WWE Summerslam - Ranking the 5 Best Editions in the History of the Event
With more than half a dozen match already in place merely two weeks after their last pay per view outing, WWE is leaving no stone unturned during the build-up of their second biggest show of the year - Summerslam.
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As one of the Big-4 Events, Summerslam is usually the place where rivalries either begin or they cease to exist, and it paves way for the WWE's autumn season.
However, this year's edition is not shaping up as something that a hardcore wrestling fan would love to watch. Roman Reigns is again getting a shot at Brock Lesnar's Universal Title, a match that is guaranteed to bomb big time, ahead of other deserving candidates in a match that will again take the main event spot ahead of the more interesting dream WWE Title contest between AJ Styles and Samoa Joe.
Marquee matches usually tend to impact the overall show in more ways than any other match, and, although other matches also tend to impact the show's overall performance, their failure can lead to overall fall of the show. In the past, WWE has presented 30 Summerslam events, some of which are still rated both among the best and the worst pay per views ever produced by WWE.
Since it would be a curse to concentrate on the bad, we will only keep our mind and attention on the good stuff. Here are the 5 best editions in the history of WWE Summerslam.
Honorable Mentions
Summerslam 1998
This event is remembered for two matches, and two matches only. While the main event between Undertaker and Steve Austin for the WWF Title for a fun affair, the title for the match of the night went to that crazy ladder match between The Rock and Triple H for the Intercontinental Title.
The two future World Champions wrestled one of the most memorable matches for the secondary title in that period and brought legitimacy back to the title. Elsewhere, Jeff Jarrett lost his long locks in a match against X-Pac while Ken Shamrock and Owen Hart had a surprisingly Lion's Den contest.
Summerslam 2015
Had it not been for the screwy finish of both the marquee matches, this edition would have been ranked among the top 3 for sure. While the clash between Undertaker and Brock Lesnar was a stunning good ol' brawl, the title vs title clash between John Cena and Seth Rollins was the epitome of the type of matches that Cena had during that memorable period.
This event is also memorable for New Day started their historic title reign with a victory at Summerslam 2015, and for the underrated performances by the likes of Cesaro, Kevin Owens, Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns in various matches.
Summerslam 2017
The most recent Summerslam was probably one of the most complex editions in the history of the event. Two of the best matches on the card were on the pre-show, and the main show was a rather dull affair till the last 4 matches on the card. Ambrose and Rollins reached the culmination of their reunion to win the Tag Titles, while AJ Styles and Kevin Owens wrestled the best match of their overall disappointing rivalry for the United States Title.
Even though the WWE Title match sunk big time due to the clumsy in-ring work by Jinder Mahal, the crazy and violent main event for the Universal Title made up for that disaster as Brock Lesnar, Braun Strowman, Roman Reigns and Samoa Joe wrestled one of the most compelling World Title matches in the history of Summerslam.