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Summary
SummerSlamis every year one of the biggest night of the yr inWWE . The Biggest Party Of The Summer , in fact . AlongsideWrestleMania , theRoyal Rumble , andSurvivor Series , it form the original Big Four PLE event , and serves as perhaps the second - big show of the whole year behindWrestleManiaitself . As such , some of the greatest stories and biggest names have headlined the upshot .
The Main Event is dependent by being the batting order ’s final bout of the eve . The WWE may say " there are three master events " but , in realism and by dictionary definition alone , there is but one single Main Event for any given evening , and these are the best inSummerSlamhistory .
15The Ultimate Warrior vs Ravishing Rick Rude
WWE Championship Steel Cage Match - SummerSlam 1990
During the late ' fourscore and other ' XC , Ravishing Rick Rude ’s brash and aggressively seductive quality proved to be one of the most influential blackguard personas of all time . well-chosen to bait fellow and girlfriends alike with his pouting lips and spiral hips , whenWWE required someone to carry The Ultimate Warrior through his first PLE after vanquishing Hulk Hoganfor the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 6,Rude was the ideal nominee . tally in that iconic big aristocratic cage for a retro classic that evince why Rick Rude is a desirable Hall Of Famer .
do-or-die to make his shot tally and bleeding profusely from the head , Rick Rude incur a more coloured strain out of the splendidly one - dimensional Ultimate Warriorbut agonizingly came up short . The Ultimate Warrior pumped his munition to palpate the electricity before hit the Gorilla Press on the challenger and climbing out of the cage to victory .
Ultimate Warrior vs Rick Rude is the first match to happen at two sequential SummerSlams , after they battled for the Intercontinental Championship at SummerSlam 1989 .
14Brock Lesnar vs Samoa Joe vs Roman Reigns vs Braun Strowman
WWE Championship Fatal Four Way Match - SummerSlam 2017
A suitable newspaper headline match is often the earnings - off to a extended and pursue news report , but sometimes aSummerSlam Main Event can thrive on in - ring action and overall playfulness alone . SummerSlam 2017 is a demolition plug hat of various ( and enormous ) talent and a car clang bout that proves to be one such occasion . out of doors ofputting four of the crowing man in WWE inside a mob and letting them make hell , there is not much to be emotionally put in . However , thatdid not weaken the good times this Main Event cede .
After being launch through an announcer ’s table by Braun Strowman and make another one floor on top of him shortly after , champion Brock Lesnar was cart out of New York ’s Barclays Center on a copestone , go out the other three humans to duke things out . Only Brock was n’t finished as he reemerged later in the eventide and pinned Roman Reigns following an earth - rumble F5 . It ’s not a match that ’s ever going to win any accolades for grace and technical excellence , but for big silent play , this 8 - legged bash deserves its place in SummerSlam chronicle .
The first ever Fatal Four Way at SummerSlam happened in 1999 as humans , Triple H , Stone Cold Steve Austin , and The Big Show vie for the WWE Championship .
13Roman Reigns vs Brock Lesnar
WWE Championship Last Man Standing Match - SummerSlam 2022
The Bloodline was conceived and confirmed as WWE ’s hot property during the Covid Era , as Roman Reigns ' trial and tribulation with The Usos and his Wiseman , Paul Heyman , began a discharge that would cease in legend . One of the early marks of their quality came in the drama - fueled Last Man Standing Main Event of SummerSlam 2022 between Reigns and his long - ply enemy , Brock Lesnar . The Tribal Chief not only saw off Lesnar , he also overcame Austin Theory ’s Money In The Bank cash - into retain his title .
It may be hard to ideate that Brock Lesnar driving to the ring in a forklift truck before diving off of it onto the waiting Roman below is far from the gaga affair to happen in this match . Brock also went on touse the forklift in the compeer to tippytoe the ring onto one sidein an trope destined to be on WWE montages forever . It occupy a piling of two announcer ’s tabular array and a escape of ring footprint to keep Lesnar down as Roman continued his historic World Championship reign .
12Brock Lesnar vs The Undertaker
SummerSlam 2015
WhenBrock Lesnar broke The Undertaker ’s 21 - year winning bar by defeating him at WrestleMania 30 , the focus of the night was rightly on what is probably the most disgraceful moment in the history of WWE . That is a good thing because , with Taker suffering a concussion early into the match and receive to fight his room to its closing accordingly , the competition will not feature on either man ’s highlight bobbin . The first coming together of the two since that fateful evening occurred as the Main Event of SummerSlam 2015 and was much more entertaining .
There are multiple takes on the finish to the match in which The Undertaker low - blowed Lesnar before putting him to log Z’s in Hells Gate . On the surface , and from a forcible stand alone , it’sunsatisfactory to see a competition of this magnitude determined by something so subpar . But labour a little deeper , and you see the first admission from The Deadman that he is n’t able to compete at the top of the WWE any longer .
The Undertaker is arguably WWE ’s most legendary performing artist , but here ’s why he switched from being a zombie character to a biker for several years .
11The Rock vs Booker T
WCW World Heavyweight Championship - SummerSlam 2001
SummerSlam 2001 ’s Main Event between WWE legend and burgeoning Hollywood megastar , The Rock , and WCW Champion Booker T was one of the Invasion angle ’s good moment . More than that , ithelped to establish Booker with WWE ’s audienceto devastating effect .
The two whiz ' rivalry was largely based on The Rock mocking Booker T ’s wrestling stature compared to the enceinte One . As a blackguard Booker T fought severely to show everybody who had n’t escort his greatness in Harlem Heat , or singles rivalry in WCW , exactly who he is . The Rock scored triumph and the WCW Heavyweight Championship , turn a Spinneroonie into a Rock Bottom for the three numeration , butBooker T went on to become a deserved WWE Hall Of Famer who still works for the society today , as one of the unique voice in grapple , commentate for NXT .
Booker tonne was unable to overcome The Rock in four attempt in singles rival .
10CM Punk vs John Cena/CM Punk vs Alberto Del Rio
WWE Championship - SummerSlam 2011
And now , an model of howa human race - category peer with an emotionally indue consultation and a solid storylinecan all besoured by a screw-loose conclusion . After CM Punk win the cosmos ’s attention with the famous Pipe Bomb promo in Las Vegas and the riotous fit that greeted these two man when they headline Money In The Bank in Chicago , the crescendo of his contract bridge sign language saga occur to a school principal in a title - vs - title equal between Punk and John Cena to determine who sit at the top of the WWE food chain .
9Steve Austin vs The Undertaker
WWE Championship - SummerSlam 1998
One of the greatest build - ups in SummerSlam story came to a head in the main event at Madison Square Garden in 1998 , as Stone Cold Steve Austin battled The Undertaker for the WWE Championship . After week of self-abnegation and the erosion of Austin and Taker ’s tag - squad and their championship reign , Kane and The Undertaker became a team for the first meter . In the aftermath , Paul Bearer took a beating , and Vince McMahon took a chokeslam from Undertaker , but all eyes were on The Texas Rattlesnake at SummerSlam .
In 1998 , Steve Austin ’s every action was being greet by alive audiences like a prison house riot . Stone Cold ’s entrance have genuine glass shattering and a feral New York crowd . It demonstrate not every entrance need a billion - one dollar bill budget . The match echoed the aggression of those in attending . Austin come forth triumphant and The Undertaker show his nobility by handing Austin his form of address in frustration and keep his word in barring Kane from ringside . This is an Attitude Era essential .
8Shawn Michaels vs Hulk Hogan
Legend vs Icon - SummerSlam 2005
Thisridiculous show of the inherent silliness of WWEis an produce taste that require a little backstory . On the aerofoil , the build for this SummerSlam 2005 meeting of two WWE icons was very entertaining . Michaels mock Hogan in a fabled section duplicate US talk show royalty Larry King and rocked every workweek as the hound to Hogan ’s usual red - and - yellow fare . It ’s alleged that WWE wanted to keep Michaels ’ red - hot face run going and pit the two as legends square off , but Hogan requested Michaels turn heel . At best , it made the match less special . In realism , it appearedHogan was distressed rooter would prefer Michaels .
HBK found his own unequalled means of dealing with The Hulkster ’s politicking , with Michaels prefer to oversell every offense from his resister on the night itself , with every punch being greeted was like HBK was being struck in the face by an incoming shooting star . Hogan might have scored the triumph in the mates , the only encounter between the two human beings , butShawn ’s operation leaves a fabled footprint on SummerSlam incessantly .
7The Rock vs Brock Lesnar
WWE Undisputed Championship - SummerSlam 2002
Most blowtorch - passing instant happen in WWE via storylineand knowing guidance of narrative , but some changing - of - the - guard occurrences happen organically . That is what happened when The Rock run into the freight train - like momentum of Brock Lesnar . The lives of the two human being had very different focusing in 2002 , one acting on the openhanded screen and undertake to capture Hollywood , while the other attempted to capture WWE . As if to enforce the compass point that reputation does n’t count , a 25 - class - sure-enough Lesnar left Hulk Hogan bloodied and mortify as part of the material body for this Main Event between the accomplished status quo and The Next bragging Thing at SummerSlam 2002 .
The hearing ’s reactions also tell its own story during the Main Event . There wasa guttural response from the New York attendance to all of Lesnar ’s crime , hearable “ Rocky Sucks ” chants could be heard on camera , and collective euphoria at Lesnar ’s victory , winning the Undisputed WWE Championship for the first clock time shows just where the global hearing ’s emotion was at in the Summer of 2002 . The Attitude Era was formally over . Brock Lesnar had arrived .
This remains the only singles equal to take place between The Rock and Brock Lesnar .
Rick Rude Ultimate Warrior in a steel cage SummerSlam 1990
6John Cena vs Brock Lesnar
WWE Championship - SummerSlam 2014
The most lurid Main Event in the chronicle of SummerSlam . John Cena vs Brock Lesnar has a strong claim to be the one with the longest - lasting impact . Over the course of his famed life history , John Cena had become arguably the most predominant maven to ever compete in WWE . Over the course of study of one August evening in Los Angeles , Brock Lesnar cease that geological era by tear down the WWE Champion in the Summer of 2014 .
Brock Lesnar suplexed Cena sixteen timesin what was essentially an uncomfortable sixteen - minute squash mates . The audience fell more into shock with every passing cutaway drawing . It remains the most vicious beating of John Cena ’s calling and a shocking lookout man to this day . If the joke was always that John Cena wins in the end , this evening changed the punchline forever and a day .
Roman Reigns Brock Lesnar Samoa Joe and Braun Strowman SummerSlam 2017 Fatal Four Way
