10 Highly Underrated WWE SummerSlam Matches

2. CM Punk Vs. JBL (2008)

Daniel Bryan SummerSlam 2011 backflip
WWE.com

It wasn't exactly the "Summer of Punk", and the World Heavyweight Champion's reign in 2008 felt secondary. He was still "spirited go-getter" Punk, and not the nuanced performer that he would become following his 2009 heel turn, but it was still quite nice to have somebody new in the World title scene.

JBL was halfway through his comeback run, and looked to be a lame duck opponent to boost Punk's lukewarm title reign. JBL was never really lauded for his work (which in some ways is a real shame), but the match with Punk proved quite enjoyable, telling a simple story and then putting the babyface over clean.

It was also probably JBL's best match after breaking his retirement in late-2007.

Contributor
Contributor

Justin has been a wrestling fan since 1989, and has been writing about it since 2009. Since 2014, Justin has been a features writer and interviewer for Fighting Spirit Magazine. Justin also writes for History of Wrestling, and is a contributing author to James Dixon's Titan series.