 By Graham "GSM" Matthews
Here on SummerSlam Recall, I will be ranking my top 20 favorite matches in WWE SummerSlam history. A new installment will be posted every day leading up to SummerSlam 2016, culminating with my No. 1 favorite match on Saturday, August 20th. Each article will offer an in-depth look at each match and an analysis of why it is among my favorites. Although I have fond memories of watching wrestling in 2009, by and large, it wasn't a great year on the whole for WWE. Other than Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker, WrestleMania 25 was largely a disappointment, and the rest of Raw's year consisted of the same old tired matchups: John Cena vs. Randy Orton, Cena vs. Triple H, and HHH vs. Orton. Rinse and repeat. On the SmackDown side, things started to heat up at the onset of the summer when Jeff Hardy and CM Punk kicked off their storied rivalry for the World Heavyweight Championship. If there was any one feud (sans HBK vs. 'Taker) that was the saving grace of 2009 for WWE, it was Punk vs. Hardy. Because the storytelling, the matches, the pacing of the program, and the character development of both men were exceptional. Punk cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase on a drained Hardy at Extreme Rules to win the world title for a second time, but unlike the year prior, fans criticized the Second City Saint for blindsiding one of their heroes.
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 By Graham "GSM" Matthews
Here on SummerSlam Recall, I will be ranking my top 20 favorite matches in WWE SummerSlam history. A new installment will be posted every day leading up to SummerSlam 2016, culminating with my No. 1 favorite match on Saturday, August 20th. Each article will offer an in-depth look at each match and an analysis of why it is among my favorites. Once again, we revisit SummerSlam 2002 here on SummerSlam Recall, which should come as zero surprise given how star-studded the card is from top to bottom. As much as I enjoyed Kurt Angle vs. Rey Mysterio in the opener and The Rock vs. Brock Lesnar in the main event, my favorite matchup of the night was undoubtedly the No Holds Barred co-main event between Triple H and Shawn Michaels, a match that had been nearly five years in the making. On the July 22, 2002 edition of Raw, Michaels (who had a random run with the New World Order) and HHH (who had just been moved over from SmackDown) reunited as D-Generation X for the first time in several years, and the fans were hot for it. They did their usual shtick... until HHH surprised his "best friend" with a Pedigree to the stomach, leaving the audience shocked, stunned and silent. What motivated The Game to promptly stab his longtime partner in the back? Why, Trips, why?!  By Graham "GSM" Matthews
Here on SummerSlam Recall, I will be ranking my top 20 favorite matches in WWE SummerSlam history. A new installment will be posted every day leading up to SummerSlam 2016, culminating with my No. 1 favorite match on Saturday, August 20th. Each article will offer an in-depth look at each match and an analysis of why it is among my favorites. I don't care what anyone says: The Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 30 was absolutely atrocious. Some fans claim the match was "bad by design" in order to tell a story. No, that wasn't the case whatsoever. Undertaker was legitimately knocked out during the match, which is why it looked like he was literally dead out there. Other than The Streak getting broken by The Beast Incarnate, that is a match that is better off forgotten, and needless to say, I had no desire to see them face off in a rematch. Even when it was rumored in mid-July that Undertaker would be making a rare return during the summer season, I wasn't at all enthralled at the idea of him potentially rekindling his rivalry with Lesnar. Forget their sensational series of matches on SmackDown, that was over a decade ago. Their last one-on-one outing was beyond horrid. Yet somehow WWE managed to change my mind in the matter of a night when Taker resurfaced at Battleground and the two engaged in a brawl for the ages on the subsequent episode of Raw.  By Graham "GSM" Matthews
Here on SummerSlam Recall, I will be ranking my top 20 favorite matches in WWE SummerSlam history. A new installment will be posted every day leading up to SummerSlam 2016, culminating with my No. 1 favorite match on Saturday, August 20th. Each article will offer an in-depth look at each match and an analysis of why it is among my favorites. As I write this, I just finished watching Dean Ambrose's interview with Stone Cold Steve Austin on the WWE Network from this past week, and among the controversial topics that were brought up, Austin asked Ambrose if The Shield should have split up when they did. And I absolutely loved Ambrose's answer that it was best for them to go out on top, because let's face it: no one saw Seth Rollins' heel turn coming, and if you say you did, you're a liar! I bring that up because the unpredictability of Rollins' heel turn was one of the many reasons his subsequent rivalry with fellow Shield stablemate Dean Ambrose has been a favorite of mine as a wrestling fan. I haven't strayed away from comparing it to what Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels was in the early to mid-2000s, and that backstabbing moment was akin to when HHH turned on his longtime friend when D-Generation reunited on Raw, later leading to HBK coming out of in-ring retirement.  By Graham "GSM" Matthews
Here on SummerSlam Recall, I will be ranking my top 20 favorite matches in WWE SummerSlam history. A new installment will be posted every day leading up to SummerSlam 2016, culminating with my No. 1 favorite match on Saturday, August 20th. Each article will offer an in-depth look at each match and an analysis of why it is among my favorites. So soon after discussing Alberto Del Rio vs. Christian from this past Monday, we're already back to talking about SummerSlam 2013, and for good reason. It was an amazing event! What more can be said? And one of the reasons it was such a monumental night was because of the main event, which saw John Cena defend his WWE Championship against Daniel Bryan. A match many years in the making, it was the perfect way to close out such a stellar summer for WWE. Over the course of 2013, similar to CM Punk in 2011, the fans gradually got behind Daniel Bryan. Unlike The Voice of the Voiceless with his patented "pipebomb" promo, however, Bryan didn't have a breakout moment. Rather, fans simply started to appreciate his in-ring work more through his sensational series of matches with The Shield and how they felt they could relate to him. Rumors ran rampant that Bryan was slated to be Cena's next WWE Championship challenger at SummerSlam, but no one seemed to believe it. |
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