10 Greatest WWE SummerSlam PPVs Ever
5. 1998
Entering the top five and we’re heading back to the ‘90s,
with a show that benefited from falling slap bang in the middle of one of the
company’s most prosperous periods.
SummerSlam 1998 was headlined by the titanic clash between Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Undertaker for the WWE Championship, but arguably the best match on the card was the one that preceded the main event.
Triple H and the Rock built on the earlier success of Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon as they continued SummerSlam’s storied affiliation with the Ladder match. The two future Hall of Famers put on an excellent 25-minute display as they gave us a glimpse of the company’s not-too-distant future.
Prior to that, Attitude Era shenanigans had been in full flow, as we’d seen the debut of Ken Shamrock’s Lion’s Den match and a fun battle between the New Age Outlaws and Mankind - which ended with Mankind being tossed in a dumpster, only to find Kane already awaiting his arrival and greeting him with a sledgehammer. Kane, by the way, was supposed to be Mankind’s tag team partner. Go figure.
Oh, and this one also benefited from being staged in the company’s (and the PPV’s) spiritual home of Madison Square Garden, making for a great all-round display.