On Sunday night, Aug. 17 the WWE presents SummerSlam live from the Staples Center in Los Angeles and the main event will be Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. There have been a lot of great main events throughout the years for the WWE's second biggest annual event, and we will look back at the Top 5 closing matches in the history of the biggest event of the summer.
SummerSlam 1998: The Undertaker vs. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin for the WWE Championship:
At the height of the WWE's Attitude Era, its old school favorite and new school bad guy that everyone loved to cheer went one-on-one for the richest prize in the game at the Mecca of arenas as The Undertaker battled Steve Austin at Madison Square Garden in New York City for the WWE Championship. The two had a classic and brutal match that also saw a memorable spot where The Undertaker leg dropped Austin through a table on a hot summer night in New York City. In the end, the "Texas Rattlesnake" stood tall in front of a raucous crowd.
SummerSlam 2009: Jeff Hardy vs. CM Punk for the World Heavyweight Championship in a TLC Match:
CM Punk and Jeff Hardy's feud in the red-hot summer of 2009 got personal when Punk cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase as a newly turned heel and went after Hardy for being beneath the "Straightedge Superstar" for his rampant drug use. Both men put their bodies on the line at the Staples Center in a match that included several memorable spots, but in the end Hardy's risk-taking got the better of him and Punk won the match to retain the title. Afterward, The Undertaker emerged and laid Punk out.
SummerSlam 2004: Randy Orton vs. Chris Benoit for the World Heavyweight Championship:
Chris Benoit's historic title win at WrestleMania XX in March would see the reign end on an August night in 2004 when Randy Orton went toe-to-toe with the "Rabid Wolverine." Orton and Benoit put on a wrestling clinic in a fantastic main event that saw Orton come out on top, winning the title at just 24 years of age and becoming the youngest World Heavyweight Champion with the victory at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto.
SummerSlam 2002: Brock Lesnar vs. The Rock for the Undisputed Championship:
The only thing hotter than the summer sun coming into SummerSlam 2002 was the career of Brock Lesnar. Having already won the King of the Ring tournament in just his first few months in the company, Lesnar appeared as "The Next Big Thing" and had just one more hill to climb. The Rock was beginning his Hollywood career and the match would be one of his last before he started to split his time between wrestling and acting. The match was meant to be The Rock passing the torch to Lesnar, though Lesnar would disappear from the WWE a year and a half later and didn't return for several years. Still, it was a great main event at the Nassau Coliseum in Long Island, N.Y. and was the first-ever title reign for Lesnar. 12 years later, Lesnar returns to SummerSlam fresh off of ending The Undertaker's streak at WrestleMania XXX and looks to win the WWE Championship once again at the biggest show of the summer.
SummerSlam 1992: "The British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith vs. Bret "Hitman" Hart for the Intercontinental Championship:
Arguably the best main event in SummerSlam history is one that wasn't even for the biggest title in the company. Bret Hart and Davey Boy Smith put on a clinic at Wembley Stadium in London in what is to date the only outdoor edition of SummerSlam ever. Bulldog and Bret put on a back-and-forth meticulously planned out five-star classic of a bout. In the end, Smith reversed Hart into a clever pinning combination to pick up his first singles title in the WWE, launching Davey Boy into a legitimate contender while Hart continued his elevation up the card toward the main event. 22 years later, this stands as one of the greatest matches in SummerSlam history.
Lesnar and Cena have a chance to deliver a match worthy of being a classic SummerSlam main event this year, but they have their work cut out for them if they want to take any of these matches off the list when they hit the ring on Aug. 17 live from the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
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