25 Greatest WWE SummerSlam Matches EVER

4. The Rock Vs Triple H (SummerSlam 1998)

CM Punk Brock Lesnar
WWE.com

Triple H and The Rock expertly used their Madison Square Garden masterpiece to announce their intentions to dominate the future of the industry. Both succeeded in their stated aim.

In defeat, 'The Great One' couldn't have looked more poised to break out as the biggest threat to Stone Cold Steve Austin's spot atop the company and industry at large. Ultra-charismatic and becoming too cool to be crucified by the audience that once despised him, Rock was still just enough of a heel to make Hunter's climactic grasp for the strap a cathartic moment for the D-Generation-X leader.

Meshing magnificently as they had before and would many many times in the future, the pair battered one another with the ladder in an Attitude Era rendering of prior classics. Rock was particularly devastating, gleefully enjoying his work as he sought not just to retain his title but to definitively defeat D-Generation-X as leader of The Nation Of Domination. Hunter's snatching of the strap may have ostensibly signalled victory for the degenerate quintet - but Rock and Hunter were both major winners on the night.

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