Ranking WWE SummerSlam's 10 Greatest Matches Since 2020

As one of WWE's biggest premium live events, SummerSlam has hosted some of the company's best matches since its inception in 1988, especially in recent years.

All eyes are usually on WrestleMania, but SummerSlam has also been an excellent event to pay off certain storylines at and deliver memorable contests without the pomp and circumstance that comes with The Show of Shows. It has also kicked off angles that have ultimately led into WrestleMania the following spring.

There have been a handful of instances since 2020 of WrestleMania rematches being better at SummerSlam than they were the first time around, as well as midcard bouts outshining that night's main event.

Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins, CM Punk vs. Cody Rhodes, and Brock Lesnar vs. Oba Femi inside Hell in a Cell will be among this year's marquee matches at SummerSlam. All three have the potential to live on in the annals of WWE history as instant classics.

Where will they rank among these 10 unforgettable outings from the last six SummerSlams?

10. Drew McIntyre vs. Randy Orton (2020)

Drew McIntyre's dominant run as WWE champion in 2020 isn't talked about as often as it should be due to the period in which he held the title: the COVID-19 pandemic.

That meant McIntyre was defending the prestigious prize in empty buildings. However, the quality of his matches never wavered, including against Randy Orton at that year's SummerSlam.

This marked the first major match between the two and McIntyre's toughest test with the title up to that point. Orton was in his element again as a heel and served as the perfect foil for the beloved Scot.

Even in front of no fans, McIntyre and Orton had terrific chemistry and produced a very entertaining encounter, filled with finishers and suspenseful counters. McIntyre barely beating Orton with a backslide ensured their feud stayed alive yet still served as a satisfying ending.

9. Damian Priest vs. Gunther (2024)

WWE/Getty Images

When Damian Priest won the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 40, it always seemed to be more a matter of when than if he'd break away from The Judgment Day or, more specifically, if The Judgment Day would kick him to the curb.

Priest's popularity was gradually growing, and successful title defenses against Jey Uso, Drew McIntyre and Seth Rollins proved he was a main event-caliber competitor. Meanwhile, Gunther had moved on from his historic Intercontinental Championship reign to set his sights on the world heavyweight title after becoming King of the Ring.

The Judgment Day drama factored into the finish as expected, but that's to take nothing away from the fantastic, hard-hitting match Priest and Gunther were having prior to that point. They held nothing back in an effort to walk away with the gold.

Once Finn Bálor emerged at ringside, it became clear what was about to happen. Sure enough, he put Gunther's foot on the rope while Priest was pinning him, and before Priest could fully register that he had been betrayed, Gunther locked in a chokehold to put him to sleep and clinch the championship.

The Ring General was finally where he needed to be, and The Judgment Day was never the same again.

8. Roman Reigns vs. John Cena (2021)

Rich Freeda/WWE via Getty Images

Roman Reigns was at the peak of his heel run and fresh off a huge victory over Edge at Money in the Bank 2021 when John Cena shockingly returned and confronted Reigns to close out the event.

Cena and Reigns previously met one-on-one at No Mercy four years prior, but that was well before Reigns had come into his own as The Tribal Chief. He had improved immensely on the mic since then, so the promos leading into their SummerSlam clash were far better than when they first feuded.

This match told a simple story of Cena trying to win his 17th world championship, and to do so on a stage such as SummerSlam would have been monumental. Reigns was backed by The Bloodline but kept them out of the equation so his second win against Cena couldn't be disputed.

This was less about mat-based wrestling and more about being a spectacle. They benefited from an electric crowd in Las Vegas that was into everything they did.

Reigns powered out of everything Cena pulled out of his arsenal, planting the former face of the franchise with one last Spear for the three-count.

Brock Lesnar resurfacing afterward to face off with a fellow advocate of Paul Heyman's in Reigns was the icing on the cake.

7. WWE Tag Team Championship Six-Pack TLC Tag Team Match (2025)

Elsa/Getty Images

It was egregious for WWE to leave the epic Triple Threat TLC match between The Street Profits, DIY and The Motor City Machine Guns off the WrestleMania 41 card.

Thankfully, it rectified that mistake by having them run it back in another TLC match at SummerSlam, this time with three more teams thrown into the mix.

There was a year-long period on SmackDown from late 2024 to SummerSlam 2025 when the tag team division was actually on fire. Multiple tandems were having exciting matches week after week, and the only appropriate payoff was getting them all together for a massive Six-Pack TLC matchup at the August extravaganza.

Of course, it was complete chaos from start to finish with everyone making use of the extreme environment. Superstars who weren't officially involved including B-Fab, Nikki Cross and Candice LeRae weren't immune to the chair-smashing and table-crashing, either.

Axiom's Spanish Fly to Angelo Dawkins off the top rope through the two tables on the outside was especially impressive.

The Wyatt Sicks retaining was a bit of a flat finish, but otherwise, it was a thrilling demolition derby that did an outstanding job of honoring the first-ever TLC match almost exactly a quarter of a century earlier.

6. Bianca Belair vs. Becky Lynch (2022)

At SummerSlam 2021, Bianca Belair suffered the biggest setback of her career when she lost what was then known as the SmackDown Women's Championship to a returning Becky Lynch in less than 30 seconds.

Some saw that as a sign that Belair's push at the top of the division was over and that she failed in fulfilling her destiny of becoming a main event player. The quick defeat, however, only made her that much more motivated to claw her way back to the title scene and win the belt back from Lynch at WrestleMania 38.

It still stands as one of the best women's matches in 'Mania history. More amazingly, they had an equally excellent outing later in the year at SummerSlam.

As the defending champ, Belair was much more confident during this heated rematch. She had an answer for everything Lynch threw her way, and after reversing a Manhandle Slam into a Spanish Fly from the middle rope, Belair followed up with an emphatic K.O.D. for the win.

The EST of WWE's exceptional performance was enough to earn her the respect of Lynch, who she embraced in a hug afterward and helped her fend off the debuting Damage CTRL.

5. Cody Rhodes vs. Brock Lesnar (2023)

Brock Lesnar never truly explaining his betrayal of Cody Rhodes on the post-WrestleMania Raw in 2023 caused many to lose interest in their lengthy feud in the spring and summer of 2023, especially since their first two matches were average at best.

Thus, the pressure was on for them to deliver when it mattered most at SummerSlam and they did not disappoint. Oddly, this wasn't given any sort of stipulation despite the personal nature of their rivalry, but that didn't stop them from going all out and exceeding expectations.

Lesnar dominated a majority of the match, going so far as to attempt to win by count-out by battering Rhodes at ringside. The American Nightmare endured F-5 after F-5 and even locked Lesnar's own Kimura Lock on him down the stretch.

Rhodes reversing another F-5 into a Cross Rhodes made for a perfectly executed finish, and Lesnar's post-match endorsement of his rival made all the more clear that Rhodes was ready to finish his story.

This wound up being Lesnar's final WWE appearance until SummerSlam 2025 and his best (non-gimmick) bout from bell to bell in years.

4. Edge vs. Seth Rollins (2021)

The Spear Edge hit on Elias during the SummerSlam 2019 pre-show was what opened the door for him realizing it was physically possible for him to return to the ring after nearly a decade into his retirement.

Only two years later, he was back on the SummerSlam stage having a show-stealer with Seth Rollins.

It was a match fans had fantasized about since 2014 when Rollins threatened to cripple Edge by hitting him a Curb Stomp. Additionally, their careers and characters had long paralleled each other, so it was a huge happening for them to finally step in the squared circle one-on-one.

Rollins targeted Edge's surgically repaired neck throughout and nearly had the match won on several occasions, only for The Rated R Superstar to persevere through the punishment. It wasn't his signature Spear that secured him the win but rather a crossface followed by a bulldog choke, showing that he was willing to go to great lengths to settle their score.

This was a wonderfully paced, high-energy battle that set up two more matches in September and October, respectively, with both bouts being on par with this gem.

3. Gunther vs. CM Punk (2025)

Elsa/Getty Images

After getting revenge on Drew McIntyre the year prior and headlining WrestleMania earlier on in 2025, the only thing that still eluded CM Punk was winning a world championship, something he hadn't done in WWE in well over a decade.

He temporarily put aside his bad blood with the seemingly-injured Seth Rollins to fully focus on challenging Gunther for the World Heavyweight Championship at SummerSlam, an opportunity he earned by reigning supreme in a Gauntlet match on Raw shortly prior to the event.

This was their first and only encounter to date and it was a certified banger. Gunther was vicious on offense as always, but Punk took it all in stride and dished out some powerful strikes and submissions of his own.

Gunther legitimately busting his nose open and bleeding only added to the intensity of the match. The dynamic worked wonderfully, making Punk's hard-fought title win that much sweeter.

It also made Rollins' Money in the Bank cash-in on Punk immediately afterward that much more heartbreaking. Most fans could see the angle coming from a mile away, but everything about the ending to Night 1 of SummerSlam was practically perfect and couldn't have been booked better.

2. Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar: Last Man Standing Match (2022)

Cooper Neill/WWE via Getty Images

Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar have no shortage of history at SummerSlam, first facing off in a Fatal 4-Way at the 2017 installment. Reigns then dethroned Lesnar as Universal champion at the subsequent SummerSlam, and Lesnar made his shocking return to the company by confronting Reigns at SummerSlam in 2021.

Their seven-year-long feud finally culminated at SummerSlam 2022 when the two titans waged war in a grueling Last Man Standing match, with the stipulation being that there would be no more rematches regardless of who won. More often than not, their matches had underwhelmed in the past, so there was no reason to believe this bout would be any different.

It wasn't the typical finisher fest fans had come to expect from Lesnar vs. Reigns. Rather, they used everything at their disposal at ringside to put the other away with every count from the referee having more drama than the last.

From Austin Theory nearly cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase to The Usos interfering toward the end, it was certainly never boring. Paul Heyman getting his comeuppance at the hands of Lesnar was well done, too, along with stunning visual of Lesnar tipping over the ring with a tractor while Reigns rolled to ringside.

Reigns retaining his Undisputed WWE Universal Championship was the correct outcome, but more importantly, they were able to close the book on their rivalry in phenomenal fashion.

1. Cody Rhodes vs. John Cena: Street Fight (2025)

Elsa/Getty Images

In short, John Cena's unprecedented heel turn was largely considered a failure by fans. The timing was terrible with it being his last year as an active competitor and, if anything, it turned the audience against his archrival, Cody Rhodes, rather than Cena.

Along with the program having the opposite effect, their WrestleMania match where Cena captured his record-setting 17th world championship was also a stinker and overshadowed what should have been a career highlight for the veteran. They were determined to redeem themselves with a far stronger showing at SummerSlam.

The Street Fight stipulation being added could have meant more shenanigans and Cena relying too heavily on heel tactics. Thankfully, due to The Unseen 17 reverting to his babyface roots two days earlier on SmackDown, there was none of that.

Instead, they had a classic clash where the defending champ looked like the Cena of old. He hit Attitude Adjustments on Rhodes through the announce table, on the stage and even off the top rope.

The sheer amount of finisher kickouts eventually reached a point of pure ridiculousness, but the crowd remained invested throughout. They went from booing The American Nightmare when he made his entrance to cheering him again after being reminded of his greatness.

Rhodes was already established as a star coming into this contest, but what he went through to defeat the future WWE Hall of Famer at SummerSlam simply cemented his legacy.

Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant, and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content.