10 Times WWE SummerSlam Was Better Than WrestleMania

4. SummerSlam 2009

Chris Jericho AJ Styles John Cena
WWE.com

WrestleMania 25 was f*cking awful.

WrestleMania 25 was so bad that it contained what some consider to be the single greatest wrestling match ever, and still found a way to be one of the dullest and more depressing entries in the 'Show Of Shows' occasionally rich legacy.

That's not to undermine SummerSlam 2009 entirely, but the show only needed a smattering of great moments to outperform its older brother that year. And a smattering was exactly what it provided.

CM Punk's TLC main event with Jeff Hardy had an earned bloodthirstiness about it as 'The Charismatic Enigma' hurtled towards the end of his main event singles run in grisly fashion. The Undertaker's post-match arrival was a treat, as was a better-than-you'd-think Tag Title clash between Jeri-Show and Cryme Tyme.

DX Vs Legacy went long because of course it did, but this was far from a complete burial of Cody Rhodes and Ted Dibiase. On the mid-2000s Triple H and Shawn Michaels curve, that squeaks a passing grade, with their feud in general broadly over-delivering on extremely measured expectations.

 
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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett