Ranking The 26 WWE SummerSlam Main Events From Worst To Best
11. Stone Cold Steve Austin (c) vs. Triple H vs. Mankind (WWE Championship) - SummerSlam 1999
Take three of the biggest stars of the era and throw in one of the most renowned color commentators of all time (and the then-governor of the state hosting SummerSlam) and youve got the makings for a truly memorable night. Now have one of the most popular wrestlers on the roster winning the WWF Championship. Youve just hit a home run for the fans in attendance. Steve Austin, HHH and Mankind were no strangers to each other, and it showed in this triple threat title match. Unlike other special guest referees, having Jesse The Body Ventura fill the role added something special to the match. He wasnt another wrestler thrown in to further an angle (see Shawn Michaels in the Undertaker-Hart match two years earlier), nor was he a total outsider brought in to pop PPV buys (see Mike Tyson at WrestleMania XIV). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44v22XlUNe4 Mankind winning the title by pinning Austin (who was the biggest star in the company at that point) was a special moment, but he ultimately served to be a transitional champ, losing the belt to HHH the next night.
10. Triple H vs. Brock Lesnar - SummerSlam 2012
The goal here was an epic battle between the former UFC champ and The Game, and they almost delivered. Unlike Lesnars previous match against John Cena, the right man won. But also unlike his previous contest, this one lacked the same amount of brutality. Lesnar had broken HHHs arm a couple months earlier with a kimura lock, which set up this match. Brock focused on Hunters arm, while HHH took advantage of a shot to the stomach (with the corner of the announcers table), which aggravated (kayfabe) Lesnars legit stomach issues. After hitting each other with everything in their arsenal, HHH connected with a second Pedigree only to be suckered into a kimura lock that ended with another broken arm and a tapout victory. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Wx7X77Jem4 Of course, HHH would get his win back on a much bigger stage eight months later, but thats beside the point.
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.
