SummerSlam has been home to some of the best in-ring performances by top WWE stars throughout the decades.
WWE sees SummerSlam as an important part of the company’s history for good reason. SummerSlam became the second major PPV after WrestleMania with WWE wanting to have a huge event every single summer. The show is not always great, but the importance is always there due to fan investment.
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SummerSlam has been home to some of the best in-ring performances by top WWE stars throughout the decades. Certain matches stand above the other classics when looking at the impact they had. Cagematch is a great source for finding fan match ratings averaged. The following matches have the highest Cagematch rating in SummerSlam history.
The first heel run of CM Punk in WWE against Jeff Hardy helped show his brilliance. Punk was best as a heel, and he was allowed to introduce the straight edge villain persona to WWE. Hardy was the perfect opponent as they faced off throughout the summer of 2009.
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WWE waited for SummerSlam 2009 to pay it off with an epic TLC match. Punk scored the win to cement himself as the top heel at the time. Cagematch rated the match an impressive 8.93 to live on in the history of the second biggest show of the year.
WWE used the stage of SummerSlam 1995 to deliver a rematch that fans badly wanted for over a year. Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon had an epic performance at WrestleMania 10 introducing the ladder match in a tremendous manner.
The rematch came a year and a half later with both men now playing face characters. Michaels scored the win to keep moving forward in his ascension to the top of WWE. The 8.97 rating makes the second WWE ladder match one of the best to ever take place on the show.
Christian Cage’s recent heel turn is reminding everyone just how great he is at the villain character. WWE saw the best of Christian coming in 2011 when turning heel to feud with Randy Orton for the World Championship.
Orton and Christian had a No DQ match at SummerSlam 2011 that stole the show. The chemistry between both wrestlers always provided great matches. Many fans view this one as their best bout together, especially with Cagematch rating it a 9.00.
WWE received a huge boost in 2002 when Shawn Michaels returned out of retirement to wrestle his first match in over four years. A great storyline of Triple H brutally attacking Michaels to keep his former best friend from stealing his spotlight created an unsanctioned match.
SummerSlam 2002 saw Michaels proving he was still an elite performer by having a classic match with Triple H. Cagematch readers gave the match a 9.19 rating as one of the best in the event’s history. WWE continued the Michaels/Triple H feud for years, but this first match remained the peak.
The Undertaker and Edge spent the first half of 2008 together having many noteworthy matches. A few months would see them compete in a WrestleMania 24 main event, TLC match and Hell in a Cell match. The third of those matches came at SummerSlam 2008 to pay off the feud.
Undertaker returned from losing a loser leave towns match and received his match stipulation specialty to get revenge against Edge. The match was a huge hit and received a 9.20 Cagematch rating to show how much the audience loved it.
WWE ran a rare scenario of the Intercontinental Championship main eventing SummerSlam 1992 due to the story. Bret Hart defending the belt against his brother-in-law The British Bulldog was a great story, but the location paid off most.
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Bulldog winning the title in his home of the United Kingdom in front of a massive crowd was too good to pass up. The match was considered an all-time great at the time and still holds up to get a 9.21 rating from Cagematch voters.
Bret Hart winning the WWE Championship in 1994 saw him instantly having a great program with Owen Hart. The brother vs brother rivalry became arguably the best storyline in WWE history at that point given the layers involved.
SummerSlam 1994 featured their big title match with Bret retaining the WWE Championship over Owen in a cage match. WWE used the old school approach of both men trying to escape the cage and it worked with the audience. Cagematch readers loved the match enough to give it a 9.26 rating.
WWE delivered an all-time great main event at SummerSlam 2013 when Daniel Bryan challenged John Cena for the WWE Championship. Both performers were at their best this night to tell a great story of Bryan beating Cena for the top prize.
Fans mostly talk about the following moment of Randy Orton cashing in Money in the Bank, but the real main event deserves more love. Cagematch readers certainly share the same sentiments as seen with a 9.30 rating.
Many viewers forget that the first official TLC match took place at SummerSlam 2000 rather than one of the WrestleMania shows. The three teams of Edge & Christian, the Dudley Boyz and the Hardy Boyz always delivered in that environment.
SummerSlam 2000 featured Mick Foley announcing the match as Commissioner after the teams used tables and chairs in their previous ladder match. The legendary series of matches continued with another classic between them getting a 9.32 Cagematch rating.
SummerSlam 2013 deserves to be considered the best in the event’s history when seeing two of the top three Cagematch rated matches on the same show. Brock Lesnar and CM Punk had a main event quality match on the same night that Daniel Bryan and John Cena closed the show.
Paul Heyman turning on Punk led to Brock facing him for a legitimate dream match that fans wanted. The match was so incredible that it is currently the highest rated on Cagematch with an outstanding 9.38 rating.
Joey is a writer with a decade of experience writing about sports, entertainment, and pop culture. Pro wrestling is his strongest passion with a lifetime fandom and countless live shows attended.