wrestling / Columns

The Contentious Ten 8.13.12: The Top 10 Summerslam Matches

August 13, 2012 | Posted by Gavin Napier

Am I too ambitious? Perhaps. Am I biting off more than I can chew? Perhaps. But after much debate, I felt like this list just wasn’t big enough. Trust me, due to the work involved here, I won’t be violating the name of the column on a regular basis, but I just felt like things were incomplete with ten or even fifteen items on the list. So this week, it’s the Contentious Ten…times three. For ease of access, I’ll be splitting up the list into three sections. First, though, a favor for a friend.

Former Contentious Ten scribe Michael Ornelas sent me an email this week, and asked that I give his show Shenanigans one final plug. I’m more than happy to do so, since he’s kinda how I got my break into this spot. Without further ado, I proudly present to you on Michael’s behalf the final episode of Shenanigans:

Now, here’s the criteria for the Top 10 Summerslam Matches of all time, so that we’re all on the same page:

-Match quality
-Crowd reaction
-Historical significance
-My personal likes/dislikes
.

By my count, there have been 194 matches at Summerslam, starting with The British Bulldogs and the Fabulous Rougeaus battling to a twenty minute time limit draw in 1988, and running all the way through Alberto Del Rio cashing in on CM Punk at last year’s show. Thoughout the years, Summerslam has been one of WWE’s strongest pay per views, presenting a ton of matches that can be argued as four stars or better, and argued as such pretty reasonably. That made match quality a no brainer for the top criteria on the list. There have been multiple legitimately legendary performances at Summerslam over the last 24 years. The better the match, the higher it ranks on the list.

Part of a great match is in the crowd. If a crowd is silent, it takes away from the match unless you’re in Japan. It’s one of the idiosyncrasies about the American wrestling product. A large part of the most memorable matches in American wrestling history involve a raucous crowd. Think Goldberg vs. Hogan in the Georgia Dome, or Hogan vs. Rock in the Skydome.

Historical significance is a big part of this list, too. Title changes, career making performances, blowoffs to feuds, or memorable moments all score bonus points for matches. There are matches on here that are fantastic but don’t really measure up on a historical basis to some of the others. That’s okay, they’re still great matches, they just find themselves a little lower on the list.

Finally, I find it impossible to be completely objective on these lists. If you give me two matches that are both considered four star contests, and one features Steve Austin and the other features Bret Hart, I’m going to prefer the one with Steve Austin. I’ll be as objective as possible, but the comment section is available for your own list if you disagree with where I slotted some of these matches. As proof of my efforts here, my personal favorite Summerslam match of all time – Steve Austin vs. The Undertaker from 1998 – didn’t make the list.

Consider this my own little personal Summerslam anthology to you. Because I love you all so much, as many matches as possible are linked to DailyMotion to avoid work filters.

Matches that were good, just not good enough:

30.Edge vs. The Undertaker (2008)

29.The Rock vs. HHH vs. Kurt Angle (2000)Part 1, Part 2

28.Kurt Angle vs. Brock Lesnar (2003)Part 1, Part 2

27.Chris Benoit vs. Rob Van Dam(2002)

26.John Cena vs. Chris Jericho(2005)

25.Degeneration X vs. Legacy(2009)

24.Shawn Michaels vs. Vader(1996)

23.Randy Savage vs. The Ultimate Warrior (1992) Part 1, Part 2

22.CM Punk vs. John Cena(2011)

21.Lance Storm vs. Edge (2001) Part 1, Part 2

Matches that just missed the cut:

20.Jeff Hardy vs. Rob Van Dam(2001)

One druggie daredevil + one stoner daredevil + ladders = Easy equation for a great match

19.Ric Flair vs. Mick Foley(2006)

Two genuine legends got together and showed the kids that psychology trumps work rate more often than not.

18.Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels(2002)

Shawn Michaels’ in ring return after four years actually lived up to the hype.

17.CM Punk vs. Jeff Hardy(2009)

Another natural counterpart for Hardy, another great match.

16.Edge vs. John Cena(2006)

Cena and his second greatest rival delivered each other’s greatest one on one Summerslam matchup

15.Steve Austin vs. Triple H vs. Mankind (1999)Part 2, Part 3

Three defining names of the Attitude Era square off for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship

14.Shawn Michaels vs. Hulk Hogan(2005)

Every Dolph Ziggler match just feels like he’s doing an impression of Shawn Michaels in this match.

13.Steve Austin vs. Owen Hart(1997)

The match stands out because of Austin’s iconic injury, but how good could this match have been without that?

11.Steve Austin vs. Kurt Angle (2001) Part 1, Part 2

Two polar opposites with brilliant chemistry in the ring turn in a match for the ages

And now, the top 10.

X color=red>size=8>
Christian vs. Randy Orton (2011)size=6>

SummerSlam 2011 Randy Orton vs Christian No… by WWEPROUPLOADER1

This match stole the show last year at Summerslam.
-World Heavyweight Championship match
-No Holds Barred Match
-Guest appearance by Edge

Christian and Randy Orton turned in a contender for the Feud of the Year in 2011, and despite the fact that Randy Orton went over in this match, this was probably the high point of the feud. Christian has shown an innate ability throughout his career to bring out the best in people in the ring. Whether it was teaming with Edge, his days in the midcard, as a centerpiece in TNA, or this feud with Orton, he doesn’t let anyone down in the ring. Regardless of my personal dislike of Randy Orton, this has been, in my opinion, his best work. This match stole the show last year at Summerslam, and will be a threat to do so again should they ever pick up the feud again.

IX color=red>size=8>
Bret Hart vs. Davey Boy Smith (1992)size=6>

Summerslam Bret Hart vs British Bulldog (RIP) by BHH

Sometimes two guys are just destined to be rivals in professional wrestling.
-Intercontinental Title match
-Bret Hart’s favorite match
-Best match on a loaded card

Sometimes, two guys are just destined to be rivals in professional wrestling. Ric Flair and Ricky Steamboat were at each other’s throats long before 1989, Steve Austin and The Rock helped build each other’s legacies. Bret and Davey Boy grew up together in the business, and were longstanding rivals. Their rivalry in WWE began with the Hart Foundation taking on The British Bulldogs, and continued to this match a few years later. Both guys were solid faces at the time, so this wasn’t a blood feud by any stretch of the imagination. Rather, this was a healthy rivalry on Davey Boy’s home turf, and one hell of a match. Bret and Davey Boy meshed together remarkably well as singles competitors, and turned in one of the greatest matches of either man’s career 20 years ago.

VIII color=red>size=8>
The Rock vs. Triple H (1998)size=6>


Triple H and The Rock pushed each other to greatness.
-Intercontinental Title match
-Ladder match
-Significant part of both men’s rise to main event status

The Attitude Era was built on more than crash television, profanity, and innuendo. If that’s all it took to build a successful wrestling empire, then CZW would be a dominant global force by now. What the WWF had at the time that helped out tremendously was a crop of fresh young talent that could deliver in the ring. In 1998, WCW was still using Hall, Nash, Sting, and Hogan to great effect, as well as bringing in their own stars such as Chris Jericho, Rey Mysterio, and Chris Benoit. The difference was that the WWF didn’t really have a choice but to let their new faces like Austin, Rock, and Triple H ascend to main event status and WCW’s old guard wasn’t about to allow themselves to be replaced. Triple H and The Rock pushed each other to greatness much faster than either could have achieved on their own, with Steve Austin also contributing greatly. This match was one of the benchmarks of their careers, one of the best of the Attitude Era, and a legitimate great in Summerslam history.

VII color=red>size=8>
Chris Jericho vs. Chris Benoit (2000)size=6>

SummerSlam.2000 – Y2J Vs Chris Benoit – 2.Out.Of… by dido67

The match could have, should have been better.
-2/3 falls match
-Double the Canadians
-Shenanigans on the finish

The two men that combined for one of the greatest matches in the 1,000 plus episodes of Raw against Austin and Triple H also turned in a pretty fair match against each other at Summerslam 2000. The match could have, should have been better, but WWE felt the need to devote ten minutes of valuable pay per view time to a “Stinkface Match” between The Kat and Terri. The idea that two of the best wrestlers on the planet got a little under 20 minutes for a 2/3 falls match is appalling. I understand that there wasn’t exactly room for them to get the 54 minutes allotted to Steamboat vs. Flair in 1989, but giving them 30 minutes wouldn’t have been too much to ask. They did well with the time that they had, though, and the finish left the idea of rematches open.

VI color=red>size=8>
The Brainbusters vs. The Hart Foundation (1989)size=6>

WWF – Summerslam 1989 – Hart Foundation vs… by apsham

This was as close to an NWA vs. WWF dream match as we were going to get for a while.
-Two of the greatest tag teams ever
-One of the greatest managers ever
-Just great, pure, tag team wrestling

In the 80’s, the Apter mags had a title called Wrestling Superstars, whose main selling point were the “Dream Matches” that they cooked up. Some were obvious, like Flair vs. Hogan. Some were absurd, like an Olympics style competition between NWA and WWF. In the real world, this was as close to an NWA vs. WWF dream match as we were going to get for a while. The Hart Foundation were one of the WWF’s premier tag teams in the 80’s, along with The British Bulldogs and Demolition. Tully and Arn were not only a great tag team, but one half of wrestling’s greatest stable ever – The Four Horsemen. Tully and Arn had great matches throughout their run in the WWF, to absolutely no one’s surprise. This may well have been the best of the bunch, though. With similar styles on opposite sides of the ring, and four men that completely grasped the psychology of tag team wrestling, the match flowed effortlessly from bell to bell. This is one of those matches that should be required viewing for all young tag teams.

V color=red>size=8>
Bret Hart vs. Mr. Perfect (1991)size=6>

Bret Hart vs. Mr. Perfect – Summerslam 1991 by pocomaxa

Curt Hennig’s back was basically held together by bailing wire and scotch tape at this point.
-Intercontinental Title match
-Two hall of famers in their element
-Mr. Perfect’s last match for a long while

I feel like when Dolph Ziggler was training to be a wrestler, the only two matches he watched were Hogan vs. HBK and Bret vs. Perfect. There’s no other explanation for the way he bounces around the ring. In all seriousness, this match becomes even more impressive when you remember that Curt Hennig’s back was basically held together by bailing wire and scotch tape at this point. These two could wrestle a hundred times and have a hundred classics. Bret is another one of those guys that doesn’t make my personal list of favorites, but he’s turned in a fair share of great matches in big moments just like this. I’m sure there will be people that will argue that this match deserves to be much higher on the list than fifth, and I wouldn’t blame them. At this point on the list, virtually everything on here is 4 ½ stars or better, and so it’s just splitting hairs.

IV color=red>size=8>
Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon (1995)size=6>


This was a breakthrough performance for both Michaels and Hall, as well as ladders.
-Intercontinental Title match
-Ladder match
-One of the first and greatest ladder matches

If you haven’t noticed, there’s a trend on this list. There are a lot of Intercontinental title matches high on the list, but not a ton of WWF Championship matches. Call it a happy coincidence if you like, but at one point the Intercontinental title (much like the Internet) was serious business. Men like Randy Savage, Ricky Steamboat, Bret Hart, Steve Austin, and others treated the belt as a serious prize. Trailing right behind Savage vs. Steamboat at Wrestlemania III, though, is this beauty as arguably the second greatest Intercontinental title match of all time. This was a breakthrough performance for both Michaels and Hall, as well as ladders. There had been ladder matches before, but this was a breathtaking display of what was possible with them in the ring. It blew people away in 1995, and it holds up to this day. It was a big part of starting HBK’s reputation as the Showstopper, and he ran with the ball, once he had it.

III color=red>size=8>
Team WWE vs. The Nexussize=6>

Team Cena vs. Nexus – WWE Summerslam 2010 by pocomaxa

This entire angle was like a redo on the nWo in WWE.
-7 on 7 Match
-The definition of a breakthrough performance
-One of the best crowds in history

I feel like The Nexus angle is one of the more misunderstood angles of all time. In looking through the history of Summerslam and several reviews of the show, a lot of people seem to bemoan the fact that The Nexus didn’t come out on top. While I understand how easy it is to get caught up in the angle, especially with the awesome catchphrase “You’re either Nexus or against us” emblazoned on t-shirts, Nexus couldn’t win this. This entire angle was like a redo on the nWo in WWE. It’s how things should have been handled. They were presented like a legitimate threat, they made a run at the big dogs, and they fell just a little short to the team of faces that were saving the company. There was no realistic way for WWE to hand the top spots in the company to a group of guys well under 30. What they wanted, what they needed to do, was create at least one legitimate superstar out of it. Mission accomplished, with Wade Barrett. Daniel Bryan would eventually break through afterwards, and The Ryback is doing pretty well for himself. Give it a few more years, and this match may well be viewed as a vital point in WWE’s history.

II color=red>size=8>
Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart (1994)size=6>

016. Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart (SummerSlam 1994… by ccu150

This was even better than The Undertaker vs. The Undertaker, if you can believe that.
-WWF World Heavyweight Championship match
-Cage match
-Should have closed the show.

Bret and Owen Hart are the best brother combination in wrestling history. I struggle with that sentence, because I love the Steiners like few other things in wrestling. And while I think Scott’s mic work outshines Bret’s, Owen was a lot better than Rick. Like, a lot. Do I think Owen would have eventually been world champion, had he not died? Not necessarily. That’s another debate for another time. Owen was great, though. There was a natural chemistry between Bret and Owen that can’t be duplicated through any other means. They literally grew up together in The Dungeon, and were a great tag team at times. If you’ve never seen The Harts take on The Steiners from the old Coliseum videos, do yourself a favor and look that one up. This match is a treasure unto itself, though. It’s the exception to what I mentioned earlier about the whole IC title vs. WWF title matches on here. Brother vs. Brother for the biggest prize in the promotion on the line, and they played it to the bone. This was even better than The Undertaker vs. The Undertaker, if you can believe that. These two worked off each other effortlessly, and the psychology throughout almost feels like a lost art. Owen was never better than he was in this match, and Bret was a big part of the reason why – both in the decades preceding and in the ring that night.

I color=red>size=8>
The Hardys vs. The Dudleys vs. Edge and Christian (2000)size=6>

SummerSlam 2000 – TLC Match – WWF Tag Team… by RAWISKARIM

Matches don’t get much better, or more significant, than this.
-WWF Tag Team Championship match
-Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match
-A landmark moment in WWF/E history

Some moments escape themselves. Guys like The Miz winning their first WWE Championship, or CM Punk’s “pipe bomb” promo are nice moments that people remember. They aren’t larger than life, though. You don’t get a sense of history while they’re happening. When Steve Austin passed out in Bret Hart’s sharpshooter, you knew something big had just happened. When Goldberg beat Hogan, you knew it was a big moment. There have been more, but you get the idea. This match felt like just another match between these three teams when it started, but over the course of the next 15 minutes or so, it took on a life of its own. Once it was underway and bodies were flying, it took on the feel of Savage vs. Steamboat or Michaels vs. The Undertaker as one of those matches. If you haven’t seen this match, or don’t understand what the hype is about, watch the video above. Take it all in. This match not only helped solidify the careers of The Dudleys, springboard Matt and Jeff to new levels of stardom, and cement Edge and Christian as big time players for years to come, but it became a trademark gimmick match for WWE and eventually launched a pay per view of its own. Matches don’t get much better, or much more significant than this.

That’s a lot of matches to take in, I’m aware. Hopefully you enjoyed the countdown and will share your thoughts and your lists below. If you disagree, that’s fine. Tell me why. At some point, I’m sure I’ll drop in and respond to some of the commenters and let you know what I think about what’s been said so far. For what it’s worth, there are about another ten matches that could have conceivably made the list, but I felt like that would be a bit of overkill (as if this wasn’t). I’ll be back next week for another traditional list of ten. See you in 7.

NULL

article topics

Gavin Napier

Comments are closed.