Every WWE SummerSlam Ranked

WWE SummerSlam has been one of the biggest wrestling pay-per-views on the calendar since the show debuted back in 1988, and it has very much been established as the little brother to WrestleMania, even expanding to two nights in 2025. 

Like WrestleMania, SummerSlam boasts a long history packed with iconic moments like Ultimate Warrior squashing Honky Tonk Man, Shawn Michaels’ triumphant return in 2002, and British Bulldog beating Bret Hart inside Wembley Stadium.

SummerSlams are traditionally good shows too, with fewer duds than its big brother. This is every WWE SummerSlam Ranked. 

37. SummerSlam 1993

One of the more infamous WWE Title matches in company history saw Lex Luger - following his Lex Express tour of the United States - challenge Yokozuna for the WWE Championship in the main event of SummerSlam.

The finish of the match was truly bizarre and lives in infamy as Luger knocked Yokozuna out of the ring with a huge lariat before he attacked Jim Cornette. This resulted in Yoko being counted out and Luger not becoming the new WWE Champion. 

Instead of showing frustration at failing to win the title, Luger instead celebrated excessively with an All-American, red-white-and-blue balloon-filled celebration. Several members of the roster even came out to celebrate and hoisted Lex onto their shoulders like he had won the championship, except he hadn’t.

The undercard of SummerSlam 1993 was only slightly better and featured stinkers like The Undertaker vs. Giant Gonzalez in a rematch from their stinker at WrestleMania IX, and Ludvig Borga vs. Marty Jannetty. 

Fun moments, though, included the latest chapter in the feud between Bret Hart and Jerry Lawler in which The Hitman refused to release the sharpshooter for three-and-a-half minutes, losing the match in the process after the official reversed his decision, while Shawn Michaels and Mr. Perfect had an entertaining match over the Intercontinental Title outside of the count-out finish. 

36. SummerSlam 2010

WWE SummerSlam 2010 should have seen the Nexus cement themselves as a top act in the company after vanquishing Team WWE in the main event of the Biggest Party of the Summer. That isn’t what happened, though. 

Nexus were able to look strong as they managed to take down Chris Jericho, Edge, John Morrison, R-Truth, Bret Hart, and former Nexus member Daniel Bryan in his return. The group failed miserably against Super John Cena, however, and WWE’s then-top star overturned a two-on-one advantage and a DDT on the concrete floor to win all by himself. The match, overall, was entertaining, but the booking was questionable and remains one of the most controversial booking decisions in WWE history. 

Outside of the main event, there wasn’t a great deal that happened at SummerSlam 2010. The Straight Edge Society lost a three-on-one Handicap Match to The Big Show, Kane defeated Rey Mysterio in a rematch for the World Heavyweight Title, and the Last Chance stipulation for Randy Orton when he challenged Sheamus for the WWE Title was a waste of time after Sheamus was DQ’d for trying to bring a steel chair into the ring and then grapple with the referee over the weapon. 

35. SummerSlam 1990

SummerSlam 1990 was stacked with big match-ups in The Ultimate Warrior vs. Rick Rude inside a steel cage for the WWE Title, Hulk Hogan vs. Earthquake, and Randy Savage vs. Dusty Rhodes. None of the matches truly delivered, though, and the finishes were, if anything, a detriment to the show.

The main event saw Warrior defeat Rude after a Gorilla Press before he took an absolute age to escape to victory. Hogan, meanwhile, beat Earthquake by count-out, and Randy Savage cheated to win by hitting Rhodes with Sensational Sherri’s purse. This also came after Ted DiBiase bought Sapphire before the match. 

The best match on the show was The Hart Foundation’s win against Demolition in their two-out-of-three falls match for the WWE Tag Team Titles following interference from the Legion of Doom, while another notable moment saw the Texas Tornado defeat Mr. Perfect for the Intercontinental Title.

Overall, though, there is very little worth watching from SummerSlam 1990. 

34. SummerSlam 2007

John Cena and Randy Orton’s WWE feud would become a bit of a meme for the number of times they faced each other, but SummerSlam 2007 played host to their first-ever singles match on pay-per-view and it was actually the highlight of the show, with Cena beating Orton to remain WWE Champion following a 21-minute entertaining clash between two of WWE’s top stars. 

The other world title match at SummerSlam was anything but entertaining, though, as Batista struggled to do much of anything against The Great Khali. Batista, despite fans crying out for a swift end to Khali’s reign, failed to win the World Heavyweight Title after Khali got himself DQ’d by attacking his opponent with a steel chair. Batista was then allowed to stand tall post-match following a spear and steel chair shots to Khali. 

SummerSlam 2007 also marked the in-ring return of Triple H after several months out of action and The Game went on to defeat the ever-entertaining King Booker. The match was very much a warm-up, though, and saw Triple H win in just seven minutes. 

Everything else at SummerSlam was just sort of there, including John Morrison vs. CM Punk for the ECW Title, Kane vs. Finlay, Rey Mysterio vs. Chavo Guerrero, and Umaga vs. Mr. Kennedy vs. Carlito for the Intercontinental Championship. 

33. SummerSlam 2018

The 2018 edition of SummerSlam ultimately had potential heading into the event, while also containing a main event that absolutely nobody wanted to watch. 

The main event in question was Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns as The Big Dog looked to end Lesnar’s 18-month reign as Universal Champion. Fans were far more interested in seeing a Braun Strowman cash-in and Braun, who had successfully kept ahold of his briefcase earlier in the night with a fun squash win over Kevin Owens, played into the main event, only to be taken out by Brock Lesnar, who proceeded to launch the MITB briefcase to the top of the ramp. 

This led to Reigns connecting with a fourth spear for the victory and the reception was mixed to say the least. Fans were happy to see Lesnar lose the belt, having become bored of a part-time champion, but they weren’t exactly thrilled to see a poor babyface in Reigns be the one to get the win.

Matches that had potential included The Miz vs. Daniel Bryan as fans finally got one of the feuds they wanted just months after The American Dragon’s return to the ring. The match, unfortunately, ended with a brass knuckles-assisted win for The Miz to deflate the crowd. AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe for the WWE Championship was also very entertaining as Samoa Joe was in his shouting “Wendy!” to terrify AJ Styles’ wife phase, but the DQ finish very much tainted the match, especially on what by this point was WWE’s second or third biggest show of the year. 

In other major moments, Becky Lynch turned on Charlotte Flair only moments after Flair had won a Triple Threat also containing then-champion Carmella to win the SmackDown Women’s Title. The moment was designed to be a heel turn for Lynch but the fans loudly cheered for her beat down of Flair. Everything worked out in the end, but it was a booking misfire to believe anyone was going to cheer for Flair over Lynch by 2018. SummerSlam also saw Ronda Rousey crowned as Raw Women’s Champion in a glorified squash over Alexa Bliss. 

Unfortunately for SummerSlam, the best match of the night was arguably the first one as Seth Rollins defeated Dolph Ziggler after 22 minutes to regain the Intercontinental Championship. 

32. SummerSlam 2021

Taking place in front of 45,000 fans inside Allegiant Stadium, 2021’s edition of SummerSlam was a major show, held only one month after WWE resumed touring following the COVID-19 pandemic. There was only one truly great match on the show, though, and a whole lot of rubbish. 

That great match was Edge vs. Seth Rollins and the Rated R-Superstar, following a Brood entrance, defeated Rollins with a bulldog choke. The main event between Roman Reigns and John Cena was also good, but part-time Cena was very much showing his age by 2021, although the return of Brock Lesnar after 18 months away ended SummerSlam with a big moment.

Sheamus vs. Damian Priest for the United States Title was also fun, if forgettable, while RK-Bro beating AJ Styles and Omos for the Raw Tag Team Titles was a crowd-popping moment. 

Only Edge vs. Seth Rollins is truly worth watching several years later, however, and so much of SummerSlam 2021 is worth trying to forget ever happened, from Alexa Bliss vs. Eva Marie to Becky Lynch returning and defeating Bianca Belair in 26 seconds to Goldberg vs. Bobby Lashley for the WWE Title which ended by TKO.

31. SummerSlam 2005

SummerSlam 2005 is likely the strangest edition of SummerSlam of all time, filled with matches we can’t believe were imprinted upon our eyes. 

The weirdness began in only the second match of the night when Matt Hardy went one-on-one with Edge. The contest was set up for Hardy to get a big win over Edge, especially as Adam Copeland had a real-life affair with Lita, who was Matt’s girlfriend at the time. Instead, though, Edge dominated the entire match and won in just four minutes by referee stoppage. Hardy would instead have to wait until Unforgiven to kick seven shades out of Edge in a Steel Cage Match. 

Mere moments after fans were shocked by that display, though, it was time for the Ladder Match between Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio for custody of Dominik. The match is beyond entertaining, including a hilarious moment where Guerrero goes into a rage after his wife Vickie forgot her spot. It all ended happily too as Rey won the match and celebrated with his family. 

After a match in which Kurt Angle dominated Eugene to regain his Olympic gold medal, Randy Orton defeated The Undertaker in a shock result after a fan got in the ring and distracted The Deadman, only for the fan to be revealed as “Cowboy” Bob Orton. 

The most normal match of the night was arguably the WWE Title match between John Cena and Chris Jericho, as they simply had a competitive match and Cena retained after 14 minutes. Batista also remained World Heavyweight Champion in the semi-main event, beating JBL after nine minutes in their No Holds Barred Match, while the opening contest saw Chris Benoit become United States Champion with a 25-second win against Orlando Jordan.

After a strange night, though, the weirdness was topped by the truly mammoth main event of Shawn Michaels vs. Hulk Hogan. As opposed to being a clash of the titans, though, it descended into a comedy within moments due to backstage machinations resulting in a planned trilogy of matches being scrapped. 

When the bell rang, Michaels decided he was going to embarrass both of them and spent the whole match comically overselling the Hulkster’s 1980s offence, making the main event infinitely rewatchable.

30. SummerSlam 2004

Tone-wise, SummerSlam 2004 was a mixed bag of a show, but it was a nicely varied pay-per-view overall.

The second match of the night saw Kane and Matt Hardy clash in their infamous Til Death Do Us Part Match with the stipulation that Lita would be forced to marry Kane if Hardy lost. Spoiler alert: Matt Hardy lost. 

Following a Triple Threat for the Intercontinental Title in which the Toronto fans booed their hometown hero in Edge, and the beginning of a Best of Five series for the United States Title between Booker T and John Cena, Kurt Angle and Eddie Guerrero had a very good match, although it wasn’t as good as their encounter at WrestleMania XX. 

The Undertaker later tried to end JBL’s SmackDown reign of terror, but the WWE Champion deliberately got himself disqualified in the low point of the night. The Dead Man at least got a measure of revenge, chokeslamming JBL through the roof of his own limousine. 

In a great main event, Randy Orton beat Chris Benoit to become the youngest ever world champion in WWE history.

29. SummerSlam 2017

The 2017 SummerSlam had an absolutely phenomenal main event as Brock Lesnar, Samoa Joe, Braun Strowman, and Roman Reigns battered each other over the Universal Championship. With the stipulation that Brock and Paul Heyman would leave WWE if Lesnar lost, the winner of the four-way wasn’t in any doubt but the slugfest sucked you in, with Lesnar ultimately winning by pinning Roman Reigns.

Unfortunately, to reach the main event, fans had to sit through a long and underwhelming undercard. First up was John Cena burying Baron Corbin only days after Corbin lost his Money in the Bank cash-in, reportedly due to having heat in the company. 

This was only followed by a fine match in which Natalya defeated Naomi to become SmackDown Women’s Champion before Big Cass beat The Big Show in a match that saw Enzo Amore suspended above the ring in a shark cage and no one cared about. Randy Orton then beat Rusev in 10 seconds before there was an actual feel-good moment as Sasha Banks defeated Alexa Bliss for the Raw Women’s Title. Banks would lose the title back to Bliss just eight days later, but the moment was still nice. 

The only real match worth watching outside of the main event was the Raw Tag Team Title contest which saw a reunited Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose defeat The Bar. AJ Styles and Kevin Owens even had a singles match on the card, but the match was overshadowed by Shane McMahon as special guest referee and his brewing issues with Owens. 

Elsewhere, The Demon version of Finn Balor picked up a win over Bray Wyatt, while Jinder Mahal and Shinsuke Nakamura proved they had as much chemistry as tuna and pork scratchings in their dud of a WWE Title match.

28. SummerSlam 2012

2012 was an edition of SummerSlam with good in-ring action with finishes that didn’t quite click, as WWE’s booking didn’t land the way the company wanted it to. 

The primary example of this occurred after the main event when Brock Lesnar and Triple H had a very good match in which Triple H tried his best to avoid the Kimura, only to be given no choice but to tap out after Brock locked the submission in.

With Triple H selling a storyline broken arm, though, a tearful Game, who was teasing retirement, stayed in the ring to drain every drop of sympathy out of the fans in attendance. Unfortunately for Triple H, the crowd didn’t care in the slightest and gave the King of Kings precisely zero sympathy.

The match only looks stranger years later with Brock de-emphasising the Kimura in the years to come, while Triple H continued to wrestle until 2019, even having another world title run in 2016. 

The other big match at SummerSlam saw a recently-turned CM Punk square off with John Cena and the Big Show for the WWE Championship. The company just had to protect Big Match John, though, as the finish saw Big Show submit to the Anaconda Vice and STF at the same time.

This resulted in AJ Lee restarting the match and Cena took full advantage, nailing Big Show with an AA, only for Punk to strike and throw Cena out of the ring before covering Paul Wight for the victory.

The finish for the World Heavyweight Title match between Sheamus and Alberto Del Rio was also a mess as Sheamus only retained because the referee failed to spot Del Rio’s foot on the bottom rope, something which unfortunately extended their feud. 

Fortunately, though, the opening contest between Chris Jericho and Dolph Ziggler was an underrated banger, while Daniel Bryan vs. Kane was entertaining and would lead to the two rivals eventually forming their great tag team.

27. SummerSlam 2015

The 2015 edition of SummerSlam was a show that featured very good pro wrestling but was ultimately brought down by abysmal booking. 

The biggest match on the card saw Brock Lesnar and The Undertaker face off for the first time since Brock had ended The Streak at WrestleMania XXX. The match was much better than their previous encounter and was very good, featuring an iconic moment of The Undertaker laughing at Brock to halt Lesnar’s own giggles. 

The setupwas for The Undertaker to win and The Phenom did win, just in extremely confusing fashion, as after Lesnar caught Undertaker in a Kimura, the bell suddenly rang. When the referee turned his back to argue with the timekeeper, ‘Taker suddenly nailed Lesnar with a low blow before applying the Hell’s Gate and forcing a Brock Lesnar who was flipping him off to pass out.

It then emerged that The Undertaker actually tapped out to the Kimura which is why the timekeeper called for the bell, and the whole situation made ‘Taker’s victory appear incredibly pyrrhic. At least the action beforehand was very good and they had a great rubber match at Hell in a Cell. 

This booking was nothing compared to earlier in the night in the Winner Takes All Match between Seth Rollins and John Cena. After both wrestlers had a stellar match, the final moments descended into stupidity when the referee was down as talk show host Jon Stewart turned heel on John Cena and hit him weakly with a steel chair, which floored Bg Match John and allowed Rollins to connect with a Pedigree on the chair for the win, becoming United States Champion in the process.

In the aftermath, Stewart admitted that, as a huge Ric Flair fan, he didn’t want to see Cena equal the title record and took actions into his own hands. He received an Attitude Adjustment from John Cena for his insolence. 

Entertaining moments at SummerSlam included Stephen Amell teaming with Neville to defeat Stardust and King Barrett, while Kevin Owens and Cesaro had an entertaining 14-minute affair, and Sheamus and Randy Orton had a fun opener. Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose teaming together to defeat Bray Wyatt and Luke Harper was also good, although the feud would have better moments immediately after WWE’s Biggest Party of the Summer. 

The Triple Threat tag team match pitting Team PCB, Team BAD, and Team Bella against each other to kick off the Women’s Revolution on the main roster was very much filler, though, as was a cursed Triple Threat for the Intercontinental Title of Ryback vs. The Big Show vs. The Miz. Dolph Ziggler vs. Rusev ending in a double count-out was also pretty dreadful.

26. SummerSlam 2011

After WWE's hottest angle in years, the Summer of Punk began to go off the rails in the climax of SummerSlam 2011.

CM Punk and John Cena clashed in the main event of the show to determine the Undisputed WWE Champion. Their match was, once again, great but suffered from a dodgy finish as special guest referee Triple H counted a pinfall for Punk despite Cena’s foot being under the ropes. 

Then, bizarrely, Kevin Nash made his return to WWE and laid out Punk, which allowed Alberto Del Rio to cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase and leave the Staples Center as WWE Champion. 

Beyond the post-main event shenanigans, there was a great semi-main event as the feud between Randy Orton and Christian over the World Heavyweight Championship came to an end in a No Holds Barred Match. The feud was one of WWE’s best in the early 2010s, and the two veterans delivered once again at SummerSlam.

Wade Barrett vs. Daniel Bryan was also a decent match and the opening six-man tag of Rey Mysterio, Kofi Kingston & John Morrison vs. The Miz, R-Truth & Alberto Del Rio was entertaining.

25. SummerSlam 1995

1995’s SummerSlam contains one of the worst main events in show history as King of the Ring winner Mabel challenged Diesel for the WWE Championship. After Mabel legitimately injured Diesel, Big Daddy Cool managed to win with a diving forearm in one of the least enjoyable SummerSlam main events ever. 

There is one reason why 1995’s SummerSlam is ranked so highly and that reason is because SummerSlam 1995, very much a one-match show upon a rewatch, featured Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon in a Ladder Match for the Intercontinental Title, a rematch from their classic WrestleMania X encounter.

Beyond the strange rule that they couldn’t use the ladder as a weapon, the two competitors had another classic in what might be the best SummerSlam match in show history, even if HBK did throw a tantrum at the end because the ladder broke and ruined his big finish. 

Another fun moment was legendary jobber Barry Horowitz defeated Bodydonna Skip to actually win a match, but everything else at SummerSlam from The Undertaker vs. Kama to Bret Hart vs. Isaac Yankem DDS was pointless rubbish.

24. SummerSlam 1991

1991’s SummerSlam is an iconic show, mainly because the main event wasn’t a wrestling match at all, but the wedding of Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean it was particularly good - although for a show main-everted by a wedding angle, you could argue that it massively exceeded expectations. 

Unfortunately in pro wrestling, weddings never end well and that was the case here as Savage and Elizabeth’s reception was ruined by The Undertaker and Jake Roberts, with Jake scaring Elizabeth with his snake before ‘Taker attacked Macho Man with his urn. 

The show’s tagline billed the wedding as ‘A Match Made in Heaven’, while the biggest bout on the show was dubbed ‘A Match Made in Hell’ as Hulk Hogan and Ultimate Warrior convincingly saw off Sgt. Slaughter, Colonel Mustafa, and General Adnan - another example of the classic ‘America Wins!’ ending. It was good for popping a crowd in the early 1990s, but not so exciting on repeat viewing. 

The best match on the card was the Intercontinental Title match between Bret Hart and Mr. Perfect which saw Bret win his first singles championship in WWE in a technical masterclass, with Hart celebrating with his family post-match. 

Another feel-good moment, meanwhile, saw Virgil defeat Ted DiBiase for the Million Dollar Championship, but everything else on the card was very much filler. 

23. SummerSlam 2016

WWE booked a main event of Brock Lesnar vs. Randy Orton in the main event of SummerSlam 2016, booking two of the biggest stars to go one-on-one simply because they had never wrestled each other.

The match provided a moment for WWE, although it was one which divided the audience as Lesnar elbowed Orton to smithereens, opening him up hardway in the process and leaving Orton lying in a pool of his own blood. The match also ended in a way that has never been popular amongst professional wrestling fans in a TKO finish as WWE looked to tie into Lesnar’s MMA return at UFC 200. 

Another major moment saw Finn Balor defeat Seth Rollins to become the inaugural Universal Champion. The match itself was good, but it is remembered for sad reasons as Balor got injured and was forced to vacate his title the following night on Raw. Another disappointing outcome was Dean Ambrose vs. Dolph Ziggler for the WWE Championship as the two competitors failed to click and provided a lacklustre spectacle. 

A fun moment saw the beginning of the fantastic partnership between Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho as the future on-screen best friends kicked off their thrown-together partnership with a win over Big Cass and Enzo Amore.

Beyond this, the real redeeming quality of SummerSlam was the blow-away classic between AJ Styles and John Cena which saw Styles kick out of a Super Attitude Adjustment and then beat Cena clean as a whistle, providing fans with the obvious sign that WWE were ready to push the former TNA, NJPW, and Ring of Honor star to the moon. 

22. SummerSlam 1989

The second-ever SummerSlam has some great moments that would have made it a beloved classic from Ultimate Warrior defeating Rick Rude for the Intercontinental Championship to The Brain Busters having a fantastic tag team match with the Hart Foundation, but the show was really dragged down by the main event. 

In a tie-in for the movie No Holds Barred, fictional villain Zeus decided to get revenge on Hulk Hogan for winning in the film by trying to defeat Hogan in real life. This led to Hogan teaming with Brutus Beefcake against Zeus and Randy Savage in a match that has aged terribly. Of course, Hogan vanquished the evil heel in the final bout of the night.

Everything else at SummerSlam 1989 very much just happened outside of The Fabulous Rougeaus & Rick Martel vs. Tito Santana & The Rockers in a great six-man tag. 

21. SummerSlam 2020

Arguably the best show WWE produced during the COVID-19 pandemic was SummerSlam 2020, the first pay-per-view from the company to take place inside the WWE ThunderDome, where fans appeared in the arena via their webcams. 

The show ended with one of the most memorable WWE moments of the 2020s as Roman Reigns made his return following the largely rubbish Universal Title match between The Fiend and Braun Strowman. This Roman Reigns was different from what fans had seen for the past several years, however, and saw the birth of the Tribal Chief that would proceed to dominate WWE as the company’s undisputed top star for the next four years.

The WWE Title match at SummerSlam was unique and had a surprising result too. Randy Orton had been on a tear during the pandemic, having revived his Legend Killer moniker, but he failed to defeat Drew McIntyre for the WWE Title as the champion retained following a roll-up in which neither man connected with their finishing move.

Asuka also pulled double duty at SummerSlam, and while she failed to defeat Bayley in the opener, she did beat Sasha Banks later in the night to regain the Raw Women’s Championship. Dominik Mysterio also made his in-ring debut in an entertaining Street Fight against Seth Rollins, while Mandy Rose ended her feud with former best friend Sonya Deville by defeating her in a Loser Leaves WWE Match.

20. SummerSlam 2024

SummerSlam 2024 didn’t live long in the memory and the show largely underwhelmed, especially when it came to the most-anticipated match of the evening between Drew McIntyre and CM Punk. 

Irn Dru and Punk had built up the match for several months by the time SummerSlam rolled around, so fans were salivating at the prospect of the two talents coming to blows, particularly as it was Punk’s first WWE singles match since quitting the company in 2014.

Unfortunately for those fans, WWE inserted Seth Rollins into the match as the special guest referee, and the former Universal Champion was simply a massive hindrance to the whole affair. We also can’t forget their battle over a bracelet. 

The main event at SummerSlam was worse still as Solo Sikoa failed to prove he belonged on such a big stage in his Bloodline Rules Match against Cody Rhodes. At least Roman Reigns returned to cost Sikoa the match in what was treated like a big moment by the fans in attendance. 

The best match of the night was ultimately the World Heavyweight Title match between Damian Priest and Gunther. The right man in Gunther won, but Priest looked strong in defeat, with the crowd giving a monster pop to the champion when he looked set to escape Gunther’s chokehold after Finn Balor had already turned on his Judgment Day stablemate. 

Elsewhere, Bron Breakker won the Intercontinental Title match in a glorified squash of Sami Zayn, LA Knight defeated Logan Paul to become United States Champion in a fun match that is dragged down by Machine Gun Kelly’s involvement, and Nia Jax and Bayley had anti-chemistry as Jax won the WWE Women’s Championship. Dominik Mysterio also officially aligned with Liv Morgan, helping her to retain the Women’s World Championship against Mysterio’s former girlfriend of Rhea Ripley. 

19. SummerSlam 2006

WWE was deep in the Ruthless Aggression era as 2006 rolled around and the company was amidst a great programme between Edge and John Cena over the WWE Championship. 

Edge, in Cena’s hometown no less, retained the WWE Title in the main event of SummerSlam by overcoming the odds in surprising fashion as he managed to survive a stipulation where he would lose the belt if he got disqualified, especially when Lita kept trying to interfere. 

The finish, though, saw Edge deck Cena in the back of the head with a pair of brass knuckles to send the fans in Boston, Massachusetts home positively miserable. 

SummerSlam 2006 also hosted Hulk Hogan’s last ever WWE match and Hogan went out the way he came in, by winning. While Orton was one of WWE’s top stars, he couldn’t stop the Hulkster, who even had the match restarted after he kicked out at 2.9999 and the referee’s hand hit the mat for 3. As expected, Orton was felled by a Hulk Up and Leg Drop.

In an equally silly match, D-Generation X managed to overcome Shane McMahon and Vince McMahon to win their tag team match, with Shawn Michaels and Triple H fighting off the Big Show, William Regal, Finlay, the entire Spirit Squad, and Mr. Kennedy. 

SummerSlam did have a couple of duds, notably the World Heavyweight Title match between Booker T and Batista which ended in a DQ, and Big Show vs. Sabu for the ECW World Heavyweight Title. 

The best action of the night came courtesy of an unlikely source as old-timers Mick Foley and Ric Flair faced off in a brutal I Quit match. Babyface Flair got the win with some rather un-babyface tactics, threatening to hit Melina with a baseball bat until Foley gave up to protect her.

18. SummerSlam 1996

SummerSlam 1996 is ultimately a show that fell short of its potential. 

The main event between Shawn Michaels and Vader was excellent, but is sadly more remembered for HBK’s tantrum towards the end. Infuriated at Vader forgetting to move out of the way of an elbow drop, Michaels landed straight on his feet, bent over, and screamed "MOVE!" in the giant’s face. 

In the semi-main event, Mankind and The Undertaker clashed in a Boiler Room Brawl. The match was clumsy, but also set the tone for WWE’s increased interest in brawling and hardcore stipulations over the next few years, and gave a rougher edge that many wrestling fans wouldn’t have experienced before, meaning it is somewhat of a classic. 

Beyond these matches, there was a lot of filler at SummerSlam 1996 such as Jake Roberts vs. Jerry Lawler, a Four-Way Elimination Match for the WWE Tag Team Titles between the Smoking Gunns, The Bodydonnas, The Godwinns, and The New Rockers, Sycho Sid vs. British Bulldog, and Goldust vs. Marc Mero.

17. SummerSlam 1997

SummerSlam 1997 was very much a two-match show.

The main event was Bret Hart vs. The Undertaker for the WWE Title - with Bret’s hated rival Shawn Michaels as special guest referee. Amazingly, the Hitman triumphed, with HBK reluctantly counting the pinfall to hand his nemesis the WWE Championship.

The semi-main event, meanwhile, saw Steve Austin and Owen Hart clash over the Intercontinental Championship. The match is remembered for all the wrong reasons, however, as Austin and Hart put together a crisp 15-minute display, only for everything to go wrong on a botched piledriver which broke Austin’s neck. Austin still had to win, however, and he crawled over and rolled Owen up for the three count. The botched piledriver did greatly hamper The Texas Rattlesnake’s career and he would retire from the industry in 2003. 

There isn’t much to say about the undercard at SummerSlam 1997. Mankind and Hunter Hearst Helmsley had a distinctly unmemorable Steel Cage Match, and things only got worse as fans were presented with Goldust vs. Brian Pillman, an ageing Legion of Doom vs. The Godwinns, British Bulldog vs. Ken Shamrock, and Los Boricuas vs. the Disciples of Apocalypse.

16. SummerSlam 2023

Another SummerSlam in a stadium, the 2023 edition of the Biggest Party of the Summer has a mostly great undercard, but the show is brought down by a truly woeful main event. 

That main event was the Tribal Combat Match between Roman Reigns and Jey Uso for the Undisputed WWE Universal Title. The match was all of the problems of the Bloodline programme distilled into one 36-minute match as it began slowly and never truly got going.

The two men involved also didn’t care about the stipulation of no interference as it took hardly any time at all for Solo Sikoa to interfere on the side of Roman Reigns. Then there was the finish, which saw Jimmy Uso, for some reason, turn on his brother and allow Roman Reigns to retain only a couple of months after Jimmy was the original Uso to turn against Reigns. Bloated and with a stupid finish, all this main event did was send the fans home unhappy. 

The only other true stinker was the MMA Rules match between Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler, which was ultimately Rousey’s final WWE match and displayed why an MMA Rules Match in pro wrestling is a bad idea. At least it was short. 

Prior to the MMA Rules Match, though, WWE provided some very good in-ring action for the fans in attendance in Logan Paul vs. Ricochet, the rubber match between Cody Rhodes and Brock Lesnar in which Brock put over Rhodes, and the Slim Jim Battle Royal won by the popular LA Knight. The match has since become a meme due to the excessive number of sponsorships on display in WWE, but LA Knight’s win was a fun moment at the time. 

Gunther vs. Drew McIntyre was also fun, although not as good as you would have expected the match to be, while Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor was excellent and planted further seeds in what would lead to the dissolution of Judgment Day one year later.

Bianca Belair vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Asuka for the WWE Women’s Title was also a great semi-main event, capped off by IYO SKY’s cash-in on Belair post-match. 

15. SummerSlam 1994

SummerSlam 1994 was another show held back by the wrong main event. In the most fondly remembered match on the card, Bret and Owen Hart continued their epic feud in the semi-main event as they squared off in one of the best Steel Cage matches in WWE history. 

While Bret picked up the win, their feud was extended as Owen and Jim Neidhart locked themselves inside the cage with Bret and beat him down while the rest of the Hart family tried desperately to enter the steel structure. 

The Intercontinental Title match that saw Razor Ramon defeat Diesel for the Intercontinental Championship in a 15-minute clash was also great, while Alundra Blayze vs. Bull Nakano for the WWE Women’s Title was entertaining enough.

The main event of The Undertaker vs. The Undertaker was a complete dud, however, as was the storyline which inexplicably involved Leslie Nielsen trying to solve who was the real Undertaker. In the end, Undertaker beat fake Undertaker. 

14. SummerSlam 2019

2019 was almost the nadir of Vince McMahon’s later years as the head of WWE creative, but the then-WWE Chairman actually managed to book a solid SummerSlam with some great in-ring action and fun moments. 

The big moments didn’t even wait for the main show either as Edge, by this point retired for eight years, got physical by spearing Elias on the pre-show in a moment that shocked the fans in Toronto and kicked off the long build to The Rated R-Superstar making his in-ring comeback at Royal Rumble 2020. 

The main event between Brock Lesnar and Seth Rollins was also excellent and much better than their WrestleMania match as Rollins did everything in his power to try and beat Lesnar, including putting Brock through the announce table with a Frog Splash. It ultimately took this and three Stomps for Rollins to shockingly win, especially as he beat Brock clean in the middle of the ring, something that was very much a rarity during The Beast’s WWE career. 

The semi-main event, meanwhile, featured the in-ring debut of The Fiend to critical acclaim after months of build-up as Bray Wyatt dispatched of Finn Balor. SummerSlam also featured what was initially Trish Stratus’ retirement match as she had a banger with Charlotte Flair, while Kevin Owens defeating Shane McMahon had the right result after years of the two men feuding. 

Other fun matches at SummerSlam for different reasons were AJ Styles vs. Ricochet, Becky Lynch vs. Natalya, and Goldberg vs. Dolph Ziggler. The only true duds at SummerSlam 2019 really were the WWE Title match between Kofi Kingston and Randy Orton, which ended in a double count-out, and Bayley vs. Ember Moon.

13. SummerSlam 1999

In the heart of the Attitude Era, WWE delivered a wild card from top to bottom, featuring several exciting matches. 

It is mainly remembered for a gigantic main event, pitting WWE Champion Steve Austin against Triple H and Mankind, with the beloved underdog pulling out an unlikely victory. The Game would end up winning the title the following night on Raw, but Foley pinned Austin here to send the crowd home happy. 

We also saw The Unholy Alliance of The Undertaker and Big Show team up to defeat Kane and X-Pac for the WWE Tag Team Titles in a surprisingly fun tag match considering the odd combination of wrestlers in the ring. 

The best match on the show, however, saw Test and Shane McMahon do battle in a Love Her or Leave Her Match. Yes, this was another example of a woman’s wishes being dictated by the result of a wrestling match - but the bout itself was an absolute thrill ride.

Everything else on the show was just sort of there, including the semi-main event which saw The Rock defeat King of the Ring winner Billy Gunn in their Kiss My Ass Match.

12. SummerSlam 2009

This show was a real mixed bag, but thankfully, the good outweighed the bad.

CM Punk and Jeff Hardy stole the show with a TLC Match, one which saw Punk win the World Heavyweight Championship to end the night. Or almost end the night, as The Undertaker returned to chokeslam the Straight Edge Saviour and announce himself as a new challenger. 

Not only did SummerSlam 2009 have a good ending, but it also featured a great opener between Dolph Ziggler and Rey Mysterio. A third excellent match came in the form of D-Generation X vs. Legacy. 

The semi-main event of Randy Orton vs. John Cena for the WWE Championship was an overbooked mess which featured two match restarts and Brett DiBiase of all people helping Orton to retain by pinning Cena. A mouthwatering prospect of Christian vs. William Regal was also robbed from the fans as Christian successfully defended the ECW Title in just eight seconds.

11. SummerSlam 2008

Although not the most spectacular show ever, SummerSlam 2008 was one of those pay-per-views where everybody seemed determined to put on a good show. 

There were lots of candidates for this event’s MVP. Edge and Undertaker clashed in an occasionally terrifying Hell in a Cell Match, Batista and John Cena packed a ton of action into 13 minutes in a meeting between two of WWE’s biggest stars of the Ruthless Aggression era, and CM Punk retained the World Heavyweight Title against JBL. By some miracle, Triple H even managed to drag Great Khali to a match that wasn’t terrible. 

MVP also had an enjoyable enough match with Jeff Hardy, but do your best to skip Glamarella vs. Kofi Kingston & Mickie James, and Matt Hardy vs. Mark Henry. 

10. SummerSlam 2003

This SummerSlam was rowdy and wild, with polished in-ring action too. 

The show is often remembered in a negative light, likely due to Goldberg’s utter domination inside the Elimination Chamber main event which should have resulted in him being crowned the new World Heavyweight Champion, only for Triple H to steal a win after Ric Flair passed him a sledgehammer through the cage.  

Beyond this poor booking decision, the show was great fun for the most part, particularly the WrestleMania rematch between Kurt Angle and Brock Lesnar which saw Angle force his opponent to shockingly tap out to retain the WWE Title. The match to this day remains one of the most memorable in SummerSlam history. 

The four-way for the United States Title of Eddie Guerrero defending against Chris Benoit, Rhyno, and Tajiri was also great, while Shane McMahon vs. Eric Bischoff in a Falls Count Anywhere Match was entertaining primarily due to the interference of Steve Austin. Kane vs. Rob Van Dam in the semi-main event was also better than expected.

9. SummerSlam 1988

While not a stellar show from a match quality standpoint, the inaugural edition of SummerSlam featured a number of iconic moments. 

Miss Elizabeth removed her skirt to distract the Mega Bucks of Ted DiBiase and Andre the Giant in the main event, allowing the Mega Powers to pick up the big win. The Ultimate Warrior also made a surprise appearance to defeat the Honky Tonk Man, ending his then-record Intercontinental Title reign in an explosive match. 

Other matches that were entertaining enough on the inaugural SummerSlam included Demolition vs. The Hart Foundation for the WWE Tag Team Titles, The British Bulldogs vs. The Fabulous Rougeaus, and Dino Bravo vs. Don Muraco. 

On the whole, although the pace of the action may not have aged too well, the first-ever SummerSlam has to be seen as a great start for the pay-per-view. There is a reason it’s one of the most fondly remembered PPVs of the golden era. 

8. SummerSlam 2014

Outside of a memorable main event, SummerSlam has been largely forgotten about, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t an entertaining show. 

The opener between Dolph Ziggler and The Miz over the Intercontinental Title was an energetic affair that saw Ziggler capture the IC strap, while Paige winning the Divas Title from AJ Lee was another noteworthy moment, and the Flag Match between Rusev and Jack Swagger was better than expected. 

Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose in a Lumberjack Match was chaotic and continued the programme between the former Shield faction mates. Bray Wyatt vs. Chris Jericho was also fun and the novelty of seeing Stephanie McMahon wrestle brought eyes to her match with Brie Bella, but the finish of a Nikki Bella heel turn wasn’t anything anybody particularly wanted to see. 

The semi-main event where Randy Orton lost to Roman Reigns in one of Reigns’ first major singles wins was also well received since Reigns was only at the beginning of his megapush. 

Then the main event was basically a glorified squash as Brock Lesnar absolutely pulverised John Cena with German Suplex after German Suplex on his way to becoming WWE World Heavyweight Champion.

The nature of the match, particularly taking place in the main event, was genuinely shocking at the time but was exactly what needed to happen as Lesnar remained dominant months after ending The Undertaker’s WrestleMania streak. 

7. SummerSlam 2022

Taking place just eight days after what ended up being a six-month retirement for Vince McMahon, SummerSlam 2022 felt like the dawn of a new era, particularly for the company’s on-screen product that had been stagnant for several years. 

Under the creative direction of Triple H, WWE produced longer matches and booked several standout moments for SummerSlam, including a banger of an opener to cap off the rivalry between Bianca Belair and Becky Lynch which ended with a Lynch babyface turn and the returns of Bayley, Dakota Kai, and IYO SKY to form Damage CTRL. Logan Paul vs. The Miz then followed that up with a very good 14-minute affair, and Pat McAfee once again impressed in a singles match against Happy Corbin. 

The Mysterios vs. Judgment Day was another fun contest due to the return of Edge in the closing stages to help Rey and Dom pick up a win over Finn Balor and Damian Priest. Jeff Jarrett as the special guest referee for The Usos vs. Street Profits was also a nice moment, and their match was good, although not as good as their Money in the Bank outing. 

The only true duds at SummerSlam were Bobby Lashley vs. Austin Theory and Ronda Rousey vs. Liv Morgan, with both matches suffering due to being short, while Rousey vs. Morgan had the added issue of a rubbish finish when Morgan tapped out while Rousey’s shoulders were on the mat, allowing Liv to retain because the referee had rubbish eyesight. 

2022’s edition of SummerSlam ranks so highly, though, because it has a spectacular main event. Fan expectations were not high for another entry of Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar but their Last Man Standing Match for the Undisputed WWE Universal Title was sports entertainment at its very best, with Lesnar setting the tone when he drove a tractor to the ring, which was later used to lift the ring up. 

6. SummerSlam 1998

The 1998 SummerSlam was held in one of the wrestling world’s classic venues - Madison Square Garden. Fittingly, it was also a classic show, featuring a huge main event, a couple of wacky stipulations, and one of the best SummerSlam matches ever.

X-Pac and Jeff Jarrett helped each other to one of the best matches of either man’s career, although unfortunately for Double J, it resulted in him losing his hair. 

The night’s other big stipulation was the infamous Lion’s Den Match between Ken Shamrock and Owen Hart, which sounds ludicrous on paper but was actually quite fun in an off-kilter way. Even if it did take place in a tiny MMA cage.

Steve Austin vs. The Undertaker clashed in the main event, and although it maybe wasn’t the best SummerSlam closer ever, it was still an unquestionably huge match-up. Austin retained with a Stunner after being legitimately knocked out earlier in the match, and everybody went home happy.

That just leaves Triple H vs. The Rock in a Ladder Match that is one of the best SummerSlam bouts of all time, and the beginning of both men’s rises to megastar status. It’s rare that you see two future greats put on a classic years before their peak, but that is exactly what happened here. 

Truly nothing was outright bad at SummerSlam 1998, making it a fun watch decades later. 

5. SummerSlam 2001

Despite taking place in the midst of one of wrestling’s biggest blown opportunities in the Invasion, SummerSlam 2001 was an excellent show. 

Steve Austin and Kurt Angle arguably had the best WWE match ever to end in a deliberate disqualification, as Stone Cold simply couldn’t match the Olympian’s intensity and took to battering referees until one of them finally disqualified him just as Angle was about to win the gold following an Angle Slam. The lack of a title change frustrated fans on the night, but the 22-minute spectacle was WWE at its very best in 2001. 

To ensure the fans went home happy, The Rock defeated Booker T in the main event of SummerSlam to become the new WCW World Heavyweight Champion. 

The best match of the night, though, was arguably the Ladder Match between Rob Van Dam and Jeff Hardy for the Hardcore Title. Pretty much all the matches were good at SummerSlam 2001, however, including Lance Storm vs. Edge, Rhyno vs. Chris Jericho, and X-Pac vs. Tajiri. 

4. SummerSlam 2000

SummerSlam 2000 featured some of the most intense action ever seen in the event’s history, but it also featured bouts like The Kat vs. Terri in a Stinkface Match. 

For the positives, The Rock, Triple H and Kurt Angle clashed in a huge Triple Threat match, one which saw the announce table famously give way before Angle was Pedigreed onto it. Kurt was legitimately knocked loopy, but was guided through the match by the excellent work of his opponents, and Rock was eventually able to retain the WWE Championship. 

The undercard was almost unnecessarily stacked, with the likes of the first-ever TLC match of The Hardy Boyz vs. Edge & Christian vs. The Dudley Boyz, a technical 2-out-of-3 falls classic between Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit, and the famous Shane McMahon fall from the side of the titantron during his match against Steve Blackman. Jerry Lawler defeating Tazz after an angry Jim Ross smashed a jar of sweets over the Human Suplex Machine’s head also remains an underrated delight, and Right to Censor vs. Too Cool was a fun way to kick off the night. 

Only bringing the show down is another dreary Kane vs. Undertaker match, and that truly awful Stinkface Match. 

Although a rough and imperfect show, SummerSlam 2000 remains one of the most high-octane pay-per-views of the Attitude era.

3. SummerSlam 1992

Although not as consistent as other top-tier editions of SummerSlam, the 1992 show remains a beloved pay-per-view, partly due to being one of the few major WWE pay-per-views to ever take place in the United Kingdom, and to this day, it remains the best in Blighty. 

The iconic match of the show is Bret Hart vs. The British Bulldog for the Intercontinental Championship, a match that has no right to be as good as it is considering Davey Boy Smith had been taking drugs with Jim Neidhart in the weeks before they entered Wembley Stadium. 

The match, though, remains one of the most important moments in British wrestling history, and the pop when Bulldog trapped Bret for the pinfall is one of the most overwhelming of all time. 

In the main event for American audiences, Randy Savage and The Ultimate Warrior clashed over the WWE Title, with Ric Flair and Mr. Perfect stirring up trouble on the outside for much of the contest which caused Warrior - the challenger - to win via count-out after 28 minutes. 

Shawn Michaels and Rick Martel also did battle in an entertaining heel vs. heel matchup, with both men fighting over Sensational Sherri and getting each other counted out.

Beyond these three matches, the rest of the card was admittedly quite average, but few shows are as iconic as this one - especially when topped with one of the most heartily received victories in wrestling history.

2. SummerSlam 2013

Some of the best SummerSlams of all time have been chaotic affairs, hiding any potential weaknesses with balls-to-the-wall action. 2013’s edition is the very opposite, a nicely paced, incredibly consistent show with no major flaws.

That’s not to say this show wasn’t hard-hitting. Just ask CM Punk and Brock Lesnar, who really laid into each other in a long No Disqualification Match in what is one of the best in SummerSlam history. 

The main event was, fortunately, another of the best matches in SummerSlam history, as Daniel Bryan picked up the biggest win of his WWE career so far, defeating John Cena to become WWE Champion for the first time. 

Then, in a cruel twist, special guest referee Triple H turned heel for the first time since 2006 as he booted Bryan and nailed him with the Pedigree, allowing Randy Orton to saunter out and take the WWE Title from D-Bry with a Money in the Bank cash-in.

Outside of a fun World Heavyweight Title match between Alberto Del Rio and Christian, nothing else on the undercard was worth watching, and while Bray Wyatt would become an important character for years to come, his main roster in-ring debut against Kane in a Ring of Fire Match was quite rubbish.

1. SummerSlam 2002

SummerSlam 2002 is simply the best edition of WWE SummerSlam of all time. 

This event really highlighted WWE’s stacked roster following the death of WCW and ECW with a massive lineup featuring matches like Edge vs. Eddie Guerrero, RVD vs. Chris Benoit, Kurt Angle vs. Rey Mysterio, Ric Flair vs. Chris Jericho, and Christian & Lance Storm vs. Booker T & Goldust. If that wasn’t enough, the show was closed by two hugely important bouts, for very different reasons.

First we had the epic Street Fight between former friends Triple H and Shawn Michaels in HBK’s first match since losing to Steve Austin in the main event of WrestleMania 14 four years earlier. Over the course of half an hour, the pair battered and bloodied one another, momentum swinging back and forth, but eventually, to the delight of just about everyone, Michaels was able to emerge victorious with a roll-up out of nowhere.

From an incredibly close contest to a shockingly straightforward one, the main event saw Brock Lesnar snatch the torch from The Rock with brutal simplicity to become WWE Champion. The Next Big Thing dominated the early stages of the match, and even though Rock fought his way back into it, there was no stopping the sheer power of his young opponent, and he put the Hollywood-bound Rock away with an F5. Paul Heyman even took a Rock Bottom through the announce table, which was a nice bonus too.