Ranking The 26 WWE SummerSlam Main Events From Worst To Best
3. John Cena (c) vs. CM Punk (c) (WWE Championship) - SummerSlam 2011
While ranking many of these matches was difficult at times, the top three never really was in doubt. And the order of the matches really comes down to personal preference. The Summer of Punk should have been a major money angle stretched out over multiple months, drawing in fans and building momentum (sorry for the Michael Cole reference) to its unavoidable conclusion: a match between two anointed champs, John Cena and C.M. Punk. What WWE gave us was all of that a newly crowned champ departing with the belt; champ taunting WWE; tournament for a new champ; WWE crowns a new champ; old champ returns, faces off against new champ; champ vs. champ match to determine the One True Champ all in one month. Putting the rushed nature of the storyline aside, this was an incredible match, pitting Punk who had won the title at Money in the Bank and subsequently left WWE against Cena, who had beaten Rey Mysterio for a new WWE Championship after Mysterio had won a tournament. Punk and Cena have freakish chemistry together. Their MITB matchup was a barn-burner, and this one equally had fans on the edge of their seats: Would Cena do what he always does and Rise Above a Challenger, or would Punk complete his transformation into a new top star? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frPkhgnepLg Punk would win the classic battle, but a Kevin Nash powerbomb would cut the celebration (and reign) short, and Alberto Del Rio would cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase to win the title. Del Rio and Cena would trade the title back and forth for the next three months before Punk would reclaim his belt and launch a 434-day reign that will probably stand as longest reign of the modern era for a long time.
2. Bret Hart (c) vs. British Bulldog (WWF Intercontinental Championship) - SummerSlam 1992
This is the definition of a home field advantage. SummerSlam in 1992 emanated from Wembley Stadium in London, England, and the main event pitted Intercontinental Champion Bret The Hitman Hart against challenger The British Bulldog Davey Boy Smith. The match also carried the intrigue of Hart and Smith being brothers-in-law (Davey Boy was married to Brets sister), adding even more depth than a title and fighting on your home countrys soil. Then theres the match itself, which is by all definitions a classic contest. Bulldogs power against Hart the ring tactician was a great combination, with the two trading moves before a rabid, pro-Bulldog crowd. The finish Hart going for a sunset flip and Bulldog clasping the legs and sitting down for the pin is a visually iconic one in 90s WWF. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PERWVUbopt0 Despite Brets story about how Bulldog was blown up five minutes into the match and had to be carried the rest of the way, this is still a fantastic main event that sent fans home happy and showcased the best WWF had to offer.
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.
