SummerSlam 2002- Party pooper time...

I penciled this in on my list when @ness mentioned it way back in the planning stages. Had it at #17 for a while. Then I thought of other shows I just like better. The Shootist Principle came into play again...

I'm sure this would be a Top 10 show if I went strictly by star ratings. HBK/HHH was my 2002 MOTY. Brock/Rock and Angle/Rey were good. Edge/Eddie and RVD/Benoit were above average. I even remember liking Taker/Test. Wasn't this Taker's return to full-fledged babyface status? Did Jericho/Flair happen here or the next PPV? Can't remember, but I do recall that one being a tad disappointing regardless of when it took place. Anyway...

Thing is, a show with Brock "Poochie" Lesnar breaking records by winning the WWE Championship only 5 months into his WWE career and that detestable Shawn Michaels slithering back into my life to end to four and a half years of relative bliss by beating HHH (who I wouldn't completely turn on until the next month) is going to have a ceiling. 

The best pay per views get you hyped for the future to come. This show had the opposite effect. I was dreading a future full of more HBK and LOL Brock Wins.

*I'll also admit to 02-03 being the height of obnoxious smark phase. So far I've taken dumps on Wrestlemanias 18, 19, and now Summerslam 02. SS 02 still would have made my Top 25 based on match quality though. So it's not as if I hate it. I just prefer 20+ other shows.

*I'll post my Top 10 Rock matches in the Random Thread if I have time and remember to do so. 

Maybe you need to experience it during the time, but couldn't tell you a single match minus the two. But I guess those are highly regarded and doesn't that speak more than say a card of greatness like SS?

6. Wrestlemania III- The pinnacle of 80s WWF. Many would even go further by calling this the high point of Vincent Kennedy McMahon's entire 39 year reign.

LOL at that 6.91 Cagematch rating. That's one of the more ludicrous wrestling-related things I've seen of late. This is another show which is greater than the sum of its parts. Its value goes beyond mere star ratings. (fwiw I think Summerslam 89, which was a late cut from my list, is the best "workrate" 80s WWF PPV)  Even if you want to write WM 3 off as a one (or two) match show, it still had an atmosphere like no other, and, more importantly, motorized ring carts. Motorized ring carts automatically make it better than all but 5 pay per views. That's a fact, Jack.

The tagline, grammatically incorrect though it may be, really sums it up- "Bigger! Better! Badder!" You all know the story by now- a record breaking 93,173 people packed into the Pontiac Silverdome to see Hulk Hogan end Andre the Giant's 15 year undefeated streak while becoming the first man to slam him in the process. Those 93,173 people also saw Randy Savage & Ricky Steamboat take (WWF) wrestling to new heights with an influential match which is widely considered one of the decade's best bouts.

This show has a soft spot in my heart because it's the first PPV I ever saw. I assumed they were all like this. Boy was I wrong. Not that it needs a soft spot, mind you. It's Wrestlemania III! Many longtime WWF fans still call this the GOAT show, including one of our very own PW posters. It was also my brother's all time favorite show, and a frequent rental in the mid 90s.

WM 3 made good use of celebrities by using them as a garnish rather than a main attraction. It also rivals WM 14 in terms of pre-show hype. Fans of the time (myself included) couldn't wait to see this show. 

Hogan/Andre is a strong contender for the most famous match in wrestling history while Hogan slamming Andre is an equally strong contender for the most iconic moment. On the other end of the spectrum, you had Steamboat/Savage take WWF wrestling to new heights. This was THE WWF 'workrate' match for many years. 21 two counts!

The rest of the show really isn't bad. I actually like it a lot more now than I did, say, 20 years ago. Can Ams vs Orton & Muraco kick off the show with a solid high energy tag match to get things off to a good start. Then you had the Herc vs. Billy Jerk grudge match which has aged like fine wine. Then King Kong Bundy became a legend by elbow dropping an annoying midget who totally had it coming. Piper/Adonis is a good brawl that doesn't wear out its welcome with a post-match that created a new babyface star. It's been lost to time what a big deal this was. Piper's retirement match was HUGE at the time. This may have been the 2nd most hyped match on the show. Certainly no less than #3 in terms of hype. Harts & Davis vs. Bulldogs & Tito is a lot of fun with a shocking Baker approved finish that gave me bragging rights over my brother for a year. Even Race/JYD and HTM/Jake were fine for what they were. There is a bit of filler, but even those "throwaway" matches set up Beefcake's important face turn and a big Duggan moment. 

Verdict- Much higher than 6.91

14 Yeah I get it. The main event wasn't great and Tyson's "fast count" almost cheapens Austin's win imo. Like all his Mania title wins were crooked. Tyson fast count... Foley counting the fall and of course the 17 heel turn. I guess it's fitting if he's truly an anti-hero. So I guess it's fitting the main stream coronation of the attitude era begins and ends with their best ppvs.

I got into wrestling because of the attitude era. WM2000 with WM all day long and there was a part showcases 14 and it was to Bittersweet Symphony and I thought it was the greatest thing. It made that match way more important than it probably actually is. Just because of that moment with the stunner. I STILL emulate it to this day, yeah sometimes I toss a superkick in my house. So what?

And Baker just comes in and KICKS our sandcastle over for no reason. I do think even I could do a love you letter to this show. Didn't think of it till now. Anyways the obnoxious smark phase always gets a pass from me. Feels inevitable. Like you have your smark phase. That phase where you're REALLY into STP for some reason. Better post this before I start editing and lose focus. If WM14 had a "my way" would they be closer to 1?

17... man there's just no way it's that good, right? I haven't seen it in forever, but it's always an automatic high earner for me. Gotta rewatch to see if it was really that good or merely a great show was propped up by internet hype.

Most watched match was Taker/HHH. For some reason I just loved it and rewatched it a ton. And fuck it I know all his late career EPICs are talked about a ton, but this match held strong for a long time. He had a ton of epics later on once they acknowledged the streak as a real thing rather than happy accident. When that's the goal of course you're gonna have great matches. This one felt like a unicorn good match in a sea of shit. Yes the idea of an insane long ref bump and crash pad may be MINOR nickpicks, but overall I still think it's a great match. And it basically was the blueprint for that spot in Taker matches. You're just not gonna corner punch Taker and not get Last Ride'd. Plus the said last ride into sledgehammer is still a WTF moment for me.

Because obviously it's #1. I had to do a double take to make sure it wasn't up yet.

Greatest PPV top to bottom, at least in terms since I've been a fan? Probably even compared to modern stuff it is.

Wasn't really a fan of the way the pin happened.

I have a theory on why Austin killed it with that run, but maybe later.

Oct 30, 2021 0:00:35 GMT 🤯 said:

This feels like it's been moving at such a whirlwind

Had to burn through it quickly because I'm not going to be around much in November and maybe December. In fact, I'm going to try wrapping it up tonight...

5. Wrestlemania 14: "Water got a little cold last night, hit an iceberg called Wrestlemania." Kevin Sullivan to Kevin Nash

WM 14 was the Wrestlemania III of the 90s when it comes to a show with huge hype that delivered. Like WM 3, it also has an lolworthy Cagematch rating.

14 made even better use of celebrities than 3. Gennifer Flowers was used to further The Rock's character. Pete Rose had a memorable segment with Kane that kicked off one of WWF's best running gags. Mike Tyson was a big draw in an inoffensive enforcer referee role.

Show did get off to a relatively slow start with two "filler" matches- First a tag team battle royal which was just a vehicle for kickstarting the LOD's fading careers with the ultimately failed LOD 2000 repackage. Then came a showcase for Cruiserweight champ Taka Michinoku.

We got our first of the night's six important matches with that jerk Triple H unfortunately beating Owen Hart. BOO! That was followed by Sable having a breakout performance in a mixed tag match. Similar to Piper/Adonis from III, it's been lost to history just how big of a deal this was at the time. I can't speak for everybody, but this match tricked my friends and I into thinking Sable could actually wrestle! Then we had my man The Rock Honkytonk Manning his way to keeping the IC Title in a match with Shamrock. WWF largely made up for screwing Owen earlier in the night by giving us a feel good victory with the Hardcore Legends finally dethroning the stupid New Age Outlaws in a very fun Dumpster Match. Then came the ultimate monster mash between Taker & Kane which went exactly how it should have. And finally the Austin Era becomes official when the lesser of two evils dethrones Shawn Michaels in a perfectly cromulent match this weirdo didn't really care about. 

Verdict- Much higher than 6.85. No all time classics, but a lot of solid matches people were invested in. That's all you really need when a show has this much hype and delivers the desired result on most of the matches. The final three matches were the standouts with Hardcore Legends/NAO and Taker/Kane flipflopping MOTN honors for me. 

Survivor Series '96 got no love.

Oct 31, 2021 9:14:58 GMT SummerSlam 1998 said:

Survivor Series '96 got no love.

But SummerSlam 1998 did!

Oct 31, 2021 9:14:58 GMT SummerSlam 1998 said:

Survivor Series '96 got no love.

Never even crossed my mind. Bret/Austin is of course a classic, and I really liked the 'tag team' Survivor Series match that made Furnas & LaFon look like a million bucks, but the rest of the show didn't do it for me. The other classic Survivor Series matches were rubbish. Taker/Mankind was one of their weaker outings. Couldn't have cared less about HBK/Sid and don't think I've watched it since it aired. Sid being the guy to finally end our national nightmare was such a wet fart. After 8 months of thinking I wanted somebody, anybody, to dethrone HBK my response was like "Sid? Really? Meh." Proof the grass isn't always greener on the other side.

Anyway, it's time to finally wrap up the least over countdown in PW history...
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4. Wrestlemania 17- A predictable winner. Even the landslide win was predictable. But a 51 point landslide deserves to be noted.

This was a fitting end of an era that sent the AE out with a bang. It had the best Austin/Rock bout. The TLC trio wrote another chapter in their story. I'm with @ness on Taker/HHH having all the hype and delivering. Vince/Shane was a glorious sports entertainment spectacle which paid off a bunch of different storylines like a WWF version of the Pitbulls vs. Raven & Richards classic from ECW. And finally Angle/Benoit had an embryonic version of their soon to be classic matches.

Undercard wasn't bad either. The Gimmick Battle Royal was goofy nostalgic sports entertainment fun. The dastardly RTC finally got their comeuppance with Chyna getting revenge on Ivory and the Baker Boys of APA & Tazz downing the male members of the group. Don't really remember the 3 Way Hardcore Match, but I've seen people call it one of the best WWF Hardcore Matches. Test/Eddie and Jericho/Regal also....happened.
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My Ballot

1. IYH Canadian Stampede (#5)
2. NWA Great American Bash 1989 (#9)
3. ECW Barely Legal (#7)
4. Wrestlemania 17 (#1)
5. Wrestlemania 14 (#2)
6. Wrestlemania 3 (#3)
7. WCW Great American Bash 1996 (#28)
8. Survivor Series 1995 
9. IYH December 1995
10. WCW Spring Stampede 1999

11. Royal Rumble 2000 (#14)
12. ECW Anarchy Rulz 1999 (#20)
13. One Night Stand 2005 (#6)
14. Wrestlemania 20 (#29)
15. Summerslam 1998 (#21)
16. ECW Heatwave 1998 (#15)
17. NWA Halloween Havoc 1989
18. Royal Rumble 1991
19. King of the Ring 1993
20. NWA Starrcade 1988

I haven't been in the mood to talk wrestling either but thanks Baker , for pushing my voting approach!

1. Wrestlemania III
2. Wrestlemania VI
3. In Your House: Canadian Stampede
4. Royal Rumble 1992
5. Summerslam 1992
6. Bash At The Beach 1996
7. Wrestlemania XIX
8. Summerslam 1991
9. Barely Legal
10. Great American Bash 1990
11. Wrestlemania XIV
12. Great American Bash 1989
13. Wrestle War 1992
14. Starrcade 1985
15. Chi-Town Rumble 1989
16. Heatwave 1998
17. Beach Blast 1992
18. Living Dangerously 1999
19. November 2 Remember 1999
20. Bash At The Beach 1994

Wrestlemania XVII is a predictable #1 but for me personally that ending was so dumb so it didn't have a chance. I guess it set precedent for the next two decades.

In a vacuum, is the finish to WrestleMan X-Seve great, the worst, or just controversial?