Ranking the 7 best SummerSlam matches in WWE history (2024)

WWE SummerSlam has been part of the company’s ‘Big Five’ PPV events for decades alongside WrestleMania, Royal Rumble, Survivor Series and Money in the Bank. With the ‘Biggest Part of the Summer’ having been held yearly since August 1988, there is a litany of incredible matches that have taken place across the years featuring huge names like CM Punk, John Cena, Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Bret Hart and Brock Lesnar that have gone on to be regarded as both the best of their respective Eras as well as iconic in the overall pantheon of WWE history.

We've previously looked at the best WrestleMania matches, and it's time to go our pick of the best matches to take place at SummerSlam here, taking into account historical context, importance and quality of the match itself and the current Cagematch rating being the main parameters for how we've come to our ranking positions.

Ranking Factors

• Taken place at a SummerSlam PPV or PLE event: The match itself obviously had to have taken place at an actual SummerSlam PPV or Premium Live Event on WWE Network/Peaco*ck.
• Quality of match: We’ve also considered the quality of the match as reasoning for its placement
• Cagematch Rating: We have also taken the Cagematch rating as this is fan-voted and worth considering as a gauge of what fans enjoyed during that time frame.

7 Jeff Hardy vs CM Punk

SummerSlam 2009

Capping off what would be CM Punk’s first heel run in the company with the ‘Summer of Punk’ in 2009, the straight edge Superstar would challenge Jeff Hardy for the World Heavyweight Championship in a ladder match.

This was the main event of SummerSlam ‘09, and it would be the show stealer by leaps and bounds, with both men putting everything on the line to produce one of the best matches of the year. This would cement Punk as one of the top villains in the company as well as set him up for a feud with The Undertaker going forward.

6 John Cena vs Daniel Bryan

SummerSlam 2013

There were a few matches that helped to make SummerSlam 2013 an instant classic of an event, and the main event between John Cena and Daniel Bryan more than delivered as an epic clash for the WWE Championship.

Bryan’s biggest moment would come at WrestleMania 30 the next year, but this was the true start of his build as the underdog looking to ascend to the top of the mountain. After defeating Cena in a fantastic match, special guest referee Triple H would hit a Pedigree on the new Champion, allowing Randy Orton to cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase and steal the moment from the ‘YES’ man.

This was a star-making performance for Bryan, showing that he could be a main event level talent, and it would be the catalyst to one of the best storylines of the entire decade.

5 Shawn Michaels vs Triple H

SummerSlam 2002

Shawn Michaels had not wrestled in WWE since 1998 after a devastating back injury in a Casket Match against The Undertaker meant that he had to retire after WrestleMania XIV. Despite what many believed was the end of his career, Michaels would make a triumphant return at SummerSlam 2002, taking on his former D-Generation X stablemate Triple H in an Unsanctioned match.

HBK looked like he had not missed a beat in the ring, with the former WWE Champion still able to perform at an elite level. Unbelievably, this would be the start of the second half of his legendary career, which arguably was even better than the first.

On a SummerSlam card that was stacked with brilliant matches, Michaels vs Triple H was a barn burner of the highest calibre, showing that the ‘Showstopper’ was back and, sensationally, better than ever.

4 AJ Styles vs John Cena

SummerSlam 2016

AJ Styles would make his unlikely WWE debut at the Royal Rumble in 2016, and by June of that year, he was already feuding with the biggest star in the company: John Cena.

In terms of PPV matches, Cena and Styles would have a trilogy across 2016 and early 2017 that would not only be one of the greatest of Cena’s career, but it would show that Styles was also able to hit the top heights in the WWE system, something that many believed he would not be given the opportunity to do by management.

The SummerSlam ‘16 match between the two men was the second in the trilogy, following their epic encounter at Money in the Bank in June. Somehow, the two men managed to surpass their first match with this repeat, with Cena pulling out one of the best performances of his career nearly 15 years after he debuted in the company.

With Styles now a staple of WWE, it really is difficult to convey just how unreal it was seeing Styles vs Cena, as it was arguably the greatest wrestler of his generation (across TNA and New Japan) in Styles taking on the ‘golden boy’ of WWE. No one thought we’d ever see this match, let alone a brilliant trilogy.

3 Bret Hart vs Owen Hart

SummerSlam 1994

The cage match between Bret and Owen Hart at the 1994 iteration of SummerSlam is arguably one of the best ever. The brothers had been feuding throughout ‘94 up to that point, with Bret initially refusing to fight his own real-live sibling.

One of the factors of this match that worked so well was how both men were constantly trying to escape the cage to get the win. Its something that you don’t always see from a match layout standpoint in a structure like that…and it absolutely makes sense to do it, because its the quickest way to win the match.

2 Edge & Christian vs The Hardy Boyz vs The Dudley Boys TLC Match

SummerSlam 2000

The WWF Tag Team title scene in the early 2000s was dominated by three teams: Edge & Christian, The Dudley Boyz and The Hardy Boyz. These three teams would take every second they were given on television or PPV to innovate, shock and entertain the fans every single time.

After all three teams competing in a Triangle Ladder match at WrestleMania 2000, the TLC match was officially announced for SummerSlam 2000 just a few months later by then-WWF Commissioner Mick Foley.

Although the second TLC match between the teams at WrestleMania X7 in 2001 is regarded as the greatest, this SummerSlam epic is not far off, with high spots in the match that would shorten many careers but also be featured in highlight packages to this day. The fact that four of these men are still wrestling NOW is incredible to think, considering how brutal these matches (and others in their career) were on their bodies.

One of the highlights that many fans remember is Bubba Ray Dudley getting shoved from the very top of the ladder to the outside of the ring on two sets of stacked tables. It was one of many spectacular moments from the second greatest match in SummerSlam history.

1 Brock Lesnar vs CM Punk

SummerSlam 2013

Despite Cena and Bryan having an brilliant main event on the same night, it was the encounter between Brock Lesnar and CM Punk that stole the show and was regarded by many as the best match of the year.

This was the ultimate David vs Goliath story being played out in a wrestling ring, with Punk able to utilise the No Disqualification stipulation to even the odds against the physically dominating ‘Beast Incarnate.’

‘The Best vs The Beast’ went 25:19, with Lesnar emerging victorious after hitting an F-5 onto a steel chair. The story in this match, with Punk desperate to prove that he could beat Lesnar AND get revenge on Paul Heyman, the man who had betrayed him at Money in the Bank the month prior, steered this sensational encounter to the heights of being the greatest match in WWE SummerSlam history.

This match is arguably the best in history of both Superstars when it comes to their careers in WWE, although Punk absolultely has some matches that could rival it, inclduing his 2011 MITB main event against John Cena and his 2012 Over The Limit match against Daniel Bryan for the WWE Championship during his 434 day reign as WWE Champion.

All ratings from Cagematch are correct as of 30th August 2024.