Who is 'Mr Summerslam'?

[rge2010]

Summerslam to be is WWE's 3rd biggest PPV and has been a mainstay for over 25 years. Obviously we have Mr Wrestlemania in Shawn Michaels, although some people grant that to The Undertaker now.

But who would be your Mr Summerslam??? Having seen Isenbergs top 10 list it is no surprise to me that the top 3 matches are dominated by one man.

Bret Hart - I still rate Bret Hart vs British Bulldog as my favourite match of all time. Infact, I grant it the best match of all time. It had a great personal story between the two, 90,000 fans packed out at Wembley Stadium and 2 wrestl;ers who styles were different but complimented each other so well in the ring. Hart gets even more credit for this match if what he says about Bulldog being drunk/high are true. Isenberg also mentioned the Steel Cage match with Owen which is also rated as one of the best Cage matches of all time. The match vs Perfect at Summerslam 91 was between two pure Wrestlers considered to be the best in the business. And while not one of the all time greats, he had a brilliant 30 minute match with Taker at 1997's.

Bret competed in every summerslam from 1988 to 1997 apart from just one in 95. It doesn't sound alot but I put quality firmly infront of quantity this time around.

Can anyone argue a case for anyone else or give an honorable mention? If memory serves me correct Triple H has had some very solid Summerslam matches. Lesnar, Rock, Elimination Chamber, HBK....

 

[thebarber]

Summerslam to be is WWE's 3rd biggest PPV and has been a mainstay for over 25 years. Obviously we have Mr Wrestlemania in Shawn Michaels, although some people grant that to The Undertaker now.

But who would be your Mr Summerslam??? Having seen Isenbergs top 10 list it is no surprise to me that the top 3 matches are dominated by one man.

Bret Hart - I still rate Bret Hart vs British Bulldog as my favourite match of all time. Infact, I grant it the best match of all time. It had a great personal story between the two, 90,000 fans packed out at Wembley Stadium and 2 wrestl;ers who styles were different but complimented each other so well in the ring. Hart gets even more credit for this match if what he says about Bulldog being drunk/high are true. Isenberg also mentioned the Steel Cage match with Owen which is also rated as one of the best Cage matches of all time. The match vs Perfect at Summerslam 91 was between two pure Wrestlers considered to be the best in the business. And while not one of the all time greats, he had a brilliant 30 minute match with Taker at 1997's.

Bret competed in every summerslam from 1988 to 1997 apart from just one in 95. It doesn't sound alot but I put quality firmly infront of quantity this time around.

Can anyone argue a case for anyone else or give an honorable mention? If memory serves me correct Triple H has had some very solid Summerslam matches. Lesnar, Rock, Elimination Chamber, HBK....

Bret Hart did indeed compete at Summerslam 1995, he beat Issac Yankem, better known these days as Kane. I think you are meaning 1996, when Bret had taken April through November off to film Lonesome Dove, rest his body and weight up a huge offer from WCW.

I have to agree though, Bret Hart is Mr SUMMERSLAM. From his epi match against Davey Boy Smith at Wembley in 1992, his sensational cage match with Owen Hart in 1994, his first IC Title vistory over Curt Hennig at 1991, and his 5th title win over The Undertaker at Summersolam 1997( a mmatch Bret is on record as saying is his most sweetest World Title victory). Four awesome singles matches. He also was involved in a pretty solid 2 out of 3 falls tag match to raise the Tag belts for a second time in 1990, and solid showings in the first two Summerslams against Demolition again and Blanchard and Anderson. I really do not think anybody comes close to match Bret Hart's record or match quality at Summerslam.

 

[Wald]

Had this debate before with a friend and we both arrived at Bret Hart as Mr.Summerslam too.

His matches against Mr.Perfect & Bulldog were Summerslam back in the day, he also beat Taker in a great match in 1997 and had probably the greatest old school cage match of all time with Owen in 1994.

My friend even had a great analogy about how HBK being Mr.Wrestlemania and Bret being Mr.Summerslam is the perfect epitaph for their careers. Shawn is more flashy and more naturally gifted like Wrestlemania whereas Bret and Summerslam had to work for your respect more.

 

[JoeyJoeJoe]

Yeah, all roads lead to Bret Hart on this question. Not even counting the matches already mentioned, but The Hart Foundation Vs. The Brainbusters was a highlight of Summerslam 89 and 90 had their title win over Demolition in a Best of 3 Falls match.

You can make a highlight reel of nearly his whole career on just Summerslam alone. Almost every major feud he had played itself out there, with the exception of Michaels.

 

[rokuma]

Bret Hart is definitely the answer to this question, but for a close 2nd? Steve Austin.

97 - Owen Hart (broken neck)
98 - Undertaker (one of their best matches)
99 - Mankind and HHH
01 - Kurt Angle (a fantastic match)

It's a very short run, but a very solid run. Shawn Michaels has a similar resume:

92 - Rick Martel (okay match, but silly)
93 - Mr. Perfect (fantastic match)
95 - Razor Ramon (ladder match and a great follow-up to Wrestlemania X)
96 - Vader (underrated match in my opinion)
02 - HHH (the famous 'comeback match' which was outstanding)
03 - Elimination Chamber (very good match)
05 - Hulk Hogan (just those two names alone are fantastic. A good match)
06 - DX vs McMahons
09 - DX vs Legacy

Not a shabby resume for Summerslam, but unlike Bret, there aren't too many "classics." Hart vs Perfect, Hart vs British Bulldog, Bret vs Owen....those were all classics and that's not counting the Hart Foundation vs Demolition and some of the earlier matches. Bret Hart is definitely Mr. Summerslam in my book.

 

[Redemption-2012]

I would not say there is one because frankly, it's been a really underwhelming for the past couple years now. This year's have big expectations and I really hope they live up to those expectations.

 

[dtroppe]

Didn't Shawn Michaels dub himself "Mr. Wrestlemania?" He probably is as far as good matches go, but when it comes to selling tickets/PPVs/Merchandise, I would have to guess Hogan, Rock, Austin, or Cena are the real Mr. Wrestlemainias.

I would tend to think that the above mentioned names would be Mr Summerslam and Mr WWE as well.

 

[sdelfin]

Just reading the topic, I immediately went to Bret Hart. I need to rewatch the cage match with Owen soon. So far, my favorite Summerslam match for Bret was against Perfect. In-ring storytelling at its finest. His match against Bulldog was very good as well, and it was an amazing moment at Wembley. I also loved seeing the Intercontinental Title match go last. I do believe what Bret said about Davey not being quite performance ready. I watched the match very closely last year and that is the sense I got. Even so, it ended up being a great performance. And as others have stated, from the earlier Summerslams you have two very good matches with the Hart Foundation against Demolition and the great clash between The Hart Foundation and the Brain Busters, which I think I have to watch soon as well.

 

[theBec2101]

Whenever I think of SummersSlam, Bret Hart vs Bulldog is the first to come to mind. I have to go with Bret all day on this one. That I think was the best match ever at SummerSlam. Pure wrestling at its best, I would even say that match is in 5 wrestling matches.

 

[Mark0820]

Bret Hart or Hogan for me. Hogan was 6-0 at SS and has wins over Andre, DiBiase, Savage, Orton and HBK there.

 

[ted sheckler]

Didn't Shawn Michaels dub himself "Mr. Wrestlemania?" He probably is as far as good matches go, but when it comes to selling tickets/PPVs/Merchandise, I would have to guess Hogan, Rock, Austin, or Cena are the real Mr. Wrestlemainias.

I would tend to think that the above mentioned names would be Mr Summerslam and Mr WWE as well.

Unless your last name is McMahon I don't see why people are so concerned with the Tee Shirt Sales and Buyrates.. In the same Logic would you say that Celine Dion is better than the Rolling Stones?? Is Spiderman 3 better than Batman Begins? Is Adam Sandler funnier than Bill Murray? If you judged by the amount of money grossed the answer to all these would be yes... If you judged by the actual art and performance than you answer would most likely be no.

 

[LSN80]

That would be Hulk Hogan, who's the only undefeated wrestler that I can recall who's' wrestled more then five times there. Of course, one could also point to the Undertaker, who was more wins then any other with 9 there.

I'm going to go with Hogan, however. He teamed with Randy Savage in the first Summerslam main event in 88' as the Mega Powers, defeating DiBiase and Andre, but this was more about setting up a main-event Wrestlemania angle with Savage due to Liz. The following year, he teamed with Brutus Beefcake against Savage and Zeus, in what was essentially a promotional vehicle for the the No Holds Barred movie. He then made a huge return in 90' to face Earthquake after being out that summer due to an Earthquake attack, with a memorable moment of Hogan slamming him onto a table. Then in 91', when they were running the huge 'Iraqi War Sympathizers' angle, Hogan and Warrior teamed up to take on Sergeant Slaughter, Mustafa, and Adnan, once again winning in the main event.

Then he left the WWF and didn't wrestle again at Summerslam until 2005, 14 years later, where he main-evented once again, and defeated Shawn Michaels in his return match. Michaels, a full-time wrestler and man that turned heel simply for this match, fell to Hogan in a memorable main event. He then had what has been his final WWE match to date against Randy Orton the next year in 2006, where he gave Orton a huge rub by not kicking out of the RKO, but only getting his foot on the ropes. He won, keeping his record perfect at Summerslam, but gave Orton a nice rub in the process.

From main-eventing the first Summerslam in the Mega Powers to set up an angle between him and Savage for the following years Wrestlemania to main eventing the PPV 14 years later in 2005, when he hadn't wrestled there since 91 and beating Shawn Michaels, it's no doubt Hulk Hogan is Mr. Summerslam. His last WWE match was there against Randy Orton, which he won as well.

Did I mention he's undefeated there at 6-0? How can it be anyone but Hogan?

 

[dtroppe]

Unless your last name is McMahon I don't see why people are so concerned with the Tee Shirt Sales and Buyrates.. In the same Logic would you say that Celine Dion is better than the Rolling Stones?? Is Spiderman 3 better than Batman Begins? Is Adam Sandler funnier than Bill Murray? If you judged by the amount of money grossed the answer to all these would be yes... If you judged by the actual art and performance than you answer would most likely be no.

We need some standard to hold the wrestlers to in order to dub them Mr. Summerslam. That standard could be the most well known Summerslam match, the technically best match, the amount of attention a certain performer brings to the event, or many other things. In the end, unless you look at solid statistics, its a matter of opinion - which of course is generally what wrestling forums are about.

I think that to hold the title "Mr. Summerslam" you need to have had big memorable matches and brought attention to the WWE/WWF and made the event memorable and larger than life. Sure Bret Hart has some of the best matches in Summerslam history, I think Hogan is more well rounded fit for the title. His Summerslam match with Shawn Michaels was featured on national news. He was in the first Summerslam. He was in multiple Main Events. He wrestled in Summerslam when it was one of a handful of PPVs.

 

[Wald]

Isn't Summerslam 1992 the biggest attendance for a PPV ever, when you take out the lie of Wrestlemania 3's attendance?

I'm from Ireland and was 11 at that time, Bret Hart was a bigger draw over than even the Bulldog was (though we loved him too) and that event was sold entirely on the two of them meeting in the ring. It was the biggest sporting event in the UK and Ireland that summer too, and London held the soccer European Cup Final that summer.

 

[HBKistheHOF]

Well first off I think Summerslam is in fact WWE's 2nd Bigegst PPV of the year. Not only did Triple H say so himself on twitter recently but it has easily been billed as such for many years now, behind Mania it is where the largest amount of high profile feuds culminate & it was the 2nd annual PPV behind Mania to start holding a Fan Axxess Convention prior to the show, which until Rumble added a Fan Axxess event this past year, Summerslam was the only show besides Mania to hold such an event.

As for the question at hand, I think it somewhat depends on the criteria.

Since HBK is my favorite of all time he would automatically me my first choice.
1989 - w/Marty Jannetty & Tito Santana vs. Rick Martel & The Fabulous Rougeaus Brothers
1990 - w/Marty Jannetty vs. Power & Glory
1992 - vs. Rick Martel
1993 - vs. Mr. Perfect (IC Title)
1994 - Involved in Diesel vs. Razor Ramon for the IC Title
1995 - vs. Razor Ramon (IC Title Ladder Match)
1996 - vs. Vader (WWF Title)
1997 - Special Guest Referee for Undertaker vs. Bret Hart
2002 - vs. Triple H (Street Fight)
2003 - Elimnation Chamber Match
2005 - vs. Hulk Hogan
2006 - w/Triple H vs. Vince & Shane McMahon
2009 - w/Triple H vs. The Legacy
& in 2012 was even a part of build to HHH/Lesnar.
All great moments & memorable matches IMO. & most fans seem to agree that HBK/HHH in 2002 was one of, if not thee, greatest match in Summerslam history & made that show one of the greatest Summerslams of all time.

But I will agree that while there are a number of other superstars like Hulk Hogan, Steve Austin, Undertaker & Mr. Perfect that I instantly think of when I think of Summerslam, the only other superstar that I would consider to have as memorable of a run as Shawn at Summerslam would be Bret Hart.
1988 - w/Jim Neidhart vs. Demolition
1989 - w/Jim Neidhart vs. The Brain Busters
1990 - w/Jim Neidhart vs. Demolition (2 Out Of 3 Falls Match)
1991 - vs. Mr. Perfect (IC Title)
1992 - vs. The British Bulldog (IC Title)
1993 - vs. Doink The Clown/Jerry "The King" Lawler
1994 - vs. Owen Hart (Cage Match for the WWF Title)
1995 - vs. Issac Yankem D.D.S.
1997 - vs. The Undertaker (WWF Title)
2010 - w/Team WWE vs. The Nexus
All in all, once again pretty great matches & unforgettable moments, spanning several years & eras.

My friend even had a great analogy about how HBK being Mr.Wrestlemania and Bret being Mr.Summerslam is the perfect epitaph for their careers. Shawn is more flashy and more naturally gifted like Wrestlemania whereas Bret and Summerslam had to work for your respect more.

While I think HBK is the greatest at everything, I think this is very accurate. I'm cool with Shawn as "Mr. Wrestlemania" & Bret as "Mr. Summerslam".

 

[roipdh123]

kurt angle.
He is almost undefeated at summerslam {he is 5-1}.

2000 - vs/triple h and the rock - WWF title
2001 - vs/Stone Cold - WWF Title
2002 - vs/Rey Mysterio
2003 - vs/Brock Lesnar - WWE title
2004 - vs/Eddie Guerrero
2005 - vs/Eugene

 

[Kidpolean]

I would put Taker, HHH and CM Punk in there as well...As far as I can remember I believe that every SS match Punk has been in has been for a world title (im including the ECW title)...Taker has wrestled at summerslam more than anyone else and HHH has a very good resume at the event as well.

My choice is also Bret but you could make an argument for others as well...Its not as obvious a choice as HBK being Mr. Wrestlemania

 

[sdelfin]

Isn't Summerslam 1992 the biggest attendance for a PPV ever, when you take out the lie of Wrestlemania 3's attendance?

Wrestlemania 3 had more people for sure. The supposed real attendance of around 80,000 is most likely tickets actually sold. The WWF would certainly "paper" the show to fill that stadium, a place proven to hold over 90,000 people in a similar configuration. It could hold over 80,000 for football with far less seating space than for wrestling. There is no way a shortfall of 10,000 people would be inconspicuous.

 

[5000]

Cena or HHH

 

[Irishock]

Didn't Shawn Michaels dub himself "Mr. Wrestlemania?" He probably is as far as good matches go, but when it comes to selling tickets/PPVs/Merchandise, I would have to guess Hogan, Rock, Austin, or Cena are the real Mr. Wrestlemainias.

Michaels is the greatest Wrestlemania performer ever, no one can take that away from him. Not even Taker. But at the same time you're right. HBK has no business in any conversation that deals with selling tickets. The guy couldn't even sell out a crowd in San Antonio despite insanely cheap tickets. He tried to put himself in a position to be the next Hulk Hogan-- and obviously faltered to say the least. Interesting how his buddy Hunter did the exact same thing in mid-2000, trying to become the heir to Austin's crown until Cena came in, slapped the shit out of him, gave a quick two-piece and took the crown and ran with it.

As for Mr. Summerslam, no question it's the Hitman. Even though he sold less tickets than fucking Shawn, his match with Bulldog is IMO in the top 3 best ever.

 

[The Eighties]

Going off the OP I am taking the criteria to be match quality and in that case it's very hard to look past Bret, his match with Mr Perfect is one of my favourite matches of all time and he also had great memorable matches with Bulldog, Owen and Taker, not to mention the excellent tag team matches he was in at Sumerslam 89 and 90.

While most likely not a popular choice I'd also throw Cena's name into the hat. 2005 vs Y2J, 2006 vs Edge, 2007 vs Orton, 2008 vs Batista and 2011 vs Punk as well as last years triple threat match and most likely another great match this year gives him a fantastic resume' of Summerslam matches.

 

[rge2010]

Michaels is the greatest Wrestlemania performer ever, no one can take that away from him. Not even Taker. But at the same time you're right. HBK has no business in any conversation that deals with selling tickets. The guy couldn't even sell out a crowd in San Antonio despite insanely cheap tickets. He tried to put himself in a position to be the next Hulk Hogan-- and obviously faltered to say the least. Interesting how his buddy Hunter did the exact same thing in mid-2000, trying to become the heir to Austin's crown until Cena came in, slapped the shit out of him, gave a quick two-piece and took the crown and ran with it.

As for Mr. Summerslam, no question it's the Hitman. Even though he sold less tickets than fucking Shawn, his match with Bulldog is IMO in the top 3 best ever.

I believe Bret was a much bigger draw than Shawn Michaels. Bret fucks Shawn all over Canada, and all of Europe, a lot more so in places like UK and Germany. Bret was absolutely huge in these parts during the early 1990s.

Shawn cornerned the American market, but had no worldwide appeal. Bret did. Unfortunately when he was on top from 93-96 he didnt have a lot to work with - Yokozuna, HBK, Razor and Diesel is hardly inspiring which is why WWE was failing. He never worked a programme with Taker until 1997 I dont think.

 

[Hulkamaniac Forever]

i would have to say hulk hogan maybe undertaker or mick foley.
hogan was in ss 88 89 90 91 05 and 06 and had many great matches foley had the famous boiler room brawls with taker cage match with hhh an i quit match with flair which should not have involved melina.
taker had famous brawls with foley kane austin and who can forget commin down the aisle in a hearst at ss 92 in england.

 

[HBsam31]

Gotta go with Bret Hart as well. Bret/Owen was amazing. I actually think Bret/Mr. Perfect was a very close to perfect match, Bret/Taker was awesome too. I would pick Bret just on those matches alone, but the you throw in the match with Davey Boy and this goes to Bret Hart hands down.

 

[Aquaman6686]

I know this is an incredibly late reply, but my pick is definitely Edge. He has one of the greatest records in SummerSlam history (8W-2L), he both won and retained the Intercontinental Championship at the event, he beat John Cena to retain the WWE Championship in the main event of SummerSlam 2005, and his matches, like Bret Hart's before him, routinely stole the show.