The Greatest Match From Every WWE SummerSlam | partsFUNknown

  • 3 months ago
With SummerSlam once again looming we thought it would be fun to take a look at the best match from every edition of WWE's summer spectacle.

00:00 - Start
00:55 - 1988
01:12 - 1989
01:25 - 1990
01:40 - 1991
01:56 - 1992
02:08 - 1993
02:24 - 1994
02:40 - 1995
02:54 - 1996
03:07 - 1997
03:23 - 1998
03:43 - 1999
04:03 - 2000
04:25 - 2001
04:44 - 2002
05:00 - 2003
05:16 - 2004
05:30 - 2005
05:49 - 2006
06:10 - 2007
06:26 - 2008
06:45 - 2009
07:02 - 2010
07:16 - 2011
07:36 - 2012
07:55 - 2013
08:18 - 2014
08:35 - 2015
08:55 - 2016
09:14 - 2017
09:33 - 2018
09:51 - 2019
10:08 - 2020
10:18 - 2021
10:32 - 2022
10:48 - 2023

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Transcript
00:00The most summer-slam time of the year is once again upon us, with the Summer Spectacular
00:04only two weeks away, now in brown.
00:07The most summery color of all, thank you Cleveland.
00:11Earlier this year we took a look at the best match from every Wrestlemania, and it was
00:14a ton of fun, so why not do that again with the other big show on the WWE calendar?
00:20Rest assured, there will be a worst version of this list, because what near 40-year-old
00:25show doesn't have a little bit of good and a little bit of bad?
00:29Thankfully for present Tempest, now is the time for the good.
00:32I'm Tempest, hailing from PartsFunKnown, and this is the greatest match from every
00:36summer slam.
00:37But before we get on with our list, make sure of course that you like this video, subscribe,
00:40and enable notifications to always on so you never miss a fun list just like it.
00:44And if you like video game content, why don't you check out our new channel, Control Freaks,
00:49where we play the best couch co-op, competitive, and spooky games around.
00:53You'll see a clip from one of them at the end.
00:551988, the Megapowers vs. the Megabucks.
00:58Usually, power and money would go hand in hand, and they'd all be evil.
01:02Side note, shout out to the 80s for Miss Elizabeth's swimsuit bottom being so racy that it was
01:07the big spot of the match.
01:09Wish I could show these people what Liv Morgan's up to these days.
01:121989, the Ultimate Warrior vs. Rick Rude.
01:15Maybe the most consistent rivalry of the Ultimate Warrior's career.
01:18Would that be fair to say?
01:20Between solid matches at WrestleMania 5, here, and SummerSlam 1990, I think it just might
01:24be.
01:251990, the Hart Foundation vs. Demolition.
01:28Bret Appreciation Part 1, God bless the tag teams providing actually great wrestling matches
01:33to the end of the Hulkamania era.
01:35Bret in a best-of-three-falls match with a title change given plenty of time?
01:39More please.
01:401991, Bret Hart vs. Mr. Perfect.
01:42Bret Appreciation Part 2, the Solo Star Edition.
01:46I mean, it may not have had three falls, but it has the other boxes checked.
01:50If you had a match embodying the Intercontinental Championship of the era, you'd be hard-pressed
01:55to find a better one than this.
01:561992, Bret Hart vs. British Bulldog.
01:59Bret Appreciation Part 3, the Dave Bradshaw was there edition.
02:03The match virtually all British pay-per-view main events are compared against, at least
02:07in Dave's mind.
02:081993, Bret Hart vs. Jerry Lawler.
02:11Bret Appreciation Part 4, the Overcoming the Evil Clown Edition.
02:15Doesn't matter if this is only six minutes, ends in DQ, and follows a match with an evil
02:19clown, Bret was the first Mr. SummerSlam and maximized the minutes he was given.
02:241994, Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart.
02:27Bret Appreciation Part 5, the My Brother Bret Edition.
02:31At the time, this was the best cage match ever, but even still, sometimes I wonder how
02:34magical Bret vs. Owen for the title would have been had they had the latter match Bret
02:39had wanted them to have.
02:401995, Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon.
02:43How do you follow a revolutionary new match that many viewed as perfect?
02:47Well you make the more exciting man in the match the babyface this time so the people
02:50are actually meant to cheer him.
02:52Yeah, that'll do.
02:541996, Shawn Michaels vs. Vader.
02:57Even Shawn throwing a tantrum in two separate restarts couldn't ruin the only highlight
03:01of SummerSlam 1996.
03:02Somehow the exact same thing can be said about our most previous entry too.
03:06Funny that.
03:071997, Bret Hart vs. The Undertaker.
03:10More Bret Appreciation!
03:12Shawn's work as special guest referee accidentally costing Undertaker the WWE title is still
03:16being used as the framework for referee bollocks decades later and served as a great finish
03:21to an otherwise great match as well.
03:241998, The Rock vs. Triple H.
03:26The eternal rivalry between The Rock and Triple H has many chapters, detailed on our WrestleTalk
03:30original on the subject, but an often overlooked one is the pair having a great ladder match
03:35together.
03:36You wouldn't think it given their styles, but grit over spectacle and an MSG crowd in
03:411998 went a long way.
03:431999, Mankind vs. Triple H vs. Steve Austin.
03:47Steve Austin, in addition to being one of the greatest brawlers and technicians in wrestling
03:50history, is also one clumsy fellow at times, highlighted here by managing to flip over
03:56the ropes, get completely tied up, and hook his knee brace on the rope so he couldn't
04:00escape.
04:01Highlight of the whole show if you ask me.
04:032000, TLC 1.
04:05It may be a ladder match with more furniture, but if you're going to establish the TLC
04:09match as a new classic stipulation, you want a match like this to take the lead with its
04:13death-defying stunts.
04:15Guys dangling from the ring, missed swanton bombs, Matt Hardy's perilous plunge, Lita
04:21bonking her head on the ladder, honestly, that might be the thing that makes me cringe
04:25the most.
04:262001, Kurt Angle vs. Steve Austin.
04:28The best match to ever end in a DQ, not only because the match preceding the finish was
04:34f***ing brilliant, but because the DQ serviced the story of this cowardly Austin out of options
04:39against an Olympic hero who could not be beaten.
04:42One of the best ever.
04:442002, Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels.
04:47The build for this match may not have made a lot of sense, but thankfully Shawn Michaels
04:50is the kind of wrestler who could be out of a WWE ring for four and a half years and come
04:54back like he never missed a day.
04:56I say the kind of wrestler, but he may be in a category by himself on that one.
05:012003, Kurt Angle vs. Brock Lesnar.
05:03The least remembered of their trilogy, but still fantastic in its own right.
05:07The only one where Kurt got his win back, but he did it as a superb babyface giving
05:12Brock more of a challenge than the shark he F5'd in the commercial for the show.
05:162004, Randy Orton vs. Chris Benoit.
05:19The forgotten Summerslam main event for very obvious reasons, but also one of the best
05:24matches in the young career of Randy Orton and one of the only times Chris Benoit got
05:28to simply defend the title in the main event of a pay-per-view.
05:302005, Rey Mysterio vs. Eddie Guerrero.
05:33WWE has to run this back with Rhea and Liv, right?
05:36Like Dom sitting in the front row with a social worker and everything.
05:40Whether they would be able to match the quality of two of WWE's best ever having a messy,
05:44dangerous, and entertaining ladder match is yet to be seen, but it would be a tall task.
05:492006, Edge vs. John Cena.
05:51You know, if I have to see one more sign that says if Blank wins, we riot, I'm gonna start
05:57a riot.
05:58Empty threats.
05:59You don't mean it, you cowards.
06:01No one rioted when Edge won this very good Summerslam main event in John Cena's hometown.
06:06If you're not in the Hammerstein ballroom at an ECW show, I don't want to hear it.
06:102007, John Cena vs. Randy Orton.
06:12John Cena vs. Randy Orton?
06:14On a positive list.
06:16I mean, this was still new at the time, but rest assured, their match at Summerslam 2009
06:20will receive no such praise with its Brett DiBiase run-in.
06:24Brett DiBiase appreciation part never.
06:262008, Edge vs. The Undertaker.
06:29An actually brilliantly told Hell in a Cell match with a simple story of Edge using his
06:33strengths to try and overcome Undertaker and Hell in a Cell only to be smoten for his sins.
06:39And then thrown in an actual Christian depiction of Hell.
06:42Makes it a bit wacky, but the match is still good.
06:452009, Jeff Hardy vs. CM Punk.
06:47That's one big ass swanton.
06:49I know Jeff Hardy is kinda known for such things, but my god, what a way to put an exclamation
06:55mark on the best singles TLC match we had seen to that point.
06:58Just ignore Jeff digivolving into The Undertaker at the end.
07:022010, Team Cena vs. Team Nexus.
07:05Not often you'll see this match on a positive list, but this is a bad Summerslam with
07:09very few redeeming qualities, so John Cena burying seven guys at once in a solid main
07:13event match will have to do.
07:152011, Randy Orton vs. Christian.
07:18This is a real comfort match of mine.
07:20A great plunder match putting to bed a fantastic rivalry that is maybe the best of Orton's
07:25career.
07:26Would have been nice to ever get to see Christian get a proper run as world champion in WWE
07:31without Orton stomping methodically on that dream's limbs, but I'll take the great
07:35matches.
07:362012, Chris Jericho vs. Dolph Ziggler.
07:38I love how WWE pitched this as Chris Jericho finally winning the big one after having a
07:432012 where he exclusively lost on pay-per-view.
07:46I mean, I wouldn't usually consider winning an opening match against a mid-carder to be
07:51the big one, but at least it was the best match of a middling Summerslam.
07:552013, Brock Lesnar vs. CM Punk.
07:58What wasn't a middling Summerslam was this from 2013, complete with the two best matches
08:02WWE put on all year.
08:04While Cena and Bryan may have carried more significance, Brock and Punk's high-octane
08:08Extreme Rules match takes the cake.
08:11Punk hits a GTS to the gut, perhaps on accident, or perhaps to take advantage of Brock's
08:16diverticulitis.
08:17Who's to say?
08:182014, John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar.
08:21One of the most unique pay-per-view main events in WWE history.
08:25It remains surreal to think it actually happened even 10 years later.
08:30If you have to give Cena the title again at this point in his career, this is a hell of
08:34a way to justify it.
08:352015, John Cena vs. Seth Rollins.
08:38It's a shame this match is best remembered for John Stewart's shenanigans and not the
08:4219 minutes of brilliant wrestling that came before it, because truthfully, Seth beating
08:47John Cena to win a second belt should have been the biggest highlight of his WWE title
08:51reign.
08:52And I guess it is, but also, John Stewart.
08:552016, John Cena vs. AJ Styles.
08:58The run of John Cena wrestling the breakout Internet Darling of the Year at Summerslam
09:02made for many great matches, but none greater than this, with the 2016 Wrestler of the Year
09:07AJ Styles.
09:09Helps that Cena LOSES all of these Summerslam matches.
09:13Gotta love that.
09:142017, Brock Lesnar vs. Braun Strowman vs. Samoa Joe vs. Roman Reigns.
09:19They did the match.
09:20They did the monster match.
09:22The monster match.
09:23It was a graveyard match.
09:25I'm surprised no one ended up in a grave after the destruction left behind by one of
09:29the most bonkers car crash matches ever in WWE.
09:332018, AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe.
09:36Not the first match on this list to end in DQ, but while a match like Austin vs. Angle
09:41justified its finish, this one felt like an attempt to stretch this story out a while
09:45longer.
09:46It does enough to earn its place atop Summerslam 2018, but in hindsight, Joe should have just
09:50won the title here.
09:522019, Seth Rollins vs. Brock Lesnar.
09:54When the bell rings, this Toronto crowd was not f***ing with babyface Seth Rollins after
09:58the horrendous 2019 he had had to this point, but by the end, they were all losing their
10:04minds to see him win back the Universal title.
10:06I know, because I was one of them.
10:092020, Drew McIntyre vs. Randy Orton.
10:11This is the best match ever to be won with a backslide.
10:14That's what I remember about it, and I'm not re-entering the Thunderdome to double-check.
10:182021, Edge vs. Seth Rollins.
10:21I don't know why the entry is titled that way.
10:24It should obviously say Seth Rollins vs. Brood Edge.
10:28The start of the trilogy that serves as the biggest highlight of Edge's WWE return run.
10:332022, Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar.
10:35Congratulations, WWE!
10:37After seven and a half years, you finally got Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar on a best-of
10:41list, and we all know why.
10:43There's only one reason.
10:45It's Roman catching that microphone.
10:47Chef's kiss.
10:48And 2023, Cody Rhodes vs. Brock Lesnar.
10:52For a story that was never given a reason to exist in the first place, Brock Lesnar
10:55vs. Cody Rhodes did have a very satisfying ending.
10:59A simple match of a hero overcoming the monster with effective imagery and a show of respect
11:04at the end.
11:05At least it helped give Cody something to do for a few months, like all great Summerslam
11:09feuds should.
11:10And that's our list.
11:11Make sure, of course, that you like this video and subscribe to PartsFunKnown, and leave
11:13us a comment down below if you disagree with any of our choices.
11:16But also check out this clip from our new video game channel, Control Freaks.
11:22Look at that, Holly!
11:29When I meet Dom, like, Dom's such a liar villain.
11:33You set the kitchen on fire and did nothing about it.
11:36I couldn't help.
11:37Dom is hard to please.

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