10 Absolute Worst Matches In WWE SummerSlam History

4. Jinder Mahal Vs Shinsuke Nakamura (SummerSlam 2017)

Bray Wyatt Kane
WWE

A boring battle over a stone dead WWE Championship between the worst titleholder of a generation a Challenger already dulled by his rotten main roster run, Shinsuke Nakamura's battle with Jinder Mahal was perhaps the most depressing fight for the title in its once-rich history.

Mahal had been scripted to go low in the build-up, making racist remarks against still images of 'The King Of Strong Style' in the cheapest (and yet, unsuccessful) grasp for heat of Mahal's p*ss poor reign. Nakamura lost in 11:25, and in his rematch in an even longer outing a month later. It was frankly astonishing that the company managed to rebuild him in time for the Royal Rumble he won en route to his last stab at WWE main event supremacy.

John Cena and Nakamura had their first (and, thus far, only) televised encounter on an edition of SmackDown to earn the right to get this match. 'The Champ' was probably happier getting to banter off Baron Corbin in the opener instead.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett