50 Greatest Matches in WWE SummerSlam History

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Credit: WWE.com

WrestleMania may be WWE’s annual Showcase of the Immortals but it is SummerSlam that has, over the years, been home to some of the best matches in the company’s illustrious history.

Its own showcase of superb in-ring performances, guttural grudge matches and wild and chaotic encounters, the event has captivated fans with extraordinary professional wrestling and will look to continue that trend Saturday night in Nashville with the 2022 incarnation of the spectacular.

Ahead of a card that features Brock Lesnar challenging Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship in a Last Man Standing match that may very well join this list in the near future, these are the 50 greatest matches that have set the standard for the SummerSlam event.

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50. Mega Powers vs. Mega Bucks (1988)

49. Raw Women’s Championship Match: Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte Flair (2016)

48. 123 Kid vs. Hakushi (1995)

47. Boiler Room Brawl: Undertaker vs. Mankind (1996)

46. Universal Championship Match: Finn Balor vs. Seth Rollins (2016)

45. Intercontinental Championship Match: The Ultimate Warrior vs. Rick Rude (1989)

44. Non-Title Match: The Hart Foundation vs. The Brainbusters (1989)

43. WWE Championship Match: The Undertaker vs. Bret Hart (1997)

42. WCW Championship Match: The Rock vs. Booker T (2001)

41. Intercontinental Championship Match: Rey Mysterio vs. Dolph Ziggler (2009)

40. The Smoking Gunns and Tatanka vs. The Headshrinkers and Bam Bam Bigelow (1993)

39. Winner Takes All: John Cena vs. Seth Rollins (2015)

38. Lion’s Den Match: Ken Shamrock vs. Owen Hart (1998)

37. WWE Championship Match: The Rock vs. Kurt Angle vs. Triple H (2000)

36. The British Bulldogs vs. The Fabulous Rougeaus (1988)

35. Intercontinental Championship Match: Rob Van Dam vs. Chris Benoit (2002)

34. Million Dollar Championship Match: Virgil vs. Ted DiBiase (1991)

33. D-Generation X vs. Legacy (2009)

32. Intercontinental Championship Match: Edge vs. Lance Storm (2001)

31. Chris Jericho vs. Dolph Ziggler (2012)

30. The Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar (2015)

29. Bret Hart vs. Doink the Clown/Jerry “The King” Lawler (1993)

28. Love Her or Leave Her Match: Test vs. Shane McMahon (1999)

27. The Rockers and Tito Santana vs. Rick Martel and The Fabulous Rougeaus (1989)

26. Ladder Match for the Hardcore Championship: Jeff Hardy vs. Rob Van Dam (2001)

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Credit: WWE.com

The opening match of the 2019 SummerSlam event pitted the red-hot Becky Lynch, in the midst of a historic reign as Raw Women’s champion, defending against Natalya in a Submission Match.

What was one-sided on paper was, instead, a hotly contested match that saw The Queen of Harts feed off the energy of her fellow countrymen to damn near dethrone The Man.

In one of the coolest, most memorable moments of the match, the challenger trapped Lynch in a Sharpshooter on the top rope, leaving the Lass Kicker grasping at the ring post in search of sanctuary, only to find herself firmly trapped in the signature move of the legendary Hart family.

Unfortunately, Natalya’s quest to add another title to her already impressive resume ended in disappointment as Lynch tapped her out to the Disarmer, retaining her title and continuing a run with the gold that we may not see out of WWE’s women’s division anytime soon.

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Credit: WWE.com

Hellbent on proving he was anything but “Edge-lite,” Seth Rollins set out to defeat his Hall of Fame opponent in one of the most hotly anticipated matches on the 2021 card. What ensued was a strong match that proved Edge could still hang with, arguably, the best wrestler in the world.

An intense, action-packed match full of dramatic near-falls and reversals concluded with the Rated R Superstar trapping The Visionary in a crossface. As Rollins attempted to break the hold, Edge grabbed him by the hair and repeatedly slammed his face into the mat, showing a level of brutality fans had not seen out of him. Dazed and defeated, Rollins meekly tapped out to end his suffering.

But not the feud. The strength of the match would necessitate two equally as wonderful rematches in which Edge established an ability to keep up with the style of this era and Rollins continued to solidify his spot as the measuring stick for in-ring performance in WWE.

If not the industry as a whole.

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Credit: WWE.com

John Cena and Batista rose to the top of the professional wrestling industry on the same night, winning the WWE and World Heavyweight Championships, respectively, at WrestleMania 21.

They proceeded to reign over Raw and SmackDown as the top babyfaces in the industry but never crossed paths, creating a dream match scenario for fans to salivate over. Three years after they climbed to the mountaintop, they finally clashed at the 2008 SummerSlam, giving WWE an undisputed blockbuster to promote the event around.

A heavy-hitting battle between two top-tier heavyweights, it gave fans everything it could have wanted while keeping them guessing as to which competitor would emerge with his arm raised in victory.

The answer was Batista, who delivered a devastating Batista Bomb to secure the victory and bragging rights over his fellow mega-star.

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Credit: WWE.com

It is a testament to the strength of SummerSlam’s greatest matches that the iconic return of Shawn Michaels to the squared circle after a four-year hiatus comes in at No. 22 on this countdown.

A debilitating back injury cost the Heartbreak Kid four years of his career, taking him out of the squared circle at the height of pro wrestling popularity during the Attitude Era. His return was long considered unlikely but in the summer of 2002, the wrestling world watched as he not only returned to the squared circle at that August’s SummerSlam, but delivered one of the best matches of the year.

A story-heavy match that played on his well-established friendship with Triple H, and centered around repeated punishment to said back, it captivated fans in the Nassau Coliseum and took them on an emotional roller coaster ride.

Despite taking tremendous punishment and having to overcome considerable ring rust, Michaels caught The Game in a jackknife rollup to secure the win and put an exclamation point on of the most inspirational comebacks in wrestling history.

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Credit: WWE.com

Michaels had the innate ability to work a near-perfect David vs. Goliath style match, mostly because he could convincingly be the tenacious babyface who could throw punches and fire up against the biggest, baddest guys on the roster. Look no further than his legendary matches with The Undertaker for evidence.

That ability was on full display in his match with Vader, who entered WWE in 1996 and was immediately expected to challenge for the world title. Despite a rough start to his run, he entered the championship picture in the summer and proceeded to bump Michaels around in the weeks entering SummerSlam.

Then, he did it in Cleveland in that year’s main event.

Michaels, the gritty babyface that was in contradiction to the pretty boy persona he had adopted half a decade earlier, fought back and used heel manager Jim Cornette’s own hubris against him.

When Vader won the match via countout, then disqualification, Cornette ordered the match restarted so that his client could win the title. Then Michaels capitalized on the opportunity and beat Vader straight up, ending The Mastadon’s threat to his title in a match that is often overlooked for its superb in-ring chemistry and the storytelling throughout.

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Credit: WWE.com

Drew McIntyre’s WWE Championship reign was unlike any before or after in that it occurred during a worldwide pandemic, in front of no fans and with no energy to feed off it. He guided the company through the most unprecedented period in its long history and at SummerSlam in August 2020, The Scottish Warrior defended against No. 1 contender, Randy Orton.

It should be of no real surprise to anyone that a guy like Orton, widely considered to be one of the best and smartest workers of this generation, would mesh well stylistically with the bruiser champion.

A physical match with great ring psychology, that resisted the urge to rely on repeated finishers and near-falls, it was a big, tough hoss fight between quality heavyweights that ended with McIntyre out-wrestling his opponent and scoring the win with a backslide.

It was a one of the handful of truly great matches to come out of the ThunderDome that, hopefully, will not be lost to time because the efforts from both men involved are among some of the best work.

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Credit: WWE.com

Without the star power of Hulk Hogan, and with Ric Flair unavailable due to injury, WWE turned to two top babyfaces for its world title match at SummerSlam 1992. Ultimate Warrior and “Macho Man” Randy Savage had an epic, iconic encounter a year earlier at WrestleMania VII so officials had reason to believe they could replicate their efforts in front of a historic crowd in London’s Wembley Stadium.

While matching the emotion and storytelling of that match was damn near impossible, Warrior and Savage delivered a back-and-forth, high-drama encounter that kept the crowd on the edge of their seats. The added mystery surrounding Flair’s claims that one of the two had aligned themselves with him and Mr. Perfect only added to things.

There was never any real resolution to that story as it was revealed the heels screwed with both men, apparently just cuz, but that particular creative decision does not hurt what was an otherwise outstanding match.

Savage lost via countout, which only added fuel to his feud with Flair, and Warrior won to keep him strong. Taking that into consideration, history should be kinder to a match that benefited from storytelling and a raucous crowd.

Too bad we would not get to see the legendary competitors, whose chemistry was clear, do battle again.

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Credit: WWE.com

CM Punk turned heel for the first time in his WWE career in the summer of 2009 after cashing in Money in the Bank and ending Jeff Hardy’s reign as World Heavyweight champion before it ever got started. The two would trade the title back and forth over the course of three months, Punk’s disdain for the carefree, drug-filled life Hardy had forged for himself.

Self-righteous and insufferable, Punk sought to regain the title he had lost weeks earlier at Night of Champions and turn Hardy’s dream of reigning atop Smackdown into a nightmare.

He did, in a fantastically physical, punishing Tables, Ladders and Chairs match that saw a huge Swanton Bomb through the announce table by Hardy and a tough-to-watch superplex spot that appeared to have destroyed both competitors.

Punk’s facial expressions as Hardy scratched and clawed his way back into the match were great, as was his exuberant celebration when he retrieved the title belt and regained his power over the SmackDown brand.

Of course, The Undertaker returned immediately after the bell and everything that followed is better left unsaid.

A great match between two guys whose chemistry was off-the-charts but whose love for each other away from the cameras was anything but.

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Credit: WWE.com

Trish Stratus earned herself a Hall of Fame induction based on her role as the face, and leader, of the Golden Age of women’s wrestling in WWE. Charlotte Flair was a driving force in the Women’s Revolution and one of four women to women’s wrestling back on the map by way of their work in NXT.

In 2019, the two all-timers clashed in a generational dream match from Stratus’ hometown, Toronto. With a red-hot crowd behind them, Flair and Stratus tore the house down and threatened to steal the show out from under everything else on the jam-packed card.

Flair dominated but the tenacious, resilient Stratus fought back and looked to upset The Queen late in the contest. Flair, though, capitalized on her opponent’s injured knee and applied the Figure Eight for the tapout victory.

The match took some time to get fans invested but once they were, they were absolutely hot for everything. The story of an overconfident star of today believing she had her Hall of Fame opponent beaten in dominant fashion, only for Stratus to come back and nearly pull of the upset certainly helped.

In the aftermath of the match, Stratus teased that we had witnessed her retirement match. One can only hope that is not the case because she proved on that night that she still has a ton to offer the industry and a WWE women’s roster who could benefit exponentially from a match with the seven-time champion.

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Credit: WWE.com

CM Punk and John Cena tore the house off the Allstate Arena in Chicago at Money in the Bank 2011, delivering an all-time-great match and five-star classic. In typical WWE fashion, they were booked to run it back mere weeks later at SummerSlam in Los Angeles’ Staples Center.

There was no chance in hell they were ever going to replicate the heat, emotion and genuine mystery that hung over that first match but they damn sure tried in a match officiated by Triple H.

With the eyes of a reawakened wrestling world watching, the combatants relied on finishers and the resulting near-falls to create drama. The presence of The Game did little to take the focus off of Cena and Punk during the match itself but did lead to a tainted finish that saw the latter score the pin and victory despite WWE’s resident Superman having his foot draped over the bottom rope.

The finish is, in hindsight, the wrong call and absolutely hurt the overall quality of what Punk and Cena attempted to accomplish. Still, it was one of the best matches of that loaded card, not to mention of all of 2011 and earns its place on this countdown.

Even if it was not even the best match on its own card…

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Credit: WWE.com

Randy Orton and Christian tore the house down in the summer of 2011, routinely having the best match on any card on which they appeared. Rare in-ring chemistry, and minds for the industry working overtime, helped fuel their contests to the quality that they were.

No one could have expected the extraordinary, show-stealing classic they had in store for fans in Los Angeles at SummerSlam, though.

A No Holds Barred match that capped off a four-month feud, it made use of a variety of weapons and captivated the fans with its sheer violence and physicality. Christian took a tremendous beating but in the end, it was an ill-fated springboard attempt directly into an RKO that Orton delivered onto the steel steps that proved his downfall.

Three seconds later, Orton regained the World Heavyweight Championship and continued what was, to that point, his greatest run to date in WWE. For Christian, the match represented the end of his main event days with the company but proved, nonetheless, that he was capable of performing at the highest level, against the very top stars in the industry.

Best of all, it gave SummerSlam yet another extraordinary match to add to a legacy brimming with them.

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Credit: WWE.com

The Undertaker and Edge clashed five times on pay-per-view in 2008, with their Hell in a Cell match in the main event of SummerSlam being the decisive conclusion to the rivalry. It was apropos, too. Nine months earlier at Survivor Series, Edge made an explosive return to TV by attacking The Deadman and costing him the World Heavyweight Championship in that same structure.

A match five months in the making culminated with a physical match that included big bumps and considerable weapons usage, but no blood to really hammer home the beating each man took.

The high spots took a little too much time to set up but the crowd stuck with everything the future Hall of Famers did and were on their feet by the time The Phenom delivered his Tombstone piledriver for the definitive, emphatic victory.

Not as good as their WrestleMania 24 classic, but still an excellent main event that wrapped things up for them and definitely belongs as high on this list as it is. Props to Edge, too, for taking the number of bumps that he did. He may have been a great heel but he also understood when it was time to take a beating and he did just that here.

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Credit: WWE.com

From the moment the match was announced for SummerSlam 1991, Intercontinental champion Mr. Perfect overlooked his challenger, Bret “Hitman” Hart. He did not find the second-generation star to be worthy of sharing the ring with him, nor did he think Hart could actually beat him and take the title.

That arrogance and overconfidence played a key role in the match, too, as Perfect controlled a portion of it, working over the Hitman and even delivering the Perfectplex in what fans and the commentary team alike were sure was the end of Hart’s championship dreams.

Except, it wasn’t. Hart kicked out, fought back and even when it looked like Perfect might have him beaten again, grabbed hold of his hubristic opponent and applied the Sharpshooter, adding extra torque to exploit the champion’s injured back.

Perfect tapped, Hart won his first singles title and the Hitman was well on his way to establishing himself as, arguably, the greatest competitor in SummerSlam history.

More on that in a moment.

This was an excellent match between two of the best to ever lace a pair of boots. The overconfidence of Perfect, the never-say-day attitude of Hart and a red-hot crowd in New York ready to witness the coronation of the babyface meshed together to create an instant classic still talked about today as one of the best of an entire generation, let alone the SummerSlam pay-per-view itself.

It is a testament to their excellence that they would eclipse even this match two years later at the first King of the Ring pay-per-view.

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Credit: WWE.com

Take four of the baddest men in WWE, put them together in a Fatal 4-Way Match for the Universal Championship let them raise hell and tear stuff up. It seems like a fairly simple premise and in 2017, the company did just that, booking Brock Lesnar to defend his title against Braun Strowman, Samoa Joe and Roman Reigns in the marquee match of the Biggest Party of the Summer.

Lesnar had been, to that point, the dominant heel champion but Strowman was building popularity and credibility with fans. In one of the key spots of the match, The Monster Among Men powerslammed Lesnar through the announce table, then buried him under the rubble. with The Beast stretchered out of the arena, it appeared as though there would be a brand new champion crowd.

Reigns, Strowman and Joe tore the house down in his wake but it was the triumphant return of WWE’s resident ass-kicker that popped the crowd and really pushed the quality of the contest beyond “very good” and into “great” status.

Lesnar exploded back into the match, obliterated the competition and pinned Reigns to retain his title in one of the rare instances in which he was allowed to highlight his resiliency.

A forgotten classic of sorts, it definitely suffers due to the stigma surrounding the modern WWE product and the disdain die-hard fans have for it. Set that aside though, because this is a wonderful, Attitude Era-esque brawl that would have been right at home alongside Steve Austin vs. The Rock or Triple H vs. Undertaker. It is that good, that captivating and almost single-handedly made a main event star out of Strowman.

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Credit: WWE.com

The match between Kurt Angle and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin from 2001 would have been higher on this list with a better finish. As it is, though, it still ranks just outside the top 10 best matches in event history, thanks to a hellishly physical match between two elite performers at their peaks.

Austin was the heel WWE champion and leader of the WCW/ECW Alliance that had threatened the very existence of the company he reigned over. Angle was the honorable defender of Vince McMahon’s promotion. Fighting for all that was good, he endured a hell of a beating and sported a crimson mask midway through the encounter.

The Texas Rattlesnake was the relentless heel, throwing everything he had at Angle (including the Million Dollar Dream), then wearing a look of disbelief when Angle kicked out of the Stone Cold Stunner.

Frustration set in, leading Austin to assault three different WWE officials. Angle delivered the Olympic Slam but no one was there to count the fall…until Alliance official Nick Patrick showed up. Instead of doing the right thing, he called for the bell, disqualifying Austin for beating down the referees.

The finish infuriated fans but played into the “do anything to keep the title” mentality Austin had adopted, with the biased referee Patrick also staying true to his persona. Angle rightfully fired up, his face caked with his own blood, and beat the ever-loving hell out of Patrick before basking in the cheers of the fans in San Jose.

Again, had there been a definitive finish, this one would have most likely been top-five. As it is, it is still a hell of a match and, arguably, the best either man ever had in those particular roles.

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Credit: WWE.com

The Universal Championship match between Seth Rollins and Brock Lesnar from 2019 may be the single biggest surprise on this countdown in that it made the top 10 while other matches did not, but anyone arguing against it probably has not rewatched the instant classic since it aired three years ago.

Lesnar had avenged his historically quick loss to Rollins at WrestleMania XIX by cashing in and ending The Architect’s championship reign at June’s Extreme Rules. Rollins earned his way to another title opportunity and in the main event of SummerSlam, the rivals tore it up in a phenomenal main event.

Nothing is wasted in the 13-minute main event. Rollins throws everything he has at Lesnar, who often meets it with unbridled power and fury. In one great spot, he flattens Lesnar on the announce table and delivers a splash from the top rope, onto The Beast, obliterating said table and stunning the champion.

Back inside, a frog splash and two stomps finished Lesnar and gave Rollins the clean victory.

Not only is it a great match, featuring a gutsy performance by Rollins, but it was also a largely selfless performance from Lesnar. He laid down clean for his opponent, a rarity, and really established him as a legitimate main event babyface in the same vein as Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, and Eddie Guerrero.

Easily one of the best WWE matches of the last five years, a Match of the Year candidate and one that could reasonably rank even higher on this countdown when it is revisited in the coming years.

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Credit: WWE.com

D-Generation X and The Nation feuded throughout the summer of 1998, with leaders Triple H and Intercontinental champion The Rock competing in some of the most intensely personal battles along the way.

At Fully Loaded in July, they competed to a draw, neither man able to score the win. At SummerSlam, with the coveted IC title up for grabs, they sparred once more, this time in a Ladder Match.

The fans in the famed Madison Square Garden witnessed a classic, stark-making performance out of The Great One and one of the more gutsy showings from Triple H, which is saying something considering the numerous times he has battled through injury to finish a match.

The future main event competitors overshadowed a loaded card, even stealing the show out from underneath the hotly anticipated WWE Championship match between Austin and Undertaker.

A brutal ladder match that replaced high spots with unabashed physicality, it culminated with The Game overcoming a severely damaged knee that would put him on the shelf later in the year, and a face full of powder that momentarily blinded him, and capitalizing on late-match interference from Chyna to secure the win and title.

By the end of the contest, there was a new appreciation for Triple H’s toughness while fans in MSG had switched from chants of “Rocky sucks” to cheers of adulation for the third-generation star, who left the arena that night and walked almost directly into the main event.

Within two months, he would be world champion.

There are other ladder matches on this countdown that are more memorable, but Rock vs. Triple H absolutely earned recognition alongside of them, both for its overall quality as well as its historical significance.

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Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit had so many matches in WWE over their first year with the company that it would be nearly impossible to fault anyone who failed to keep them straight. One definitely stands out, though, that being their Best 2-Out-of-3 Falls match from SummerSlam 2000.

Like all of their encounters, it was a tremendously physical encounter that did not try to be flashy or exuberant but, instead, relied on strong in-ring psychology to tell its story.

It succeeded, with Jericho nursing an injured shoulder and Benoit repeatedly exploiting it to his advantage. It was the finish, though, that really put this one over the top. Benoit’s entire character centered around him being this elite professional wrestler but when all else failed and he could not put the resilient Jericho away by decisively beating him, he took him down, rolled him up and grabbed the ropes for the tainted win.

The match was arguably the most physically intense of any of the 50 matches on this countdown and a reminder that, amid all of the wild brawling, chaotic encounters and flashiness of the Attitude Era, Jericho and Benoit were out there beating the tar out of each other in these hellishly hard-hitting matches designed to change the tone and set a precedent for match quality.

They certainly did and were only overshadowed that year by a match still to come on our list.

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Credit: WWE.com

AJ Styles had long been considered one of, if not the, best wrestler on the planet by the time he arrived in WWE in 2016. Matches with Chris Jericho and Roman Reigns introduced him to the company’s faithful but it was his match with John Cena at SummerSlam that opened eyes and earned him the undisputed respect of the company’s fans.

The crowd erupted with every counter and reversal. The combatants kicked out of each other’s finishers early, setting the stage for a grueling display of one-upmanship that left the audience on the edge of their seats, unsure if the latest pin or submission attempt would be the one to end the match.

Mauro Ranallo was visibly excited at the commentary position, reflecting the emotional rollercoaster the performers took the audience on, all the way until Styles kicked out of an avalanche Attitude Adjustment, leaving his opponent dumbfounded.

A reversal out of another AA, a Styles Clash and one last Phenomenal Forearm gave Styles a win that made him a genuine star in McMahonland and further established Cena as one of the best big-match performers in WWE history.

It was a match that relied on the nonstop action, finisher-heavy and near-fall-laden style of the indies, one that Cena perfected during his matches with Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. It would, indirectly, set the stage for more matches of its type in the years that followed, making its influence as great as its quality.

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Credit: WWE.com

Daniel Bryan entered SummerSlam a “B+ player,” according to the McMahon family. He did not have the look of a WWE champion. He was good, but not great, Vince, Stephanie and Triple H argued, and they could not see him as the face of WWE moving forward.

John Cena, though, believed in Bryan and named him his hand-picked opponent for the main event of the 2013 extravaganza.

It was the right call.

Despite a torn triceps that had rolled up into his elbow, Cena delivered a fantastic performance as he hung with the best wrestler in the world in a five-star, instant classic that was every bit as great as fans had hoped for.

The crowd in Los Angeles was on fire for Bryan, hopeful that the leader of the YES! Movement would be able to overcome the franchise star and prove his worth as the top guy in the company.

He did, absorbing everything Cena threw at him, then delivering the running knee for the pinfall victory and the title.

A stiff, physical match remembered as much for the sickening image of Cena’s tricep muscle very much not where it belonged on his arm, the contest was part one of Bryan’s coronation as the lead babyface in WWE.

It is also somewhat overshadowed by the Triple H heel turn and Randy Orton cash-in that immediately followed it and jumpstarted the battle between Bryan and The Authority, but that does not take away from the magical contest Bryan and Cena turned in.

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Credit: WWE.com

WrestleMania X is forever remembered for the historic Ladder Match between Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon to determine the undisputed Intercontinental champion.

A year and some months later, Vince McMahon recognized the need to spruce up a rather pedestrian SummerSlam card and booked Michaels vs. Ramon II, with the Heartbreak Kid’s IC title on the line, again in a ladder match.

Understandably, there was a buzz in Pittsburgh for the match, with fans eager to see if the legendary competitors would be able to replicate the magic of their first encounter. The answer? Yes.

In fact, there are some who watch that 1995 match and believe it to be the better of the two. It is easy to see why. It is, arguably, more physical than the first one and the dynamic of Ramon as the aggressor to HBK’s resilient babyface works better.

That Ramon targeted the knee of Michaels, putting him on the defensive and giving him something to fight through provided fans with a story they could easily sink their teeth into. Sure, the finish is messy and the ladders did not always cooperate, but the unpolished nature of it made it feel more organic and less choreographed.

The result? A more believable match with some improvisation to boot.

A second five-star classic between the friends and future Hall of Famers, it kicks off a top-five full of extraordinary storytelling and in-ring performances.

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Credit: WWE.com

The sibling rivalry between Bret and Owen Hart dominated 1994 and at SummerSlam, they wrote the latest chapter of their feud inside a steel cage, The Hitman’s WWE Championship at stake while their family watched from ringside.

What very easily could have been a violent, bloody match instead set aside that theatricality for pure drama. The match was less bout crimson masks and the use of the cage as a weapon and more about expert timing and the drama that resulted from it.

Who would climb the cage and escape first? Could the sneaky Owen crawl his way through the cage door or would Bret stop him in the nick of time, saving his title reign to the delight of the fans in Chicago’s United Center?

Which brother would outwrestle the other, prove he was the better man and leave with the gold?

The answer was Bret, who trapped his brother’s legs in the side of the cage, hanging him upside down and hitting the floor to secure the victory.

Another extraordinary match between two brothers who had kicked off WrestleMania X months earlier with another five-star all-timer, this was a masterclass in crowd manipulation, timing and storytelling that still feels, somehow, underrated.

It is not Bret’s final appearance on this countdown, though.

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Credit: WWE.com

In 2013, Brock Lesnar was still the inconquerable beast. He was a punishing force who beat the hell out of anyone standing across the ring from him and whose aura was still very much intact.

CM Punk was fresh off a return and still, arguably, the most over star in WWE.

Two Paul Heyman guys, they set out to steal the show at that year’s SummerSlam and proceeded to do just that.

Punk suckered Lesnar in, using the old rope-a-dope method to perfect. Lesnar brutalized Punk, beating him down and tossing him around the ring with reckless abandon. The Chicago native, though, proved resilient and tenacious, fighting back on several occasions and nearly beating The Beast, to the delight of the Los Angeles fans.

Unfortunately, a late-match distraction by Heyman led to Punk’s demise as Lesnar capitalized and delivered an F-5 onto a chair for the pinfall victory.

No one was really sure of what to expect from the match. Would Lesnar gobble Punk up in one of those one-sided beatdowns that The Beast had become synonymous with or would he sell for Punk in a great, main event style match that had fans champing at the bit for the babyface to somehow win?

The answer was option two and the result was a five-star classic that served as the last great Punk match in WWE and proof that when Lesnar wanted to, he could lace up the work boots and deliver a classic performance.

Just a great, great match that would be higher on this list if it were not for the two contests ahead of it.

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Credit: WWE.com

Since 2000, WWE has produced countless Tables, Ladders and Chairs matches. It has even named an entire premium live event after the popular match type, ensuring that at least one of those contests will happen every year like clockwork.

None of that would be possible without the all-time-great car wreck of a match that the Hardy Boyz, Edge and Christian, and The Dudley Boyz created and popularized at the first SummerSlam of the new Millennium.

Faced with the unenviable task of one-upping their classic Triangle Ladder Match from the previous April’s WrestleMania 2000, the three teams upped the ante with more dangerous spots, death-defying risks and creativity the likes of which even the most ardent of fans never imagined they would see inside a wrestling ring.

D’Von Dudley overcame his fear of heights to dangle from above the rings, his grasp on the championships the only thing keeping him from falling. Table obliterated as Superstars fell through them, the interfering Lita suffered a devastating spear from Edge that ended with the back of her head smacking a ladder, and the dastardly heels retained the titles and robbed the hometown hero Hardys from a milestone victory.

A great match that set the bar unfairly high, it provided WWE and its fans with a staple of the annual schedule and one that has produced many an extraordinary match.

And to think, it would be eclipsed by another one featuring the same three teams less than a year later!

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Credit: WWE.com

Despite 49 other fantastic matches on this list, the top spot was never really in doubt.

Intercontinental champion Bret Hart and “British Bulldog” Davey Boy Smith competed in a classic encounter in London’s Wembley Stadium in 1992 that had 80,000-plus fans hanging on every near-fall and wondering if it was the night their fellow countryman would win gold and establish himself a legitimate singles star.

Hart would not make it easy, spending the majority of the match outwrestling his brother-in-law while sister, Diana, watched from ringside. With family drama providing the foundation of the dispute, the match took on greater meaning than just a championship clash.

There was a ton of physicality from Hart, resiliency from Smith and a crowd that became more split as the match went on than one would have expected. In the end, though, Smith countered a sunset flip, stacked Hart up and scored the pinfall victory and title.

The emotion, the crowd heat and the efforts of both men are iconic. That it was the very first time ever that the Intercontinental Championship headlined a pay-per-view event, based almost exclusively on Vince McMahon’s trust in Hart to deliver a worthy performance, heightens its historic significance, too.

Enough cannot be said about what Hart accomplished that night. Not only did he lead a visibly nervous Bulldog through the match, but he also did something very rare in today’s wrestling world: he came out looking better in defeat.

Hart was clearly the better wrestler and was quite obviously responsible for the majority of what worked in the match. That is not to discount Smith, who showed up and delivered one of his greatest performances when the lights were brightest.

Together, they created a moment that will stand the test of time and is still referenced when discussing the best Hart, Intercontinental, SummerSlam and WWE matches of all time.

Its spot at No. 1 is a no-brainer.