15 Best WWE SummerSlam Main Events Of All Time (2024)

SummerSlam is annually one of the biggest nights of the year in WWE. The Biggest Party Of The Summer, in fact. Alongside WrestleMania, the Royal Rumble, and Survivor Series, it forms the original Big Four PLE events, and serves as perhaps the second-biggest show of the whole year behind WrestleMania itself. As such, some of the greatest stories and biggest names have headlined the event.

The Main Event is qualified by being the card's final bout of the evening. The WWE may say "there are three main events" but, in reality and by dictionary definition alone, there is but one single Main Event for any given evening, and these are the best in SummerSlam history.

15 The Ultimate Warrior vs Ravishing Rick Rude

WWE Championship Steel Cage Match - SummerSlam 1990

During the late '80s and early '90s, Ravishing Rick Rude’s brash and aggressively seductive character proved to be one of the most influential heel personas of all time. Happy to bait boyfriends and girlfriends alike with his pouting lips and gyrating hips, when WWE required someone to carry The Ultimate Warrior through his first PLE after vanquishing Hulk Hogan for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 6, Rude was the ideal candidate. Add in that iconic big blue cage for a retro classic that showed why Rick Rude is a worthy Hall Of Famer.

Desperate to make his shot count and bleeding profusely from the head, Rick Rude got a more colorful tune out of the famously one-dimensional Ultimate Warriorbut agonizingly came up short. The Ultimate Warrior pumped his arms to feel the electricity before hitting the Gorilla Press on the challenger and climbing out of the cage to victory.

14 Brock Lesnar vs Samoa Joe vs Roman Reigns vs Braun Strowman

WWE Championship Fatal Four Way Match - SummerSlam 2017

A worthy headline match is often the pay-off to a lengthy and engaging story, but sometimes a SummerSlam Main Event can thrive on in-ring action and overall fun alone. SummerSlam 2017 is a demolition derby of assorted (and enormous) talent and a car crash bout that proves to be one such occasion. Outside of putting four of the biggest men in WWE inside a ring and letting them create hell, there is not much to be emotionally invested in. However, that did not dampen the good times this Main Event delivered.

After being launched through an announcer’s table by Braun Strowman and having another one dumped on top of him shortly after, champion Brock Lesnar was carted out of New York’s Barclays Center on a stretcher, leaving the other three men to duke things out. Only Brock wasn't finished as he reemerged later in the evening and pinned Roman Reigns following an earth-rumbling F5. It’s not a match that’s ever going to win any accolades for grace and technical excellence, but for big dumb fun, this 8-legged brawl deserves its place in SummerSlam history.

13 Roman Reigns vs Brock Lesnar

WWE Championship Last Man Standing Match - SummerSlam 2022

The Bloodline was conceived and confirmed as WWE’s hottest property during the Covid Era, as Roman Reigns' trials and tribulations with The Usos and his Wiseman, Paul Heyman, began a run that would end in legend. One of the earliest marks of their quality came in the drama-fueled Last Man Standing Main Event of SummerSlam 2022 between Reigns and his long-running enemy, Brock Lesnar. The Tribal Chief not only saw off Lesnar, he also overcame Austin Theory’s Money In The Bank cash-in to retain his title.

It may be hard to imagine that Brock Lesnar driving to the ring in a forklift truck before diving off of it onto the waiting Roman below is far from the wildest thing to happen in this match. Brock also went on to use the forklift in the match to tip the ring onto one side in an image destined to be on WWE montages forever. It took a piling of two announcer’s tables and a flight of ring steps to keep Lesnar down as Roman continued his historic World Championship reign.

12 Brock Lesnar vs The Undertaker

SummerSlam 2015

When Brock Lesnar broke The Undertaker’s 21-year winning streak by defeating him at WrestleMania 30, the focus of the night was rightly on what is probably the most shocking moment in the history of WWE. That is a good thing because, with Taker suffering a concussion early into the match and having to fight his way to its end accordingly, the contest will not feature on either man’s highlight reel. The first meeting of the two since that fateful evening occurred as the Main Event of SummerSlam 2015 and was much more entertaining.

There are multiple takes on the finish to the match in which The Undertaker low-blowed Lesnar before putting him to sleep in Hells Gate. On the surface, and from a physical standpoint alone, it’s unsatisfactory to see a contest of this magnitude determined by something so subpar. But dig a little deeper, and you see the first admission from The Deadman that he isn’t able to compete at the top of the WWE anymore.

11 The Rock vs Booker T

WCW World Heavyweight Championship - SummerSlam 2001

SummerSlam 2001’s Main Event between WWE legend and burgeoning Hollywood megastar, The Rock, and WCW Champion Booker T was one of the Invasion angle's better moments. More than that, it helped to establish Booker with WWE’s audience to devastating effect.

Following the acquisition of the brand, Vince McMahon was having problems integrating WCW onto WWE television. A disparity of major stars and “dream matches” fell by the wayside in place of Shawn Stasiak, Kanyon and Buff Bagwell taking up real estate on WWE television. Booker T was the ultimate exception to this, taking his shot with gratitude and quality, and never looking back.

The two superstars' rivalry was largely based on The Rock mocking Booker T’s wrestling stature compared to the Great One. As a heel Booker T fought hard to show everybody who hadn’t seen his greatness in Harlem Heat, or singles competition in WCW, exactly who he is. The Rock scored victory and the WCW Heavyweight Championship, turning a Spinneroonie into a Rock Bottom for the three count, but Booker T went on to become a deserved WWE Hall Of Famer who still works for the company today, as one of the unique voices in wrestling, commentating for NXT.

10 CM Punk vs John Cena/CM Punk vs Alberto Del Rio

WWE Championship - SummerSlam 2011

And now, an example of how a world-class match with an emotionally invested audience and a solid storylinecan all besoured by a screwy finish. After CM Punk gained the world’s attention with the famous Pipe Bomb promo in Las Vegas and the riotous scene that greeted these two men when they headlined Money In The Bank in Chicago, the crescendo of his contract signing saga came to a head in a title-vs-title match between Punk and John Cena to determine who sits at the top of the WWE food chain.

Following Punk’s victory and unification of the title he never lost and the one Cena had scored in his absence after MITB, Kevin Nash appeared for only the second time since 2003 and attacked Punk with no prior build-up and for no reason at all. This allowed Alberto Del Rio to cash in his Money In The Bank briefcaseto walk out as WWE champion. Itderailed both men in the Main Event's momentum for a second-rate performer with a questionable wellness record and a medically combustible ex-superstar with no buzz. It made no sense at the time or in hindsight, and it means this match has less prestige than it warrants.

9 Steve Austin vs The Undertaker

WWE Championship - SummerSlam 1998

One of the greatest build-ups in SummerSlam history came to a head in the main event at Madison Square Garden in 1998, as Stone Cold Steve Austin battled The Undertaker for the WWE Championship. After weeks of denial and the erosion of Austin and Taker’s tag-team and their championship reign, Kane and The Undertaker became a team for the first time. In the aftermath, Paul Bearer took a beating, and Vince McMahon took a chokeslam from Undertaker, but all eyes were on The Texas Rattlesnake at SummerSlam.

In 1998, Steve Austin’s every action was being greeted by live audiences like a prison riot. Stone Cold's entrance features actual glass shattering and a feral New York crowd. It shows not every entrance needs a billion-dollar budget. The match echoed the aggression of those in attendance. Austin emerged victorious and The Undertaker showed his nobility by handing Austin his title in defeat and keeping his word in barring Kane from ringside. This is an Attitude Era essential.

8 Shawn Michaels vs Hulk Hogan

Legend vs Icon - SummerSlam 2005

This ridiculous display of the inherent silliness of WWE is an acquired taste that requires a little backstory. On the surface, the build for this SummerSlam 2005 meeting of two WWE icons was very entertaining. Michaels mocked Hogan in a legendary segment replicating US talk show royalty Larry King and rocked every week as the heel to Hogan’s usual red-and-yellow fare. It's alleged that WWE wanted to keep Michaels’ red-hot face run going and pit the two as legends squaring off, but Hogan requested Michaels turn heel. At best, it made the match less special. In reality, it appeared Hogan was worried fans would favor Michaels.

HBK found his own unique way of dealing with The Hulkster’s politicking, with Michaels opting to oversell every offense from his opponent on the night itself, with every punch being greeted was like HBK was being struck in the face by an incoming meteor. Hogan might have scored the victory in the match, the only encounter between the two men, but Shawn’s performance leaves a legendary footprint on SummerSlam forever.

7 The Rock vs Brock Lesnar

WWE Undisputed Championship - SummerSlam 2002

Most torch-passing moments happen in WWE via storylineand intentional guidance of narrative, but some changing-of-the-guard occurrences happen organically. That is what happened when The Rock ran into the freight train-like momentum of Brock Lesnar. The lives of the two men had very different directions in 2002, one acting on the big screen and attempting to conquer Hollywood, while the other attempted to conquer WWE. As if to enforce the point that reputation doesn’t matter, a 25-year-old Lesnar left Hulk Hogan bloodied and humiliated as part of the build for this Main Event between the established status quo and The Next Big Thing at SummerSlam 2002.

The audience's reactions also tells its own story during the Main Event. There was a guttural reaction from the New York attendance to all of Lesnar’s offense, audible “Rocky Sucks” chants could be heard on camera, and collective euphoria at Lesnar's victory, winning the Undisputed WWE Championship for the first time shows just where the global audience’s emotion was at in the Summer of 2002. The Attitude Era was officially over. Brock Lesnar had arrived.

6 John Cena vs Brock Lesnar

WWE Championship - SummerSlam 2014

The most shocking Main Event in the history of SummerSlam. John Cena vs Brock Lesnar has a strong claim to be the one with the longest-lasting impact. Over the course of his illustrious career, John Cena had become arguably the most dominant superstar to ever compete in WWE. Over the course of one August evening in Los Angeles, Brock Lesnar ended that era by dismantling the WWE Champion in the Summer of 2014.

Brock Lesnar suplexed Cena sixteen times in what was essentially an uncomfortable sixteen-minute squash match. The audience fell more into shock with every passing cutaway. It remains the most savage beating of John Cena’s career and a shocking watch to this day. If the joke was always that John Cena wins in the end, this evening changed the punchline forever.

5 CM Punk vs Jeff Hardy

TLC World Heavyweight Championship - SummerSlam 2009

CM Punk vs Jeff Hardy told the tale of two men’s polar opposite life philosophies being played out in real-time throughout the summer of 2009. It all came to a devastating head in a TLC match for the World Heavyweight Championship at SummerSlam. CM Punk went off the deep end after Jeff dethroned him of his World heavyweight title at Night Of Champions, smashing a microphone into Hardy’s skull, before spending weeks preying on his well-documented substance problems with self-righteous, no-holds-barred mic assaults that only someone from the Straight Edge community can muster.

As expected, the match itself was utter carnage. Headlining a PLE four times between June and August 2009, this match was the ace in that pack, with Punk regaining his WHC after 21:35 before having his celebration cut short by a returning Undertaker.

4 Edge vs The Undertaker

WWE Championship Hell In A Cell - SummerSlam 2008

When “Hell In A Cell” is said by a WWE Superstar, it usually means something greater is about to happen. Ordinarily, it will be a rivalry or score that is so deep that it can only be settled by being locked in a cage together with no way in or out. This is an anomaly, as the construct of Hell In A Cell itself was invoked to use the uncompromising reputation of The Undertaker to elevate the perceived toughness and overall sad*stic nature of Edge, a side of him that had developed masterfully. Both the run-up to the event and the match itself set out everything it wanted to achieve.

Set by Edge's vengeful wife Vickie Guerrero and featuring some electric work between himself and hardcore legend Mick Foley in the build, the Rated R Superstar's match with The Undertaker from 2008 is one of the most intense and electrifying SummerSlam Main Events of all time. A physical back-and-forth featuring stairs, ladders, and tables being used as weapons, the match ends with The Undertaker getting the victory before setting Edge up and chokeslamming the Canadian off of the ladder and through the canvas of the ring.

3 John Cena vs Daniel Bryan/Daniel Bryan vs Randy Orton

WWE Championship - SummerSlam 2013

Daniel Bryan being sold as The Little Engine That Could Not was ridiculous in hindsight. To call him one of the single greatest pure wrestlers of any era, respected by anyone with functioning eyes, might be underselling him. Nevertheless, the build-up to WWE Champion John Cena vs Daniel Bryan at SummerSlam 2013 centered around belittling the challenger, with Vince McMahon and Brad Maddox playing the lead jesters in this circus.

Enter Triple H. Siding with WWE fans and thwarting the attempts of the powers that be, a Pedigree to Maddox saw The Game instated as Special Guest Referee. Calling a great match down the middle, Triple H ended up raising the hand of Daniel Bryan, who had finally proved his worth.

Only the story didn't stop there. Triple H then delivered a mighty Pedigree to Bryan and a dagger to our hearts as Randy Orton emerged with his Money In The Bank briefcase in hand to become the new WWE Champion in what is one of the best climaxes to any SummerSlam of the modern era.

2 Bret Hart vs The Undertaker

WWE Championship w/ Special Guest Referee, Shawn Michaels - SummerSlam 1997

At the height of Bret Hart being Canada’s greatest hero and the man America loved to hate simultaneously, The Hart Foundation emerged victorious in a ten-man tag at the Canadian Stampede PLE. This meant that The Hitman could claim his prize of challenging The Undertaker for the WWE Championship at SummerSlam 1997. That is only half of this story though.

For extra spice, Hart’s lifelong rival Shawn Michaels would have to be completely impartial in his role as Special Guest referee. Any dereliction of duty would mean he would not be able to wrestle on American soil.

Every moment of this lives up to expectations, but the finish is an all-time masterpiece. For much of 1997, Michaels and Hart were involved in a war in front of the camera and behind the scenes in a situation so toxic that their match at that year’s King Of The Ring was canceled. After Michaels missed Hart using a chair on Undertaker, he noticed the discarded weapon on the canvas. When questioned, Hart aggressively spat in Michaels’ face. This then saw HBK swinging the chair, hitting Undertaker instead of Hart, then having to count to three on the Hitman’s behalf. It was perfect.

1 Bret Hart vs The British Bulldog

Intercontinental Championship - SummerSlam 1992

If Ricky Steamboat vs Macho Man Randy Savage WrestleMania classic is the standout Intercontinental Championship match at The Showcase Of The Immortals, Bret ‘The Hitman Hart’ and The British Bulldog Davey Boy Smith is its equal for SummerSlam.

Taking place in front of a rabid 80,000 fans at Wembley Stadium for the UK’s first ever major PPV event, The Hitman and Davey’s feud centered around family and, specifically, Bret’s sister and The Bulldog’s real life sister, Diana Hart. To say it stands the test of time would be an understatement.

The match itself is impressive enough on its own merits, but when you add that Bret alleges that Davey was dealing with a hangover that could floor a bear, it adds an extra dimension to the in-ring action and that Bret Hart could pull off a masterclass under any circ*mstances. The men shared an embrace with Diana after Davey Boy Smith claimed his Intercontinental Championship victory.

“I’ve always believed this was my greatest match, especially because I’d carried Davey all the way through it without anyone being the wiser. My dad would tell me later that it’s one thing to have a great match, but it’s another thing to have a great match in front of eighty thousand people.” Bret Hart, Hitman: My Real Life In The Cartoon World Of Wrestling