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#1 Triple H vs Shawn Michaels (Non Sanctioned Match) - SummerSlam 2002
SummerSlam 2002 is widely considered the greatest event in its history. The card includes the first WWE Title win for Brock Lesnar over The Rock, Chris Benoit versus Rob Van Dam for the Intercontinental Title and a fun Kurt Angle versus Rey Mysterio opener. With an all-time classic SummerSlam card, the return of Shawn Michaels facing his former best friend, Triple H, in a Non Sanctioned match is the best of the bunch.
The buildup to this SummerSlam encounter is among the most memorable in WWE history. In the summer of 2002, after a lackluster return joining the nWo, "The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels convinced his best friend, Triple H, to go from SmackDown to RAW to reunite D-Generation X. On his first night back on RAW, the D-X reunion proved to be short lived as The Game laid out HBK with a Pedigree. The following week, a face-to-face confrontation between the two friends was set, but then Shawn was viciously attacked in the parking lot as HHH called him out.
Triple H wanted to put aside his differences to find out who attacked HBK, but when the video surveillance was revealed, it showed that HHH himself was the one who brutally attacked Shawn Michaels. This would lead to Shawn making his return to the ring after four years away with a severe back injury. RAW General Manager Eric Bischoff made this encounter at SummerSlam a Non Sanctioned match so that WWE did not have any liability for what the two men would do to each other. This turned out to be a good decision as we witnessed one of the most grueling contests in SummerSlam history.
These two men fought with all the passion they had been known for throughout their careers. Shawn's performance was impressive to see as he had been out of the ring for so long, yet showed no signs of ring rust. Triple H put on the type of performance that made many consider The Game the best wrestler in the business during his stellar 2000 run.
In the conclusion of this war, Michaels reversed the Pedigree into a pinning combination to gain the victory. After the match, HHH used a sledgehammer to attack Shawn's back and have Michaels stretchered out of the building. This match would lead to a two-year feud between the two men, but they were never able to surpass the quality of this SummerSlam classic.
This is the best match at the greatest SummerSlam event in history with two all-time great performers. This is why Shawn Michaels versus Triple H in a Non Sanctioned match is the greatest SummerSlam match of all time.
