10 Best WWE SummerSlam Moments Of The 90s

9. The First WWE Championship Match

Bret Hart British Bulldog SummerSlam 1992
WWE.com

While a tag title match was a common occurrence on the early SummerSlam cards, the first WWE Championship Match didn't come until 1990.

Up until this point, the Summer event had featured tag team main events, usually in an enhanced rematch of WrestleMania. In 1988, WWE presented The Mega Powers (Hulk Hogan & Randy Savage) Vs. The Mega Bucks (Andre The Giant & Virgil), and in '89 Hogan partnered with Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake to take on his WrestleMania V opponent, Randy Savage, and Zeus.

SummerSlam '90 featured not only the first WWE title defense in the show's history, but it was the first time the WWE Championship was defended on any "Big 4 PPV" besides WrestleMania. This raised the perception of SummerSlam now that it was worthy of featuring a WWE title match.

Unfortunately, the Ultimate Warrior/Ravishing Rick Rude WWE Championship Steel Cage Match was nothing groundbreaking and was a retread of their feud over the Intercontinental Title from the previous year.

The main event title defense did a lot for the event of SummerSlam now that WrestleMania wasn't the only show where fans could expect to see a WWE Title defense.

Contributor
Contributor

A former stuntman for Paramount Pictures, Matt enjoys sports, water skiing, driving fast, the beach, professional wrestling, technology, and scotch. At the same time, whenever possible. Having attended many famous (and infamous) shows including WrestleMania XV, In Your House: Mind Games, and the 1995 King of the Ring, Matt has been a lifelong professional sports and wrestling fan. Matt's been mentioned in numerous wrestling podcasts including the Steve Austin Show: Unleashed, Talk Is Jericho, and Something To Wrestle With Bruce Prichard. As a former countywide performer, Matt has been referred to as Mr. 300 for his amazing accomplishments in the world of amateur bowling. He is also the only man on record to have pitched back-to-back no hitters in the Veterans Stadium Wiffle Ball League of 2003.