WWE SummerSlam 2015: Most Underrated Matches in Event's History

Anytime a pay-per-view has the lineage that SummerSlam does, there are bound to be matches that are overshadowed by the more memorable and classic bouts the event has produced.

That is certainly the case with the summertime spectacular, which has been home to all-time great bouts the likes of Bret Hart vs. British Bulldog from 1992, Triple H vs. The Rock from 1998, TLC II in 2000 and Shawn Michaels vs. Triple H in 2002.

With memorable bouts the likes of those, it is only natural that the performances of Superstars further down the card would go forgotten or underappreciated by fans and analysts alike.

Until now, that is.

The history of the annual August extravaganza is rich with bouts featuring some of the most talented performers ever to compete in WWE. From Owen Hart to Rick Martel, the Steiner Brothers to Christian, the show is ripe with hidden gems that every fan should check out.

What better way to get prepped for the 2015 edition of the event, and what are sure to be a few future underrated classics, than by reliving these 10 matches that helped establish SummerSlam as one of WWE's premiere events?

10. Divas Championship Match: Paige vs. AJ Lee (2014)

Credit: WWE.com

The small amount of time that Paige and AJ Lee had for their Divas Championship match at SummerSlam 2014 did not deter the workers from delivering a quality match that proved the talent each woman possessed.

Lee entered the contest as the titleholder, while Paige was determined to wrest the title away and become a two-time Divas champion.

The Brit unleashed with ferocity on her opponent, delivering a series of knees to the face. AJ fought back, delivering a clothesline from the top rope to the arena floor and a Shining Wizard back inside the squared circle.

In a cool spot, AJ reversed the Paige Turner into the Black Widow and nearly retained her title via submission.

But Paige fought out, delivering the Ram-Paige for the win and the title.

Though both women had better matches together and with other opponents, it was an underrated gem from what was an excellent pay-per-view event.

9. Shawn Michaels vs. Rick Martel (1992)

The match between Shawn Michaels and Rick Martel at the 1992 SummerSlam was one built on the infatuation both Superstars had with valet Sensational Sherri. The Hall of Fame manager and wrestler had become smitten with Martel, despite seconding Michaels, leading to jealousy between the two competitors.

Though they were both heels, they would meet in one of the more important midcard bouts of the night.

With the stipulation that neither could punch each other in the face, thus preserving their good looks, Michaels and Martel delivered a match unlike any that fans had seen before. They also proved that two skilled professionals could wrestle a compelling bout without throwing the overused strike. 

The involvement of Sherri and her antics at ringside added to the match, rather than taking away from it, and the lack of a definitive finish allowed both competitors to maintain their heat.

While other contests of this sort may be found guilty of being overbooked, this was done to perfection.

That Sherri is such a pro's pro and understood psychology and when to (and not to) do certain things helped the match evolve. More importantly, her performance added heat to what could have been an otherwise ugly heel vs. heel bout.

8. Lion's Den Match: Ken Shamrock vs. Owen Hart (1998)

The rivalry between The Nation's Owen Hart and Ken Shamrock was one of the more underrated of 1998, a year that saw WWE rise to new heights in popularity. With the Attitude Era in full effect, and edgy and controversial programming all the rage, the feud between Hart and Shamrock was more old school in nature.

Hart had turned on Shamrock months earlier, then defeated the former UFC champion in controversial fashion in a Dungeon match, using a dumbbell to knock him unconscious. With their feud at its peak, the first-ever Lion's Den bout was booked for SummerSlam.

Resembling the UFC's Octagon, the Lion's Den was Shamrock's playground and played to his strengths. But that did not stop Hart from getting his offense in. At one point, he trapped his opponent in the Sharpshooter, forcing Shamrock to claw his way to, and up, the cage to break the hold.

The World's Most Dangerous Man would apply the ankle lock for the tapout victory.

The match was completely unique, the first of its kind, and the performances of the two men involved helped establish it. 

7. Intercontinental and European Title Match: D'Lo Brown vs. Jeff Jarrett (1999)

The opening contest of SummerSlam 1999 featured Jeff Jarrett attempting to wrest the Intercontinental and European championships away from D'Lo Brown, who had benefited from interference by actor Ben Stiller to win the former title away from the Tennessean weeks earlier on Raw.

Friction between Jarrett and valet Debra appeared to come to a head prior to the bout, as the leggy blonde stomped off to the back, then reappeared with Brown, seemingly supporting the double champion.

But as fans would soon find out, it was a ploy.

A really solid wrestling match ensued between the workers, with Brown on his way to victory. Then, a distraction by Debra and the interference of Mark Henry, longtime friend of the titleholder, worked against Brown. Henry blasted him with a guitar, shocking the fans in Minneapolis and allowing Jarrett to pick up the victory.

It was a great, hot way to kick off the event.

For the second year in a row, Brown proved himself to be one of the more underappreciated stars of the Attitude Era. 

6. Intercontinental Title Match: Rob Van Dam vs. Chris Benoit (2002)

The brand war of 2002 was intensified over the summer when SmackDown's Chris Benoit defeated Raw's Rob Van Dam for the WWE Intercontinental Championship. Their match on the Monday night broadcast was absolutely fantastic, and it only made sense to stage the rematch on one of the biggest shows of the year.

Their styles meshed so well, Benoit using his targeted attack to work over Van Dam's arm. A technically sound wrestler, he brought the traditional work rate while Van Dam exploded with his flashy, unorthodox offense.

The Five Star Frog Splash earned Van Dam his third reign with the title and sent Benoit back to SmackDown, where he would go on to be an intricate part of the SmackDown Six.

The only knock about this one was the way that Benoit worked over Van Dam's arm, only to have the entire middle portion of the bout be inconsequential by the time it reached its finale.

Why go to that length to set something up, only to not pay it off?

It was a disappointing development from one of the best workers in the industry and his opponent, who is among the best sellers in the business.

5. WWE Tag Team Title Match: The Steiner Brothers vs. the Heavenly Bodies (1993)

There may be no tag team in WWE history more underrated and undervalued than The Heavenly Bodies. The team of "Gigolo" Jimmy Del Ray and "Doctor" Tom Prichard arrived in the company in 1993, part of an agreement with manager Jim Cornette's Smoky Mountain Wrestling, and immediately set their sights on the WWE Tag Team Championships.

At SummerSlam, they would battle Rick and Scott Steiner for the gold in a match that demonstrated just how talented a team the Bodies were, and just how fantastic their chemistry with the Steiners would be.

The challengers isolated Scott, wearing the bigger of the champions down with some quality double-teaming and heel psychology. A hot tag to Rick, though, turned the tables in favor of the babyfaces. The fans in Detroit, the Steiners' hometown, erupted and watched as Scott picked up the win with the Frankensteiner.

The Steiner Brothers had several outstanding matches during their short stint in WWE, but few were as rewarding as this one. With their mother and sister watching from the front row, they turned in a fantastic performance in front of their most loyal hometown fans, retaining their titles and continuing to stake their claim to the title of best tag team in wrestling. 

4. Tatanka and Smoking Gunns vs. Headshrinkers and Bam Bam Bigelow (1993)

The Six-Man Tag Team bout pitting Tatanka and the Smoking Gunns against the Headshrinkers and Bam Bam Bigelow in 1993 felt very much like an excuse to get all six men onto the card. There was no real defined issue between any of those involved, intensifying that feeling.

By night's end, though, the contest would go a long way in solidifying the reputation of that year's event as one of the better SummerSlam events in company history.

Like the six-man tag that preceded it years earlier, this match was an action-packed affair that saw all six Superstars get their signature stuff in while also changing up the typical tag team formula. The hot tag to Tatanka late in the bout should have signaled the babyface comeback, leading to the finish.

Instead, Bigelow cut him off with an enziguri from out of nowhere. An attempt by all three heels to deliver simultaneous head-butts failed, and the Native American Superstar scored a roll-up for the pinfall victory.

After a horrendous match between Undertaker and Giant Gonzalez, this was exactly what fans needed to get back into the action. In fact, it would serve as one of the night's best matches and set the table beautifully for the night's main event between Lex Luger and Yokozuna.

3. World Heavyweight Title Match: Christian vs. Alberto Del Rio (2013)

Christian and Alberto Del Rio had history entering the 2013 SummerSlam event. Two years earlier, it was Captain Charisma who defeated the Mexican aristocrat at Extreme Rules to win his first world championship in WWE. Now, he was attempting to capture another title at the expense of Del Rio.

The ensuing match was a masterclass in hold and counter-hold.

Champion and challenger repeatedly countered each other's signature holds and maneuvers, leaving fans to guess which one would finally deliver the blow that would put the other down. Christian slid out of Del Rio's arm breaker submission and the champion escaped the Killswitch.

But the challenger was unable to worm his way out the armbreaker every time, falling prey to the the submission hold and tapping out.

The contest was the last really great match of Captain Charisma's career and another brilliant one in what was a banner year for Del Rio. 

2. Best 2-out-of-3 Falls: The Hart Foundation vs. Demolition (1991)

One of tag team wrestling's premiere rivalries in the 1980s was that between The Hart Foundation and Demolition. Beginning in 1988, the program featured two of the best teams in WWE history battling it out for the top prize in tag team wrestling.

The inaugural SummerSlam saw Ax and Smash defeat Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart in a very good match. When both teams were babyfaces in 1989, they were kept apart, leaving fans longing for the outstanding tag team action they had witnessed when they last locked horns.

Those fans got their wish when the bruising Demolition returned to their heel ways, Ax replaced by newcomer Crush.

At the 1990 SummerSlam, The Hart Foundation would have their chance to wrest the tag titles away from their rivals and, in the process, put an end to their reign of dominance over the tag team division.

The program came to an end in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match that saw each team score one fall, leading to a dramatic third and final fall.

Just as it appeared as though the numbers game would aid Demolition to another victory, Ax interfering in an attempt to help his two partners retain their titles, the Legion of Doom appeared. The distraction they caused allowed Neidhart to deliver a big shoulder block and Hart to score the win, and the titles, off a cradle.

It was a brilliant bit of booking, an even better match and the end of Demolition's run as fans had known it.

1. The Rockers and Tito Santana vs. the Rougeau Brothers and Rick Martel (1989)

The 1989 SummerSlam event was an underrated show, its legacy forever altered because of the dismal main event featuring actor-turned-wrestler Zeus. But the undercard is full of hidden gems, including a Six-Man Tag Team bout that brought together a handful of the most talented workers on the roster, as well as two quality rivalries for an energetic contest.

The rivalry between Rick Martel and Tito Santana was one of the more personal ones of the year, with the latter trying to avenge the shocking betrayal by his former Tag Team Championship partner.

The Rockers and the Rougeau Brothers had engaged in a program that had seen the two teams steal many a show in arenas across the country, the technical wrestling of the French Canadians meshing well with the speed, agility and high-flying offense of Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty.

Their contest at the second SummerSlam was an action-packed contest the showcased all six competitors to perfection. The interactions were outstanding, the sequencing nearly perfect and the finish put even more heat on the heels, which is exactly what needed to happen at this point in both feuds.

Jannetty scored a roll-up on Jacques Rougeau, but Martel intervened just in time, blasting the babyface and scoring the victory for his team.

It was a classic tag bout that has gone underrated and underappreciated in the wake of other classic bouts such as Bret Hart's IC title win over Mr. Perfect, the Boiler Room Brawl between Undertaker and Mankind in 1996, and CM Punk's gutsy performance against Brock Lesnar in 2013, among others.