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SummerSlam is one of WWE's biggest pay-per-views of the year, right after WrestleMania. Ranking right up there with WWE's biggest events of the year, SummerSlam has seen some of the most memorable moments in WWE's long history.
This year's SummerSlam is set to be the 31st edition of the event. Set up during a time when Vince McMahon and company were looking to build more pay-per-views after the success of WrestleMania, SummerSlam and Survivor Series were the two that came to mind first, later followed by Royal Rumble to form the big four pay-per-views of WWE.
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In the 30 years of its history, there have been several events which missed the mark more than hit it in reality and taking a look back over the past events this is evident. While there have been plenty of amazing SummerSlam events, given the period of time it has existed, there was bound to be a few shows that fell short.
In this article, we will take a look back at the six of WWE's worst SummerSlam cards.
#6 SummerSlam 1995:
Why is a pay-per-view with the likes of The Undertaker, Kane, Bret Hart, Diesel and Shawn Michaels considered to be one of the worst pay-per-views of all time? For many reasons.
The product was boring and the characters were written badly. WCW was on the rise, and what WWE's product was no longer enough to draw the attention of the people away from their competitor. The Undertaker battled Kama in a ridiculous Casket Match, Kane (then in the gimmick of an evil dentist) was a waste of Bret Hart's talents. The whole card was less than enough to be one of the biggest shows of the year.
Best Match of the Card: Razor Ramon vs Shawn Michaels - Shawn and Razor had a rematch of their previous Intercontinental Title Ladder Match bout from the previous year's WrestleMania, and was the only saving grace of the entire show.
Worst Match of the Card: Diesel vs King Mabel - The main event of SummerSlam was Diesel facing King Mabel for the WWE Championship. No that is not a joke, as Vince McMahon thought it was the best possible feud at the time, something the entire wrestling world heartily disagreed with. Being the last match of the night, it was slow, and would not have even made it to the pre-show of modern pay-per-views.
#5 SummerSlam 2010:
The 2010 SummerSlam was nothing more than a shambles of a show. Not only were there a ridiculously low number of matches, WWE's booking of the last match was far from what the fans had expected.
Best Match of the Night: Kane vs Rey Mysterio - Kane and Rey Mysterio had the only match in the night that seemed to have a point. It was enjoyed by everyone leading up to the last match of the night later on. Both stars used their experiences to put on a show.
Worst Match of the Night: The Nexus vs John Cena, Bret Hart, R-Truth, John Morrison, Chris Jericho, Edge and Daniel Bryan - The WWE stars finally had a chance to face the people who had spent so long into making Monday Night Raw hell for them. The Nexus had attacked and taken out anyone and everyone, and it seemed that it was finally time that they defeated the stars and took control of the show proving their dominance. Everyone was waiting for it.
Then...... they lost. Cena, being the last member of his team, defeated both Wade Barret and Justin Gabriel to win the match. Why? No one knows. Nobody gained from this. Even had it been Daniel Bryan to defeat his former compatriots, it would have made more sense that the decision which was ultimately taken, leading to the fans going home less than happy.
#4 SummerSlam 1997:
The 1997 edition of SummerSlam was one of the more peculiar pay-per-views of WWE. Most of the matches were not that good, and the feuds did not give the sense of something that was important. Stone Cold's injury in his match against Owen Hart did nothing to help him either.
Best Match of the Night: Bret Hart vs The Undertaker (w/ Shawn Michaels as the Guest Referee) - Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels had one of the best rivalries from this particular time period. Having Shawn as a referee while he faced the Undertaker, seemed a sure formula for Bret to lose the bout. Unfortunately, Shawn hit the Undertaker with a steel chair by mistake and had to hand his nemesis, Bret Hart, the Championship Title.
Worst Match of the Night: Legion of Doom vs The Godwinns - The Godwinns were past their time in WWE at this stage, and looked very out of place on the roster. Not only did they lack the ability of other wrestlers, their feud against the Legion of Doom had very little momentum.
#3 SummerSlam 1988:
The first-ever SummerSlam was not the worst SummerSlam WWE ever presented. It was not the best SummerSlam they ever presented either. They had matches you could see in a pay-per-view but remained an event that you could just as easily not care about. Two matches stood out. One was the best match of the night, and the other was amazing for the shock factor as The Ultimate Warrior defeated the longest run in the history of the Intercontinental Championship, by defeating the Honky Tonk Man in a matter of seconds.
Best Match of the Night: The Mega Powers vs The Mega Bucks - The match was one that the fans cared about and it showed from the start to the finish. It is one of the only reasons that show was not a failure, and the pairing of Macho Man and Hulk Hogan defeating Andre The Giant and Ted Dibiase was a sight that is remembered to this day.
Worst Match of the Night: Big Boss Man vs Koko B. Ware: To put it simply, no one cared about the match, and it showed in their attitude. The Boss Man was far from being a good villain at the time.
#2 SummerSlam 2004:
The SummerSlam from 2004 did not do too well all told. While it appeared that the card was full of the best talent of the time, WWE was going through a tough period. Two of the key matches had very little backstories, and the fact that the infamous Kane Lita and Matt Hardy storyline was a part of the card, did not help the company.
Best Match of the Night: Kurt Angle vs Eddie Guerrero - If there has ever been a pairing who have never failed to impress in the ring, it is Kurt Angle and Eddie Guerrero. Both the stars brought their A-game in their match and left the fans with a lasting impression.
Worst Match of the Night: Triple H vs Eugene - When Eugene first came to the business, his character was fresh, and the fans grew close to it. However, by the time 2004's SummerSlam rolled around, he was far from the same lovable character. He had grown stale, and Triple H's match against him seemed to be a waste of time for everyone concerned.
#1 SummerSlam 1996:
Pre-Attitude Era, WWE was not the best wrestling company in the world as they are today. WCW was regularly defeating them in the ratings, and they could not seem to put up a fight. Although they had Shawn Michaels as their Champion, the crowd was more attracted by WCW and their antics and NWO.
Best Match of the Night: Undertaker vs Mankind (Boiler Room Brawl) - Although far from being a technical masterpiece, the boiler room brawn between Undertaker and Mankind remained the most entertaining part of the night's events.
Worst Match of the Night: British Bulldog vs Sycho Sid - Neither of the performers was at their best on the night and it shone through in their performance. They failed to deliver and entertain the fans.
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