Hey Scott, thought this might make for a good thread on the blog.
It seems like popular opinion is that Shawn Michaels is Mr. Wrestlemania, seeing as he's had some of the greatest matches of all time at Mania over the years. With Summerslam coming up, it got me thinking about who is Mr. Summerslam? My vote goes for Bret Hart. He's had two of the greatest matches of all time (91 vs. Perfect and 92 vs. Bulldog) and a slew of other good/great matches either in singles or tag. The Brainbusters match in 89 and the cage match with Owen in 94 are personal favorites. Who gets your vote for Mr. Summerslam? (Or in Bret's case, Mr. The Summerslam)
Probably Hogan, because headlined the first four and then drew two of the bigger Summerslam buyrates for his comeback matches against Michaels and Orton. But it's not like there's really definitive Summerslam moments or anything to warrant that kind of a title. For me personally I haven't even watched a Summerslam since, what, 2008? 2007? I watched parts of last year's show but that's about it. Usually my post-Wrestlemania interest in the product is waning by then and it doesn't tend to be a very important show, often overshadowed by Money In The Bank these days. That being said, I'm sure I'll watch this year on the promise of two ****+ matches on top.
WWE.com had an article on this recently I believe and hogan wasnt even taken into consideration. Could be wrong but I think they declared Edge Mr Summerslam
ReplyDeleteDidn't you do a rant for 2011, aka Cena/Punk 2? That was a damn good event considering both main events (the other being a Christian/Orton, No Holds Barred) were ****+
ReplyDeleteThey just declared Punk Mr Summerslam.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.wwe.com/inside/bracketology/mr-summerslam
Personally, I´d say Bret.
Christian / Orton surprised the hell out of me. I remember watching it while playing WWE 13 with a friend and we actually forgot to pause our match that we were playing the RKO on the steps was so brutal.
ReplyDeleteCan we throw Shawn Michael's back into the mix here?
ReplyDeleteI think that one was fan-voted
ReplyDeleteHow is it not Bret by a landslide?
ReplyDeletev. Perfect ****1/4
v. Bulldog *****
v. Lawler ****
v. Owen *****
v. Undertaker ***3/4
And that's not even accounting for his tag matches with Neidhart.
Bret by a landslide.
ReplyDeleteThrowing in the Hart Foundation, you have two great matches against Demolition and a classic with Arn and Tully. Bret is definitely in contention for Mr. The SummerSlam.
ReplyDeleteNope, never seen Cena v Punk 2. I started doing RAW again the week after that, I think.
ReplyDelete'It seems like popular opinion is that Shawn Michaels is Mr. Wrestlemania'
ReplyDeletei remember when hbk 1st used that named in a promo on raw and was like 'theres a reason they call me mr. wrestlemania' and scott in his review said 'when have you ever been called mr wm?'
so whenever someone uses that name for him, it makes me think that hbk is that guy, the one who gives himself a nickname
so many possible answers:
ReplyDeletejesse ventura. he reffed TWO headlining summerslam matches
theres also barry horrowitz,,, rocco... the mounties cellmate... the naked gun brahs... the table that shot on angle in 2000 and knocked him loopy
hhh's sledgehammer in 03 pretty much dominated how people walked away feeling about the show
Well, it's not like he hasn't earned it now.
ReplyDeleteEspecially when you consider that he has lost far more Wrestlemania matches than he has won and still they are all memorable.
ReplyDeleteSummerslam in my view is the most over rated PPV of the year so this is kind of a pointless question... but at gun point I think Bret is the correct answer... much as I am not a fan and find him over rated.
ReplyDeleteI think you can make a case fr it being Shawn Michaels as well- You had the Ladder Match 2 Vs Razor (that I think is better than the first) in 95, a pretty good match with Vader in 96, he reffed and was the focal point of the Hart/UT match in 97, the Street Fight with HHH in 2002, an OK Elimination Chamber match in 03, headlined with Hogan in 05 (an "interesting" match, but as Scott pointed out, it drew pretty well), a pretty good tag match with HHH against Legacy in 09 and a handful of tag and mid card matches....
ReplyDeleteHe has probably had more SS matches than Brett, headlined as many times if not more and had as many great matches at the event.
Or you could just say Undertaker because he once main evented against himself.
My vote goes for the Big Boss Man. Undefeated in the dangerous Jailhouse match.
ReplyDeleteI always disagreed with the 5 star rating on the Owen match. I found it to be a mild cage match and a total climbing contest. The Wrestlemania 10 match is far superior. Also 4 stars for the Lawler match - for real? I will agree he had some damn fine tag matches in 88-90 however.
ReplyDeleteI think Punk would probably say Bret.
ReplyDeleteTo me, the Wimbly Stadium match against Bulldog is THE Summerslam moment that stand out. Huge stage, epic match.
ReplyDeleteAnd then in 2010 he came back and helped Team WWE defeat the evil Nexus!
ReplyDeleteI think for the Lawler thing you kinda have to rate the entire segment.
ReplyDeleteLawler's BS crutches, the match with Doink, the subsequent beating by Bret, and then the MEGA-HEAT finish with the thumbs up on the stretcher.
Definitely the highlight of that Summerslam.
I was hoping they'd go back there again in 2012 for a 20th Anniversary, but what with the Olympics and all that wasn't really gonna happen. I still think they should put on a big non-WM PPV overseas because I doubt the drop in PPV numbers would be that drastic and would be made up far more from the surrounding ticket and merch sales for doing a second big stadium event in the year. UFC have put some of their biggest fights on in the UK and elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteMaybe 2017.
Does 'Taker get 2 entries for that?
ReplyDeleteMr Wrestlemania - Undertaker (More longevity than HBK)
ReplyDeleteMr Summerslam - Bret Hart (seriously, I dont see how there is any doubt)
Mr Royal Rumble - Kane (Just for the 2001 rumble alone)
Mr Elimination Chamber - Triple H (again, no competition for this.)
Mr Survivor Series - Shawn michaels (Awesome 1992 main event before he was a main eventer, Montreal Screwjob, first elimination chamber, that awesome surprise elimination match from the mid 2000s where he was the last member on the face team, and later that main event of DX vs Cena where he superkicked HHH in the first second awesome moment, even if the match wasn't.)
Mr. Royal Rumble has to be Steve Austin. He's won three of them.
ReplyDeleteYeah, that was an awesome spot to close the match, Christian took the spot like a champ. That was definitely a big surprise how great the match was considering how long that feud was.
ReplyDeleteYeah- it gives him a total of - 10 stars for the night
ReplyDeleteThere is no Mr. Summerslam. It's not important enough, as much as WWE tries.
ReplyDeleteHe also pulled double-duty at Summerslam 90, reffing in one match and being a second in another. He's like a Summerslam IRON MAN.
ReplyDeleteBut Michaels/Perfect at Summerslam 93 was SUCH a disappointment.
ReplyDeleteHa! I forgot about that.
ReplyDeleteMeltzer called it a near-perfect WWF cage match.
ReplyDeleteI KNOW Bret would say Bret.
ReplyDeleteWhen I think of the Royal Rumble, the first thing I think of is Kane coming in and destroying a bunch of jobbers. Its always exciting, I don't care what your opinion of Kane is. He's done it at several shows. In the lesser royal rumbles, it can be the best part. The Royal Rumble seems to be the only show where Kane always brings his A game. Therefore in my eyes, he is Mr. Royal Rumble, despite never winning it.
ReplyDeleteHence his gear last year.
ReplyDeleteBret Hart, easily, is Mr Summerslam.
ReplyDelete(cheap plug: http://wrestling.insidepulse.com/2013/07/29/the-view-from-down-here-the-ghost-of-summerslams-past/)
but would he say it with tears in his eyes?
ReplyDeleteI hate that cage match so much. I've tried to watch it so many times and I've only gotten through it once. Their WrestleMania match is more enjoyable.
ReplyDeleteAgree with Bret being Mr. Summerslam.
It's too bad Summerslam doesn't seem as special at it used to - as a kid the MLB All-Star Game and Summerslam were the two big events I looked forward to. Now it's just another show.
ReplyDeleteI can't stand Bret and even I have to agree here.
ReplyDeleteI'd go for Bret as Mr Survivor Series too. The big Tag Team matches at the first 2 were the best matches on the card, strong showing in Taker's debut match in 90 and again with the dream match with the dreadful finish the year after, 1st ppv as champion in 92, start of Owen's heel turn in 93, Surprisingly good match with Backlund, Winning the title back in 95, Great match with Austin in 96 and i'm sure something big happened in 97 too.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. If you look at just the Lawler match, it's not much, but the entire segment is off the charts.
ReplyDeleteYou should give that year's summerslam a watch. Damn good show with punk/Cena and Orton/Christian being highlights. Henry/Sheamus is actually decent and the rest of the card is pretty good all around.
ReplyDeleteWell that's pretty obvious. WWE — as expected — writes its own history and right now, they're writing Hogan out. I mean he's not even in the intro video they're using now.
ReplyDeleteYeah, what gives with the "The" in front of events from Bret? While not totally wrong, he used it in front of Survivor Series and WCW. The World Championship Wrestling makes zero sense. Don't they teach grammar in Calgary?
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with you on the cage match. There were way too many spots where you're thinking in your head "why not just drop to the floor?" Too many times one guy had his entire body out of the cage only to crawl back up. Takes me out of the moment.
ReplyDeleteUp vote for the Taker comment.
ReplyDeleteIt was always the home run derby for me as a kid. Now I can't stand to watch two pitches.
ReplyDeleteIt always seemed lesser to me than the Rumble or Survivor Series because those both had hooks (the rumble and the elimination matches) whereas Slam was just a bunch of matches. Of course WM being what it is was at the top just by being.
ReplyDeleteAnd that Doink match was pretty damn good too...one of Doink's top 5 matches for sure.
ReplyDelete