10 Biggest WWE Missed Opportunities In SummerSlam History

8. Yokozuna Retains The WWE Championship Against Lex Luger In 1993

In 1993, WWE was looking for the next Hulk Hogan and believed they had perhaps found him in Lex Luger. The former Horseman and NWA star had all the tools necessary to succeed on a high level in that role. He had a great look, he was in tremendous shape and he was someone that the fans could truly rally behind in the big match atmosphere. When Luger bodyslammed the gargantuan Yokozuna on the USS Intrepid, he found himself flying head first into that main event world. His actions on that aircraft carrier not only got him noticed, it also got him a WWE Championship match at SummerSlam. The company spent a lot of time and money hyping this championship match and at the time, it did seem that Luger was on his way to claiming the title of top guy. However, that was not to be as Yokozuna retained the belt. That left Luger to fight on his own and left him out of main event glory. There seems to be no good reason why Vince did not allow Luger to go over for the championship at SummerSlam. But according to interviews that Luger has done over the years, McMahon never approached him to replace Hogan or become WWE's new top guy. Luger also claims that he knew Yokozuna would keep the belt after SummerSlam because he was going to feud with The Undertaker. Despite what the company's reasoning was, the fact remained that Luger did not become WWE Champion at SummerSlam. For the fans that supported him and for the job that he did filling the spot formerly held by Hogan, the night may well have been a big missed opportunity.