Top 10 WWE Summerslam Matches

                                                                                                                                                             Money in the Bank has passed, and now it’s time to look ahead at Summerslam! This event has largely been considered WWE’s second biggest behind WrestleMania, and the show has produced some of the best and most interesting matches in all of WWE history. Every week from now until Summerslam, I’ll be counting down what @WrestlingThing believe are the top fifty matches in the history of WWE’s annual summer spectacular. Enjoy!                                                                                                                       1.- The Nexus(Justin Gabriel, Wade Barrett, Michael Tarver, David Otunga, Skip Sheffield, Heath Slater, and Darren Young) vs Team WWE(John Cena, Daniel Bryan, Edge, Chris Jericho, Bret Hart, R-Truth and John Morrison): The Nexus is one of the best things to happen to WWE in the last few years. Looking at the group’s make up, you see that every single performer(with the exception of Michael Tarver) in the group is still active within WWE today. This match was all about the dominance of the group trying to defeat the superstars who best represented WWE. Thanks to John Cena, team WWE able to reign victorious.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                2.- 1997 – Undertaker vs Bret Hart w/ Shawn Michaels as Special Referee for the WWE Championship: This is another one that I can remember like it was yesterday. I remember that, despite the heel turn, I was still a HUGE Bret Hart mark and I was cheering for him all summer long. The setup to finish this match was brilliant: Bret gets a chair and uses it. Shawn grabs the chair and confronts Bret, so Bret spits in Shawn’s face. Shawn swings the chair at Bret and misses, smashing the Undertaker in the head. Shawn Michaels counts the pinfall win for the Hitman(5th and FINAL WWF Title reign). I loved the match between Hart and Taker, and this was easily one of the better matches from 1997 in the WWF                           3. - 2006 – Edge vs John Cena for the WWE Championship: Edge had Lita, and Edge had feuded with Cena and Mick Foley the entire year while trying to prove that he was not a fluke champion. Edge would win the WWE Title from RVD in an awesome Triple Threat match involving John Cena in early July. Cena would challenge for the title once and fail, but then got his match at Summerslam. The two delivered in this awesome match in Cena’s hometown, but unfortunately for Cena, Edge walked away still the WWE Champion.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              4. - DX vs Legacy – This was the final run for DX. Shawn and Hunter would continue teaming after this event, but they eventually became embroiled in a rivalry with John Cena over the WWE Title, and Shawn would start the final rivalry of his career with the Undertaker in December(Slammy Awards on Raw). DX was feuding with the up and coming team of Ted Dibiase and Cody Rhodes, and both those guys were on the fast track for success. Legacy had been getting the best of DX going into the event, but Shawn and Hunter not only brought a tank to the 2009 event, but they brought their A-game as a tag team and won the match. They would go one to have one more major match with Rhodes and Dibiase at Hell in a Cell in October that year.                                                                                                                                                                                5. - 2005 – Shawn Michaels vs Hulk Hogan: HBK and Hogan teamed together a couple times during the spring and summer of 2005, and Michaels nailed Hogan with sweet chin music after a match where they teamed together on Raw. Michaels challenged Hogan to a match at Summerslam because he wanted to know who the better man was. Michaels oversold Hogan’s moves during the match, but the brawl is still considered one of the most anticipated in the history of Summerslam. When all was said and done, Hogan came out on top and shook hands with HBK after the match. Shawn’s only words were the ones that he uttered when he issued the challenge: I had to know.                                                                                           6.- 1998 – Stone Cold vs Undertaker for the WWE Championship: I remember the buildup to this match being centered around the Highway to Hell theme with the song by AC/DC. I also remember watching the music video made for this match probably 30 times on WWE’s weekend programs of Superstars and Livewire. The match had a ton of buildup, and the big question was whether or not Kane was in cahoots with the Undertaker and whether or not he would help Taker win the gold. Ultimately, Kane stayed away from the match under the direction of the dead man and Austin would retain his title.                                                       7. - 2001 – Stone Cold vs Kurt Angle for the WWE Championship: This was essentially Stone Cold’s last big run in the WWE Title scene. Austin had won the title at Mania from the Rock and would rival throughout the Summer with Kurt Angle during the Invasion storyline. This match ended by DQ but was a bright spot in the rivalry between Austin and Angle. Angle would win the title at Unforgiven, but drop it back to Austin just a few weeks later on Raw. Austin would go on to lose the title during the unification tournament at Vengeance in December and fall out of the WWE Title scene thereafter. This was also Austin’s last match at a Summerslam event.                                                                                                                                                                           8. - 1998 – Ladder Match Triple H vs The Rock for the IC Championship: The hype for this match was overshadowed at the time by Austin/Taker, but the match itself stood out far more than the WWE Title main event. Rock and Trips were on their way to the top of the company, and this match showed where both stood in popularity with the fans. Ultimately DX was able to top the Nation when Chyna scored a low blow on the great one; her interference allowed Triple H to capture the IC Title.                                                                         9. - 1999 – Stone Cold vs Mankind vs Triple H for the WWE Championship: I remember four things about this match, and it’s all about each person involved. I remember Jesse Ventura as the guest referee tossing Shane McMahon over the top rope after he received a stunner for his involvement. I remember hating Triple H as a heel and wanting him to lose this match. I remember wanting Austin to keep the title more than anything else. Lastly, I remember the shock I felt watching Mick Foley hit the double arm DDT on Austin and get the three count to become the new WWE Champion. This was a classic triple threat match in Summerslam’s vast history.                                                                                                                                     10. -  1994 – Undertaker vs Undertaker: What better storyline existed in pro wrestling 1994(and don’t you dare respond with Hogan’s WCW signing)? Undertaker was locked in a casket at the Rumble by Yokozuna and a band of misfits, only to have Ted Dibiase bring back the fake Undertaker. Paul Bearer swore up and down that the real Undertaker would come and seek his revenge, and he returned at Summerslam. The match isn’t what you would call a classic, but it’s something intriguing to watch and as a five year old at the time, it was an amazing sight to see two dead men going one on one! Of course the real Undertaker picked up the win in this match; it was the only thing that made any sense. The man portraying the fake Undertaker wouldn’t appear again until 1997 when he debuted as Chainz in the DOA Biker Gang Stable, led by Crush(Brian Adams).                                                                                               SUMMERSLAM 2012 LIVE STREAM HERE                                                                                               FOR DAILY UPDATE FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @WrestlingThing & LIKE ON FACEBOOK.