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| Hart vs. Hart, the finest WWE Championship match at SummerSlam, ever Photo Credit: WWE.com |
WWE Championship Match:Bret "The Hitman" Hart (c) vs. Owen Hart, Steel Cage Match, from SummerSlam '94
Bret Hart has been involved in so many classics at SummerSlam that it is hard to pick just one match. Rules are rules though, so his steel cage classic with brother Owen is my pick here. The relative strength of the Intercontinental Championship at this event helped matters along pretty well too, which is why I'm safely able to bypass both his classic with Mr. Perfect in '91 and the only IC Title match to main event a pay-per-view over the WWF/E Championship in history in '92 with brother-in-law Davey Boy Smith.
The sibling rivalry match has its own merits, sure. The heat going into the match was off the goddamn charts. Owen brought his best chicken-shit heel game, and Bret balanced trying to keep his title with attempting to beat some sense into his youngest bro. The finish was both taut and abrupt at the same time, which is as awesome as it was paradoxical at time of viewing. The Harts probably had a lot of practice in the years leading up to this moment in the Dungeon, but when the spotlight was on them, they produced one of the finest steel cage matches of all-time.
WCW Championship Match:Booker T (c) vs. The Rock from SummerSlam '01
The Big Gold Belt's history at SummerSlam is pretty checkered, enough so that I considered not having it on the card. However, the first match contested for the physical hardware was probably the best one. Rock had just come back after it was questioned which side of the InVasion he'd roost. He picked the WWF and set his sights squarely on WCW's top prize in a themed battle event. Any rust that Rocky had was either not there or it was hidden by the virtuoso begging-off heel performance of Booker, who did such a good job that it may have submarined the credibility of him holding the belt in the first place.
WWE Intercontinental Championship Match:Rey Mysterio (c) vs. Dolph Ziggler from SummerSlam '09
The Intercontinental Championship match on this card was almost Ladder Match II (Shawn Michaels/Razor Ramon) and the Rock/Triple H ladder match from '98, but I didn't want to oversaturate the show with ladders. As you'll see in the next match, I already have a dandy lined up. Instead, I give you this lower-key but still outstanding match between Mysterio and Ziggler that opened the show in 2009. Ziggler had not yet arrived as the in-ring general we know him as today, so this was a coming-out party in a sense. He held his own with Mysterio in all facets, with the most memorable spot in the match seeing Ziggler countering a Mysterio ring-in springboard with a picture-perfect dropkick.
WWE Tag Team Championship Match:Edge and Christian (c) vs. the Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray and D-Von) vs. the Hardy Boyz (Matt and Jeff), Tables, Ladders, and Chairs Match, from SummerSlam '00
Hey, I had the unofficial first TLC match as my Mania mix tape pick, so why not go with the first official one for SummerSlam? These three teams had such an innate ability not only to kill themselves and each other, but to do it in such a way to maximize our titillation. I will always love the first match at Mania 2000 the best, but this one comes the closest because it is an exquisite car wreck.
WWE Women's Championship Match:Alundra Blayze (c) vs. Bull Nakano from SummerSlam '94
WWE seemed only to pull out the women's wrestling on pay-per-view at SummerSlam in the mid-'90s. They at least had the good sense to import top joshi talent at the time. Bull Nakano's career was cut dreadfully short thanks to injuries, but fortunately, I was able to see her in her prime doing things I never thought possible at the time with the criminally underrated elseworlds-Madusa Miceli. To think that this match would become the norm at the time was crazy talk, but it just goes to show that the stream of innovation bubbles at the source located within joshi culture.
The MegaPowers vs. the MegaBucks:Hulk Hogan and "The Macho Man" Randy Savage (with Miss Elizabeth) vs. "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase and Andre the Giant (with Bobby "The Brain Heenan and Virgil) from SummerSlam '88
Did you know that only twice in the first five years did SummerSlam have a WWE Championship match even on the show? And that both times, the Ultimate Warrior was involved? The beginnings of the summer's biggest stage seemed to be more rooted in stoking flames from WrestleMania about four months prior. Hogan still had beef with Andre, and Savage was, for the time, fresh off defeating DiBiase in the tournament finals, a testament to the time. I'm pretty sure if WWE was in the RAW era around this time, this main event would've either happened the night after Mania or at Backlash/Extreme Rules. Either way, for as limited as Andre was at the time, this match was surprisingly good for the participants. It was also notable for Miss Elizabeth showing off some skin, which at that point in time meant lifting up her skirt to show off panties that covered her entire bum. Yowza!
HOSS FIGHT:Mark Henry vs. Sheamus from SummerSlam '11
The Hall of Pain began in earnest here, as Sheamus boldly proclaimed "OI'LL FOIGHT 'IM" on Smackdown one week. Little did he know that Henry was just getting started on his run, and no one, not even a newly-heroic Celtic Warrior, could stop him. Everyone, myself included, remembers the iconic finish, which I maintain is the best countout finish ever. But these guys went hard and stiff for the time preceding it. There were hoss fights before, and there have been hoss fights since, but since this match is what inspired the birthing of said term, it will forever be known as HOSS FIGHT ALPHA. And you know I'm putting a match with that dubbing into my mix tape.
Loser Must Spend Overnight in Jail:The Big Boss Man vs. The Mountie from SummerSlam '91
Okay, this match wasn't really all that great, but the trappings surrounding it, from the absurd gimmick to Boss Man's facial expressions to Mountie's hissy fit after losing to the post match vignettes of him getting thrown in the klink, make it worthy of inclusion here. Sometimes, you just need entertaining spectacle. I was amused by it as a kid, and today, I still chuckle at the whole circus-like atmosphere.
Special Attraction Match:Kurt Angle vs. Eddie Guerrero from SummerSlam '04
The mid-'00s were good for having these random below-the-main event matches between two out of a number of revolutionary in-ring dudes that would end up outshining the rest of the card. Before Angle got too wrapped up in his own self (and 2004 was right around the hairy edge of that), he was part of that group, one that Guerrero was firmly lodged in until his death. Both guys had matches with Mysterio that could have gone here, but Rey-Rey was needed elsewhere.
Free For All Match:Yokozuna vs. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin from the Free for All before SummerSlam '96
Okay, okay, I kinda felt bad about leaving my favorite wrestler of all-time and certified candidate for best objective performer, Steve Austin, off the tape. The truth is, he's one of those guys for whom SummerSlam never really clicked. His best moments in the summer months always came at other PPVs, whether it be King of the Ring ('96 obvs, but also his surreal match with Shawn Michaels around the time of their Tag Title reign in '97) or one of the off-brand shows (Canadian Stampede). However, I'll throw this match in as a special pregame Easter egg because it both puts Austin on the tape but also documents the coda to Yokozuna's WWE career. I'll never forget Austin getting the roll up off the top turnbuckle breaking on a Banzai Drop attempt. Troll booking at its finest.
Creating a balanced SummerSlam mix tape was a bit harder than Mania because a lot of marquee names in WWE history didn't really have stellar track records at the event. For example, CM Punk, John Cena, Batista, the Ultimate Warrior, Shawn Michaels, Razor Ramon, the Undertaker, Triple H, Brock Lesnar, and Chris Jericho all could not find ways onto this show. Some of them are victims of not having a great run at the biggest event of the summer. Some of them, like Michaels, are victims of having their titles be usurped by other matches. Some of them have their best opponents tied up in other matches. Still, I feel like SummerSlam has always been more about experimentation anyway, giving guys shots who may not be ready for Mania yet or even at all. The match order is listed below:
Dark/FFA. Austin/Yokozuna
Open. Henry/Sheamus
2. Mysterio/Ziggler
3. TLC I
4. Blayze/Nakano
5. Boss Man/Mountie
6. Angle/Guerrero
7. Rock/Booker
8. Hart/Hart
Main Event: MegaPowers/MegaBucks
Hogan's in the main event in BOTH of my supercard mix tapes? I plead the Fifth.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy this mix tape as much as the last one. As long as someone reminds me in November, I will be back with a Survivor Series mix tape!
EDIT: Blog-friend David Kincannon went through the trouble of creating this mix tape playlist. Sheamus/Henry is only in highlights, and he couldn't find anything regarding Boss Man/Mountie. However, everything else is there in its entirety. Thanks, David!