Thunder’s Top Summerslam Matches Part 3

Welcome to part three of my top Summerslam matches! This year’s show is starting to take shape, and the WWE Title match has now been set. CM Punk will be defending the WWE Title against Big Show and John Cena in a triple threat match, and I can see the chemistry that Punk has with both men making this match something special. As for the past, I’ve listed the matches from part one and two first before looking at 30-21. Enjoy!

50. 1994 – Undertaker vs Undertaker
49. 2008 – CM Punk vs JBL for the World Heavyweight Championship
48. 2003 – Elimination Chamber for the World Heavyweight Championship
47. 1991 – Virgil vs Ted Dibiase for the Million Dollar Championship
46. 2010 – The Nexus vs Team WWE
45. 1993 – Lex Luger vs Yokozuna for the WWE Championship
44. 1997 – Undertaker vs Bret Hart w/ Shawn Michaels as Special Referee for the WWE Championship
43. 2006 – Edge vs John Cena for the WWE Championship
42. 1989 – Rick Rude vs Ultimate Warrior for the IC Championship
41. 2009 – DX vs Legacy
40. 1999 – Test vs Shane McMahon “love her or leave her” match
39. 1997 – Steel Cage Match Mankind vs Triple H
38. 2005 – Shawn Michaels vs Hulk Hogan
37. 2009 – Dolph Ziggler vs Rey Mysterio for the IC Championship
36. 1998 – Stone Cold vs Undertaker for the WWE Championship
35. 1988 – Ultimate Warrior vs Honky Tonk Man for the IC Championship
34. 2001 – Stone Cold vs Kurt Angle for the WWE Championship
33. 1998 – Ladder Match Triple H vs The Rock for the IC Championship
32. 2004 – Kurt Angle vs Eddie Guerrero
31. 1999 – Stone Cold vs Mankind vs Triple H for the WWE Championship

30. 1996 – Vader vs Shawn Michaels for the WWE Championship: The rumors are the Vader was originally booked to win this match, and was then penciled in to drop the title to Sycho Sid at the Survivor Series. Instead, the match was loaded with finishes and restarts, and then ultimately ended with Shawn getting the three count after a diving moonsault on Vader to retain the title. This was the biggest push Vader received while in WWE, as he had pinned Michaels during a six man tag at the ppv event prior to Summerslam with help from Jim Cornette.

29. 2008 – John Cena vs Batista: This was a huge meeting between two top faces in the company. There’s also rumors surrounding the finish to this match. The story goes that Cena suffered a legit neck injury during the match that would keep him out of action until the Survivor Series. Apparently the finish to the match was changed to Batista scoring a clean pin on Cena because he could do nothing else. Regardless, this was the first and only time the two would face off as “good guys” in a major match on a ppv.

28. 1988 – Mega Powers vs Mega Bucks: Savage and Hogan were both faces that were on their way to a breakup, but it would come after this event. Dibiase and Andre were determined to take the title off Hogan throughout 1987 and 1988, and this was Hogan’s revenge. Hogan ultimately pinned Dibiase when guest referee Jesse Ventura was forced to slap the mat for the third time by Savage. This was an exciting main event for the inaugural Summerslam.

27. 2006 – I Quit Match Mick Foley vs Ric Flair: Foley and Flair took an outside of wrestling rivalry and brought it to the ring for this match. With both men past their prime, they put on an intense brawl that ended with a controversial finish involving Melina. Melina was close to Foley backstage and came to the ring to protect Mick. Flair threatened to hit her with a baseball bat until Foley quit. These two would later rekindle their rivalry on TNA Impact and put on another fun brawl a few years later.

26. 1992 – Randy Savage vs Ultimate Warrior for the WWE Championship: This was a WrestleMania VII rematch with Savage defending the title against Warrior. Unfortunately, this match would end by countout when Ric Flair and Mr. Perfect both tried to interfere and Savage stopped them. Despite the interference, Savage and Warrior put on an entertaining match that could’ve been considered one of the best ever with a little more time and a different ending. Warrior wouldn’t wrestle a bigger match after this in WWE.

25. 2001 – The Rock vs Booker T for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship: WCW had “invaded” the WWE, and a couple of top stars from each company went head to head for a World Title. This was an awesome wrestling match between two guys with very different backgrounds. Rocky was given an instant push into bigger scenes, while Booker scratched and clawed from the tag title scene to the TV Title scene and then into the World Title picture as WCW was on its way to disappearing. The Rock would come out on top in this match and become the holder of the World Heavyweight Championship.

24. 2002 – Ric Flair vs Chris Jericho: If HBK and Flair from WM 24 gets to be considered a classic, then this match is damn close to being just as good. Without the same emotion, this match was a mat clinic for how to put on a show. Ultimately, Flair ended up forcing Jericho to submit via the figure four leglock to pick up the win.

23. 2005 – John Cena vs Chris Jericho for the WWE Championship: This would be Jericho’s second to last match before he went on hiatus until late 2007. The rivalry was centered around Raw GM Eric Bischoff wanting to take the title off Cena, and it also focused on Jericho’s career as a rock star and Cena’s career as a rapper. Jericho made Cena look really good in this match, and it was Jericho putting over Cena and losing the match before taking off the next night after Raw.

22. 1993 – The Steiner Brothers vs Heavenly Bodies for the WWE World Tag Team Championship: The Steiners didn’t spend very long in WWE, but they made an impact as tag team champions in 1993. Heavenly Bodies were a part of a cross promotion between WWE and Jim Cornette’s Smoky Mountain Wrestling. This is a somewhat overlooked match in terms of quality tag team wrestling, and it’s a match worth taking a look at.

21. 2005 – Ladder Match for Custody of Dominick: Rey Mysterio vs Eddie Guerrero: This match was made entirely personal, and the end result only added to their rivalry. Vickie Guerrero came down near the finish to stop Eddie from winning the match and causing any further disruption in the Mysterio family. The emotion from the Mysterio family after an intense battle made this one an instant classic.

That’s all for part three. I’ll have the rundown up this weekend. Thanks for reading!

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