Ranking The Best SummerSlam Moments Of All Time

We’re less than a few weeks away from SummerSlam 2024 in Cleveland, Ohio. The talk leading into the event is whether or not the Tribal Chief (Roman, not Solo) will make his return at the biggest party of the summer. This got us thinking about some of the other biggest and best SummerSlam moments of all time.

We want to be clear that SummerSlam moments can be big wins and losses, as well as returns, betrayals, and more. This does not technically have to involve a match or even a title win. It could be anything that stood out at WWE’s biggest event of the summer. With that said, let’s look back at some of the biggest and best moments in SummerSlam history.

BECKY LYNCH RETURNS AT SUMMERSLAM

• SUMMERSLAM 2021

At SummerSlam 2021, Bianca Belair was supposed to take on Sasha Banks for the Smackdown Women’s Championship. Sasha couldn’t make it to the show, so WWE needed to find someone to take her spot. Initially, we were given Carmella. She was technically still in the Women’s Title picture then, so it made some sense. However, this was only done to keep fans on their toes.

WWE would reach into their bag of tricks and bring “The Man” back from her maternity leave. She had been out of action since early 2020, when she announced her pregnancy live on Monday Night Raw. She always planned to return to the ring, but one of Lynch’s biggest goals was to become a mother. Therefore, she did not want to return too early. Let’s also not ignore how hard it can be for a mother to lose the “baby weight” after having their child.

Becky did not just lose the weight. She got into the best shape of her career upon her return.

Becky Lynch marched into the stadium to a huge roar from the crowd and then did what no one expected her to do. She knocked out Carmella to take her spot in the match. Yet she then blindsided Belair and got a quick pin to take the title off Bianca and launch the era of “Big Time Becks.” While Becky’s run as a heel was a bit uneven, and the fans never really wanted it, it was a bold and shocking move for WWE. It most certainly made a big impression on the viewing audience.

RICK RUDE’S RAVISHING TRUNKS

• SUMMERSLAM 1990

One of the weirdest yet coolest things from the 1980s and 1990s was Rick Rude’s obsession with his airbrushed tights. Rude would often airbrush things on them like a championship and even someone’s face. The latter was actually done at Rude’s first appearance on the SummerSlam card. Jake “The Snake” Roberts and Rick Rude were in a feud before this. During that time, Rude approached a woman in the crowd and attempted to hit on her. The woman was Roberts’ wife, Cheryl.

To further mess with Roberts, he’d get his wife’s face airbrushed onto his tights and show them off at the event. It was a heel move that went above and beyond. Many years later, former WWE Superstar Velveteen Dream began doing something similar. However, no one was better at this move than Rude. He’d do it quite often throughout his career.

There is nothing really important about the match Rude participated in. That is how good this moment was and why it ranks among the best SummerSlam moments of all time.

FINN BALOR BECOMES THE FIRST-EVER WWE UNIVERSAL CHAMPION

• SUMMERSLAM 2016

In 2016, WWE began to do another brand split after reforming the whole roster so everyone could compete on every show. The issue at that time was a lack of talent, but Triple H managed to fix this issue with the WWE NXT brand. This led to a lot of new stars for the company, so a roster split made sense.

That meant both rosters needed their own World Champion. The SmackDown brand drafted the WWE Champion in the 2016 WWE Draft, leading the RAW brand to form a new championship. RAW called it the “WWE Universal Championship.” The match to decide the champion would take place at the 2016 SummerSlam event.

Seth Rollins, The Authority’s beloved heel, was put in the match automatically by Stephanie McMahon. Finn Balor had to earn his way into it. Balor was coming off of a red-hot run with the NXT Championship on the NXT brand, so many felt he would become a big star for the company. The two fought in a relatively good match, but a powerbomb from Rollins outside the ring led Balor to catch himself wrong.

Balor dislocated his shoulder but actually put it back in place. He did not realize at the time that he had torn quite a few things. He impressively won the match. Sadly, he had to give up the title the following night on WWE RAW as he had to get surgery.

In some ways, this match isn’t a highlight for Finn. While no one can take away that victory and his immense talent in the ring, it’s also the last time he was ever at the top—some fear we’ll never see him there again. Let’s hope we do, as he can still offer a lot to the company.

ZEUS GOES NO HOLDS BARRED

• SUMMERSLAM 1989

We didn’t say that every moment here was joyous, but this was memorable. In 1989, fresh off Hulk Hogan’s latest questionable movie choice, “No Holds Barred,” Zeus wanted to try his hand at professional wrestling. It turns out that as a wrestler, he was pretty terrible. Of course, he was already a mediocre movie star, which is saying something. Despite how bad this appearance was, some notoriety still made fans interested to see Zeus. He couldn’t live up to any hype, though.

Luckily, this match wasn’t the worst we’ve seen. That was partly because Zeus was in a tag match, and his partner was WWE Hall of Famer Randy Savage. However, it was one of the first times we saw an actor give a candid shot at wrestling during his career. We’re also glad we didn’t have to see that again. Still, it was a moment we remember to this day.

THE HONKY TONK MAN GETS SQUASHED

• SUMMERSLAM 1988

The Honky Tonk Man was the record-breaking WWE Intercontinental Champion for 454 days before he faced off against The Ultimate Warrior in 1988 at the first-ever SummerSlam. Most of the time, he’d get himself disqualified or find a way to cheat out a victory to retain his title. However, if he went up against a top opponent, it’s likely the Honky Tonk Man would fold quickly. That is exactly what happened when he faced off with Warrior.

If you were expecting a ring classic, you would have been in for the disappointment of a lifetime. You might as well have Warrior wrestle Joe Smith, a local jobber in NYC, because that’s what this match felt like. Honky went down to Warrior in exactly 31 seconds.

Why did it go down this way? It depends on who you ask. Brutus Beefcake claims that Warrior threatened to quit if he didn’t get to hold a major championship. Brutus went on to say that Honky made it a squash match out of spite. Is that true? Likely not, as Honky did not have such control. Plus, the squash only made him look weaker, so who would do that? It is true that Warrior left and only agreed to come back if given a push, but he really wanted to hold the WWF Championship, not the IC Title.

This eventually led to both titles being on the line at WrestleMania VI the following year. That said, it was cathartic to see the chickens*** heel like Honky finally lose. This is why so many still love this and consider it one of the best SummerSlam moments.

BROCK LESNAR TAKES A TRACTOR TO THE RING

• SUMMERSLAM 2022

Kudos to Triple H on this one. You could count on one hand the number of people excited to see yet another Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lensar match at a premium live event these days. This felt like another mark of Vince McMahon’s lack of vision or creativity to many fans.

McMahon stepped down from the company leadership shortly before the match. This left Triple H and the creative team with an impossible task: make this match, which the fans had seen a million times, really interesting. Making it even harder was the reality that we all knew Lesnar wouldn’t take the championship off a red-hot Roman Reigns.

Therefore, the creative team got…well, “creative” and turned the contest from a wrestling match to a spectacle. The tractor was used to either try and kill Roman or, at the very least, win some macho contest. While Lesnar was unsuccessful in taking the title off Reigns, he gave us a memory we will soon forget. We should also note Roman caught a mic thrown at him in style at this event.

THE DEBUT OF THE FIEND

• SUMMERSLAM 2019

At SummerSlam 2019, we were introduced to Bray Wyatt’s alter-ego, The Fiend. We had been teased about this for weeks but finally got the payoff. Going into the event, we were already getting the Firefly Funhouse stuff. However, we were slowly being given this really compelling figure that everyone wanted to see. Who better to face off with than Finn Balor, who has a notable alter ego of his own?

Balor would suffer at the hands of the terrifying new look and entrance. Some fans, including us, were disappointed that the match was so quick. However, Wyatt’s in-ring work was always confusing and inconsistent. He might have been excellent here, too, but sometimes things would get a bit too weird. What was never in question was how creative he was as a performer.

The Fiend was a masterful stroke of terror mixed with intrigue. Our only regret is that we saw too little of him for the years from that debut to his tragic passing in 2023. It all really started at SummerSlam, which is why seeing The Fiend come out ranks among the best SummerSlam moments ever.

VIRGIL WINS THE MILLION DOLLAR CHAMPIONSHIP

• SUMMERSLAM 1991

The age-old story of the face getting the best of his former tormenter feels good, especially when that tormentor is his old boss. In 1991, Virgil finally turned on his long-time “boss,” the “Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase. While turning on his boss might have been huge for Virgil, he knew that there was something he had to take from DiBiase to truly get his revenge. That was the Million Dollar Championship.

Virgil had been chasing Ted for months but couldn’t quite get the better of him. That led to their battle at SummerSlam, where Ted put his title on the line. It was a big moment for Virgil, as he was able to beat Ted. The crowd went nuts for him, as we thought a new star was born on that night. However, for those who have heard of Virgil, that was not to be the case.

In the story of Virgil’s life, this was about as good as it got for him professionally. Even later stints with the NWO couldn’t top getting the better of DiBiase.

ROMAN REIGNS MAKES HIS SHOCKING RETURN

• SUMMERSLAM 2020

Roman Reigns did the safe thing when the COVID-19 pandemic hit and headed home. Reigns has battled leukemia for most of his life. Of course, it has gone into remission a few times now, and we hope it stays that way. With this form of cancer, however, your immune system can be weaker even in remission compared to what others experience.

Reigns went home to regroup and ensure his health, which was very smart of him. A few months later, he returned seemingly out of nowhere. What happened next ignited the most significant period the company has seen since the beloved Attitude Era. On this night, he attacked both The Fiend and Braun Strowman. It was one of the best SummerSlam moments ever, as we finally saw what we wanted for years. We were getting a Roman heel run!

Reigns would transform from a face who never quite got over to one of the greatest heels in WWE history. He is now, safely, our Tribal Chief. SummerSlam 2020 was the kickoff for this moment. Our only regret (but perhaps a blessing) was that no one was in the house to see it.

DANIEL BRYAN GETS SCREWED

• SUMMERSLAM 2013

It was the moment that started the “Yes!” era. Daniel Bryan went 1-on-1 with John Cena at SummerSlam 2013 in the main event for the WWE Championship. It was a pairing of one of the greatest sports entertainers of all time against one of the greatest wrestlers of all time. The match didn’t disappoint as Bryan and Cena put on a show that led to Bryan pinning the GOAT. Cena never gets enough credit for how good he can be in the ring, but Bryan brought that out of him.

Going into the event, Triple H put himself into the match as the Special Guest Referee. Before this, he was seemingly on Bryan’s side, backing him in segments.

Immediately following Bryan’s win, though, Randy Orton would come out with his previously won Money in the Bank briefcase. Triple H betrayed Bryan and hit him with a pedigree, allowing the Viper to win quickly. Thereby ending Bryan’s title reign before it could really get started. It was one of the best SummerSlam moments because it led to so much more.

It set up Bryan as the ultimate “B+ player” in the eyes of WWE brass. Nine months later, he’d be main-eventing WrestleMania 30 and give us one of the greatest endings in WM history.

BROCK LESNAR TAKES JOHN CENA TO SUPLEX CITY

• SUMMERSLAM 2014

Sometimes, WWE gives you something you didn’t expect. The main event of the 2014 SummerSlam event was precisely that. Lesnar returned a few years earlier after spending nearly a decade away from WWE. The company wanted to set Brock up as one of the most unstoppable figures in company history. Shortly before this, he ended The Undertaker’s WrestleMania winning streak. Now, the company wanted him to hold World Championship gold.

Remember Daniel Bryan? He was supposed to be the one who faced Brock at SummerSlam. However, he was injured and had to vacate the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. That led to a Money in the Bank match at the event of the same name. John Cena won the title there and took it into the SummerSlam main event against Lesnar.

Who was going to win? The fans were split, but no fan expected Brock Lensar to destroy Cena on his way to getting the win. He hit Cena with 16 German suplexes, essentially giving breaking ground on the place we all know and love, Suplex City. This match was 16 minutes long, and Cena was being beaten “like a government mule,” as Jim Ross used to say. Those 16 minutes felt far shorter to fans but probably felt like an eternity to Cena.

“MACHO MAN” RANDY SAVAGE MARRIES MISS ELIZABETH

• SUMMERSLAM 1991

It may be the iconic image for anyone 35 and older who grew up watching wrestling. SummerSlam 1991 gives us perhaps the most notable of our best SummerSlam moments as it was the night “Macho Man” Randy Savage married Miss Elizabeth. These two were the first wrestling power couple. Savage and his original valet, Miss Elizabeth, were estranged on screen until WrestleMania VII earlier that year. He had left Liz behind, and Queen Sherri became his valet.

However, after his loss to Ultimate Warrior at Wrestlemania VII, Sherri began to attack Savage in the ring. Elizabeth was in the audience, and upon seeing this, she put all of her hatred of Savage behind her. She tore Sherri off of Savage, reuniting the two in one of the greatest WrestleMania moments ever. They’d create another special moment at SummerSlam, where they’d get married on screen just a few months later.

Most WWE weddings have some hitch. Usually, someone gets attacked, the priest takes a tombstone, or something like that. However, this is one of the few that didn’t have anything like that. It was a touching moment for fans who loved these two, and it was exceptionally well done.

Vince McMahon has always loved spectacles, and watching these two beloved superstars get married was all the spectacle he needed.

THE MEGA POWERS vs THE MEGA BUCKS

• SUMMERSLAM 1988

We have seen a lot of racy moments in the WWE due to the Attitude Era. Therefore, it might be hard to understand just how racy it was when Miss Elizabeth removed her skirt to distract the Mega Bucks team of Andre The Giant and Ted DiBiase. Miss Elizabeth was the entire wrestling world’s crush and had always been elegant, never flashy. When she removed the skirt, it got exactly the reaction you would have thought.

The Mega Powers (Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage) used that distraction to their advantage and won. This was also part of one of the all-time great storylines in the history of the WWE, known to fans as “The Mega Powers Explode.” This was just another chapter in this long-term story, which seemed to take off from this point into WrestleMania the following year.