WINC Watchlist: WWE SummerSlam

Whenever there's a big show coming up, like WWE SummerSlam this weekend, it can be instructive (not to mention fun) to go back and watch some older, related matches in the lead-up to the event. There are as many different ways to watch wrestling as there are individual wrestling fans, but here at Wrestling Inc., we love to cut up and rearrange wrestling history in interesting and unique ways, selecting a variety of matches with some sort of through-line connecting them and placing them side-by-side. We've never done this for SummerSlam before, so we're going big and talking about our favorite SummerSlam matches of all time.

It's a huge category and we only have so much room to work with — and with six entires covering nine total matches, we're already pushing it. Stuff is going to get left out, and it'll probably be stuff you love — sorry in advance. For this Watchlist, we didn't do a fancy vote or anything like we did for Evolution. Our writers and editors were simply asked to pick their favorite SummerSlam matches, and these were the matches that got picked. One of us decided they needed to write about two matches to do the subject justice; another of us decided they needed to write about three. There's some overlap in era, but overall we covered a fairly wide spread, hitting several matches you probably expected to see but a few that might surprise you. Ultimately, how you build your personal SummerSlam Watchlist is up to you, but if you're needing recommendations ahead of this weekend's two-night festivities, here's ours. 

The 90s of WWF and WWE are known for many things: the Monday Night Wars, the heyday of icons like Bret "The Hitman" Hart, and the push of stars like Shawn Michaels. What the 90s of WWF and WWE were not known for, however, is women's wrestling — save for one SummerSlam match. On August 29, 1994, Alundra Blayze and Bull Nakano aimed to break the professional wrestling's glass ceiling with their match for the WWF Women's World Championship, and over 30 years later, this historic SummerSlam match is famed as an early testament to the effectiveness of women's wrestling.

Blayze and Nakano's in-ring chemistry is one of the many reasons fans continue to come back to this iconic SummerSlam match-up. Their synergy was apparent from the first bell as they moved seamlessly together, both unafraid to take big bumps to tantalize the audience. Even then, the 1994 Chicago crowd recognized Blayze and Nakano's chemistry, and whistles and cheers — rare for women's wrestling matches at the time — rang out through the stadium as Nakano overwhelmed Blayze to open the match.

Blayze and Nakano's SummerSlam match pushed the boundaries of in-ring competition, but not just on account of their gender. In an era of wrestling largely characterized by its simple-but-effective strikes and mat work, Blayze and Nakano elected to perform high-octane, acrobatic moves that are more in line with modern wrestling and workers like Will Ospreay or IYO SKY. A forward-facing Poisonrana from Blayze to Nakano managed to stop the challenger's steady offense to put the champion back in competition. Chicago truly came alive — whistles and stunned cheers aplenty — as Nakano tied Blayze's limbs into what looked to be a Sharpshooter before easily transitioning into a suspended Cloverleaf submission. Several Slingblades from Blayze — a sequence that wouldn't be out of place in today's ring — shook the ring beneath. Nakano and Blayze were ahead of their time: not just as female competitors, but as overall in-ring workers.

Despite their in-ring innovation, Blayze and Nakano's match stuck mostly to one of wrestling's tried-and-true narrative models: the arc of the underdog babyface versus the monster (often non-White) heel. While this storyline is less utilized nowadays, it was especially popular with the largely white, working class, American audience that sat ringside in 1994. Nakano was the perfect mountain for Blayze to overcome, and the champion and challenger's in-ring chemistry allowed them to sink their teeth into their simple-yet-effective narrative. Chicago erupted into "USA" chants multiple times during the match, and rallied behind Blayze during her explosive comeback sequences. The simple storyline behind Blayze and Nakano's match allowed for the Chicago audience to create a quick and powerful connection to the in-ring action.

While some may criticize Blayze and Nakano's short match time, this match served as women's wrestling's gold standard for decades, and still holds up as a SummerSlam classic, even 30 years later. Blayze and Nakano were trailblazers, in every sense of the word, and this landmark match should absolutely be on your SummerSlam watchlist.

Written by Angeline Phu

SummerSlam is a car crash PPV. TLC, Brock Lesnar tearing up the ring with a forklift, the street fight between Triple H and Shawn Michaels, there's always been a certain level of mayhem welcome on "The Biggest Party of The Summer," and it would be borderline negligent to celebrate it without celebrating the patron saint of WWE mayhem, Shane McMahon. While many like Mick Foley, Rob Van Dam, Kevin Owens, and others brought their version of mayhem from elsewhere, Shane McMahon is a purely WWE creation, and his matches at the 1999 and 2000 editions of SummerSlam are probably his best matches that didn't involve his father or getting his brain turned into pudding by Kurt Angle.

In 1999, Shane McMahon had a legendary dumb guy match, as he took on Test in a "Love Her Or Leave Her" Street Fight. A Test match is already something of an experience in and of itself, but add in beautifully stupid moments like Shane hitting Test with a framed picture in a way that assures Shane will get a face full of glass shrapnel. It is a match that flies in the face of "logic" or "in-ring psychology" in the name of sick thrills, a formula Shane O' would return to on many occasions. Add in the Mean Street Posse sitting in the front row on a ratty sofa, and you've got a pretty spectacular 10 minutes. The fact that Test's romance with Stephanie McMahon, much like his career in general, was ruined just months later by Triple H adds a certain bleak humor to the match.

The next year, Shane, now Hardcore Champion, took on "The Walking Weapon" Steve Blackman. Blackman is essentially the primordial ooze from which modern-day Jon Moxley crawled. He brawls Shane around the arena in comfy pants, just like I'd imagine the former AEW World Champion would've done. In an example of how quickly things changed back in the Attitude Era, Test showed up to help the man who tried to stop him from dating Stephanie McMahon the year prior. The match culminates in one of the greatest stunts of Shane's career, which saw him plummet from the top of the SummerSlam stage.

Shane spent many years trying to recreate the magic of those years, even wrestling Eric Bischoff in the name of his mother's honor in 2003, much the way he did Test in 1999, and falling off stuff as much as possible like he did in 2000. The two matches are part of the firmament on which the legend of Shane McMahon was born.

Written by Ross Berman

It's often forgotten that the first-ever TLC (Tables, Ladders, and Chairs) match actually took place at SummerSlam, not WrestleMania. At "The Biggest Party of the Summer" in 2000, Edge and Christian successfully defended their WWF Tag Team Championships against The Hardy Boyz, Matt and Jeff Hardy, and the Dudley Boyz, Bubba Ray and D-Von Dudley. 

The TLC match was created, in storyline, by then-commissioner Mick Foley, and the gimmick fit perfectly between the love the Hardy Boyz had for ladders, the Dudleys and their tables, and of course, the champions who were known for taking out their opponents with their signature Con-Chair-To. The rules, which are still set in stone today, are basically the same as a ladder match, with the belts suspended high above the ring with the competitors meant to grab them by scaling a massive ladder. In the first-ever iteration of the match, however, it's noticeable from the start that the ladders initially brought into the ring, first by Edge, are much to small for any of the men to reach the titles. Taller ladders are brought into the match, and chaos ensues in a historic spot-fest for the ages.

The match has many memorable moments, though the fact WWE wouldn't ban unprotected chair shots to the head for 10 more years is a bit jarring when you watch this back in the year 2025. The Dudley Boyz hit a Wassup, with D-Von jumping from a ladder, to Christian, who they then sent through a table with a 3-D. The Dudleys played Tetris with tables on the outside of the ring, though it was Bubba Ray who ended up going through four at one time after he was the man who so neatly arranged them. He wasn't the only one to take a big table spot, however, as he dodged a Swanton Bomb off a ladder by Jeff Hardy, who went crashing down through two tables.

In the end, D-Von and Jeff were left hanging from the belts above the ring after Christian and Edge knocked the ladder down from underneath them. Both men tumbled hard back down to the canvas, and the champions ascended another ladder to grab their titles and retain.

The bout, regarded as one of the best of the Attitude Era by many fans, is also one of the highest-rated SummerSlam matches on Cagematch, with fans rating it a 9.29 with almost 450 votes. Dave Meltzer gave it 4.5 stars in his rating in "The Wrestling Observer Newsletter." The teams would go at it again not even a year later, when they took TLC to WrestleMania 17 in April 2001, where Edge and Christian retained the gold once again.

Written by Daisy Ruth

To be honest, there's at least five matches that could be considered as the best match from WWE SummerSlam 2002. It is widely considered to be the best SummerSlam in the event's history, with Kurt Angle and Rey Mysterio kicking off the show in dramatic fashion, Edge and Eddie Guerrero solidifying themselves as future main eventers, Chris Benoit and RVD's WWE Intercontinental Championship match is an underrated gem, and the main event between Brock Lesnar and The Rock is a prime example of how to do a WWE main event right. However, it's the Unsanctioned match between Shawn Michaels and Triple H that is not only regarded as the best match of the show, but one of the best in SummerSlam history.

It's hard to describe what the vibe around this match was when it happened. Imagine the excitement that fans had for someone like Daniel Bryan coming out of retirement in 2018 but multiply it by ten and you come close to how excited people were to see "The Heartbreak Kid" back in a WWE ring. Coming out in the best shape he had been in since before his back injury that sidelined him for four years, to face the most cerebral version of "The Game" that there had been up until that point. After the initial excitement wears off and Triple H gets going on his long, extended heat segment, a hush comes over the audience not out of boredom, but out of fear.

Take something like a 2025 Kenny Omega match in AEW. Every opponent he comes up against knows he has a massive target on him, his abdomen because of his very real battle with diverticulitis. That same formula applies here, only this time Triple H takes a steel chair and uses it in every way imaginable to wear Michaels down by attacking his back considering it was literally broken in 1998. While it does go on a little longer than I had originally remembered, it actually amplifies the excitement from the fans when Michaels gets the babyface shine going.

Things like kipping up or skinning the cat get monstrous reactions from the fans, Triple H is bleeding so much you actually think he's hit an artery at one point, and the two men just gradually go through the gears until the finish where Triple H counters a Sweet Chin Music into a Pedigree attempt, only for Michaels to grab a quick roll up for the win. The crowd is literally stomping their feet out of sheer euphoria when HBK gets the win, but that is obviously short lived as "The Game" hits Michaels in the back with a sledgehammer not once, but twice, teasing another chapter in what many thought was a one and done story.

Quite simply, this is one of the greatest comeback matches in professional wrestling history. Shawn Michaels and Triple H might be divisive figures in today's wrestling landscape, but on this August night in 2002, they produced a blood-soaked masterpiece.

Written by Sam Palmer

Much like WrestleMania 41, SummerSlam 2013 saw a battle of Paul Heyman guys as "The Beast Incarnate" Brock Lesnar took on "The Best in the World" CM Punk. 

Heyman had betrayed Punk – once again like 'Mania – to cost him the "WWE Raw" Money in the Bank ladder match, thus spurring Punk's quest for vengeance and the road that would lead to Lesnar's fifth match since returning to the company in 2012. This was a pre-Streak Breaker Lesnar, one that had returned to lose against John Cena before going 2-1 in a trilogy with Triple H, while Punk had sustained losses against The Rock for the WWE Championship, an opportunity for the WrestleMania rematch against Cena, and then his own failed attempt at The Undertaker's streak in the months leading up to this bout. 

It was a must-win for either side, and will go down as one of Lesnar's statement pieces before breaking the streak the following year, with his signature dominance over his smaller opponent evident from the off. Punk was absolutely punished for the majority of the affair, with Lesnar bulldozing through him with steel steps and literally jumping on Punk with the announcer's desk cover strewn across him. That worked well for the brief bursts of undying energy from the underdog, with Punk rocking the bigger man with roundhouse kicks and a very labored elbow drop from the top rope. 

It was a fight of moments, and Punk found his and sought to push with that advantage. As such, there were moments where Punk appeared to have the opening to put things away, setting up for the GTS only to then be reversed into a Kimura, managing to roll through and cinch in an armbar, then rolling through again for a tight triangle choke; that choke looked to be the end of the bout, but for Lesnar's brute strength lifting Punk into a powerbomb. 

Punk continued to punish Lesnar with a steel chair on the outside, almost coming back to bite him as Lesnar procured the chair had it not been for a last-gasp low blow. He then delivered the elbow drop again, except this time with the chair coming down to meet Lesnar's face, and got on with the punishing... until Heyman put a stop to it. Then Lesnar went for the F5, Punk grabbed Heyman's tie to prevent it, and hit the GTS to Lesnar for the pinfall... until Heyman put a stop to it. Punk then chased Heyman around the ring, getting caught in the F5 but reversing it for a DDT and locking in the Anaconda Vice. He could have won... but his hatred for Heyman put a stop to it.

With Lesnar down and arguably beaten, Punk had his "Oberyn Martell vs. The Mountain" moment; turning his attention to his Tywin Lannister, he locked the Vice in on Heyman, forgetting who or what he was fighting to begin with. Thus, Lesnar battered him with the steel chair, finishing Punk with the F5 to secure his victory. Definitely worth the re-watch considering Punk's current trajectory.

Written by Max Everett

Please forgive the essay; I have thoughts.

Bianca Belair missed WWE SummerSlam 2024 last year as she and Jade Cargill defended the women's tag titles the previous night on "SmackDown" instead, and she's not scheduled to compete at WWE SummerSlam 2025. That said, reports as recently as June claimed that Belair (who last wrestled at WrestleMania in April, where she broke her fingers) was at one point earmarked for a SummerSlam return, and as it happens, two people she's in a long-term storyline with, Cargill and Naomi, are heavily favored to walk out of New Jersey with WWE's top two women's singles championships. In other words, a lot of people are about to get a refresher on who the hell Bianca Belair is, and if you want to get a head start, there's no better way than to watch her trilogy of SummerSlam matches from 2021 to 2023. Belair's WrestleMania matches get a lot of hype, which they deserve — her five Mania performances thus far range from "good" to "great" to "era-defining" — but while those matches showcase why Belair is a great wrestler, these three SummerSlam matches showcase why she's a great character.

They also incorporate more of wrestling's unique insanity, as demonstrated by the first one in 2021. Belair was scheduled to defend her "SmackDown" Women's Championship against Sasha Banks (now AEW's Mercedes Mone) in a rematch from their classic at WrestleMania 37. It's never been clear why Banks was pulled from the match (the rumor at the time was that she'd contracted COVID-19) or exactly when WWE knew she'd be unavailable, but they continued to promote Banks vs. Belair until the moment Banks was supposed to come out. After it was announced that Banks couldn't compete, Belair prepared to defend against Banks flunky Carmella instead — until "The Man" Becky Lynch unexpectedly returned from maternity leave, blowing the roof off Allegiant Stadium and setting up a Lynch vs. Belair dream match for the title.

Instead, Lynch sucker-punched Belair, dropped her with a Manhandle Slam, and notoriously won the belt in 26 seconds. Reports from the time indicate bringing Lynch back early (she had been slated to return a couple months later) and the quick title change were Vince McMahon ideas explicitly conceived as big moments to make up for the loss of the Banks/Belair rematch. Fans at the time were furious on Belair's behalf which, as Lynch pointed out, was the point. Belair, for her part, credited Lynch with getting the story through to the finish line, which saw Belair regain the title from Lynch at WrestleMania 38. As a result, the SummerSlam 2021 match can be enjoyed through a strictly narrative lens, and the nuances of Belair's performance in the moment can be appreciated. She sells the multiple changes to the situation so well — frustration at Banks being pulled, resolve to defeat Carmella, shock and delight (but also hesitation) at Lynch's return and the prospect of the dream match, shock and horror at the quick defeat, and finally a sort of forced competitive stoicism in which she's clearly trying to tell herself that Lynch was simply the better woman on the right night, even though some part of her knows that's not the case, that she was lured into a trap by the wily veteran who would shortly come to be known as "Big Time Becks." It's the first step in the cementing of Belair, not just as a top wrestler — WrestleMania 37 had already done that — but as a top babyface, someone WWE would crown over a star of Lynch's status at an event like WrestleMania.

SummerSlam 2022 was an entirely different and much bigger animal. That night, Lynch vs. Belair was also informed by an unexpected absence, though Banks had walked out months earlier — their PLE opener represented the dawn of "the Paul Levesque era," as SummerSlam occurred just eight days after Vince McMahon "retired" following revelations published by the Wall Street Journal. It's arguably even better than their WrestleMania 38 bout and is certainly the best of this particular SummerSlam trilogy, but more important is the fact that it brings a third Horsewoman into the mix — Bayley, who returned from a year-long injury after Belair retained and brought Dakota Kai and IYO SKY with her, forming Damage CTRL. Just as Lynch's quick win over Belair in 2021 was a direct result of Banks' unavailability, so the involvement of Kai and SKY was a direct result of McMahon's departure, as was the post-match handshake between Belair and Lynch, which began the transition of Lynch back into her popular babyface "The Man" persona. From a character standpoint, Belair had spent a year finally earning the respect of Lynch, only to be plagued by Bayley and Damage CTRL — more unforeseen variables in the form of Kai and SKY — for the next year plus. Furthermore, while she'd reached peak babyface stardom in 2022, that started to change in 2023. Her reign with what is now the WWE Women's Championship is still the longest in that title's history, but by the end of it, fans had started cheering the likes of SKY and Asuka, the latter of whom would ultimately dethrone Belair before eventually joining Damage CTRL. Making things even worse for Belair was the return of the fourth Horsewoman, Charlotte Flair, who almost immediately got involved with Asuka, forcing Belair to fight just to stay involved in the title picture as Asuka and Flair threatened to leave her behind.

All of this culminates at SummerSlam 2023 in the triple threat match between Asuka, Flair, and Belair, which is the best babyface performance of Belair's career and honestly one of the best I've seen. Belair battles her heart out in that match, fighting through a beautifully worked knee injury that even sees her briefly go up the ramp as though forced out of action, only to return and secure a gritty roll-up to regain the championship. It's a moment that essentially validates her entire career to that point, cementing her in the WWE women's division's upper echelon — and then it's undone a few heartbeats later when SKY cashes in her Money in the Bank contract, heartlessly taking advantage of Belair's hurt knee before taking her title as well. In this third match, there's no backstage drama driving creative; there's just the extremely dumb but somehow legal rules of wrestling which say that sometimes you go to war, win, and then lose everything immediately because somebody ran out and handed the referee a briefcase. The trilogy ends the way it began — with Belair losing her title in a few seconds because professional wrestling isn't fair.

SKY retained the title in a much longer match against Belair in November at Crown Jewel. For almost six months after that, Belair didn't participate in a world title match, joining Cargill in the tag division instead. Her first world title match after losing to SKY was also her most recent match period, another triple threat at WrestleMania 41 — where she lost to SKY yet again, this time immediately after hitting Rhea Ripley with a presumably match-ending KOD. Between getting booed by the crowd and her long history of getting betrayed and screwed over, Belair was already flirting with heel status before WrestleMania. What will she do if she comes back to find both Cargill and Naomi as world title holders? The specifics are still unknown, but a reckoning is coming — and if you watch her matches from SummerSlam 2021, 2022, and 2023, you'll understand exactly who Bianca Belair is when she finally makes her move.

Written by Miles Schneiderman