Ranking All 30 WWE SummerSlam Main Events

17. 2004 – Benoit (C) Vs. Orton

Randy Orton Headlock Chris Benoit SummerSlam 2004
WWE

This would be the first failed attempt to push Randy Orton as the savior and face of the WWE.

After improbably winning the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania XX, Chris Benoit would see his title reign end after five months in a hard-fought battle. Orton had lost his Intercontinental Championship the previous month, then won a battle royal to become No. 1 contender for the belt.

The story during the match was Orton staying with and matching Benoit, who brought his usual aggressive style to the fight. In the end, Orton won and Benoit shook his hand. The next night, Evolution would kick Orton out of the group in an attempt to launch Randy into the stratosphere as a babyface champ. That effort lasted all of four weeks, before Orton lost his title to HHH.

But don’t worry, Orton would get a few more world title reigns.

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.