Ranking All 29 WWE SummerSlam Main Events Ever
8. Shawn Michaels Vs. Vader (1996)
While it isn’t 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 Vader’s brute force,
but he also had to contend with Vader’s 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 doesn’t change hands on a countout, Jim Cornette demanded a restart. Michaels then used Cornette’s tennis racket and got disqualified, but against Cornette pleaded for the match to continue. The two exchanged and kicked out of each other’s finishers, but Vader got cute and missed a moonsault. Michaels’ moonsault press connected, however, and that was the difference.
The backstory here is that Vader originally was
booked to win here, but Michaels had a meltdown, leading to the two false
finishes. It’s 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.