The 3 best (and 3 worst) SummerSlam moments of all time
SummerSlam is one of WWE’s biggest PPV’s of the year and they go all out to make it a huge success.
With SummerSlam taking root in Brooklyn’s Barclay’s Center for the next two years, WWE hopes to draw huge numbers in the Barclays Center for a third and fourth time.
SummerSlam has been home to some incredible moments over the years including some epic, and some not so epic, memories.
With SummerSlam right around the corner, the go home episodes of both Raw and Smackdown get fans prepared for the monster card Sunday will offer.
#6 Worst: Goldberg gets merketh by a Sledgehammer (2003)
Goldberg had finally arrived in WWE in late 2003 and he was ready to wreak some havoc on the entire locker room.
He speared the life out of the Rock on his arrival and went on to beat Rock at Backlash and Chris Jericho at Badd Blood.
https://giphy.com/gifs/pro-wrestling-spears-goldberg-eMeWRYCqReJWw
Goldberg seemed invincible as he challenged for Triple H’s World Heavyweight Championship, which would be contested in the Elimination Chamber.
Goldberg entered last and went on a tear eliminating 3 guys in a row. It came down to him and a beaten up Triple H.
https://giphy.com/gifs/vs-blue-brock-sdwVaVhAdyoYo
He looked poised to defeat him until Ric Flair showed up with a sledgehammer.
After beating three people, it took one sledgehammer shot and there went Goldberg, pinned clean by Triple H.
https://giphy.com/gifs/king-lead-features-J0Z5IeYRIE8sU
Goldberg went on to win the title at the next PPV but his momentum had already been murdered by that Elimination Chamber mishap.
#5 Best: Shawn Michaels the Flopgod (2005)
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xy3urj
Personally I enjoyed this match, simply for the fact that Michaels’ unprofessional antics made for an entertaining 21 minutes and 24 seconds.
Rumor is that Hogan and Michaels were supposed to work a trio of matches with Hogan winning at SummerSlam and Michaels going over at Unforgiven.
https://giphy.com/gifs/hulk-hogan-aGCuGPJZvz9IY
This would then lead to a rubber match between the two with Hogan putting Michaels over in the last one.
However, Hulk Hogan IS Hulk Hogan after all. He changed the trio of matches into one match with him going over Michaels.
When Michaels found out, he made the decision to oversell all of Hogan’s offense.
Many found the display to be a farce but to me, it was gold.
https://giphy.com/gifs/shawn-michaels-xDUPTzjpmuGEo
I laughed as Michaels flopped around more than LeBron James whenever Hogan hit him with some form of offense.
The best however was during the Hogan comeback. Michaels took a Big Boot and did a huge flippy spin and then threw himself down and forget the Leg Drop impact.
https://giphy.com/gifs/shawn-michaels-144onOs6QxkYj6
Honestly, this was so funny that it made a match I thought would be a boring affair entertaining.
#4 Worst: Divas Dodgeball (2004)
Whoever in WWE Creative said “Hey guys lets put actual women’s wrestlers in a dodge-ball match with non-wrestlers from the Diva Search” should never write again, period.
This was a horrible idea all in all. WWE was still on the “Look, sexy women everywhere!” phase and that year’s Diva Search was a paradise to some.
At SummerSlam in 2004, the Diva Search contestants were pitted against the women’s roster in a dodgeball match.
This was actually a shoot match and the Diva Search contestants won. A whole roster of professionally trained women lost to some models? You gotta be kidding me.
The women’s divsion took a huge hit in the locker room as well as with fans.
#3 Best: AJ Styles vs John Cena (2016)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZULYbDIaE7Q
AJ Styles is one of the best wrestlers on the planet. John Cena is one of the greatest superstars since Austin and Hogan.
Once AJ signed with WWE, a clash between the two was inevitable.
Their match at Money in the Bank was pretty solid but had an unsatisfying ending with the Club helping AJ to win.
So when the rematch was booked for SummerSlam, everyone hoped AJ wouldn’t be buried by Cena.
They put on an absolute classic at SummerSlam. Both men pulled out incredible moves from their arsenals and neither could put the other away.
They went on and eventually Styles pinned Cena clean. I jumped out of my seat in the Barclays Center and cheered for Styles’ victory.
Cena then had a stand alone moment in the ring and left an armband in the ring. That was cool too and we gave him an ovation.
The feeling of seeing it live, as well as the great match itself, was straight gold.
#2 Worst: The Nexus Who? Cena wins LOL (2010)
The Nexus was one of the hottest stables back in 2010.
A group of NXT rookies who were hellbent on gaining WWE contracts invaded the main event of Raw between John Cena and CM Punk.
They swarmed the ring and beat up Cena and Punk, tore the ringside area apart, and destroyed the ring.
They all seemed like legit badasses at that moment.
Nexus kept showing up on episodes of Raw and Smackdown, costing people matches and causing mass havoc.
https://giphy.com/gifs/wwe-wrestling-wade-barrett-84dCnGtzHSVy0
They kept up the antics, costing Cena a WWE Title rematch at Money in the Bank.
Cena formed a team and challenged Nexus to a match at SummerSlam, which they accepted.
It looked as if Cena was going to actually be beaten, as he was the only member of his team left while Wade Barrett and Justin Gabriel were left for Team Nexus.
Oh how wrong we all were.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmnzZMs_B7s
Cena came back and eliminated Gabriel and then made Barrett submit to win the match.
This killed Nexus’ momentum dead in its tracks. Nexus looked weak as hell and Wade looked like a complete idiot.
#1 Best: The First TLC Match (2000)
I watched this with my grandpa when I was 6 years old and this ignited my love for professional wrestling.
The Hardy Boyz, Edge and Christian, and the Dudley Boyz put on an absolutely hard-hitting and spot filled match that kept viewers glued to the screen.
https://giphy.com/gifs/christian-edge-jeff-hardy-M5F3WLongVewM
It was also the first ever Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match in WWE and it didn’t fail to amaze.
Each competitor put their body on the line for our entertainment.
https://giphy.com/gifs/christian-edge-jeff-hardy-143UgKYmu5iNA4
Matt and Jeff flew off ladders like mad men, Edge and Christian used the con-chair-to and the Dudleyz were planting people through tables with that signature 3D.
Jeff had a really cringe-worthy spot when he attempted a Swanton on a prone Bubba Ray and Bubba moved out of the way leaving Jeff to fall straight into a table.
https://giphy.com/gifs/christian-edge-jeff-hardy-OBPbtEfiQwJTW
Edge and Christian retaining the belts after a grueling match made all the men involved into mega stars.