All 27 WWE SummerSlam Opening Matches - Ranked
10. Val Venis Vs. D'Lo Brown - 1998
The European title isn’t really remembered with any great reverence. It served its purpose as a secondary midcard title, but it didn’t really catapult anyone to main event riches and immortality. There was one man however, one man who loved that title, won that title, and defended that title like a true champion. That man was D-Lo Brown. When I think European title, I think D-Lo Brown. Not just any D-Lo Brown though, I’m talking chest protector wearing, head-shaking, Frog splashing D-Lo Brown. SummerSlam 1998 saw the height of this D-Lo, and as such he was billed as residing in Helsinki, Finland. Brilliant.
Val Venis certainly wasn’t a slouch himself, and as such this is a decent fast passed Attitude Era match that I really quite enjoyed. The crowd is hot, which helps. D-Lo busts out the Texas Cloverleaf at one point, making my heart grow just a few sizes larger. The ending is terrible, as the ref accidentally knocks Val off the top leading to Mr. Venis throwing him across the ring. D-Lo retains his beloved European title through shady means.