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WWE SummerSlam is known for having some of the most entertaining rivalries in the history of WWE. Big rivalries start and even end here. However, some stand out more than others. In this list, we will count down the top ten best of them all.Throughout WWE history, we have seen personal rivalries with legends and even those we cannot remember. Some started off as servants wanting to be Million Dollar Champions. Others lost a girl and wanted to avenge their honor.Some rivalries began out of jealousy and others began because one person wanted to prove they were better and would do it at all costs.This list counts down those incredible rivalries and all that comes with them. Enjoy.
#1 Team Nexus vs Team WWE- SummerSlam 2010
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The Nexus reigned supreme once they came in and attacked The Straight Edge Society and John Cena on their first night. It was made up of the rookies from the first season of NXT, then a gameshow of sorts where the winner would go to the main roster. Or something weird that no one remembers now due to the awesomeness that is NXT today.
The Nexus was perfect for all involved. It gave everyone something to do, so that not all were lost in the shuffle or thrown back into developmental. Finally everyone had too much and the top WWE Superstars of the day and one WWE Hall of Famer went up against the Nexus to take control back for WWE.
When Nexus first attacked Cena, Daniel Bryan got a bit too rough and decided to choke Justin Roberts with his tie. No biggy, except WWE was PG and that wasnt cool. So WWE released Bryan for it. WWE played it off on television by saying that Bryan felt bad for what he did and didnt fit the group. This led to his surprise return at SummerSlam where he was a huge part of the team.
The match was very good, but was one of the more personal storylines leading up to the event due to what Nexus was doing leading up to it.
#2 CM Punk vs Jeff Hardy- SummerSlam 2009
CM Punk was starting to go heel in 2009 after a long time face run. On SmackDown, he was doing well but needed something good to go with. So he decided to use a gimmick that was successful for him in Ring of Honor. He would be Straight Edge like he is in real life, but use that to claim he is better than everyone because he is pure and they are not.
Meanwhile, Jeff Hardy was known to have substance abuse issues. He has been suspended by WWE a number of times over the issue. Despite this, the WWE fans loved Jeff and continued to support him. Punk could not understand this. He wanted to get rid of Hardy in every way possible, but he first wanted to make sure that he did not have any gold around his waist.
This made these two perfect rivals. Punk exploited Hardy’s past drug problems and the two were in a heated rivalry for some time. The rivalry ultimately came to a head at WWE SummerSlam. Shortly after this, Hardy would leave WWE and go to TNA. However, it was Punk/Hardy that stole the summer of 2009 to many and most believe that it was the first rivalry that gave credibility to CM Punk. So without Hardy, we may have never seen the Punk we saw from 2011 and on.
#3 The Undertaker vs Edge- SummerSlam 2008
SmackDown General Manager Vickie Guerrero had a thing for the World Heavyweight Champion Edge. Edge also liked being champion. The best way to do this was to manipulate Vickie into thinking he loved her so that she would give him whatever he wanted.
Edge managed to get a TLC match with The Undertaker that would cost Undertaker the World Title and his career. He had a lot of help to do it from La Familia, but he still was able to take his biggest threat out of action.
That was until Vickie got ticked at Edge and decided to bring The Undertaker back to take Edge straight to hell. The two would be put in a Hell in a Cell match at the 2008 edition of SummerSlam. The match was really good and one of the top Hell in a Cell matches ever.
Undertaker not only took the World Heavyweight Title back, but he threw Edge through the ring and a burst of flames came up afterward. Edge was not seen for months, at least until he weaseled his way back into Vickie’s pocket like a true heel.
#4 Ted Dibiase vs Virgil- SummerSlam 1991
Ted DiBiase was known as the Million Dollar Man. He was known for buying anything he wanted or needed to succeed, which drew the ire of many WWE fans. He was the perfect heel and one that most could not touch. Whatever he wanted, he got. This not only angered fans, but also WWE Superstars. The worst part was that Ted was a good wrestler. However, if he could not beat you on his own, you were probably going to lose due to help from the outside..
Virgil was known as Ted’s muscle, which is how we were first introduced to him. Virgil had Ted’s back for years. He was there when he needed him and took numerous bullets for him. The problem was that he was treated terribly. If Ted lost, it was Virgil’s fault. If he didn’t have something fast enough, Virgil was put through hell. Literally, nothing could satisfy Ted.
This led to Virgil losing it, and not taking it any longer. So he challenged Ted to a match. Not just any normal match either, but a match for his Million Dollar Championship….DiBiase’s prized possession. Virgil ends up winning the match so we could vicariously give really great slaps in the faces to bosses we may have had that we didn’t like.
#5 Shawn Michaels vs Hulk Hogan- SummerSlam 2005
Shawn Michaels was known for putting on matches that could be considered wrestling clinics. He is known by many as the best in-ring performer in WWE history, and most wouldn’t argue that. Meanwhile Hulk Hogan was, at the time, the most well-known pro-wrestler of all time. He was probably the most iconic of any other pro-wrestler in history up to that point and may still be the same today.
It only made sense when Hogan made his comeback that the two should face off. However, backstage politics got in the way. Originally, this was set to be a trilogy of matches that would most likely lead to Hogan going over but HBK winning one.
Both were also set to be faces.
At the last minute, Hogan nixed both plans and wanted one match for him to go over in where Michaels had to be the heel. He couldn’t simply “play the heel” like he would do with people such as John Cena. He had to literally turn his entire character into being heel just for the program with Hogan.
HBK, being ticked about this entire ordeal, decided to do as he is told behind the scenes. Now this was a calmer Shawn Michaels in 2005. He didn’t turn to drugs or use his influence like Hogan did to change anything. Instead, he decided to go out and put on a show like only he could.
So Michaels literally oversells the entire match just to make Hogan look like the dominator he pretends to be. Michaels literally puts on a show so that people would be talking after this match ended. It was comedic gold and goes down as one of the most fun matches ever. But it was a shot to Hogan the entire time.
HBK knew that the one thing Hogan could never do was sell well, as Shawn could outwrestle almost anyone and make anyone look good. He did just that with Hulk.
Funny enough, Michaels turns back into a babyface shortly after the program with Hogan ended.
#6 Seth Rollins vs Dean Ambrose- SummerSlam 2014
The Shield was known as one of the best factions in WWE history. Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, and Roman Reigns all brought something special to the table each time they came out. The trio dominated the WWE and it seemed like they reached the mountain top of their career as a unit.
However, Rollins wanted more than what his boys could provide and decided to turn on them by stabbing them in the back when they least expected it…..or hitting them in the back with a chair. Same thing, right?
Ambrose did not take kindly to this and decided to make it his personal mission to get even with Seth Rollins for what he did to him and Roman Reigns. He would spend the rest of the year finding ways to hurt Rollins in every way possible. He knew that Rollins would continue to run from him, which is what led to the two having a Lumberjack match.
The two of them tore the house down with a great SummerSlam match. This would not be the only match the two had that stole the show, but it was the most personal. The match gave us some moments where you thought each man could kill the other. Leading up to the match, everything personal that could exist was present.
It was a match that made you happy to be a wrestling fan, but it was weird to see as both men were friends just months prior. It was probably the best Lumberjack match ever, and as usual, the Lumberjacks were useless.
#7 Bret Hart vs Owen Hart- SummerSlam 1994
Owen Hart was beloved just like his brother Bret. However, many believe that Owen was more athletic and contained more charisma than Bret. Truly one of the greatest losses in pro-wrestling history was the untimely death of Owen Hart who could have gone down as a multi-time World Champion just like his brother.
In 1994 though Owen was being touted as great, everyone was talking about Bret. Owen wanted to stand out and he wanted to show Bret that he was just as good if not better.
This match at the 1993 version of SummerSlam was going to be a chance for Owen to show his brother Bret that he was the better Hart. The King of Harts was going to be Owen Hart and not Bret for the first time. It became a personal mission for Owen because he wanted to stand out.
He did just that and this match goes down for many as one of the top matches in SummerSlam history due to these two real life brothers giving us everything to show who was truly better. It also took place inside a steel cage, which only made it better.
#8 Matt Hardy vs Edge- SummerSlam 2005
In one of the most personal, real life rivalries in WWE history..Matt Hardy versus Edge was seen as a match that no one wanted to happen but did at the same time. We worried that both men would really hurt the other just to get back at them. The biggest wildcard in it all was Hardy.
The story goes that Matt was down with an injury, and while he’s away his girlfriend Lita ends up cheating on him with Edge, and leaves Matt. Matt finds this out about the cheating and goes on a huge rant online. If social media was as big as it is now back then, this could have gotten out of hand. We all understood why he was upset, which is why fans were on Matt’s side.
The moment Matt returned, he went right after Edge and Lita. This ended up getting him released from WWE for real. WWE eventually re-hired Hardy when they saw money in the rivalry with Edge. Their match at WWE SummerSlam was all about getting personal.
While this rivalry did not end here, as it was milked for a bit longer….it was the first rivalry Edge ever had as a singles star that was able to put him over as a legit heel. The same was said about Matt. Hardy was sent to SmackDown later on while Edge was on RAW.
The match that started it all happened at SummerSlam and it was amazing to say the very least.
#9 Eddie Guerrero vs Rey Mysterio- SummerSlam 2005
Eddie Guerrero was a fantastic heel in 2005. Rey Mysterio was the lovable babyface that no one could dispute the merits of. The two were friends and even WWE Tag Team Champions together. However, Eddie began to be jealous of Rey and wanted to take everything from him. He began to talk about his family and brought up how Rey’s son Dominic may not really be his.
This led to the two having a ladder match at SummerSlam in 2005 where the two had one of the best matches we’ve ever seen them put on. The winner of the match would get the custody papers for Dominic. You know, because that’s how we decide who gets a kid in America.
This was the first time we really got to see Vickie Guerrero, which was a bit foreshadowing. Rey would go on to win this match, but the two ended up having a bitter rivalry that goes down as possibly the best rivalry in their career. Sadly, Eddie died later that year in November. Rey Mysterio was his last heel rivalry before his death, and no one could have asked for better.
#10 Triple H vs Shawn Michaels- SummerSlam 2002
Shawn Michaels was a legend before he hurt his back in the late 90’s. He was the leader of DX with Triple H, but Triple H never could stand out when HBK was around because everyone knew that Shawn was always better. It was a blessing in disguise that HBK had to semi-retire, because it allowed Triple H to stand out and become a big name in the WWE.
It was a big shock for Triple H when Shawn decided to come back to the WWE in 2002. He first began to work with the NWO as more of a manager with Kevin Nash and X-Pac among others like Big Show and Booker T.
Triple H’s jealousy continued to grow the more he was around Michaels. He decided to bring back DX for one night only so that he could lure HBK into a trap where the The Game could pedigree his best friend live on RAW. Shortly after, Shawn Michaels was thrown through a window head first.
Triple H “found this out” while in the ring delivering a scathing promo to HBK himself. He went to the back to check on him and was somehow a changed man now that he knew his friend was out. However, Michaels found out that Triple H attacked him.
Michaels then wanted a match at the 2002 SummerSlam, but RAW General Manger Eric Bischoff would not sanction this match due to the fact that Michaels had not been in a ring in years. No one knew if he was even capable of wrestling again.
Therefore the match was called an “unsanctioned match” which turned into a glorified street fight. This match had everything one could ask for, and more. It was a Michaels match, so we didn’t expect it to be bad. However, the fact that he was returning from a broken back injury meant that it would be understandable if he couldn’t wrestle the same. However, he could…and possibly better than before.
The match was personal and ended up being what stole the entire show. It still goes down as one of the best matches ever, not just one of the best we saw at SummerSlam.
