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There is a reason why SummerSlam is considered the second important show for WWE after WrestleMania. While Royal Rumble and Survivor Series have often relied on gimmick matches for their popularity, SummerSlam has gained all the popularity and excitement thanks to the innumerable great moments since it's very first edition back in 1988.
While title matches are a part of all pay-per-views, it is the other traditional matches that take place at Mania and SummerSlam that separates them from Royal Rumble and Survivor Series. Much like Mania, SummerSlam has also seen several great singles matches, with no title on the line, that have helped in turning that year's edition into a much-watch show.
For 2020 so far, the match between Seth Rollins and Dominik Mysterio is the only 1-on-1 non-title match, but we can expect a few others to be added on the card soon. Till then, here are the 10 best non-title singles matches in SummerSlam's history.
#10 Eddie Guerrero vs Kurt Angle (SummerSlam 2004)
The WrestleMania XX encounter between Eddie Guerrero and Kurt Angle is often considered one of the best World Title matches in the history of the show. A clinical masterpiece in its own right, the match is often considered the best title defense of Latino Heat's sole World Title reign. What people often forget is the fact that Mania was not the only card on which these two legends faced each other one-on-one, and they met again only 6 months later at SummerSlam 2004.
Despite losing to Guerrero at Mania, Angle, as Smackdown General Manager, continued to act as a thorn to the WWE Champion. Not only did Angle cost Latino Heat his WWE Title to JBL by unfair means, he also cost him his rematch a week later by causing a distraction during a steel cage match. With Angle fired as General Manager for faking his injury, the two were scheduled for another match at SummerSlam to finally settle their differences.
Given that both wrestlers were in-ring magicians, it wasn't a surprise that a huge part of the match consisted of mat wrestling and submission moves. Angle targeted Guerrero leg throughout, and it played a huge part in the match. Guerrero tried everything - Angle Slam, Ankle Lock, even a faking act like he did at Mania, but none of it was enough for him to topple Angle again as he had no option but to tap out to the Ankle Lock after a good fight.
#9 The Miz vs Daniel Bryan (SummerSlam 2018)
This is a match and a rivalry that needs no introduction. Even though this encounter from SummerSlam 2018 was only their second 1-on-1 pay per view encounter, The Miz and Daniel Bryan had been at loggerheads with each other since the summer of 2016, when the former verbally assaulted the latter in a now memorable shoot promo on Talking Smack.
Given that Bryan was not an active in-ring performer in 2016, no one expected this match to come to fruition. His return in 2018, coupled with Miz's arrival to Smackdown, finally laid the building blocks to one of the most anticipated feuds in recent times. SummerSlam was the perfect place for the two sworn rivals to settle their score.
Even though the match fell short of the lofty expectations that fans had, it was still a pretty good affair. Both performers gave everything that they had to topple the other for 22 minutes, but the opponent always managed to fight back somehow. It was only after help from Maryse, who handed Miz knuckles which he used to knock out Bryan, that the Awesome One managed to finally defeat his biggest rival.
#8 Kevin Owens vs Cesaro (SummerSlam 2015)
Back in 2015, a full-fledged program between Kevin Owens and Cesaro was a dream for every single hardcore professional wrestling fan. The two were easily among the best in-ring performers, and were capable of having a great match with almost every Superstar on the roster. With SummerSlam around the corner, WWE made full use of the opportunity and brought the two together for a small program.
The match had no build at all before SummerSlam and was sandwiched between the two marquee matches on the card, but it didn't stop the two from putting on a great show in front of the Brooklyn crowd. Right from the opening bell, the contest was a hard-hitting affair with both Superstars landing some pretty powerful and big moves throughout the match.
The match was not short of innovative moves as well, with both Owens and Cesaro resorting to high-flying moves to put the other one down. This is what led to the end of the match as Owens hit a stunning swinging neckbreaker/suplex combination from the top rope and a powerbomb to bring an end to this highly underrated 15 minute gem.
#7 Roman Reigns vs Randy Orton (SummerSlam 2014)
Before SummerSlam in 2014, both Randy Orton and Roman Reigns were in a weird situation. After being dubbed as the Face of WWE for almost a year, Randy Orton had lost his place as the poster boy of the Authority to Seth Rollins. Reigns, similarly, was struggling to get over among the fans as a singles Superstar after the break up of The Shield.
To make matters worse, the in-ring character was not that exciting as well. Reigns was still lacking the character that he developed over the years, and Orton's run as the WWE Champion had turned him into a stale heel performer. When the two were put in a program for SummerSlam, everyone was expecting a slow methodical match from two typical WWE performers.
To everyone's surprise, what we got was a highly entertaining, hard-hitting 17-minute slugfest. Instead of a slow, plodding match with long spells of chin-locks, it was a pretty fast-paced affair with the action spilling all around the ring. The Viper was at his best, and he also brought the best out of Reigns.
The highlight of the match, and the show, however, was the stunning counter of the spear into an RKO, but even that wasn't enough for Orton to put down Reigns as he countered a Punt attempt into a Spear to win his first match at SummerSlam.
#6 Chris Jericho vs Dolph Ziggler (Summerslam 2012)
WWE loves pitting experienced Superstars with similar up-and-coming performers. It is a tried and tested formula, and it has worked pretty well in the past for them. By Summerslam 2012, Dolph Ziggler was a young brash heel, who was exceptional in the ring and knew how to utilize unfair means to win the match. In short, he was developing into a modern-day version of Chris Jericho, and it made perfect sense to pair the two performers in a program for the biggest show of the summer.
Even though Jericho had been a heel since his return in early 2012, this program with Ziggler turned the tables for him and he developed into a beloved babyface weeks before SummerSlam. Y2J's injured ribs were always going to be a factor in the contest, and Ziggler took full advantage of this.
Given that the match opened the show, the crowd was hot from the opening bell, and it was only charged up by the stunning chemistry between the two. Despite his best efforts to put down the experienced legend, The Showoff had no option but to submit to the Walls of Jericho after a fun 12-minute encounter.
#5 Charlotte Flair vs Trish Stratus (SummerSlam 2019)
This wasn't just a random pay-per-view match between two of the best female Superstars of all time. It was kind of like Hogan vs Rock or Cena vs Rock for the Women's division. It was a showdown between Trish Stratus, 'The Female Superstar' of the preceding era, and Charlotte Flair,'The Female Superstar' of the modern era, and it was fitting to have a match of such high value on a grand stage like SummerSlam.
The logic behind the match was simple - Flair believed that she had beaten everyone on the roster, and now she wanted to defeat Stratus to become the greatest female Superstar. The fact that SummerSlam was taking place in Toronto, Stratus's hometown, and it was her first singles match in almost 13 years, which also raised the hype for the match.
While everyone expected Stratus to show some ring rust, it was exactly the opposite at SummerSlam. The Hall of Famer went toe-to-toe with The Queen for over 16 minutes, matching each of her offence with one of her own. Not only did she hit a stunning top rope hurricanrana, she even put flair in her submission move.
Even that was not enough to put Flair down as she forced Stratus to finally submit to the Figure-Eight lock.
#4 John Cena vs Batista (SummerSlam 2008)
Two Superstars that achieved a lot of success in WWE post the Attitude Era are John Cena and Batista. Between 2005 and 2008, Big Match John and The Animal were easily the two biggest stars, and WWE successfully managed to keep them apart from each other for a long time. When Batista arrived on Raw in the summer of 2008, and with SummerSlam right around the corner, WWE decided to bring these two legends for a small program.
Even though it was not for a world title, the stakes of this match were pretty high as it was a fight between the two cornerstones of that era. Both Superstars were determined to prove that they were the better Superstar, and were ready to do whatever it took to prove their opponent wrong.
Getting the penultimate spot on the SummerSlam card, this match was a display of power by the two big guys. Both Superstars not only hit big moves to knock each other out, but also relied on submission moves as well.
Cena's reversal of a powerslam into an AA was stunning, and Batista's reversal of a top rope leg drop into a Batista Bomb nearly brought an end to the match. All it took after that was another Batista Bomb from The Animal to win this 14-minute fight of the Behemoths.
#3 Kurt Angle vs Rey Mysterio (SummerSlam 2002)
In one of my previous articles, we ranked this match as the best opening match in the history of SummerSlam, and there is some pretty solid evidence to support that. Rarely do we see a pay-per-view match, let alone at a big show like SummerSlam, that went for less than 10 minutes but is so revered by fans. Kurt Angle vs Rey Mysterio from SummerSlam 2002 is the type of match that we see every now and then in the wrestling world in 2020, but it was a rare sight in WWE back in 2002.
Angle was easily the best wrestler on the roster at that time, and there was not better high-flyer in the world than Mysterio. The fact that the two got to open a big show like SummerSlam, which was also Mysterio's first ever pay-per-view match in WWE, speaks volume of the confidence the organisation had in these two legends back then as well.
The action began even before the bell rang, and it didn't stop for the next 9 minutes and 20 seconds. From reversals to submission, and from offensive moves to tackles, the action was non-stop and both Superstars gave it their all to start the show with a bang. Even though it was Angle who emerged with a win after making Mysterio submit to the Ankle Lock, both of them came out with more support and respect from fans than ever before.
#2 The Undertaker vs Brock Lesnar (SummerSlam 2015)
This was war, just plain war. Just go back and look at that brawl that these two had on WWE RAW post Battleground 2015, and you'll understand how personal it was for both Undertaker and Brock Lesnar in 2015. It wasn't about World Championships like 2002-03, nor was it about a WrestleMania undefeated streak like it was in 2014. It was just about making the other guy pay for the things they had done to them, and it could not have happened at a bigger platform than SummerSlam.
For 'Taker, it was redemption. He wanted to make Lesnar suffer for destroying his legacy 16 months ago at Mania XXX. For Lesnar, it was revenge. He wanted to destroy Undertaker for costing him his World Title opportunity at Battleground. The stage was set for the blockbuster SummerSlam main event between the behemoths, and the match didn't disappoint in any way.
The action for the match began even before the bell rang, and it didn't stop for the next 15 minutes with the big man displaying their majestic chemistry. From hard, clean strikes to finishing moves on the announce table to busted foreheads, this match had it all.
The only thing that prevented this match at SummerSlam from topping this list was the wrong finish, where the bell rang even without the referee signaling for it and then 'Taker taking advantage to hit Lesnar with a low blow and putting him in the Hell's Gate till he passed out. The two would go on to have an even better match two months later, but this will always remain their best traditional match together.
#1 John Cena vs AJ Styles (SummerSlam 2016)
In 2016, there was not a match or rivalry bigger in WWE than AJ Styles vs John Cena. The moment Styles arrived in WWE in January, fans all around the world were waiting for the day WWE would bring these two living legends together for a long-term program. After all, one was the poster boy of WWE and the other was the poster boy of the world outside WWE for a decade.
The moment Cena returned from his injury and Styles interrupted him, it was clear that WWE had pulled the trigger on the most anticipated rivalry in recent times. Their 1-on-1 match at Money in the Bank, which Styles won, was marred by interference, and the tag team match at Battleground was clearly not to the level that was expected from the performers involved in the match. The two were scheduled to finally settle their score in a grand match at SummerSlam, and they settled the score in great fashion.
Pretty much like their first encounter, this SummerSlam classic too had impeccable chemistry between the two, and the master storytellers that they are, Styles and Cena had the crowd in Brooklyn on their feet for the entirety of the match. Both of them brought their A+ game that day, with each trying to bring something new to their arsenal to put the other down.
In the end, after a grueling 25-minute contest that tore the house down, Styles finally pinned Cena down on the floor to give the fans a long-lasting SummerSlam moment. The two went on to have one more match, at Royal Rumble 2017, to complete the trilogy, but this match from SummerSlam will always remain their best effort together.
