10 Worst SummerSlam Main Events Ever - According To Dave Meltzer
Prickly Heat.
As will become apparent when revisting some of the summer's biggest shockers, WWE's August classic has a remarkably good return on its main events.
The respective title matches at this year's event featuring Brock Lesnar, Braun Strowman, Roman Reigns, Samoa Joe, Jinder Mahal and Shinsuke Nakamura represents a diverse palette of possibilities, not all good. History, according to Wrestling Observer scribe Dave Meltzer at least, is however on their side.
'The Biggest Party Of The Summer' has played host to some of the company's best ever main events, and even some of the poorer efforts in this very list hover towards an above average standard.
Until they absolutely, categorically don't. A less risky show than WrestleMania to present an off-the-wall concept, and lacking a strong gimmick to carry a match over the line like the Royal Rumble and Survivor Series, when a SummerSlam match stinks, the stench of hot garbage lingers for decades.
(NOTE: In the event of a tied rating, the most recent match gets preferential treatment. Wrestling evolves at a breakneck pace, and any older contest outperforming a contemporary equivalent is deserving of the elevated status)
10. SummerSlam 2001 - Booker T Vs The Rock (***)
A serviceable main event that simply couldn't come close to topping an exhausting bloodbath between Stone Cold Steve Austin and Kurt Angle earlier on the show, the first meeting between WCW Champion Booker T and returning WWE soldier The Rock had enough choice moments to fittingly close 2001's summer spectacular.
Rock had returned weeks earlier in a somewhat dramatic scene, choosing to remain loyal to Vince McMahon in his fight against The WCW/ECW Alliance, and a programme with Booker T seemed the natural route following Vince Russo's 2000 attempt to pattern the former Harlem Heat member almost entirely on the babyface success of 'The Great One'.
It was The Rock's 2001 trip to Hollywood that left a gap open for Booker to stroll into when WWE came under threat of 'Invasion', with his Bookend and Spinaroonie presented as a cynical replacement for the Rock Bottom and People's Elbow respectively.
Working under intense pressure after his maiden clash with Buff Bagwell almost tanked the entire angle on Night One, Booker looked predictably more at home against 'The Most Electrifying Man in Sports Entertainment', but didn't really look much of a threat when the two actually fought.
Only under pressure when overwhelmed by Shane McMahon's fleeting interference, The Rock brushed Booker away in a mirroring of the inter-promotional war at large.