Ranking The 26 WWE SummerSlam Main Events From Worst To Best
7. Shawn Michaels (c) vs. Vader (WWE Championship) - SummerSlam 1996
While it isnt Big Show vs. Rey Mysterio, the 1996 SummerSlam main event followed the big man vs. little man playbook to great effect. Shawn Michaels had to use his quickness to counter Vaders brute force, but he also had to contend with Vaders speed and agility. For a 450-pound man, Vader moved quite well. The match see-sawed for about 12 minutes until Vader seemingly won via countout. But seeing how the title doesnt change hands on a countout, Jim Cornette demanded a restart. Michaels then used Cornettes tennis racket and got disqualified, but against Cornette pleaded for the match to continue. The two exchanged and kicked out of each others finishers, but Vader got cute and missed a moonsault. Michaels moonsault press connected, however, and that was the difference. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7Qg9BOMx5U The backstory here is that Vader originally was booked to win here, but Michaels had a meltdown, leading to the two false finishes. Its a shame, as Vader would soon slide down the card and fade out of WWF within two years, having never tasted gold in the company.
6. The Undertaker vs. Edge (Hell In A Cell) - SummerSlam 2008
It wasnt all that long ago that Undertaker was more than just a special attraction at WrestleMania. Several years ago, he was putting on some quality matches at PPVs not held in 60,000-seat arenas. Witness 2008 SummerSlams Hell in a Cell against Edge. The Rated-R Superstar and the Deadman engaged in a fierce battle that also involved tables, ladders and chairs and given Edges participation in the match, is it really a surprise? They beat each other down using everything at their disposal, including a camera, only for Taker to spear Edge, hit a con-chair-to and end the match with a Tombstone Piledriver. Now that is how to definitively win a feud. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVWWQfs_CTA Unfortunately, that wasnt quite the end, as Undertaker decided to chokeslam Edge off a ladder and through the ring. Taker then used his supernatural powers to cause fire to burst from the hole in the ring, taking away from the seriousness of the victory and causing fans to focus more on the campy nature of the PPVs end. At least Edge wasnt burned by the fire. Kane already had the market cornered on that gimmick.
Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.
