The Contentious Ten 08.09.10: Summer Slam Matches

Honorable Mentions:
Here’s a list of some matches that, while great, didn’t make the list for one reason or another: Brock Lesnar vs. The Rock, 2002; Rey Mysterio vs. Eddie Guerrero, 2005; Kurt Angle vs. Steve Austin, 2001; Ultimate Warrior vs. Randy Savage, 1992; Shawn Michaels vs. Vader, 1996; John Cena vs. Edge, 2006

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Hulk Hogan vs. Shawn Michaelssize=6>
Summer Slam 2005size=4>



A case of entertainment and spectacle taking precedence over science and intensity. Both men are absolute icons in the sport, with Hogan being the biggest star to ever grace a wrestling ring and Shawn Michaels arguably being the best in-ring performer ever. It was a dream match, and while it was far from being a truly great match, it was much better than anyone expected it to be and succeeded as sports entertainment. Some people hate Shawn Michaels rubber bouncy ball act in this match, but I find it tremendously amusing. As ridiculous as it is, HBK was making Hogan look like the monster from his prime in terms of strength. Hogan’s character IS ridiculous, and I loved watched HBK make a mockery of it. I do feel the political drama was much ado about nothing, since Michaels was bullet proof and losing to Hogan, even in 2005, can’t really hurt you anyway, nor do I think he would have gained much by beating Hogan. But it sure provided me with a ton of entertainment.

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Edge vs. The Undertaker size=6>
Hell in a Cell Match, Summer Slam 2008size=4>

This was held up as a classic by a few people, and I initially kind of turned on the match because of it. It is a spotfest, with very few transitions. Edge and Taker were capable of more than this, as they showed at Wrestlemania, Backlash and Judgment Day that year, but this ended up resembling their TLC match, which was also little more than a spotfest. However, I had forgotten how cool most of those spots were, and how great the booking was on the ending stretch. So I enjoy it a lot more now. At any rate, it is the best Summer Slam match since 2002, which has been a very unkind period to the big Summer show. Fortunately, there are a few gems in the mix.

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The Rock vs. Triple H size=6>
Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match, Summer Slam 1998size=4>



A very important match in WWE history, as it served as the breakout performance for two of WWE’s biggest stars ever. The Rock became perhaps the most charismatic performer of all time and has been the most successful cross-over star since Hogan. Triple H has mostly stayed in wrestling, and has worn more gold around his waist than almost any WWE superstar. It is a rare thing indeed for one feud to produce two superstars of this caliber. The match itself is also very good, with Triple H performing at a high level despite blowing out his knee. There are big flaws, as Rocky takes FOREVER to climb the ladder, but for the impact on the future of the business, it shows up on this list.

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The Undertaker vs. Bret Hartsize=6>
WWF Championship Match, Summer Slam 1997size=4>

And speaking of matches with influence, this one is near the top of the list. The seeds for the great Taker-Michaels rivalry of 1997-1998,Taker’s feud with Kane, the Bret-Shawn match that would become famous as the Montreal Screwjob, and eventually the beginning of McMahon as a character who would feud with Austin in one of the biggest money-making angles of all time, were planted here. Cameos were made by Owen Hart, Brian Pillman and Paul Bearer, and Shawn Michaels was the guest referee who caused more problems with both competitors than I could recap here. Lost amidst all that was the usual tremendous match between Undertaker and Bret, and a fantastic moment where Taker was able to use his strength to power out of the Sharpshooter and send Bret to the floor in one of my favorite spots of all time.

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Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramonsize=6>
Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match, Summer Slam 1995size=4>




Some people consider this to be better than the Wrestlemania X Ladder Match. I am not one of them. The original has a faster pace, a better story, was more innovative, had the benefit of a heel Shawn Michaels, and the finish wasn’t royally botched twice. But that does not make take away from the quality of this one. Shawn and Razor were able to play off the original and came up with a match that is very different from their first ladder match, which is not easy to do. An important step was taking as this match incorporated more than one ladder in the spots, which set the precedent for another match on this list. I wouldn’t consider this a “must see” match, but it’s worth going out of your way for.

The Mid-Column Mini-Column: Tyler Black Goes to WWEsize=4>
This is a special feature that may or may not become a regular thing, a chance for me to talk about something that I feel is worth talking about. Recently, the news came out that WWE has signed current Ring of Honor World Champion Tyler Black to a contract. Reaction has largely come from WWE fans who think that either Black is a talentless nobody (which he isn’t) or that ROH will die now that the top guy is gone. ROH fans have largely been silent, and there is a good reason for that. Most of us don’t really care about Tyler Black. Had WWE signed him two years ago, maybe we would have been up in arms, but at this point, even the most ardent Tyler Black fan has realized what guys like me have been saying for years: that Tyler has been overhyped by fans and the company he works for. He is a franchise player, much like John Cena on a smaller scale, but he just doesn’t measure up to men like Bryan Danielson, Samoa Joe, CM Punk, Austin Aries, Nigel McGuinness or even guys who haven’t held the belt like Roderick Strong, Davey Richards and Christopher Daniels. Black may have had the belt, but he isn’t first in the ROH fan’s mind.

Tyler is very athletic, very graceful and is capable of having good matches. But for the vast majority of his short ROH run, he was carried by wrestlers who outclassed him. Some people saw those matches and thought Tyler was great. Others watched those and realized that Black was far inferior to the men he worked with. Only recently has Black held his own in matches and truly lived up to the hype. Richards vs. Black was the most exciting match I’ve seen this year, and one of the reasons was because Black finally pulled his weight. He became THE MAN in ROH on that night. Unfortunately, none of that matters now, because he is off to go to the WWE. Perhaps he will find his charisma and be a rare success. I don’t know, nor do I really care yet. What I do know is that Black’s ROH legacy will not amount to much even to ROH fans. WWE took him when the iron was hot, when he finally started to silence the critics. But he didn’t make enough of a comeback to turn people on his side. Black will almost certainly be crucified on the last few ROH shows he goes to, and while he doesn’t necessarily deserve it, it won’t matter. ROH’s talent pool is filled with about a dozen wrestlers who could easily grab the belt and be instantly credible as champion.

Trust me, ROH’s fans out going anywhere. And let’s be honest, Tyler Black’s career probably isn’t going anywhere either. Good luck Black, but don’t expect the support we gave Bryan Danielson. Because you aren’t Bryan Danielson, no matter how much ROH tried to convince us you were.

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Bret Hart vs. Mr. Perfectsize=6>
Intercontinental Championship Match, Summer Slam 1991size=4>


I wish I could say that I’m amazed how well this match holds up today, but to be honest I’m not. Curt Hennig and Bret Hart were two extraordinary performers who really revolutionized how WWE matches were done. They took the work that men like Savage, Steamboat and DiBiase had built on and took it to the next level of athleticism and intensity. Bret winning the IC Title was his coming of age, the moment he became a top star in the WWF. No other wrestler has been as successful at marketing pure, competitive wrestling to WWE fans than Bret. Almost a BCE/CE marker for the style of match that WWE provided us in the top position. I put this on another list that will show up this week, and for good reason; this is one of most enjoyable wrestling matches of all time.

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Triple H vs. Shawn Michaelssize=6>
Unsanctioned Street Fight, Summer Slam 2002size=4>

Summer Slam 2002 was one of the best shows that WWE ever did, with almost every match on the card producing an entertaining, quality match. But it was this that truly stole the show. As a kid who mostly watched WCW in the nineties (my brother loved Sting and the New World Order, so that’s what we watched) I never got a chance to truly see Shawn in his prime. I knew him as a legend from No Mercy, and wasn’t overly excited to see his comeback. Once I watched this match though, I understood the hype. Shawn wrestled one of the best performances of his career on this night, and that is saying something. What makes this even better is that the One Night Only Return became a tremendous eight year run where Shawn was able to truly cement his place as one of the greatest to lace a pair of boots. Oh, and Triple H was pretty great too, sadistically targeting HBK’s back throughout and then taking a great beating once Shawn made his comeback.

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Owen Hart vs. Bret Hartsize=6>
WWF Championship Cage Match, Summer Slam 1994size=4>





Don’t tell Martha. This is a match that I deliberately don’t watch very often. I was blown away the first time I saw it, but repeat viewings can be a little tedious. Hit a move, climb the cage, hit a move, climb the cage. That said, when I think about this match the good far outweighs any of the bad. I loved how Bret and Owen were able to take a cage match, which is usually only about brawling and blood, and really did something different with it. I don’t know if any other cage match in history focused on the escape rules as prominently or as well as this match. The first image that comes to my mind when I think of this match is Owen pulling Bret’s body away from the door, only to leap over him, get his hands on the floor and have Bret pull him back in. It was wonderful. And to think this went on before Undertaker vs. Underfaker.

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The Hardy Boys vs. Edge & Christian vs. The Dudley Boyssize=6>
WWF Tag Team Championship TLC Match, Summer Slam 2000size=4>



The peak of organized, planned chaos in wrestling. No yes, anyone would be blown away by the dangerous spots, but in order to truly appreciate this match you need to watch bad ladder matches. For me, a match is only truly bad when it ruins the illusion that what I am watching is real. Yes, I know that wrestling is scripted, but the point is to make me forget that. Ladder matches tend to do this a lot. I’ve been blown away by the spots, but end up rolling my eyes at how contrived they are. This match succeeds in making all of those contrived spots look organic, and everything goes off without a hitch. When you realize that all the chaos is perfectly planned out and that it all went according to plan, it is mind blowing. Easily my favorite match of the Dudleyz/Hardyz/E&C series.

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Bret Hart vs. Davey Boy Smithsize=6>
Intercontinental Championship Match, Summer Slam 1992size=4>




A bit obvious perhaps, and truth be told it is far from my favorite match to take place at Summer Slam. I will praise Bret’s performance in this match, as he carried a wrestler that simply wasn’t able to pull his own weight to a match that many consider one of the greats of all time. However, for me, it takes two for a match to be truly great, so this isn’t an all time classic in my mind. But it does stand out to me because it was the main event of the biggest Summer Slam ever (in terms of attendance) and provided a great moment for both men. There’s a spectacle here that, like Hogan vs. Andre or Hogan vs. Warrior, makes the match more than the sum of its parts. Most importantly, when I think Summer Slam, this is the match that comes to mind, and that is why it is #1.

Next week will feature the Top Ten Kurt Angle Matches.