The 8 Ball: The Top 8 WWE Summerslam Matches

My name is Daniel Wilcox, a 411 writer for the best part of a decade and a regular contributor to the Music, Movies and Wrestling Zones. Your regular 8-Ball host Mike Hammerlock is going to be back with you in one week’s time, but for now your are still stuck with yours truly. Last week we began a count down chronicling the sixteen greatest Summerslam matches of all time. This week, we conclude that list. Here’s a reminder of what this is all about.

It was as tricky a subject as I could pick, and a hell of a lot of great matches missed the cut. I imagine there’s going to be a lot of disagreement on this one, and that’s OK. We’re all fans, and we’re all entitled to our opinions. But to help you guys understand my list a little bit better, I’ll fill you in on the criteria I used. It’s pretty obvious, and it’s very simple, but just for reference…

1. Match Quality
2. Historical Significance
3. Personal Preference

I told you it was simple. Among the matches that missed the cut, in no particular order, were Undertaker/Hart (’97), Triple H/Lesnar (’12), Cena/Orton (’07), Cena/Edge (’06), McMahon/Test (’99) and Foley/Flair (’06). There were plenty more, of course. But without further ado, this is the Top 16 Summerslam Matches of All Time!

A recap of the previous eight;

16. Team WWE vs. Team Nexus [2010]
15. Undisputed WWE Championship Match: John Cena vs. CM Punk [2011]
14. World Heavyweight Championship Match: Chris Benoit vs. Randy Orton [2004]
13. Tables, Ladders and Chairs Match for the World Heavyweight Championship: Jeff Hardy vs. CM Punk [2009]
12. No Disqualification Match: CM Punk vs. Brock Lesnar [2013]
11. WWE Undisputed Championship Match: The Rock vs. Brock Lesnar [2002]
10. WWE Intercontinental Championship Match: Bret Hart vs. Mr. Perfect [1991]
9. WWE Championship: John Cena vs. Daniel Bryan [2013]

8. Ladder Match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship: Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon [1995]

I think the original WrestleMania X matches get favoured a little over this one. Possibly because it was the first of its kind on a major scale, or possibly due to the majesty of WrestleMania and Madison Square Garden. Personally, I love both matches. This was another epic encounter between two of the very best professional wrestlers of the mid-90s. Unfortunately this match had something of an awkward finishing sequence that wound up being rather anti-climatic, and maybe that’s one of the reason this match gets overlooked. But it’s a fantastic match nonetheless and well-worthy of its place.

7. WWE Tag Team Championship Match: The Hart Foundation vs. The Brainbusters [1989]

I’ve heard so many people say Kurt Angle vs. Rey Mysterio is the best match to ever open Summerslam, and they all get slapped in the face and pointed in the direction of this bout. I had to re-watch it before deciding its place on the list, because admittedly it doesn’t have much in the way of historical importance, but the wrestling here is that good. People will always associate Arn and Tully with their work in the NWA and later WCW, but their run in WWE was pretty tremendous. As a massive fan of tag team wrestling, the late 80s and early 21st century were the best times ever, and this is one of the best non-gimmick tag bouts of all time.

6. WWE Championship Match: Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Kurt Angle [2001]

A lot of people like to dismiss the Invasion angle, and heel Stone Cold Steve Austin, but we got this match out of it so it’s all gravy. There’s a lot of people that loathe the DQ finish in this match, but I can honestly say I thought it was the perfect ending considering the story being told. Angle would just keep coming at Austin to the point where Austin had nothing left to throw at Angle, who simply would not stay down. Austin was maniacal here, and Angle was the perfect hero. It’s a testament to both workers that despite not working with their more familiar face/heel dynamic, they were not only able to have such a classic match, but tell such a thrilling story. An all-time great, for sure.

5. Ladder Match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship: The Rock vs. Triple H]

I think the placement of this match may well raise a few eyebrows (pun fully intended), but again, I am taking long-term ramifications into account here. Part of the reason why I loved this match is because it gives you two mid-card guys – and they both still were at this point – who not only put on a phenomenal match, but captivated an audience. It’s hard to imagine in this day and age someone winning the Intercontinental Championship to such a response. This wasn’t the spotfest ladder matches we’ve become accustomed to, but one with psychology and a story told around the injured leg of The Game. This was one of the more physical ladder matches in history, and served as a great metaphor as both The Rock and Triple H continued their ascent to the very top of WWE where they would remain for years to come.

4. Steel Cage Match for the WWE Championship: Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart [1994]

This is probably the greatest steel cage match of all time. You have a heated storyline that the fans have bought into. You have tremendous in-ring action throughout. You have a title on the line. That’s pretty much the formula for an all-time classic and that’s exactly what this was. I do have a general disdain for cage matches, especially the escape matches and if it weren’t for the fact, perhaps this match would be even higher. But Bret and Owen did manage to make every crawl to the door and every ascent to the top all the more meaningful with the execution of the match and for that they must be admired. For half an hour these guys beat the hell out of each other and made the audience believe it, it’s an emotional roller-coaster of a match and arguably even better than their WrestleMania X encounter.

3. WWE Intercontinental Championship Match: Bret Hart vs. The British Bulldog [1992]

Professional wrestling at its core is typically a tail of good vs. evil. Good vs. evil is a story that will always garner a reaction. But in this instance, you had two performers who the 80,000-strong Wembley Stadium crowd adored. There was no personal animosity. There no blood feud, despite the relation. This was just two professional wrestlers, wrestling for the Intercontinental Championship. That championship has never meant as much as it did on this night. In terms of the actual in-ring product on offer here, what we get is actually pretty standard fare. But what makes this not just one of the best matches in Summerslam history but of all time, is the emotion. The crowd was hooked on this match from the moment the Bulldog made his entrance, but the tension would just build and build and build until Bulldog finally pinned Bret to win his first singles title. At its simplest, it’s a great power vs. technique match. In reality, it’s one of wrestling’s greatest emotional thrill rides.

2. Tables, Ladders and Chairs Match for the WWE Tag Team Championship: Edge and Christian vs. The Hardy Boyz vs. The Dudley Boyz [2000]

I’ve heard this match and its successors called spotfests. I’ve heard these matches called choreographed. I’ve even heard these matches called garbage wrestling. There’s elements of truth in all of that, but undeniably, the matches between the Hardyz, Dudleyz and Edge and Christian were also revolutionary. They were breath-taking. They were damn scary to watch at times. I mentioned earlier, there were two untouchable periods of tag team wrestling. The late-80s were amazing, but matches like the first ever Tables, Ladders and Chairs match took things to a whole different level. Every time I re-watch this match, I’m in awe. There are spots in this match that no other athlete – from Kofi Kingston to Shelton Benjamin to Dolph Ziggler – has dared even attempt to repeat. Unprotected chair shots to the skull were child’s play in this one. Tag team wrestling was arguably never as good as this, and almost certainly never will be again.

1. Non-Sanctioned Match: Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels [2002]

On a personal note, this is one of my all-time favourite matches. Depending on the mood I’m in and what day of the week it is, it could well top the list. It’s a brutal match, with Triple H targeting the back of Shawn Michaels – that’d be the surgically repaired back of Michaels. Shawn Michaels digs deep time after time in this match to destroy his former best friend. Leaps from ladders, splashes through tables, chairs, sledgehammers and countless other weapons come into play. It’s a classic story of a jealous best friend who turns on his buddy. But more than that, for Shawn Michaels, it’s a redemption story. It’s Shawn’s first match in over four years after the wrestling world fearing one of the greatest of all time would never wrestle again. Nobody was really sure if Shawn Michaels could still go, if his back would hold up. Not only was Shawn able to deliver yet another all-time classic, but he would go on to wrestle for eight more years and cement his legacy as one of the greatest of all time. For my money, as in-ring performer, there has never been anyone better. So to see Shawn Michaels return to glory in such spectacular fashion will always be the greatest moments in Summerslam history.

And that concludes our countdown of the greatest matches in Summerslam history. What do you think of our finished list? Agree? Disagree? What did I miss? What shouldn’t be here? Leave a comment below. Your regular 8-Ball host Mike Hammerlock returns next week. You can catch me regularly contributing to both the Wrestling and Music Zones.

Thanks for reading.