Ranking All 29 WWE SummerSlam Main Events Ever

13. Stone Cold Vs. Triple H Vs. Mankind (1999)

Edge John Cena SummerSlam
WWE.com

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 you’ve got the makings for a truly memorable night. Now have one of the most popular wrestlers on the roster winning the WWF Championship. You’ve 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 wasn’t 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).

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.

Contributor
Contributor

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.