If you’ve read this site or listened to the Voices of Wrestling podcast for any length of time you’ll know my love for two particular WWE PPVs: Royal Rumble and SummerSlam. The former has been mentioned numerous times but I’m a sucker for the Royal Rumble concept, the history behind it, the nuances and all that comes with it. I made that VERY obvious last year when I did the Rumble Rewind series of podcasts.
SummerSlam I love just as much but for all different reasons, some of which aren’t even wrestling related. My favorite time of the year is summer so I associate SummerSlam with pools, BBQs, being outside, playing basketball, baseball, hot dogs, all that good old Americana. SummerSlam typically comes at the end of Chicago’s summer season so while I’m upset that another awful winter is on the way, I use SummerSlam as a nice end point to a great summer season. On the wrestling end, I’ve always thought SummerSlam blew away both WrestleMania and Royal Rumble as the consistently best in-ring PPV offering from WWE.
Like the Intercontinental Title of yesteryear, SummerSlam felt to me like the clear second fiddle to WrestleMania but the working man’s PPV, the one where you saw more great in-ring matches and less spectacle. Without doing a ton of statistical work on the two, I can’t back it up, just my observation.
Another clear difference from WrestleMania and SummerSlam is the designation of a Mr. WrestleMania, or a WrestleMania moment. Each year we hear about BLANK wanting to get his WrestleMania moment, Mick Foley famously took a spear through a flaming table just to get HIS WrestleMania moment. Shawn Michaels is the go-to Mr. WrestleMania (at least by WWE lore), with others like Hulk Hogan and The Undertaker have claims to the title. Honestly, it’s Hulk Hogan, regardless of what precedent Michaels set in-ring. Hogan IS WrestleMania, WrestleMania was created for Hogan and without Hogan it doesn’t exist but hey, that’s an argument for another day. Anyway, with SummerSlam, WWE doesn’t attach the same amount of lore or history. There are no SummerSlam moments and more than that, there’s no “Mr. SummerSlam.” WWE.com put together a list this week but I feel it can be improved on and looked at a little harder. They did a good job, but I want to go in farther and see if we can officially name a “Mr. SummerSlam.” Let’s first look at the resume’s of our contenders:
Bret Hart
- SummerSlam Matches: 11
- SummerSlam Main Events: 3
Bret Hart is one of the more obvious candidates and my original pick before I started doing research. The body of work is tremendous, the in-ring work largely great and he has longevity to boot. With 11 total appearances and three main events, Hart solidifys himself as a top candidate. More than his appearances though, his in-ring work at SummerSlam may be unmatched. You have an all-time classic vs. Mr. Perfect at Madison Square Garden (SummerSlam 1991), a spectacular main event against British Bulldog at Wembley Stadium (also WWE’s largest crowd ever) and a top-tier cagematch against his brother Owen Hart at SummerSlam 1994.
Even his “worst” SummerSlam matches are still pretty damn awesome including his work in the SummerSlam 1997 main event against The Undertaker. I haven’t even mentioned his early Hart Foundation work alongside Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart battling the likes of Demolition and The Brainbusters.
It’ll be hard to knock Bret Hart off the top of this list, but let’s see.
Hulk Hogan
- SummerSlam Matches: 6
- SummerSlam Main Events: 4
I made the case earlier that Hogan should really be Mr. WrestleMania but you’d be hard-pressed to make the same argument for SummerSlam. Sure, he was in four main events out of his six total appereances but it’s hard to make an argument he was ever the focal point of those shows. Even in main events, he was tagging with Brutus or Savage and the undercard featured something we remember more fondly. SummerSlam is without the spectacle and pageantry of WrestleMania so mediocre Hogan matches stand out that much more.
I’d even argue his later SummerSlam work (against Shawn Michaels in 2005 and Randy Orton in 2006), give him a better case than any of his earlier work which bordered on mediocre to flat-out bad. Don’t believe me? Go watch Hogan & The Ultimate Warrior against Col. Mustafa, General Adnan & Sgt. Slaughter.
I feel quite confident in eliminating Hogan right now.
The Undertaker
- SummerSlam Matches: 15
- SummerSlam Main Events: 4
15 appearances…15~! I hope nobody questions why this guy is a god in the WWE Universe — 15! Anyway, with four main events under his belt and a solid body of work, The Undertaker definitely makes a claim here. A microcosm of The Undertaker’s career, there are some duds in there too. Most notably an awful run of matches from 1992-1995 (Kamala Giant Gonzales, The Fake Undertaker and Kama Mustafa) and 1999-2003 (with Big Show vs. Kane & X-Pac, Kane, with Kane vs. DDP & Kanyon Test and The A-Train). There are some blips along the way, a solid main event vs. Bret Hart in 1997, being apart of the highest drawing SummerSlam of all-time vs. Stone Cold in 1998 and an underrated 2004 matchup vs. John Bradshaw Layfield. His 2005 matchup with Randy Orton is nowhere near as good as their WrestleMania match but his final SummerSlam appearance in 2008 vs. Edge in a spectacular Hell in a Cell gives him a nice resume.
Regardless, I think Undertaker is out. He was in a LOT of SummerSlams but by and large, he was a bit player having bad matches with terrible wrestlers. He’s a WrestleMania legend but certainly leaves a lot to be desired for SummerSlam.
John Cena
- SummerSlam Matches: 10
- SummerSlam Main Events: 7
John Cena is an interesting case. It seems weird to say he has a chance at being Mr. SummerSlam but he really does with 10 appearances and a record seven main events. The problem, as it usually is with Cena, is the body of work isn’t great. There’s a few awesome matches in there including his 2013 matchup with Daniel Bryan and a criminally underrated match with Jericho in 2005. Other than that, not much of John Cena’s SummerSlam stands out. He had two SummerSlam main events against Randy Orton but I can’t remember a thing about either mach.
Cena had some solid matches with the likes of CM Punk (2011) and Edge (2006) but it’s hard to say he’s made himself synonymous with the event. Certainly the 2010 main event (Team WWE vs. The Nexus) didn’t help. Let’s not eliminate Cena just yet but it’s not looking good.
Randy Orton
- SummerSlam Matches: 9
- SummerSlam Main Events: 4
Randy Orton peaked early at SummerSlam participating in a main-event Elimination Chamber in 2003 and defeating Chris Benoit in 2004 for his first World Title. Then… like Orton is want to do, he fell into a pattern. 2005 and 2006 he had some solid matches with Hulk Hogan and The Undertaker but neither particularly stood out. He had back-to-back SummerSlam appearances facing John Cena (2007, 2009, did not participate in 2008), a Heavyweight Title match against Sheamus in 2010, a title win at the 2011 SummerSlam against Christian and of course a Money in the Bank cash-in against Daniel Bryan at SummerSlam 2013.
All told, Orton had five straight SummerSlam appearances revolving around the WWE Heavyweight Title (either defending or winning), two appearances involving the World Heavyweight Title and the other two against legends of the sport. The man has clearly made his mark on the SummerSlam PPV, but is it enough to be Mr. SummerSlam? Let’s see.
Brock Lesnar
- SummerSlam Matches: 4
- SummerSlam Main Events: 2
I didn’t think this would be the case and it’s not. Brock Lesnar has no business being Mr. SummerSlam despite having a few solid matchs at the PPV. His 2002 World Title victory against The Rock was his coming out party but the prolonged period away from WWE hurt any chance here. Move along.
Shawn Michaels
- SummerSlam Matches: 11
- SummerSlam Main Events: 3
He can’t be Mr. WrestleMania AND Mr. SummerSlam, can he?
This one is tricky, Shawn Michaels had a decent tag run alongside Marty Jannetty to start his SummerSlam career but fell into a bit of a rut including an awful double countout match against Rick Martel at SummerSlam 1992 and a forgettable match with Mr. Perfect in 1993 (also a countout!) Michaels put it all together in unbelievable fashion in his SummerSlam 1995 ladder match against Razor Ramon but failed to follow-up in 1996 with an awkward, weird and ultimately disappointing match against Vader. Then, of course, Michaels retired, came back and had an awesome SumemrSlam run starting in 2002 against Triple H, followed by a solid Elimination Chamber in 2003 and a good match against Hogan at SummerSlam 2005.
What really hurts Michaels is his last two SummerSlam appearances, both tag matches with Triple H as D-Generation X — one against Shane and Vince and another against Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase (remember Legacy?) Neither match was any good and it really puts a damper on what to that point, had been a solid SummerSlam resume.
Let’s keep him in the conversation but that Legacy stink is going to be hard to wash off.
Triple H
- SummerSlam Matches: 13
- SummerSlam Main Events: 4
I was surprised by how well Triple H graded out in this study. 13 appearances, four main events but a fairly important solid run of SummerSlam matches. His 1997 and 1998 appearances really set the bar high as his ‘97 Cage match versus Mankind was a lot of fun and although it hasn’t aged well, his Ladder Match versus The Rock at 1998 is still a classic. He hit some rough patches from 99-01 but recovered nicely in an all-time classic against Shawn Michaels in 2002.
Where Triple H gets dicey is an awful run from 2004-2009 including matches against Eugene, the aforementioned D-Generation X tag matches, a King Booker match-up and a WWE Heavyweight Title match against The Great Khali. None of these matches were particularly good and do some heavy damage to what was, in the early part of his career, a great resume. His No DQ match against Brock Lesnar in 2012, helps but it’s going to be an uphill battle for HHH.
Edge
- SummerSlam Matches: 10
- SummerSlam Main Events: 3
Here’s a sleeper and a guy I think has a legit chance at this. 10 total appearances, three main events and a ton of highlights. Let’s start with making his debut at SummerSlam (we’ll just ignore the match), a genre-changing TLC match at SummerSlam 2000, an Intercontinental Title win at 2001, a disappointing but well built match with Matt Hardy in 2005, a solid title match versus John Cena in 2006 and as previously mentioned, an awesome 2008 Hell in a Cell against The Undertaker.
Is it enough? I’m not sure, I’d like to think yes but we’re missing a prolonged period of main event dominance here. One of his main events is also Team WWE vs. The Nexus from 2010, so it’s really two “true” main events. With that said, there’s a nice body of in-ring work here. Do I think he’s a shoo-in? No, but should he stay in the conversation? Yeah, why not. Let’s keep him in for now.
Chris Jericho
- SummerSlam Matches: 9
- SummerSlam Main Events: 2
Another sleeper who I think ultimately falls short but has a good case — Chris Jericho. Chris was also a member of the shit-show Team WWE vs. Team Nexus 2010 main event so he only holds one true main events, another multi-man match (Elimination Chamber in 2003).
As with any look at Jericho, the body of in-ring work is great, starting with a solid 2-out-of-3 falls match against Benoit in 2001, a really underrated battle with Rhyno in 2001 and a solid but forgettable match in 2002 against Ric Flair. You then have the Elimination Chamber, a triple-threat IC Title match with Batista and Edge and a Heavyweight Title match with John Cena. It’s after this where it goes a bit off the rails. 2009 JeriShow (ugh, that name still makes me shiver) taking on Cryme Tyme, the previously mentioned abortion that was Team WWE vs. Nexus and a good but not great match against Dolph Ziggler in 2012.
So who is it?
I have it down to three guys: Randy Orton, John Cena and Bret Hart. Each have a compelling argument but for different reasons. Bret Hart may not have the amount of high-profile, main event level matches but it’s impossible to argue with the in-ring. Some of Hart’s best matches took place at SummerSlam’s, a ***** match against Bulldog in front of the WWE’s largest crowd ever — that’s a big deal to me.
Cena and Orton both have longevity on their side, participating in a number of big main events. I think Cena beats out Orton slightly because he’s frankly had been matches. Cena may not be the most consistent worker but as we’ve always said at Voices of Wrestling, when the dude has his working boots on, there’s not a lot of guys better. That was evident in matches like the 2013 main event versus Daniel Bryan and what I still consider a super-underrated match in 2005 versus Chris Jericho.
Regardless, the answer is easy and as I suspected: Bret Hart is Mr. SummerSlam. It’s impossible to argue with the body of work, the longevity and the fact that when you think SummerSlam, it’s hard not to think Bret Hart. It’s hard not to immediately go to Wembley Stadium, or Mr. Perfect’s frizzy hair in ‘91. That may be personal bias, but hey, it’s my article so live with it.
