WWE Summerslam Main Events
Some of the greatest main events in WWE history have occurred during the Summerslam pay per view.
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The Big Four
Summerslam has long been regarded as one of the biggest WWE pay per views of the year. In fact, it's one of the WWE's "Big Four" pay per views, which also includes the Royal Rumble, Wrestlemania, and the Survivor Series.
The pay per view began in 1988, highlighted by a big time main event consisting of Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Ted DiBiase, and Andre the Giant.
Interestingly enough, Hulk Hogan usually appears in tag team matches when he main events Summerslam, with the only exception being a recent singles match against Shawn Michaels.
Surprisingly enough, in his short career, Randy Orton has already been in the Summerslam main event three times. In all three matches, the world title was on the line.
It was at Summerslam where the writers made the foolish move of handing Randy Orton the title with a surprise victory over then World Heavyweight Champion Chris Benoit.
Despite being one of the biggest wrestling stars during the 90s, Bret Hart has only been in two Summerslam main events. One was against the Undertaker, while the other was a classic match against the British Bulldog.
With the exception of the Diesel/King Mabel match, most of the Summerslam main events have been memorable matches. |
1988 - Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage vs Ted DiBiase and Andre the Giant
Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage were known as the Mega Powers, an alliance between two of the biggest stars in pro wrestling. The purpose of this tag team was to set up an eventual feud between Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage. The story was well written and excuted because back then, the writers were able to write storylines that took months to develop.
1989 - Hulk Hogan and Brutus Beefcake vs Randy Savage and Zeus
The friendship between Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage ended because of jealousy over Miss Elizabeth. The two men engaged in a bitter rivalry. The main event tag team match was also tied into the No Holds Barred movie that starred Hulk Hogan and Zeus (real name Tiny Lister).
1990 - Ultimate Warrior vs Rick Rude
This match marked the only pay per view where Rick Rude was a singles headliner. The writers didn't feel that a straight up match between the two would sell, so a steel cage was added as a special stipulation. Ultimate Warrior got the win by escaping the cage. Rick Rude would then leave the company because he didn't want to be demoted back down to the midcard.
1991 - Hulk Hogan and the Ultimate Warrior vs Sgt. Slaughter, Colonel Mustafa, and General Adnan
This match was billed as the "Match Made in Hell" (the wedding between Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth was billed as the "Match Made in Heaven"). It capitalized on the emotions that was stirred by the real life Gulf War. Sgt. Slaughter gained tremendous heat from the crowd by turning into a traitor who supported Iraq.
1992 - British Bulldog vs Bret Hart
This was a rare pay per view that was headlined by a WWE Intercontinental Championship match. The event was held in England where the British Bulldog was immensely popular. After watching the two brother-in-laws put on a classic match, it's hard to question the move.
1993 - Lex Luger vs Yokozuna
Lex Luger had recently turned face and became a patriotic hero. This was basically Vince McMahon's attempt to create another Hulk Hogan. While Lex Luger is a capable performer, the attempt failed miserably. Lex Luger gets the win, but doesn't get the world title because it was via a countout.
1994 - Undertaker vs Undertaker
Someone somewhere thought it would be a good idea to have the Undertaker feud with himself while he was taking time away from the ring. The writers basically brought in a clone of the Undertaker (played by the Undertaker's real life buddy Brian Lee) to be the opponent. The idea sounded good, but the excecution was horrible.
1995 - Diesel vs King Mabel
This was a horrible main event as Kevin Nash tried as hard as he could to carry (both figuratively and literally) King Mable (now known as Viscera and Big Daddy V) to a decent match. If not for the classic ladder matc between Razor Ramon and Shawn Michaels for the WWE Intercontinental Championship, this show would have been such a bust.
1996 - Shawn Michaels vs Vader
This was during a time when the WWE tried to make Shawn Michaels as a sympathetic face champion. He was always portrayed as being the small underdog WWE Heavyweight Champion. The writers even had Jose Lothario accompany him to the ring during this time. Vader bullies Shawn Michaels around, but can't win the championship.
1997 - Bret Hart vs Undertaker
This match was basically to transition the Shawn Michaels, who was the special guest referee in the match, into a feud with the Undertaker. Shawn Michaels' feud with Bret Hart was put on hold in this match after he accidentally nails the Undertaker with a chair, causing him to lose the match.
1998 - Steve Austin vs Undertaker
The writers tried to add to the match by revealing tha the Undertaker and Kane were united as brothers, leading many to wonder if Kane would interfere to help the Undertaker win the WWE Heavyweight Championship from Steve Austin. Undertaker refused the help, and lost the match, but he gained some respect from the fans.
1999 - Mankind vs Steve Austin vs Triple H
Apparently, the writers didn't feel that a triple threat WWE Heavyweight Championship match between the three stars was going to be able to sell enough on its own. Jesse Ventura was the special guest referee for the match. Mankind gets the surprising title win here.
2000 - Rock vs Kurt Angle vs Triple H
This match should have just been between Kurt Angle and Triple H as they were engaged in a good storyline where they both were competing for Stephanie McMahon. Instead, the writers decided to add their storyline to the Rock's world title push because he had nothing to do. This was the match where Kurt Angle was legitimately knocked out from a Pedigree on the announce table.
2001 - Rock vs Booker T
WCW died not too long ago, and the disappoint Alliance Invasion storyline had begun. While the feud between the Rock and Booker T was good, the sight of seeing the Rock winning the WCW World Heavyweight Championship was a bit weird.
2002 - Brock Lesnar vs Rock
Brock Lesnar was getting his big push here. He wins the WWE Heavyweight Championship from the Rock and becomes the youngest man ever to do so.
2003 - Triple H vs Goldberg vs Chris Jericho vs Randy Orton vs Shawn Michaels vs Kevin Nash
The writers decided to throw six of the top stars into a big Elimination Chamber. The World Heavyweight Championship was on the line. Not too bad of a match.
2004 - Randy Orton vs Chris Benoit
This was a surprising win as most people didn't expect Randy Orton to be winning the World Heavyweight Championship at such a young age. He wasn't ready for the title, and this decision easily ruined his momentum.
2005 - Hulk Hogan vs Shawn Michaels
Even with the match being average, the main event here will forever be remembered for the hype as two of wrestling's true icons battle it out to determine who was the bigger star.
2006 - Edge vs John Cena
Nothing special about this WWE Heavyweight Championship.
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