Summerslam > Wrestlemania

AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe was announced for Summerslam this year, and for me this proves yet again that Summerslam is my favorite show of the year.  Wrestlemania gets all the hoopla naturally, but Summerslam tends to deliver as the better overall show more often than not.  This isn't always the case, but a vast majority of the time Summerslam contains a match/matches that are in the running for MOTY, even if the overall review of the show is somewhat negative.

Have I mentioned yet that this is "my opinion?"  I only mention this again because I know people like to speak of the "Wrestlemania moments," and that "Summerslam moments" aren't really a thing.  I can't argue that.  But I can state that Summerslam usually doesn't have musical performances/celebrity guests that no one cares about, eating up time better spent on wrestlers themselves.  And in this day and age, those celebrity appearances make a five hour show into a six hour show.

This post isn't to focus on the negative though.  I'm simply here to write about my favorite Summerslam matches.  I will admit that I've not seen every single Summerslam, but in due time thanks to the WWE Network, I will.  This list will be chronologically and not ranked in any way.

Bret vs. Owen Cage Match 1994

courtesy: whatculture.com

This may be my favorite cage match ever.  I love the desperation Owen shows trying to dive out of the cage.  And of course I love the finish of Owen hanging upside down from the cage, allowing Bret out.  Something that couldn't be done today obviously with the mesh caging.  I definitely enjoy this match more than their more heralded match from Wrestlemania X.





Shawn vs. Razor Ladder Match 1995

Although not as good as the original, these guys do everything they can to have an entirely different match from Wrestlemania X.  I've always been partial to the moonsault off the ladder as a favorite moment.









Vader vs. Shawn 1996

courtesy: pwtorch.com

I've written about this one before.  I think it's a great one, but seems to only get remembered for a temper tantrum.  Honestly I don't even feel that it's even that noticeable.  Definitely not worthy of the harsh criticism receives.  Regardless, HBK is mega over with the Cleveland crowd, and fights for his life against the monster Vader.  He kicked out of the Sweet Chin Music!  This one meant something because that was rare thing back then.




Mankind vs. HHH Cage Match 1997

courtesy: whatculture.com

As was the case with almost all the meetings between the two, this was a wild brawl.  Foley dove from the top of the cage with an elbow drop; in what was his first of many times soaring off a cage during his time in the WWF.

courtesy: bleacherreport.com

Bret vs. Undertaker 1997 
You add HBK as the referee and you get some serious star power in this match.  I love the sharpshooter around the ringpost standing on the stairs that Bret does here.  These guys have great chemistry at this point, and had a a nearly as good rematch in the UK the following month.

courtesy: whatculture.com

HHH vs. Rock Ladder Match 1998

This ladder match is unlike any ladder match before or since.  There isn't a high flyer involved, so it's more about hard-hitting ground-based offense that is quite refreshing in hindsight.  I also like the bright yellow ladder that we've only seen this one time as well.

courtesy: fightinggameblog

Undertaker vs. Austin 1998Both guys have gone on record saying they don't care for this match.  I disagree.  For starters, this may be the best built main event ever.  It felt absolutely huge.  When you think big time main event builds, this should come to mind.  (The Mega Powers are right there too.)  The crowd is jacked, during arguably the most popular time frame of the Attitude Era, and with a crowd like that, it's hard not to get into the match. 


Test vs. Shane Greenwich Street Fight 1999

courtesy: sportskeeda.com

This feud was over like rover at the time, and has since been forgotten seemingly.  Granted, everything was over in the Attitude Era, but this one had the extra "something."  During the match, those damn Mean Street Posse punks with their sweater vests tried their best to help old Shane' O, but in the end love conquered all as Test was allowed to date Stephanie per the stipulation.  This was also the first time we got to see that Shane is crazy, utilizing his first "Leap of Faith" elbow drop.  It's a shame that this angle ended so poorly for Test in the next few months.




Benoit vs. Jericho 2/3 Falls 2000 

courtesy: bleacherreport.com

I love it anytime these two locked up.  Pure magic.  This was their best match up to that point.  Only being topped by their ladder match at the following Royal Rumble.












Edge/Christian vs. Dudley Boyz vs. Hardy Boyz TLC 2000
Technically the first TLC match, even though they had the "triangle ladder match" at Wrestlemania earlier in the year.  Had the Hardyz won this match, I feel it would have pushed it to the level of "greatest match ever contender."  While it's still considered influential, people seem to favor TLC 2 compared to this one.  I completely disagree with that.  This crowd was hotter, and the ladder match in general seemed more fresh than just a few months later when TLC 2 took place.  By the time TLC 2 comes around there had been two more ladder matches in between the two TLC's and I feel it was losing some of it's luster at that point.  Look at the crowd reaction when Jeff is dangling from the belts.  Not only an impressive visual, but they were so excited that their hometown boy was going to bring home the gold.  Unfortunately Edge and Christian had other ideas.



HHH vs. Angle vs. Rock 2000

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The Angle/Stephanie love affair in the summer of 2000 was one of my all-time favorite angles.  (No pun intended)  It went on longer after this match, but for me this was the pinnacle of it.  It didn't get any better. WWF in general started to slip after SS '00 but that's a different post.  The crowd, which has to be one of the best ever like I mentioned in the last match, still was rockin' for this match.  They wanted their man Rocky to win, but was totally invested in seeing HHH beat the shit out of Angle-which he did.  Remember the botched Pedigree through the table?  That was this match.  Rock ended up winning, which shocked me at the time, I thought the odds were too stacked against the Great One.  He was doing his "Rock pose" at the end of the match, while a seriously concussed Angle carried Stephanie out of the arena while HHH was out for the count.  Love this shit.

Jeff vs. RVD Ladder Match 2001 

courtesy: whatculture.com

Although I pretty much hate them now, I used to love ladder matches, and Summerslam usually delivered them in big ways.  This one was always overshadowed by their InVasion match the month earlier, but I always preferred this one.  I always think of RVD's insane Rolling Thunder across the entire ring to Jeff lying on a ladder.  He legit goes from one corner to the other.  How this doesn't get love is beyond me?  Even at the time no one talked about it.  Well I am now.  Great match!

Summerslam 2002

courtesy: wwe.com 

I love this entire show.  I've gushed over it many times before, but I think it's the best wrestling card ever assembled.  It has arguably the greatest opener of all time, Rey vs. Angle.  Two extremely underrated mat classics in Guerrero vs. Edge and Benoit vs. RVD.  A super over team of Booker T and Goldust taking on the mega heel team of the UnAmericans (Bookdust should have won BTW) in a really fun match.  A main event that I dismissed at first, but have since grown to appreciate in Rock vs. Brock.  Brock catching Rock with a clothesline before the People's Elbow is still the best counter for that move ever!

And we cannot forget the masterpiece that is HBK vs. HHH.  At the time I never dreamed I would see HBK compete, and here he was.  I've probably watched this match more than any match ever.  It's my all-time favorite, which is saying something because I watch a revolting amount of wrestling and have seen some good stuff.  As and added bonus, JR and King's commentary is just perfect throughout.  You are genuinely concerned that Shawn is going to break his back and become paralyzed, and you just want to kill HHH every time he hits HBK in that same injured back. The ending sequence concluding with HBK rolling him up for the win is the most emotional few seconds I've ever seen in wrestling.

Brock vs. Angle 2003  
Unlike the Wrestlemania match, Brock is a heel here and makes for so much better of dynamic.  I love this match five times more than their WM match.  Period.







Orton vs. Benoit 2004
This was supposed to Orton's coronation, but things didn't work out that way.  But in the moment, this was huge.  Fantastic hard-hitting mat work--basic stuff for Benoit, but it added another level to Orton.  Orton's 2004 up to this point was incredible.  His only match better during that stretch is his street fight against Cactus Jack at Backlash.














CM Punk vs. Jeff Hardy TLC 2009
After a rough few years of Summerslams (and WWE in general) we come roaring back here.  Amazing build throughout this feud which encompassed the whole summer.  It was really cool that these two got to main event this show as well.





Brock Lesnar vs. CM Punk 2013

courtesy: the armbar express

Before Lesnar got really boring he put on matches like this.  It wasn't the formulaic "Suplex City" match that would become his staple at the following Summerslam.  This was probably Punk's last great match, and he went out throwing hay makers.







Daniel Bryan vs. John Cena 2013

courtesy: cagesideseats.com

Bryan had built so much momentum in 2013 that going into Summerslam he seemed like only the logical choice to face Cena.  Naturally WWE has a tendency to not always do what is logical, so the fact the match was booked in the first place may be considered a minor miracle.  Compounded by the fact he pinned Cena clean, (using KENTA'S Busaiku Knee no less) made this small time period one of my favorite times in wrestling.  I think I'm in the minority here, but the cash-in at the end did nothing to spoil the finish or the match as a whole.  Big-picture I knew that Bryan pinning Cena clean was a major coupe for him-regardless of whether he had the title or not.   

AJ Styles vs. John Cena 2016
The initial encounter two months prior left me disappointed.  Surely they can do better than that, I remember thinking.  Well all the stars aligned in this match.  SS '16 was reviewed rather negatively overall, but to me the only thing I think of when this show is mentioned is this particular match- and I absolutely loved it.  AJ had beaten Cena with shenanigans in their first match, but this one had no shenanigans.  When AJ kicked out of the avalanche AA I lost my shit.  Between both brands, NXT, and the CWC, WWE had a slew of great matches in 2016.  This one ranked in the top one or two in my opinion.