Ranking The 26 WWE SummerSlam Main Events From Worst To Best
23. Hulk Hogan & Ultimate Warrior vs. Sgt. Slaughter, General Adnan & Col. Mustafa - SummerSlam 1991
If we counted the wedding of Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth as the main event, 1991 SummerSlams entry would rank much higher. But alas, this was the wrestling main event, pitting WWF champ Hulk Hogan and former champ Ultimate Warrior against former champ Sgt. Slaughter and his two managers, General Adnan and Col. Mustafa (better known as the Iron Sheik). Considering the heel side consisted of 52-year-old Adnan, 49-year-old Mustafa and a spry 42-year-old Slaughter, was anyone giving them a chance? Who thought this was going to be a good match? Hogan had already dispatched of Slaughter and his Iraqi flag-waving buddies at WrestleMania VII. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apkaxto6nyQ Needless to say, this one goes on the scrap heap.
22. Hulk Hogan vs. Shawn Michaels - SummerSlam 2005
Yep, its that match. Although it was billed as Icon vs. Icon, it ended up being Ego vs. Ego. Hulk Hogan and Shawn Michaels finally met in singles action, fueled by an awesome heel turn by HBK (which disappeared as quickly as it came about). Originally envisioned as multiple matches, Hogan balked at losing, which led Michaels to stage his own version of a protest: overselling nearly every power move in the match. Michaels bounced like the proverbial pinball for Hogan, to comical effect. He somersaulted backward out of the ring off a shoulderblock and proceeded to sell Hogans 80s offense like he was being shot. The highlight (or is it lowlight?) was Michaels popping up after Hogans big boot, flailing around in a circle before collapsing in position for the legdrop. Bad match, tremendous trainwreck. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gf4LsjwAWho The next night, Hogan was gone, Michaels turned back to face, and everyone just moved on.
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.
