WWE Summerslam 2012: Ranking Every SummerSlam PPV from Worst to Best

SummerSlam 2012 will be the 25th installment of WWE's second biggest pay-per-view.  

From 1988 to last year's version, each of the previous SummerSlams is ranked here based on the quality of the undercard, how the in-ring action built on the pre-show hype and whether or not the main event delivered.  . 

The event has showcased new champions being crowned, superstar returns and unforgettable matches. 

With Brock Lesnar facing Triple H and CM Punk defending his WWE title in a Triple Threat, this year's event looks promising.  Where will it rank among all the other SummerSlams?

24. 1988

After the first-ever SummerSlam, things have only gotten better.  SummerSlam '88 suffered from an overly crammed card that featured few standout matches and way too many snoozers. 

It's not the best sign when an event is remembered most for a 31-second match.

In one of the most famous squash matches of all time, the Intercontinental Champion, Honky Tonk Man lost his belt before the echo of the opening bell died.

He was scheduled to fight Brutus the Barber, who was a no-show due to a kayfabe injury.  Insert a rabid Ultimate Warrior and watch the tassels fly. 

Warrior's record-setting win over Honky Tonk Man was the highlight of the night.  The surprising outcome received the biggest pop from the crowd. 

The show opened with a solid tag match between the Fabulous Rougeaus and the British Bulldogs.  Demolition and the Hart Foundation had one of the least impressive bouts of their rivalry. 

By the time audiences got to the main event, they'd seen such a litany of boring or pointless matches that they likely didn't have much energy left. 

In the main event, Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage teamed up to face Ted DiBiase and Andre the Giant.  It was the final confrontation between Hogan and Andre.  While a reasonably good match, it didn't have the emotional firepower or thrilling action you expect from a main event.  

23. 1995

This event was saved and buoyed by one of the finest ladder matches in WWE history.  Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon tried to outdo their career-defining performances at WrestleMania X.

Besides that classic Intercontinental Championship match, the card offers a buffet of blasé. 

Kane was still languishing as heel dentist, Isaac Yankem.  He and Hart had a match that neither will be showing to their grandkids.  Both men underperformed. 

The Smoking Gunns beat the Blu Brothers.  The Undertaker put Kama in a casket.  Everything other than Razor and Michaels felt like filler.

Unfortunately, that included the main event.  WWE Champion Diesel defended his title against Mabel.

Mabel, aka Viscera, isn't a bad wrestler; he just never belonged in the main-event picture.  He and Diesel had a poor match and produced no fireworks, ending the night with one of the night's many lukewarm moments. 

22. 1997

In 1997, WWE was in an awkward transition. They'd yet to usher in the Attitude Era, and the last remnants of the gimmick-heavy era still remained.

The SummerSlam from that year was painful proof of that.

The aging Legion of Doom took on the hog-farming Godwinns.  Brian Pillman, on the downside of his career, was forced to wear Marlena's dress after losing to Goldust. 

Even though the undercard had its share of big names, the action was nothing memorable. 

Mankind vs. Hunter Hearst Helmsley in a cage and the British Bulldog vs. Ken Shamrock could have been and should have been better. 

The event will be remembered most for a move gone wrong and an ending the two wrestlers had to improvise.   

Owen Hart's botched tombstone piledriver changed wrestling history.  It severely injured Austin's neck and had Austin thinking he might be paralyzed.  Austin went on to win the Intercontinental Championship anyway.

Bret Hart won the WWE Championship from the Undertaker in a lackluster main event.  Two legends who have worked well together before just didn't click that night. 

Special guest referee Shawn Michaels ended up whacking Undertaker with a chair, igniting a feud between them. 

It was a solid match, but not one strong enough to erase the memory of a night full of tepid bouts.  

21. 2007

John Cena and Randy Orton's match over the WWE Championship was good, in fact one of their best together.  Fans hadn't yet been overfed their rivalry. 

After the sleep-inducing undercard though, it would have taken a Kurt Angle vs. Chris Benoit-type match to save it. 

The Divas fought in a Battle Royal to be the Divas title's No. 1 contender.  If you like your wrestling to feature a lot of squealing and pushing and little else, then this was heaven. 

Kane beat Finlay in an okay match. Okay matches were par for the course.

Booker T vs. Triple H, Umaga vs. Carlito vs. Mr. Kennedy and Batista vs. The Great Khali were all decent at best. 

Other than Orton and Cena banging heads, the Rey Mysterio vs. Chavo Guerrero match was the only other encounter worth talking about after.     

SummerSlam 2007 wasn't a terrible show, but it had the feel of one of the lesser pay-per-views.  

20. 2010

The way that SummerSlam 2010 opened, fans might have thought they were about to witness a pay-per-view for the ages.  Dolph Ziggler and Kofi Kingston were in the midst of another great battle between them when Nexus ran in and clobbered both guys. 

The card then meandered, giving us more forgettable fare than substance.

Other than said opener and Randy Orton and Sheamus’ intense battle, most of the matches were in the pretty-good category.

Melina won the Divas title from Alicia Fox.  Kane defended the World Heavyweight Championship against Rey Mysterio in a Raw or Smackdown-worthy match. 

The main event, Team WWE fending off The Nexus, was an exciting match, chaotic at times.  Daniel Bryan’s surprise return, Chris Jericho’s springboard skills and the nostalgia-inducing image of Bret Hart slapping on a sharpshooter were among the highlights. 

Survivor Series traditionally has these kinds of elimination matches, but WWE went outside of the box for this one, and it felt natural for such a large-scale feud. 

19. 1989

As good as the undercard was, the main event's reliance on a non-wrestler severely undermined 1989's SummerSlam. 

The Brain Busters and the Hart Foundation kicked off the event with a tremendous display of tag team expertise and the two teams’ great chemistry. 

The Rockers teamed with Tito Santana to face The Fabulous Rougeus along with Rick Martel in a six-man tag match that worked the crowd superbly.  Overlapping feuds and great talent on both sides made for a show-stealer. 

The battle between Rick Rude and The Ultimate Warrior for the Intercontinental Championship wasn't the best of their many matches, but still a good, satisfying match. 

Had SummerSlam built on the momentum from those matches with a Hulk Hogan vs. Randy Savage confrontation, it might have been one of the best versions of the pay-per-view to his day.  Instead, Brutus Beefcake and Tiny Lister, Jr. were featured in the main event as well.

Continuing their feud from the WWE movie, No Holds Barred, Lister as Zeus went against Hogan.  Savage was likely inserted to carry the wrestling component of the entertainment spectacle. 

The match wasn't noteworthy.

In fact, SummerSlam '89 may be more remembered for Gene Okerlund’s non-PG slip-up on the mic than the match on the poster.  

18. 2006

Aside from a beautifully violent “I Quit” match between Ric Flair and Mick Foley, SummerSlam 2006 didn't set the world on fire. 

The wrestling was fine in the opener between Rey Mysterio and Chavo Guerrero, but it was hard to enjoy it when their feud centered around a dead Eddie Guerrero.  Not the worst case of Eddieplotation WWE has ever committed, but tasteless nonetheless. 

Most of the pay-per-view featured matches where it seemed the wrestlers were going through the motions and the angles provided little. 

Big Show beat Sabu.  Hulk Hogan did his Hogan routine on Randy Orton.  Batista won by disqualification over Booker T. 

None of these matches offered much. 

The DX vs. McMahons match was fine.  It had a few interesting spots.  The match is clear evidence that the McMahons as heels had lost its ability to entertain a while back.   

Edge and John Cena fought over the WWE Championship.  As usual, Edge got one of Cena's better performances out of him.  Aside from Flair and Foley, this was the best match of the night. 

Edge came out more hated than before with taking away from Cena’s Superman aura.

Flair and Foley stole the show assisted by barbed-wire wrapped fists, blood and thumbtacks.  It had the right mix of gore and storytelling and made both men look superhumanly tough.   

17. 1993

The final image of SummerSlam '93 was Lex Luger celebrating on the shoulders of the Steiner Brothers as red, white and blue balloons fell into the ring. 

Despite the massive celebration, Luger didn't win the WWE Championship from Yokozuna.  He'd only scored a countout victory.  Fans discovered that Luger didn't belong in the main-event picture, not anymore than cheap countout wins.  

Luger and Yokozuna were members of a dying breed, a cartoony gimmick wrestler in a landscape that was slowly moving away from that.

Razor Ramon dominated Ted DiBiase in the Million Dollar Man's last WWE match.  I.R.S. squashed The Kid.  The Undertaker tried his best with an inferior opponent in Giant Gonzales and a useless stipulation, a Rest in Peace match.

The R.I.P. match was essentially a No Disqualification match.  Neither wrestler used that to their advantage, though, defeating the purpose of adding the gimmick. 

The Steiner Brothers had a well-worked match against The Heavenly Bodies over the tag titles.  In retrospect, WWE should have cut down one of the duds of the night to give these guys more time to work with. 

Mr. Perfect vs. Shawn Michaels wasn't the all-time classic it could have been, but it was a great match nonetheless.  The countout victory wasn’t as satisfying as Sweet Chin Music or a perfectplex would have been.

The night's best match was essentially two matches.  Bret Hart was supposed to face Jerry Lawler to determine the true king of WWE.  Lawler faked an injury, crutch and everything. 

Doink took his place, but eventually Lawler got involved and was forced to wrestle Bret in the end.   It was a well-told story with precise execution by all three men involved.

SummerSlam '93 was evidence of WWE's awkward transition from the roaring '80s to the Attitude Era.  Monday Night Raw was just getting started, and newer guys like Michaels and Hart were having to step in the absence of Hulk Hogan. 

The event had its moments, both excellent and terrible.  

16. 1996

Like SummerSlam '97, the 1996 edition's undercard underwhelmed, and its main event was the clear best match of the night.

Shawn Michaels vs. Vader was significantly better than Bret Hart vs. Undertaker, even if Michaels broke character to berate Vader after a missed spot. 

Michaels gained a reputation for working well with big men because of matches like these.  At times, Vader looked unstoppable, and at others, Michaels looked completely in control.  The two wrestlers worked to create a believable and compelling story. 

Mankind and the Undertaker fought in a decent Boiler Room Brawl, but the rest of the event offered little entertainment. 

Jerry Lawler wasn't ancient yet, but his match with Jake Roberts proved he was better suited for commentary at that stage of his career.  The tag division showed its lack of depth with a Fatal Four-Way Elimination match that both the Godwinns and the Bodydonnas featured on a major pay-per-view. 

Goldust vs. Marc Mero and British Bulldog vs. Sycho Sid were both so-so.   

15. 1990

SummerSlam 1990 was a good show hampered by matches that were too short, a by-product of a cramped card.  Had they left a few matches off, the wrestlers would have had a better chance to milk the drama in each remaining match. 

The Ultimate Warrior and Rick Rude battled in a steel cage over the WWE title.  It wasn't nearly as good as their SummerSlam encounter a year before. 

It was a letdown of a main event. 

The night's highlight was the Best of Three Falls tag match between the Hart Foundation and Demolition.  The Harts found a way to win despite the fact that Demolition switched in an extra member from time to time. 

If fans can buy into the fact that the referee couldn't tell Ax and Crush apart despite their significant size difference, this was a great rollercoaster of a match. 

Hulk Hogan fought Earthquake in a match that was better than it sounds.  The rest of the matches were all about five minutes or fewer. 

Even Shawn Michaels and the Undertaker couldn't do much with a five-minute match.  

14. 1999

Shane McMahon and Test surprisingly had the match of the night.  Their Street Fight was booked well, featured just enough big spots and had the crowd buzzing toward the end. 

WWE wasted The Rock that night by putting him in a Kiss My Ass match against Billy Gunn.  Ken Shamrock beat Steve Blackman in a Lion's Den match.  The Big Show and The Undertaker beat X-Pac and Kane for the tag team belts. 

There was nothing wrong with any of those matches, but none were better than average.   

To make use of its deep tag team division, WWE crammed six teams into a Tag Team Turmoil match where Edge and Christian entertained the most and the Acolytes came out on top.  

With Jesse Ventura as special guest referee, Mankind won the WWE Championship in a match with Stone Cold and Triple H.

While not their best work, those three men put on an entertaining match that ended the show with an explosive climax and kept WWE's momentum moving.

13. 1994

SummerSlam 1994 was one match too long.

Had they not put on the Undertaker vs. fake Undertaker fiasco, this would be remembered for a brother vs. brother clash that produced one of WWE's best cage matches ever. 

The silliness of the Undertaker storyline soured what the rest of the show had accomplished.

Bret Hart and Owen Hart in a steel cage for the WWE Championship would have been a far better way to end the night.

The Hart match was the culmination of their storied feud.  They were almost as good as they were together at WrestleMania X, the audience in their control throughout.    

Alundra Blayze and Bull Nakano delivered the kind of women's match Japanese fans are used to.  Nakano used her power and submissions effectively, but Blayze managed to retain the Women’s Championship. 

Diesel vs. Razor Ramon (with Walter Payton) was a good match as well. 

The rest of the card—Tatanka vs. Lex Luger, Jeff Jarrett vs. Mabel, etc.—was all watchable.  Nobody remembers those matches, though. 

They remember Leslie Nielsen being called in to solve the Undertaker mystery in the weeks prior.  They remember the pay-per-view ending with an overload of gimmicky booking.  

12. 2005

How good could this SummerSlam have been had Shawn Michaels not turned his match against Hulk Hogan into an exercise in slapstick?

Michaels comically oversold at times, leading to speculation that he was mocking Hogan or was retaliating for some backstage drama between the two.  The master of the classic match, Michaels could have turned the magnitude of this showdown into something unforgettable.

Rey Mysterio beat Eddie Guerrero in a ladder match with the strange stipulation that the winner received custody of Mysterio's son, Dominick.  Despite the creepiness factor of including Mysterio's son in the storyline, the match was, as expected, awesome. 

Eddie and Rey have some of the best chemistry between two wrestlers we've ever seen.  This match was further proof of that.

Elsewhere on the card, Edge vs. Matt Hardy, Batista vs. JBL, Randy Orton vs. the Undertaker were all solid, but not spectacular. 

John Cena and Chris Jericho put on a stellar match for the WWE Championship. 

The main event could have sent this event soaring, climaxing with two of wrestling’s biggest names.  Instead, it underwhelmed.  WWE fans got a good SummerSlam where they could have one of the greatest. 

11. 1991

A wedding, a matched fueled by patriotism and a tangle between two of the best technicians highlighted the ’91 edition of SummerSlam. 

WWE billed it as The Match Made in Heaven and The Match Made in Hell. 

Hulk Hogan teamed up with The Ultimate Warrior to face recent traitor Sgt. Slaughter, General Adnan and Colonel Mustafa with Sid Justice as ref.  This was the hell part of the equation. 

It was classic American good guys vs. foreign bad guys.  While the wrestling wasn't Kurt Angle-level, it was entertaining and cathartic to watch the heels get roughed up. 

Virgil fought Ted DiBiase, challenging him for his Million Dollar Championship.  After being his long-time valet (with sometimes uncomfortable master/slave vibes), Virgil finally broke away and the crowd was fully behind him.  The fans and Roddy Piper lost it when Virgil got the pin. 

The match to watch from this SummerSlam was Bret Hart vs. Mr. Perfect for the Intercontinental Championship.  The two masters put on an incredible show even though Perfect’s back was a wreck at this point. 

The wedding of Randy Savage and Elizabeth ended the show, feeding into the fans absolute love of Elizabeth.  There hasn't been a couple since that could generate the buzz and emotions that these two could. 

SummerSlam 1991 may appear outdated to younger fans, but it hit a lot of the right nerves, in and out of the ring.    

10. 2004

SummerSlam 2004's lasting image is of Randy Orton hoisting the World Heavyweight Championship above his head, his face squeezed in tearful joy. 

Crowning Orton champ, making him the youngest ever, was a bold move.  The match between him and Benoit was excellent and having Orton pull out the victory was surprising. 

The rest of the event featured a great opener and a quality match from Kurt Angle and Eddie Guerrero. 

This SummerSlam opened with a six-man tag match between The Dudleys and the team of Rey Mysterio, Paul London and Billy Kidman.  The match turned out just like you thought it might, with fast-paced action and some brilliant spots. 

Edge fought off challengers Chris Jericho and Batista in a Triple Threat match for the Intercontinental Championship.  This was a bit short but featured solid action. 

Angle and Guerrero have had better matches, but they entertained the crowd with great mat wrestling and a surplus of drama. 

All those matches outweigh the event's few clunkers. 

The chief offender was Booker T vs. John Cena in match one of their best-of-five series.  It was one of Cena's most robotic and uninspired performances to date.  

9. 2001

The Invasion angle had its highs and lows, missed opportunities as well as its well-executed moments.  A fan could spend eternity wondering what might have been had Booker T not been buried on his arrival, if the WCW roster was given a bigger role in the Alliance storyline.  

Even with the angle being bungled, SummerSlam 2001 turned out to be a satisfying, exciting show, even if there weren't enough clean finishes for some fans' taste. 

It opened with Edge vs. Lance Storm for the Intercontinental Championship.  The unsung match is a mini-gem, showing off Edge's potential and Storm's skill. 

X-Pac and Tajiri topped that effort with a spot-heavy, heart racer of their own.  Rob Van Dam and Jeff Hardy put on a good match as well.  

Even with a non-satisfying disqualification finish, Kurt Angle vs. Steve Austin was great.  As the faces of their respective factions, they fought over the WWE Championship and whose camp would take control of it.

Both men looked fantastic here, and what seemed destined to be a five-star worthy classic ended with Austin punching out every referee in sight. 

The Rock and Booker T were solid but nowhere near as good as Austin and Angle.  

8. 2008

2008's SummerSlam projected the big-show feeling that the pay-per-view should every year.  A stellar main event, excellent championship matches and few little filler made for one of the top SummerSlams ever.

WWE fans could have done without Santino and Beth Phoenix vs. Kofi Kingston and Mickie James, but it was a somewhat entertaining comedy break. 

MVP vs. Jeff Hardy featured a few appealing spots. 

Chris Jericho and Shawn Michaels didn't wrestle but continued their acclaimed feud through a compelling war of words. 

Putting The Great Khali in a WWE Championship match against Triple H wasted both the champ's time and that slot for a more deserving wrestler.  It was better than anyone likely expected, and in the glow of all the other quality matches, it's easily forgotten.

CM Punk looked fantastic in a win against JBL.  Batista scored a clean victory over John Cena. 

Both matches were excellent bridges to the main event, a Hell in a Cell match with Edge and The Undertaker. 

Both men shined here, mixing in viciousness with cunning, determination with strategy. 

Tables, chairs, ladders and even the cell wall were all used superbly in adding excitement and depth to the match.  The climax of the match and of the SummerSlam was Undertaker chokeslamming his opponent through the ring. 

Few pay-per-views have had endings with such an ability to drop the audience's jaws.

7. 2011

CM Punk's red-hot momentum that began with his infamous shoot promo on Raw was still going strong come SummerSlam. He faced John Cena in a battle to determine the true WWE Champion. 

Sure, they brought Punk back too soon, but there was still an enormous amount of hype here, and the two wrestlers delivered nearly as good a match as they did at Money in the Bank. 

Kevin Nash returned and laid out Punk, allowing Alberto Del Rio to become the new champ.  While those two decisions may not have pleased a chunk of the fans, the surprise factor certainly made it entertaining. 

Wade Barrett and Daniel Bryan both impressed with their match together.  Mark Henry vs. Sheamus made for a decent brawl. 

Better than Punk and Cena and elevating this pay-per-view was the World Heavyweight Championship match between Randy Orton and Christian. 

The climax of their hatred exploded for all the world to see, blood and dented trash cans adding to the spectacle.      

Cee-Lo Green not only provided the theme song, but also performed two songs at the show. 

If you're going to have a musician perform and take up potential wrestling time, Cee-Lo is a good choice.  

6. 2003

Summerslam 2003's strength lies in two stellar matches, Brock Lesnar vs. Kurt Angle and the Elimination Chamber match for the World Heavyweight Championship. 

Triple H beat out Goldberg, Shawn Michaels, Kevin Nash, Chris Jericho and Randy Orton inside the Elimination Chamber to retain his title.  Thanks to Ric Flair and a sledgehammer, The Game escaped with a win in a hard-hitting Chamber match. 

Fans may not have liked seeing Triple H win yet again, but his heel tactics were meant to be entertainingly frustrating.  Generating the kind of heat he did doing this run is hard to do. 

Angle and Lesnar delivered the third best match they've done together, which is more about how great the other matches were and not about this one lacking anything.

Their fantastic chemistry led to a match that held our attention from bell to bell.    

Had SummerSlam just been those two matches, fans would have had their money's worth. 

The Eddie Guerrero vs. Chris Benoit vs. Rhyno vs. Tajiri Fatal Four-Way match had some excellent moments.   WWE should have given these guys more time to work with, as they seemed to have something great going. 

On the negative side, Shane McMahon fought Eric Bischoff in a bore, The Undertaker was wasted against A-Train, and La Resistance didn't impress.  

5. 1992

Two superb matches earn SummerSlam 1992 a high ranking despite all the filler and forgettable encounters surrounding them. 

The Ultimate Warrior had one of the best matches of his career, challenging Randy Savage for the WWE Championship.  Rick Rude brought out some of Warrior's best wrestling, but Savage topped that. 

The hyped London crowd watched Savage and Warrior deliver main-event worthy intensity and drama.

The main event this night was not the world championship match, but the Intercontinental Championship bout between Bret Hart and the British Bulldog. 

To play to the English crowd, WWE put Bulldog on last.  The crowd was supercharged when Bulldog's music hit and helped make the match a classic.  Hart and Bulldog constructed a near-perfect battle, one that deserves to be watched again and again. 

Those two matches were so good that it didn't matter how Nailz vs. Virgil or Crush vs. Repo Man turned out.  The undercard provided little sustenance with matches that belonged more on weekly television.  

No matter, Hart and Bulldog rode a wave of English energy to immortality.  

4. 2009

A spectacular main event, the return of DX and a beautifully worked opener helped make SummerSlam 2009 one of the best in recent years. 

Rey Mysterio and Dolph Ziggler opened the night with a match for the Intercontinental Championship.  The back-and-forth battle further proved Ziggler’s potential and showed off Rey's high-flying wizardry. 

DX returned with an awesome, over-the-top entrance and a great showing against Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase.  The match made Legacy look great despite the loss.   

Both teams thrilled with great strategy, athleticism and showmanship. 

Jeri-Show vs. Cryme Tyme was entertaining, but the rest of the undercard was nothing to be proud of. 

Christian squashed William Regal.  MVP vs. Jack Swagger was too short.  The Great Khali vs. Kane was horrendous, a slow-moving, pointless affair. 

Randy Orton and John Cena have had a ton of better matches with each other than this one.  The stop-and-start-again ending sucked the life out of it. 

What elevated this SummerSlam into greatness despite those blemishes was the CM Punk vs. Jeff Hardy main event.

Any fans who doubted either man deserving of the main event slot was proved wrong.  Punk and Hardy put on a TLC Match that was one of the best matches of the year. 

It may in the end only be remembered for Hardy's ladder and table-assisted swanton bomb, but it was an enthralling battle that ranks as one of SummerSlam's finest. 

3. 2000

After the average matches that opened the show, this SummerSlam shifted into a high gear and rocketed toward greatness. 

The six-man tag opener between Right 2 Censor and Too Cool, X-Pac against Road Dogg and Chyna with Eddie Guerrero vs. Val Venis and Trish Stratus can all be skipped.  You won't be missing out on anything special.

Tazz and Jerry Lawler exceeded expectations, milking their feud well.  This is light years ahead of Michael Cole vs. an older Jerry Lawler. 

Shane McMahon and Steve Blackman followed with what relied on one massive, breathtaking bump.  Shane dropping several stories after a cane shot is unforgettable. 

The Hardys, Dudley Boys and Edge and Christian worked their magic again in a TLC Match just as thrilling as the others.  Flesh against steel, spot after spot, these six guys tried once again to outdo each other and grab the world's attention.

Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho continued their run of excellent pay-per-view matches with one of the best Best of Three Falls Matches in WWE history. 

To top that rumbling momentum, the soap-operaesque love triangle between Stephanie McMahon, Kurt Angle and Triple H actually enhanced the main event.  It took the flames that The Rock, Triple H and Angle could create on their own and raised the temperature. 

No show is going to deliver on every moment and every match, but SummerSlam 2000 was pretty darn close.  

2. 1998

In the midst of the Attitude Era, WWE delivered a stacked SummerSlam.

The event started out slow with a forgettable match between Val Venis and D-Lo Brown and a crowded handicap match featuring The Oddities (with The Insane Clown Posse) against Kaientai. 

X-Pac and Jeff Jarrett started the awesome portion of the program with a well-worked, compelling Hair vs.Hair match. 

Ken Shamrock defeated Owen Hart in a Lion's Den match that tried to siphon some of UFC's popularity.  Fans differ on how they feel about the Lion's Den gimmick.  While it's no Elimination Chamber, it was an interesting change of pace that made perfect sense for Shamrock. 

Due to Kane defecting from their team, Mankind defended the tag titles by his lonesome.  He made a one-sided handicap match against The New Age Outlaws far better than most wrestlers would have. 

The main event pitted Stone Cold vs. The Undertaker for the WWE Championship.  Despite this not being the best work of either man, there was a grand feel to this match. 

The crowd ate it up despite being drained from the classic that Triple H and The Rock had just put on.  Their ladder match for the Intercontinental Championship will be the clash from this SummerSlam that will live on the longest. 

A great SummerSlam was made spectacular by two great workers building to a highly charged climax.  

1. 2002

The best SummerSlam ever gave fans Shawn Michaels' in-ring return after years of recovery from his back injury, a showdown between Brock Lesnar and The Rock and one of the best undercards in SummerSlam history. 

Kurt Angle and Rey Mysterio opened the pay-per-view and, as you might expect, delivered a great match.  Angle's viciousness and Mysterio's crafty escapes highlighted a dynamite opener.

Edge faced Eddie Guerrero.  Lance Storm and Christian teamed up against Booker T and Goldust, and Ric Flair made Chris Jericho submit via the figure-four leglock. 

None of these matches were five-star material but were all entertaining, helping build toward the climax of the event. 

Had SummerSlam 2002 ended with Triple H and Shawn Michaels' now classic Unsanctioned Street Fight, the crowd would have been elated with the show they'd seen.  But a memorable main event followed that bloodbath.

Brock Lesnar won his first major championship, becoming the youngest heavyweight champ in company history. 

The unstoppable monster met the larger than life icon in a battle of drama, power and a Rock Bottom through the Spanish announce table to Paul Heyman.

The stacked event stands as SummerSlam's best because of well-hyped matches, big names and great performances.