25 Greatest WWE SummerSlam Matches EVER

9. Jeff Hardy Vs CM Punk (SummerSlam 2009)

CM Punk Brock Lesnar
WWE.com

Wrestling in the penultimate match of his WWE career before his unlikely WrestleMania 33 return alongside brother Matt, Jeff Hardy put in a spellbinding shift against CM Punk in their powerful 'Tables, Ladders & Chairs' main event of SummerSlam 2009.

Fought under the company's PG directive, the action-packed affair featured a raft of wicked weapons shots as Punk dragged Hardy down to his vicious level in an effort to disable him long enough to climb the ladder and grab the gold.

Unfortunately, Jeff's devilry was his undoing. A jaw-dropping Swanton Bomb on the challenger through the Spanish announce table harmed him more than his opponent, allowing Punk to win a footrace up the ladder after scoring with pinpoint kicks to his injured ribs.

A cute lights off/lights on return of The Undertaker in the post-match was "send them home happy" moment following such a devastatingly cruel defeat.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 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. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, 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