10 Times WWE SummerSlam Was Better Than WrestleMania

2. SummerSlam 2013

John Cena Daniel Bryan SummerSlam 2013
WWE.com

Nothing - not even CM Punk Vs The Undertaker - at WrestleMania 29 was as good as John Cena and Daniel Bryan's WWE Championship main event at SummerSlam 2013. And nothing - not even CM Punk Vs The Undertaker - at WrestleMania 29 was as good as CM Punk's breathtaking battle with Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam 2013.

Is it really any wonder the crowd cheered for these two at the expense of Cena and Orton (again) at the end of the year?

'The Champ' really was exceptionally selfless in putting over Bryan the way he did here, with the match fusing NJPW influences with the rich tapestry of styles Bryan had gathered during the lengthy independent run that still hung over his WWE career. Though surely not the case, it was as if Cena submitted entirely to his Challenger's whims in the construction of the clash. Submitting to whims was the theme of Punk's rocket-fuelled brawl with Lesnar, with the match reaching an epic scale the 'Voice Of The Voiceless' had almost never been permitted to hit during his lengthy title reign a year prior.

As of writing, it remains his last true classic.

 
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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation for nearly 10 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 65,000,000 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 provided in-person coverage of some of the biggest pay-per-views and Premium Live Events in wrestling history, including WrestleMania, Survivor Series, All In & Double Or Nothing in destinations such as New York, New Jersey, Chicago, 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.