WWE: Counting Down the 10 Best Matches in SummerSlam History

SummerSlam is one of the biggest WWE shows of the year and has featured some of the very best matches in WWE history.

Guys like Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, Randy Savage, Kurt Angle, The Rock and many, many more have had classic moments and matches at the biggest wrestling event of the summer.

The 2011 version of the show does not look tremendous on paper. Only two matches, CM Punk-John Cena and Randy Orton-Christian, have a lot of potential, but if those two matches are able to deliver, the show will be great.

But that is looking into the future, and what the purpose of this is to take a look back at the very best that SummerSlam has to offer.

There have been so many great matches in the soon-to-be 24-year history of this event that it was hard to really narrow it down to 10, so if you have a favorite that did not make the list, it is not because it was not worthy. This is my list and my choices.

Here are the 10 best matches in WWE SummerSlam history through the first 23 years of the event.

10. Bret Hart vs British Bulldog, 1992

Bret Hart and the British Bulldog met for the intercontinental title in the main event of SummerSlam 1992.

Think about the last time you cared about the intercontinental title, then realize that a match for that title was the main event of WWE's second biggest show of the year.

These two men were wrestling in front of 80,000 fans in Wembley Stadium going back and forth for nearly 30 minutes. The drama in this match was off the charts because Hart and Bulldog were family. Bulldog was married to Hart's sister Diana.

The Bulldog prevailed in what was probably the best match of his career, and Hart became an even bigger star after carrying Bulldog for this match.

9. Randy Savage vs Ultimate Warrior, 1992

If you want proof of just how good Randy Savage was in a wrestling ring, watch the two matches that he had with Ultimate Warrior. The first one was at WrestleMania 7 in 1991. The second one was at SummerSlam in 1992.

Combined, Savage and Warrior worked about 49 minutes in the ring over these two matches. That is an amazing number when you think about Warrior's "ability" in the ring, and Savage was able to get him to have to great, not good, but GREAT matches.

The end result of a count-out kind of hurt the match, but everything that came before that was so damn good.

8. CM Punk vs Jeff Hardy, 2009

Back in 2009, Jeff Hardy was one of the biggest wrestling stars in the world and CM Punk, despite having been a world champion two times prior to this match, was still making a name for himself in WWE.

Hardy was the champion entering this match, but his contract with WWE was expiring, and he had no intention of re-signing.

These two had a great feud that year, and this ladder match was the pinnacle of that feud. They did a lot of great high spots, as you would expect in a ladder match with Hardy, and the ending was great with both men being taken out on stretchers.

Punk ran back into the ring, then Hardy went in after him. They were climbing the ladder and reaching for the belt when Punk punched Hardy, knocking him off the ladder and allowing Punk to grab the belt.

7. Triple H vs the Rock, 1998

As hard as it might be for young wrestling fans to believe, Triple H and the Rock were not always the stars that they are right now.

The match that really launched them into the stratosphere of WWE performers was at SummerSlam 1998 in a ladder match for the intercontinental championship.

It was an epic battle between the two leaders of the two most powerful factions—D-Generation X and Nation of Domination—in the WWE at the time. They were fighting for more than just the title, they were fighting for pride and to prove who was the best.

Triple H won this particular battle, but both men became icons thanks largely to their performances in this match, and they would go on to have one of the greatest rivalries in wrestling history for the next three years.

6. Bret Hart vs Mr. Perfect, 1991

If you want an example of how to work a straight wrestling match, go back and watch the entire Mr. Perfect-Bret Hart match from SummerSlam 1991.

These two were in the prime of their careers, and they made an otherwise forgettable show worth going out of your way to watch.

Mr. Pefect, in my opinion, has always been one of the most underrated workers in WWE history. His peak did not last very long due to injuries, but when he was right, he was as good as anyone that there was.

Hart is one of the greatest wrestlers in history, and the early '90s featured his best work in the ring.

When you put them in the ring together, it became poetry in motion. It was 18 minutes of pure wrestling heaven.

5. Kurt Angle vs Brock Lesnar, 2003

It is a good thing that WWE had Kurt Angle and Brock Lesnar feuding in 2003 because without them most of the year would have stunk.

The feud started at WrestleMania when Lesnar defeated Angle in a great main event, and it continued through SummerSlam.

It is really not surprising that these two had such a great wrestling match because these two men are the two best amateur wrestlers in the history of WWE.

They did a lot of great things in the ring and SummerSlam 2003 was just one of the best examples of what they can do when they are in the ring together.

4. Shawn Michaels vs Triple H, 2002

One of the matches that wrestling fans always point to when they talk about Shawn Michaels as the best WWE wrestler in the history of the company is his match with Triple H at SummerSlam 2002.

Michaels had not wrestled a match since losing the WWE title to "Stone Cold" Steve Austin at WrestleMania 14...in 1998. He was out for four-and-a-half years due to a back injury and drug problems.

He came back, originally for one night only, to work a match with Triple H, and you would have never known that he left.

It is hard to steal the show at an event that also featured Brock Lesnar and the Rock for the WWE championship. But not everyone can be Shawn Michaels either.

3. Dudleys vs Hardyz vs Edge & Christian, 2000

There is a reason that WWE has toned down the product in recent years. The TLC matches, while they are exciting, are extremely dangerous and end careers quickly.

The best TLC matches in WWE history featured the Dudleyz, Hardyz and Edge & Christian. The triple-threat tag team match between these six men was so good on this show that they had to do a rematch at WrestleMania 17.

As good as this match was, it was because of this match, and the many other matches he worked in like it, that Edge was forced to retire from the ring earlier this year.

But ignoring that fact for a moment, you can't take away how special this match was between three of the best tag teams in WWE history.

2. Shawn Michaels vs Razor Ramon, 1995

There is a strong contingent of people who will always believe, no matter how much you try to convince them, that the sequel will never be as good as the original.

It doesn't matter what you are talking about. Movies, songs, books, wrestling matches, etc. They just will not believe it.

It is my belief that the Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon ladder match from SummerSlam 1995 was better than the one that they had at WrestleMania 10 and one of the most underrated matches in WWE history.

Admittedly, I may be a little biased because I am a Shawn Michaels fan, and he actually wins this match. But that bias not take away from the magic that these two men created on that night 16 years ago.

Michaels did most of the work in the first match, but this time Ramon got a little more offense and helped Michaels along as well, which is part of the reason why I think that this match worked better than the original.

1. Bret Hart vs Owen Hart, 1994

Speaking of sequels topping the original, Bret Hart and Owen Hart had one of the greatest matches in WrestleMania history five months prior to wrestling for the WWE championship inside a steel cage.

This SummerSlam, if you recall, was built around an Undertaker vs Undertaker match that actually closed the show. Vince McMahon and the powers that be felt that the two Undertaker gimmick was a bigger deal than Owen Hart and Bret Hart for the championship.

Instead of having sour grapes about it, Owen and Bret went out and had one of the greatest matches in WWE history. Brother vs. brother for the WWE championship was a magical moment for these two men.

Bret wound up getting the victory and avenging the loss to his little brother at WrestleMania, but Owen was the big winner in this whole thing as he became one of the most beloved and respected wrestlers in history thanks to the rivalry with his big brother.

In an interesting tidbit, Vince McMahon and Pat Patterson originally wanted Bruce Hart to start a sibling rivalry with Bret. But Bret did not feel that feud would work, so he pushed to get Owen instead.

Needless to say, the right decision was made.