10 Best Ever UK WWE Matches
5. Bret Hart Vs Davey Boy Smith - SummerSlam '92 (August 1992)
Held in high esteem by the company to this day and lauded by the match's chief combatant as his best ever, the Bret Hart/British Bulldog SummerSlam '92 headliner exists on an island amongst the tumult and turbulence of WWE in 1992.
The Intercontinental Title was traditionally preserved for those the company felt could assure audiences of a credible wrestling match that required less of the sizzle incorporated into goliath main events. But the decision to place the prize on the muscular frame of Davey Boy Smith was geographically motivated when the company announced their intention to hold their summer event at London's Wembley Stadium.
Capitalising on an enormous UK market during a time of unthinkable decline in the United States, WWE doubled down on the British love affair by subverting their traditional pay-per-view layout to present the country's most famous performer as a main event talent, unseating 'The Hitman' after an absorbing 25 minute war.
As documented in Hart's memoir, it was not a stage the Bulldog was equipped to perform on. According to the weighty tome, Smith combatted his crippling nerves with mentally destabilising chemicals, and wound up allegedly so strung out from 'smoking crack with Jim Neidhart' that Bret had to remind him of every single calculated and nuanced spot the pair had planned in front of the expectant 80,000+ crowd.
It's an excellent match that just about holds up to this day, but the story behind Bret's disaster aversion elevates it even beyond traditional platitudes.