Summerslam 2005 was one of the best examples of how the Biggest Party of the Summer can and should be built in a similar fashion to WrestleMania. Despite numerous PPVs to get through before Summerslam that year, WWE started hyping the August event two months in advance, directly, and right after Wrestlemania, indirectly. Seeds were planted for the Legend vs. Icon match between Shawn Michaels and Hulk Hogan after HBK asked the Hulkster to come back for one more match to help him fend off that years version of the anti-USA gimmick. In reality, Hogan needed to test out his new hip. Since he worked at Backlash and got through it, they had him come back from time-to-time to wrestle on Raw. It was after one such occurrence when HBK clocked Hogan with Sweet Chin Music and began his brilliant, albeit brief, 2005 heel turn. The HBK-Hogan hype featured numerous classic HBK segments; including the spoof of Larry Kings show where Michaels hilariously impersonated Hogan and the final Raw before the show emanating from Canada where he tapped into his 1997 self and channeled some old aggression toward Bret Hart. The match was an unquestionable Summerslam classic. HBK bumped around like it was 1992. Because Hogan was so immobile, the match relied on Michaels to do virtually all of the work and he delivered what was one of his most underrated performances. They told a good story, Hogan bled buckets, and Michaels carried the way to a great match. Did HBK oversell? Surely, but it made, rather than took away, from that match.
"The Doc" Chad Matthews has written wrestling columns for over a decade. A physician by trade, Matthews began writing about wrestling as a hobby, but it became a passion. After 30 years as a wrestling fan, "The Doc" gives an unmatched analytical perspective on pro wrestling in the modern era. He is a long-time columnist for Lordsofpain.net and hosts a weekly podcast on the LOP Radio Network called "The Doc Says." His first book - The WrestleMania Era: The Book of Sports Entertainment - ranks the Top 90 wrestlers from 1983 to present day, was originally published in December 2013, and is now in its third edition.
Matthews lives in North Carolina with his wife, two kids, and two dogs.
