4 WWE legends who were special guest referees at SummerSlam

Tonight at SummerSlam, CM Punk will face Drew McIntyre in a much-awaited grudge match, with Seth Rollins as a special guest referee. This will be Punk's first televised singles match in the company after nearly a decade.

Since this announcement was made, fans have been excited to see The Visionary as a referee. While the excitement around Rollins' involvement is understood, it's not the first time a WWE Superstar will be the special guest referee at SummerSlam.

In this article, we will look at four superstars who were special guest referees at SummerSlam:

#4. Jesse Ventura was the special guest referee at SummerSlam

Jesse Ventura became the special guest referee at SummerSlam on two occasions. The first time was in the 1988 edition of the premium live event, where he refereed a tag team match between The Mega Powers and The Mega Bucks which was won by the former.

The next time Jesse Ventura refereed in the PLE was in 1999. In this edition of the event, Ventura kept the proceedings under check for the Triple Threat match between Mankind, Stone Cold Steve Austin, and Triple H. This bout was won by Mankind who also became the WWF Champion on that night.

Jesse Ventura is a veteran in the industry, he worked with the company in the mid-1980s and was inducted into Hall of Famer in 2004. He recently returned to RAW ahead of SummerSlam.

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#3. Shawn Michaels

In the 1997 edition of SummerSlam, Shawn Michaels served as a special guest referee for the match between The Undertaker and Bret Hart. This bout was contested for the WWF Championship which was held by Taker and it was a must-win match for Hart.

If Hart hadn't won the match, he would not have been able to wrestle in the United States. While Michales tried to spoil the party for The Hitman by attacking him, unfortunately, HBK accidentally hit Taker instead. This led to the Canadian star taking advantage and winning the WWF Championship.

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#2. Triple H

Like Jesse Ventura, Triple H was also the special guest referee at SummerSlam on two occasions. The first time he was a referee was in 2011 for a match between CM Punk and John Cena. Punk's Undisputed WWE Championship was on the line and he ended up retaining it against the Leader of Cenation.

Two years later, Triple H once again became a special guest referee for the match between Daniel Bryan and John Cena. Bryan defended the WWE World Heavyweight Match Championship against Cena, but things turned south as Hunter turned heel.

Randy Orton appeared with his Money in the Bank contract, after which The Game hit Bryan with a pedigree and turned heel for the first time since 2006. Post this, Orton cashed in his contract and became the new champion.

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#1. Shane McMahon

Risk taker and high flyer Shane McMahon donned the role of a referee at SummerSlam 2017. Shane took care of the proceedings in the United States Championship match between AJ Styles and Kevin Owens. In what was a chaotic match, Styles was able to retain his title.

McMahon last competed at WrestleMania 38, where he tore his quad. Shane-O-Mac recently made headlines after a leaked photo of him meeting Tony Khan made headlines. It is expected that Shane will sign with AEW.

In all the above matches, the special guest referee has always played a crucial role. It will be interesting to see what role Seth Rollins plays when he referees the match between CM Punk and Drew McIntyre.