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With the SummerSlam, 2018 pay-per-view almost upon us, the WWE Universe currently awaits in huge anticipation to once again witness several top singles and tag team match-ups yet again.
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With the majority of the top WWE superstars from the present day roster such as the likes of AJ Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura, Roman Reigns, Brock Lesnar, and Ronda Rousey seemingly confirmed for the show, SummerSlam 2018 surely promises to be another absolutely amazing spectacle in terms of WWE PPVs'.
The SummerSlam event also holds a very solid piece of history with several legendary superstars, competing in legendary matches over the years under the SummerSlam banner. Therefore, with that being said, let us now take a look at the 10 best matches from the SummerSlam pay-per-view.
#10 Brock Lesnar vs John Cena- SummerSlam, 2016
Over the years, Brock Lesnar and John Cena have faced-off against each other on numerous occasions inside the squared circle, however, their math from SummerSlam of 2016 is arguably the most one-sided affair in WWE history.
Coming in as a 15-time WWE World Champion, Cena was pretty confident of the fact that he could indeed defend his WWE World Championship against a much-healthier and powerful than ever Lesnar, who was last seen ending The Undertaker’s historic streak at WrestleMania 30.
Lesnar dominated this match right from the get-go and eventually gave new life to the term ‘Suplex City’, after hitting ‘Big Match John’ with a total of 16 German Suplexes throughout the contest. This match might be the most one-sided affair in WWE history, but trust me, the contest itself translated into an absolutely classic SummerSlam bout.
#9 The Undertaker vs Edge- SummerSlam, 2008
The Undertaker and The Edge initially began their historic rivalry at WrestleMania XXIV, when the two men battled against each other in the main event at The Grandest Stage of Them All.
Despite The Undertaker scoring a huge win over ‘The Rated R Superstar’ at ‘Mania 26, both Edge and Undertaker continued their feud throughout the next following months, as the former defeated ‘The Phenom’ at One Night Stand, eventually forcing him out of the WWE.
However, after being reinstated by Vickie Guerrero, The Undertaker and Edge prepared for one final battle, this time at the SummerSlam event where they collided inside the gruelling Hell in a Cell structure.
Edge initially kicked-started this match in a pretty dominant manner as he gained the upper hand on ‘The Phenom’ by using several weapons such as steel chairs, ladders, and tables to his advantage, but The Undertaker eventually started showing signs of a comeback as both men broke through the cell at one point of the match.
‘The Deadman’ ultimately defeated Edge by putting him through two tables and a Tombstone Piledriver, which was enough to put ‘The Rated R Superstar’ down for a three count.
#8 Seth Rollins vs John Cena- SummerSlam, 2015
In the year 2015, both Seth Rollins and John Cena were pretty much at the top of their game, with the former portraying the role of a cowardly heel who had the backing of The Authority and was willing to hold on to his WWE World Heavyweight Championship by hook or by crook.
Cena, meanwhile, was in possession of the WWE United States Championship and defended his title every week on Monday Night Raw, in what eventually turned out to be one of the best WWE US Title reigns of all time, if not the very best.
At SummerSlam 2015, Cena and Rollins both seemingly agreed on putting their championship belts on the line, with the winner eventually getting the privilege of hold both the WWE World Title and the US Title at the same time.
As expected, Rollins and Cena put together another instant SummerSlam classic, with ‘The Architect’ ultimately becoming the first man to capture both the WWE Title and the US Title at the same time.
However, Rollins’ historic achievement was, of course, incomplete without a little controversy when the ever-popular John Stewart planted a steel chair on Cena’s back, helping Rollins become the first man to win the WWE World and US Title at the same time.
#7 Shawn Michaels vs Razor Ramon- SummerSlam, 1995
Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon’s first ladder match at WrestleMania X is undoubtedly one of the historic WWE matches of all time, however, their rematch from SummerSlam ’95 is also another underrated classic match, which at times gets overlooked due to their initial clash at ‘Mania 10.
During the initial stages of the match, Ramon started working on Michaels’ leg and targeted it throughout the contest, however, everytime the former tried to climb the ladder in order to unhook the Intercontinental Championship, HBK’s resiliency would eventually prevent his opponent from reaching the title belt.
The ending to this intense match was absolutely nail-biting, as Michaels got hold of a second ladder from under the ring and climbed on top of it, only for Ramon to catch HBK with a Razor’s Edge from the top.
Michaels, in response, hit the Sweet Chin Music to the challenger, but still couldn’t reach the title. Ramon then attempted yet another Razor’s edge, only for Michaels to escape as he finally unhooked the title belt and avenged his loss against ‘The Bad Guy’.
#6 CM Punk vs Brock Lesnar- SummerSlam, 2013
Billed as ‘The Best vs The Beast’, this epic encounter between CM Punk and Brock Lesnar from 2013 really did manage to live up to all of its hype, after Paul Heyman went on to turn his back on Punk at Money in the Bank, 2013, eventually setting up this bloodthirsty feud between two of his clients.
The build-up to this match itself was pretty intense and amazing and following the start to this contest, ‘The Beast Incarnate’ immediately went on to dish out a brutal beating on a much-smaller CM Punk who did his best in order to avoid Lesnar or at least keep him down for a while.
Punk’s comeback into this contest itself is another solid piece of storytelling, with the former WWE Champion eventually connecting with the G.T.S in the ring and just when it seemed like he had sealed a surprising win, Paul Heyman made his presence felt and broke up the pinfall at two and a half.
Punk then locked in his signature submission hold The Anaconda Vice on Lesnar, only for Heyman to interfere yet again, thus prompting Punk to put Heyman in the Anaconda Vise this time, however, Lesnar took full advantage of the situation and attacked Punk with the steel chair, before putting him down for a three count after hitting an F-5 on the chair.
#5. CM Punk vs Jeff Hardy- SummerSlam, 2009
Following his triumphant World Heavyweight Championship win at Extreme Rules, Jeff Hardy was definitely at the top of his game and the top of the world, however, his moment of glory eventually came crashing down when CM Punk cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase and ended Hardy’s reign within a few short minutes.
What followed next was an outrageous and intense feud between both Hardy and Punk, who fought against each other on several occasions within the next few months.
Prior to their clash at SummerSlam, CM Punk started to develop his Straight Edge lifestyle gimmick and eventually took that to his advantage when he started mocking Jeff Hardy and started taking shots at ‘The Charismatic Enigma’ due to his rough history with addiction.
After reclaiming the World Title at Night of Champions, Hardy decided to defend his championship belt against Punk in a ladder match at SummerSlam, with the former also putting his career on the line as well.
Punk started-off this match in an impressive manner and took solid advantage of the stipulation, as he almost climbed the ladder and unhooked the championship belt after hitting Hardy with a few brutal chair shots.
In the later stages of the match, Jeff Hardy did what he does best as he laid Punk into the announcers' table and nailed him with a Swanton Bomb from the top of a huge ladder, however, the champ eventually suffered the worst outcome in the aftermath.
Punk then found an opening for himself and climbed up to the top of the ladder and unhooked and regained the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
#4 AJ Styles vs John Cena- SummerSlam, 2016
Despite not being in the main event in what was his first SummerSlam pay-per-view, ‘The Phenomenal’ AJ Styles sure did manage to make a huge impact in his SummerSlam debut, as he collided in a rematch against the face of WWE, 16-time WWE World Champion John Cena.
Having defeated Cena at Money in the Bank due to outside interference from The Club, former IWGP Heavyweight Champion Styles was rather keen on getting the best out of ‘Big Match John’ in a clean match, without any sort of outside interferences and that is what exactly happened.
Cena and Styles started the match in a slow pace and tried testing each other for a while before Cena eventually displayed his immense strength and planted Styles down to the mat and as the match kept progressing, the pace of the contest also started increasing as both Styles and Cena went back-and-forth against each other.
The two arch rivals almost countered every single one of their moves and threw their entire arsenals at each other, however, Styles eventually got the upper-hand when he planted Cena with a Styles Clash, which was immediately followed up by the Phenomenal Forearm, as Styles eventually got a clean win over John Cena.
#3 Shawn Michaels vs Triple H- SummerSlam, 2002
After making his triumphant return to Raw in 2002 after a four-year hiatus, Shawn Michaels was soon attacked by his best friend and fellow D-Generation X stablemate Triple H, thus setting up an Unsanctioned Match against ‘The Game’ at SummerSlam 2002.
Despite the major concerns of Michaels’ performing abilities inside the ring, ‘The Heart Break Kid’ was at his very best during this match and took the fight to Triple H, by hitting him with every weapon possible and also nailing him with a splash from the top rope through the table and an elbow drop off the ladder.
HBK eventually attempted the Sweet Chin Music, however, Triple H went on to avoid the superkick and set his opponent up for a Pedigree, however, a cunning Shawn Michaels then flipped over ‘The Game’ and kept him down for a three count and the win as well, in what was an absolutely legendary encounter.
#2 Daniel Bryan vs John Cena- SummerSlam, 2013
In 2013, Daniel Bryan was arguably the most popular WWE superstar in the company’s active roster at that point of time and after being handpicked as John Cena’s opponent for SummerSlam, 2013, the WWE Universe was sent into a hectic frenzy due to the fact that they were finally going to witness a much-awaited clash between Cena and Bryan for the very first time.
During the match, Bryan used his technical skills to counter most of John Cena’s offence, however, much to Cena’s credit, he eventually used his massive strength to his advantage yet again and seemingly gained the upper hand when he finally hit the AA on Bryan, midway through the match.
However, after kicking out of each other’s best moves, both Cena and Bryan were eventually frustrated with each other, but, much to everyone’s surprise, Bryan had one last move in his arsenal as he debuted his iconic Running Knee manoeuvre to eventually defeat Cena and win the WWE World Title.
#1. Owen Hart vs Bret Hart- SummerSlam, 1994
Following Owen Hart’s historic win over Bret at WrestleMania X and the latter eventually going on to win the WWE Title later in the same night, meant that a rematch between the two Hart Brothers was inevitable and at SummerSlam, 1994, Owen Hart and Bret Hart collided against each other in a historic rematch.
Throughout the entirety of this match, Owen Hart had just the one solitary goal in his mind and that was to win the WWE Title by escaping the cage, however, Bret Hart did his very best to keep Owen inside the cage and in the match as well.
After applying their signature Sharpshooter moves against each other, it was ‘The Hitman’ who eventually had the last laugh, as both Bret and Owen climbed up to the top of the cage together at the same time.
Bret finally made his way out of the cage in spectacular fashion, after Owen had caught his legs between bars and literally witnessed his brother make his way out of the steel cage in order to retain the WWE Title.
Do you agree with our list? Sound off your opinions in the comments section below!
