10 SummerSlams That Were Better Than WrestleMania
6. SummerSlam '97
If there's a pattern forming thus far, it's that every other year WWE has struggled with their presentation of WrestleMania.
Continuing with that trend, WrestleMania 13 was not one of the company's best in spite of perhaps the greatest match in WrestleMania history between Bret Hart and Stone Cold Steve Austin. The historical significance of this match is legendary, but still, WrestleMania 13 was a one match show.
SummerSlam '97 set the stage for the upcoming Attitude Era by featuring many future headliners as they were just starting to hit their stride. The event was full of stipulations, a theme throughout the evening, and it was arguably the last hurrah of the awesome Hart Foundation faction of 1997.
SummerSlam's main event of Bret Hart vs. The Undertaker with Shawn Michaels as the guest referee was one of the few main events that actually delivered in the 10 year history of SummerSlam. An unfortunate yet memorable botch during the Intercontinental Championship match lead to a new champion in Steve Austin, and the old guard of the British Bulldog, Owen Hart, and Legion Of Doom gave way to a new regime of Triple H, Mankind, and The Rock.
WrestleMania 13's Submission Match cannot be topped, but SummerSlam '97 set a blazing pace for what was to come in the months and years ahead.