a match between the two. The match was an intense, hardcore street fight that saw both men bleed and Michaels drive Triple H through a table with an incredible splash from the top rope to the floor. In the end, Triple H reversed a Superkick into the Pedigree, but Michaels reversed that into a pinning combination and got the victory. After the match Triple H assaulted Michaels with a sledgehammer. Although it was supposed to be a one night return, the match eventually led to a fulltime return for Michaels.

The writing was on the wall for the main event before it even started. Brock Lesnar had run roughshod over every one in WWE since the night of his debut and won the King of the Ring guaranteeing him a title shot at SummerSlam. During the build up Lesnar absolutely destroyed Hulk Hogan. The Rock, who had basically left WWE for Hollywood by that point was brought back and given the Undisputed Title so Lesnar would have an established champion to crush but wouldn’t squelch any other potential main event feuds along the way. During the match the crowd largely supported Lesnar and The Rock went into his de-facto heel mode. While the match was competitive there was no way Lesnar wasn’t going to walk out the Undisputed Champion. In the end Lesnar survived The Rock’s offense hit the F5 and completed his incredible rise to the top. A few weeks later the title would be reverted back to just the WWE Title, as Eric Bischoff introduced the (or brought back the WCW) World Heavyweight Title.

The rest of the show was very solid, including a great opening match between Kurt Angle and Rey Mysterio, a very good match between Eddie Guerrero and Edge, and an intense match between Rob Van Dam and Chris Benoit over the Intercontinental Title. The low point of the show was the match between Undertaker and Test, but it wasn’t bad enough to affect the show much. Overall this event is one of the best SummerSlams ever, and was probably the best WWE show of 2002.

II

SummerSlam 2001

Finally…
August 19, 2001
Compaq Center
San Jose, California
Attendance: 15,293

Edge defeated WWF Intercontinental Champion Lance Storm.

The Dudley Boys (Bubba Ray and D-Von) and Test defeated The APA (Faarooq and Bradshaw) and Spike Dudley.

Cruiserweight Champion vs. Light Heavyweight Champion Match
WCW Cruiserweight Champion X-Pac defeated WWF Light Heavyweight Champion Tajiri.

Chris Jericho defeated Rhyno.

Rob Van Dam defeated WWF Hardcore Champion Jeff Hardy in a Ladder Match.

WCW Tag Team Champions The Undertaker & Kane w/Sara defeated WWF Tag Team Champions Kanyon & Diamond Dallas Page in a Steel Cage Match.

Kurt Angle defeated WWF Champion Stone Cold Steve Austin via disqualification.

The Rock defeated WCW Champion Booker T w/Shane McMahon.

Although the WCW Invasion angle ultimately flopped, you wouldn’t know it by looking at the 2001 SummerSlam. Every match except one featured WWF wrestlers against WCW/ECW Alliance members. The two main events were the WWF Champion Steve Austin vs. Kurt Angle and the WCW Champion Booker T vs. The Rock who was making his return from a long hiatus. In addition to the main events two champion vs. champion matches took place.

At WrestleMania X-7 Steve Austin turned heel and joined forces with Vince McMahon, but despite his deal with the devil the fans really didn’t want to boo Austin. As a result, and with the invasion of WCW wrestlers it looked as though Austin’s run as a villain would be short lived. It took some convincing but Austin eventually agreed to team up with “Team WWF” to battle “Team WCW/ECW” at Invasion. However, Austin turned on his team members and specifically singled out Kurt Angle, and Angle became the leader of the WWF by default. The match between the two had all the makings of a classic. Angle took a severe beating from Austin, but was able to outwrestle the champion for most of the match, countering moves and softening him up for the anklelock. The nuances from both wrestlers made everything seem extremely personal and made the match that much better. At the end though a slew of referees got knocked out and Alliance referee Nick Patrick called for a disqualification. The match was so good though that the non-finish didn’t really even detract from it.

The final match of the night was the WCW Title match. Booker T had won the WCW Title from Scott Steiner on the last episode of Nitro, and when he debuted in the WWF he initially appeared as a baby-face. However, the WWF fans didn’t want to see WCW and from their rejection came the whole Alliance angle. In the meantime The Rock was finishing the filming of The Scorpion King but returned in time to fill the void left by Steve Austin’s defection. While Angle had his sites set on Austin, The Rock zeroed in on Booker T. Unlike the Angle Austin match, this match was not dripping with intensity or psychology, and ultimately became a very bad sign for the viability of a WCW brand in the WWF. Throughout most of the match WCW owner Shane McMahon interfered to keep Booker in control, but there was just no stopping The Rock. In the final moments of the match Booker T hit the scissors kick and paused to do the Spinarooni. He was met with the Rock Bottom, and The Rock was crowned the new WCW Champion.

The rest of the card was really good. Lance Storm and Edge had a good match for the Intercontinental Title, that also furthered the storyline between Edge and Christian. X-Pac and Tajiri put together a WCW quality cruiserweight match, that saw X-Pac walk out with both of the lightweight belts. Rob Van Dam’s early WWF career was made thanks to his high profile ladder match with Jeff Hardy. The only bad match on the card was DDP and Kanyon vs. The Undertaker and Kane in a steel cage, but even that was kind of fun. I think that the aftermath of this event (the complete destruction of the last remnants of WCW) taints the perceived quality of this show. However, when taken by itself it is an excellent edition of SummerSlam.

I

SummerSlam 2008

The Biggest Blockbuster of the Summer
August 17, 2008
Conseco Fieldhouse
Indianapolis, Indiana
Attendance: 15,997

Montel Vontavious Porter defeated Jeff Hardy.

Glamarella (Santino Marella and Beth Phoenix) defeated WWE Intercontinental Champion Kofi Kingston and WWF Women’s Champion Mickie James in match were both titles were on the line.

Matt Hardy defeated ECW Champion Mark Henry w/Tony Atlas by disqualification.

World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk defeated John “Bradshaw” Layfield.

WWE Champion Triple H defeated The Great Khali.

Batista defeated John Cena.

The Undertaker defeated Edge in a Hell in a Cell Match.

It may be hard to believe, and you may just chalk it up to a flaw in my calculation system, but SummerSlam 2008 was by far and away the number one SummerSlam using my formula. I was surprised by the result, but when I looked at the event again it was easy to see that it was, with the exception of the ECW Title match, across the board an excellent show. In addition to the high match quality, the event featured a quadruple main event with CM Punk defending his World Heavyweight Title against JBL, Triple H defending his WWE Title against Khali, Batista battling John Cena for the first time ever in WWE, and a Hell in a Cell match between The Undertaker and Edge. Even more important than the stacked card was the fact that all of the big matches delivered.

JBL really stepped up his game for his World Heavyweight Title match with CM Punk and gave Punk the best victory (not match, but victory) of his first World Title reign. JBL had rundown Punk’s lifestyle and called him a fluke of a champion for weeks preceding the event, and then simply tried to bully his way to victory at SummerSlam. Punk played the role of underdog and was able to catch JBL in the Go to Sleep for the victory. The match wasn’t great but it was quite good, and was better than it could have been. An even bigger surprise was that the WWE Title match was much better than it should have been, as Triple H and The Great Khali actually managed to pull off a pretty good match. Khali pretty much did his thing as a giant, but the match found its stride in Triple H trying to find a chink in the big man’s armor. The role of underdog is not a typical one for Triple H, but he did a good job of playing a different kind of one during this match. Again, it wasn’t a great match but it was surprisingly decent.

The build up to the showdown between John Cena and Batista was a bit disappointing, as Raw General Manager Mike Adamle simply made the match and let the rivalry develop from there. Nevertheless, it was one of the few “dream matches” WWE still had left to exploit. Although both men are often maligned for not being able to put together quality matches without the help of other “more talented” wrestlers, Cena and Batista pulled off an excellent match. Both men traded high-impact power moves, and submission holds (Cena of course used his STFU, and Batista used Flair’s figure-four). Near the end of the match Cena countered a powerslam in to the FU, but was unable score the fall. Shortly after Batista caught Cena in a powerbomb as he was coming off of the top rope, but had to deliver one more Batista Bomb to pick up the victory. Once again, this was a match that had the potential to fail to deliver, but ended up exceeding the expectations set on it.

The final match of the night was the Hell in the Cell match between Edge and The Undertaker. Vicki Guerrero set up the match when she found out Edge had been cheating on her. The Undertaker of course wanted revenge for being defeated by Edge in a TLC Match a few months prior. In some ways the match became a TLC Match inside the cell as Edge made liberal use of tables, ladders and chairs, and at one point the action spilled outside the structure when Edge speared The Undertaker through the side of the cell. In the end, the weapons Edge introduced came back to haunt him, as he was chokeslamed through two tables he set up on the outside of the ring. Undertaker then destroyed Edge by spearing him, hitting him with a camera, smashing his skull with a con-chair-to, and executing the Tombstone for the pin. After the match the Undertaker pulled Edge up a ladder and chokeslammed him through the ring which then exploded in flames.

While other SummerSlams had individually better matches, the entire card (save the thirty second ECW Title Match) of this event ranged from good to excellent. The undercard matches between Jeff Hardy and MVP, and the mixed tag, were fun, entertaining, and good wrestling matches. The two world title matches were quite good and far better than many expected them to be. Finally, both the Cena vs. Batista match and the Hell in the Cell were excellent. It may take a few years to really see if this event is truly deserving of the top spot I’ve given it, but the 2008 edition was one hell of a SummerSlam.

That, thankfully, wraps up the ranking of the SummerSlams. Once again, please provide me with some of your favorite SummerSlam moments. I know which ones were my favorites, but maybe you can point a few out that I may have overlooked.