Ranking Best Intercontinental Championship Matches in WWE SummerSlam History
Since 1988, the grand stage of SummerSlam has hosted some of WWE's most monumental matchups. The event is known for instant classics such as John Cena vs. Daniel Bryan, The Rock vs. Brock Lesnar, Bret Hart vs. The Undertaker and many more.
However, it seems as if the Intercontinental Championship matches have almost always stolen the show.
Of SummerSlam's 27 installments, the Intercontinental title has been defended at 21 of them. Whether it opened the night or was contested for in the main event, the prestigious prize has been an integral part of the pay-per-view's illustriousness over the last three decades.
From The Rock to Shawn Michaels, some of WWE's most legendary competitors have contended for the decorated title at one point or another at SummerSlam. In an interesting tidbit of trivia, at least one of the combatants in each of the following bouts had already been world champion or went on to capture a world title.
With Ryback putting the belt up for grabs in a Triple Threat match against Big Show and The Miz this Sunday at SummerSlam, where will it rank against some of these other summer spectacles contested over the Intercontinental title in years past?
10. The Miz vs. Dolph Ziggler: SummerSlam 2014
1 of 10
After taking a leave of absence from WWE programming for several months, The Miz returned to Raw on the June 30, 2014, episode and announced his intentions to regain gold. It didn't take long for him to follow through on that promise, either, as he went on to win the vacant Intercontinental Championship at July's Battleground pay-per-view.
The very next night on Raw, Dolph Ziggler beat Miz in non-title action to earn himself a shot at the championship at SummerSlam. The feud itself was nothing to note, but the match exceeded any and all expectations fans had set for it going into the event.
Miz and Ziggler have always had incredible chemistry together, and that shined through when they opened SummerSlam 2014. Miz, for all the flack he gets for not being a polished wrestler, proved on this night he could hang with the best of them in his outing against Ziggler.
As the self-proclaimed Hollywood A-lister, Miz was the perfect foil for Ziggler, who the crowd was solidly behind throughout the bout. For nearly a year, he had come close to catching fire before falling short of winning the big one, so fans had their guards up for a Miz victory.
Despite that, the bleached-blonde Superstar shocked the world when he trumped Miz to clinch his second Intercontinental Championship in three years. It was a great way to kick off what was a critically acclaimed SummerSlam event.
9. Rey Mysterio vs. Dolph Ziggler: SummerSlam 2009
2 of 10
Not long after he was introducing himself to random wrestlers backstage, Dolph Ziggler was sent packing to the SmackDown brand in the 2009 WWE Draft where he started to make a name for himself. Almost immediately upon his arrival on the blue brand, he set his sights on the Intercontinental Championship and triggered a rivalry with Rey Mysterio.
In a matter of weeks, Ziggler went from competing in squash matches against Jimmy Wang Yang to contending for one of the company's most prestigious prizes against a legendary competitor. He may not have stood a chance of winning in the eyes of the fans at first, but after his amazing showing at Night of Champions, he solidified himself as a star on the rise.
At SummerSlam, the two clashed in a rematch with the Intercontinental Championship up for grabs, and once again Ziggler proved his worth as a wrestler. On several occasions did he come close to capturing the strap with suspenseful near-falls, only for Mysterio to valiantly kick out at the last possible second.
The Los Angeles crowd was red hot for the back-and-forth action as the two competitors pulled everything out of their respective arsenals to put the other away. Mysterio was barely able to inch out the win and retain his title, landing a top rope hurricanrana and putting the bleached-blonde Superstar down for the count.
It would be another year before Ziggler would finally win his first Intercontinental title, but it was his battles with Mysterio that made fans take notice of his exceptional in-ring ability.
8. Chris Benoit vs. Rob Van Dam: SummerSlam 2002
3 of 10SummerSlam 2002 just might go down as the single greatest SummerSlam pay-per-view of all time. It was a star-studded card from start to finish, where even the excellent undercard was overshadowed by the night's exceptional main events, Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels and The Rock vs. Brock Lesnar.
For the Intercontinental Championship, Chris Benoit defended against Rob Van Dam. It didn't have much build behind it, but the excellent wrestling provided by the two talented competitors more than made up for it.
Furthermore, the focus was more on a battle over brand supremacy than it was about the championship itself. Benoit had moved to SmackDown only days earlier and brought the title with him, so then-Raw general manager Eric Bischoff was pulling for RVD to regain the gold and bring it back to Monday nights.
Unsurprisingly, they put together a hotly contested bout with the momentum constantly shifting between the two. Before it could become a classic, RVD nailed Benoit with a Five Star Frog Splash to pick up his third Intercontinental title.
As great of a match as this was from an in-ring standpoint, it would have benefited from better build and less emphasis on the feud between the authority figures.
7. Owen Hart vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin: SummerSlam 1997
4 of 10
SummerSlam 1997 will be forever remembered as the night Stone Cold Steve Austin's wrestling career took a turn for the worse when he broke his neck in a match against Owen Hart. Unfortunately, what's often forgotten is the excellent match they had before the injury occurred.
Austin and Hart were natural rivals, and thus it would come as no surprise that their rivalry throughout the summer of 1997 was nothing short of stellar. They played off each other extremely well, and it helped both competitors build momentum for themselves.
Austin, coming off of his hot babyface turn at WrestleMania 13, was adding legitimacy to the Intercontinental Championship by feuding with Owen Hart and working his way back up the ladder. Meanwhile, Owen continued to deliver as a strong antagonist and was perfect in the role of the arrogant champion.
As it would turn out, this was Austin's last true mat classic, as the neck injury would force him to change up his wrestling style. Of course, he'd have many amazing matches in the years to come, but he wasn't the same competitor he was before he got sidelined.
Consequently, the awful albeit understandable finish to this match knocks it down a few spots on the list, but there's no questioning how superb it was prior to that point.
6. Rick Rude vs. the Ultimate Warrior: SummerSlam 1989
5 of 10As popular of a fixture as he was in the late 1980s and early 1990s in WWE, The Ultimate Warrior was never known for being an exceptional in-ring worker. Never has that been questioned.
However, he did manage to compete in classics with the likes of Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage because of how well he could captivate an audience purely by his presence and ability to tell a story.
Among Warrior's greatest in-ring rivals was Rick Rude, a vastly underrated competitor for what he accomplished during his time as an active competitor and for what he could get done inside the squared circle. He carried Warrior to several solid matches, but their best bout by far came at 1989's SummerSlam pay-per-view.
One year removed from Warrior's record-setting Intercontinental Championship victory, he was looking to regain the gold from Rude after being cheated out of it at WrestleMania 5. It may not have been a technical masterpiece, but they pulled together a great match that featured one major power move after another.
To end the rivalry, Warrior completed his championship chase and emerged victorious as the new holder of the Intercontinental title, going on to challenge Hogan to a title match at WrestleMania the next year.
5. Lance Storm vs. Edge: SummerSlam 2001
6 of 10
Before becoming an 11-time world champion and one of the most decorated athletes in WWE history, Edge was a mainstay in the midcard for many years. By this point, he was just finishing up his run in the tag team scene and was slowly transitioning into becoming a prominent player in the Intercontinental Championship picture.
At the height of the Invasion angle, Edge vowed to reclaim the Intercontinental title from The Alliance's Lance Storm, who had been holding the title hostage since July. Edge was fresh off of winning the 2001 King of the Ring tournament, so he had plenty of steam heading into SummerSlam against Storm.
On a night that was filled with WWF vs. Alliance matchups, this bout in particular went above and beyond in delivering an outstanding opening match over the Intercontinental title. The in-ring styles of the two Canadian natives meshed perfectly together, making for a highly entertaining encounter.
Outside of his tag team work, little was known about how well Edge could survive on his own, but he put those doubts to rest when he shined in this contest. Storm's incredible in-ring ability spoke for itself, as it helped establish Edge as a star in no time.
Even with inadvertent interference from Edge's buddy Christian, the future Rated-R Superstar beat Storm with a devastating DDT to bring the belt back home to the WWF.
4. Mr. Perfect vs. Bret Hart: SummerSlam 1991
7 of 10
It's safe to say that very few of the early SummerSlam installments were regarded as classics. They featured their share of vintage moments, but by and large the in-ring action was either atrocious, forgettable or both.
That wasn't the case at SummerSlam 1991, however, when Bret Hart challenged Mr. Perfect for the Intercontinental Championship. Essentially, it was a match involving two wrestlers so talented that there was no chance of it not meeting the lofty expectations fans set for it, and ultimately, it exceeded them.
Remember, this was a good while before Hart became a household name and an established star in WWF. His singles career was just getting started, and a win over a seasoned veteran in Perfect would propel him into a new stratosphere of superstardom.
Perfect was set to take time off anyway to heal a lengthy back injury, and there was no one better for him to pass the torch (and the title) to than Hart. It resulted in one of the best wrestled matches to ever occur at SummerSlam in addition to serving as a launching pad for the career of The Hitman.
With his submission victory over the athletically gifted Perfect, Hart took home his very first singles title in WWE that night. And the rest, as they say, is history.
3. Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon: SummerSlam 1995
8 of 10
Quite honestly, there was no topping their Ladder match premiere against each other from WrestleMania 10. I mean, how could they? It was the first of its kind and quite arguably the greatest Ladder match of all time, yet they still found ways to top themselves in the sequel.
It's interesting to note that this match wasn't originally scheduled to take place at all. With one look at the god-awful SummerSlam 1995 card, Vince McMahon opted to give us the one great match that would wind up saving this show from being a complete disaster: Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon.
For weeks, Michaels had been embroiled in a ruthless rivalry with Sycho Sid over the strap, but his opponent at SummerSlam was later changed to Ramon. Needless to say, it was for the better, as they produced yet another instant classic in the Ladder match environment.
Out for retribution from WrestleMania 10, Michaels was determined to prove himself as a worthy champion, and he did so when all was said and done. After HBK ascended the ladder to retain his title, Ramon showed respect to his adversary and gave props to him for finally getting one over on The Bad Guy.
What's funny is that it wouldn't be the only Intercontinental Championship in SummerSlam's history, barely getting beat out by the next matchup on this list.
2. The Rock vs. Triple H: SummerSlam 1998
9 of 10
Similar to the aforementioned Mr. Perfect vs. Bret Hart match, this unforgettable encounter occurred when Triple H and The Rock were still starting out. However, not just one of the competitors went on to accomplish huge things in WWE—they both did.
With the Attitude Era officially underway by SummerSlam 1998, there was a massive faction war going on between D-Generation X and the Nation of Domination. Hanging in the balance (literally) was the Intercontinental Championship, which both HHH and The Rock desired to have in their possession.
Although both groups got involved at various points in the matchup, the focus remained on the hungry competitors and all that was at stake. Their brutal, bloody affair saw them take each other to their limits and show no signs of slowing down.
The New York crowd went ballistic as they witnessed Chyna aid Triple H to victory and capture his second Intercontinental Championship. What they later learned was that they were witnessing history unfold before their very eyes considering the careers both icons would have from that point forward.
The Rock and Triple H are two of the greatest rivals in the history of WWE, and for this to be positioned as the co-main event on this stacked show spoke volumes to how officials knew they were capable of delivering at that level even then.
1. Bret Hart vs. the British Bulldog: SummerSlam 1992
10 of 10
Since its inception in 1979, the Intercontinental Championship has always been looked at as a "stepping stone" to the WWE Championship and bigger and better things. The title was treated with much more respect back in the 1980s and 1990s than it is today, but rarely was it ever on the level of the world title.
Following the merging of the WWE and Intercontinental titles in the main event of WrestleMania 6, the latter championship was back to being defended in the midcard, never to headline another pay-per-view. That was, however, until Bret Hart defended the belt against family friend and foe The British Bulldog at SummerSlam 1992 in Wembley Stadium in London.
According to a Kayfabe Commentaries interview with Hart from last year, he claimed had SummerSlam emanated from Washington, D.C., his opponent would have been Shawn Michaels. But because of the English environment officials ultimately settled on, he went with Bulldog, and it was the best possible decision they could have made.
The five-star mat classic was given the grand spotlight on the show and was allowed to go nearly 25 minutes. One year after he was cemented as a star, Hart was a vital part in Bulldog's rise to superstardom by putting him over in a major way in this bout.
In addition to the phenomenal wrestling match they put on, the family-affair aspect made it feel that much more personal. Bulldog's emotional win solidified the contest as one of the greatest of all time, not only at SummerSlam, but also in WWE history as a whole.
Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, is a journalism major at Endicott College. Visit his website, Next Era Wrestling and "like" his official Facebook page to continue the conversation on all things wrestling.
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