25 Best Wrestling PPVs Ever

15. WWE SummerSlam 2013

WrestleMania X Seven Poster
WWE.com

Best Match: CM Punk Vs. Brock Lesnar

Worst Match: Bray Wyatt Vs. Kane

Boasting two surefire Match Of The Year candidates, SummerSlam 2013 nonetheless got off to a rotten start. The entire mystique of the Wyatt Family was stripped away when the supposedly monstrous Luke Harper and Erick Rowan used a protective heat mat to run interference for their leader Bray Wyatt in the opening Ring Of Fire match against Kane. It served as a potent visual metaphor for the botched way in which the faction has been handled since their promising NXT run.

Alberto Del Rio and Christian soon unglued the crowd in a quietly thrilling World Heavyweight Title effort which, unfortunately (but understandably), has not lived long in the memory.

CM Punk and Lesnar, in contesting the latter's best ever WWE match, would have stolen any other show. Presented before Lesnar became the Night Mayor of Suplex City, it was so exquisitely put together, and so viscerally engaging, that the size difference added to and did not detract from its palpable realism.

That Bryan and Cena just about matched their efforts in a match which elegantly fused the traditional WWE story effort with puroresu Fighting Spirit influences is to their eternal credit. It was as if they had to live up to it.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!