Welcome back to “Throwing in the towel”, my regular dose of Pro-Wrestling Insanity, and the second part of the count-down to Summerslam. So here we go, with the top ten, great matches in Summerslam history!

10. Kurt Angle vs. Rey Mysterio (2002)
One of the best openers to a WWE PPV, ever, surely??? Summerslam 2002 was bursting with an invigorating dose of freshness, the sort that spawned directly from competitors such as these two. Rey was brand new to WWE fans, having arrived just weeks before and making a huge impact by instigating a feud with former WWE Champion, Kurt Angle. And at the big summer showdown, they did not disappoint.

Dynamically paced, and coming in at a snappy running time, this was a barn-burning means to open a show. Some may have been taken aback by it’s position, but given the stature of some of the other bouts, this one had to settle for simply being enormous fun. Liberal doses of comedy then and Angle’s superb array of facial expressions, are very prominent, but never out of place. And in the end, Mysterio may have lost his first WWE PPV outing, but it was a glorious way to go down. Unmissable.

9.Triple H vs. The Rock (1997)
Ladder matches weren’t a dime-a-dozen back in ‘98, and more importantly, the Intercontinental title wasn’t a piece of junk like it is now (okay, that‘s a little-teensy bit harsh- it has improved over the past few months, with a hot newcomer raising the strap).

In 2000, when I went back and looked through the history of the Rock/Helmsley era, one match jumped out at me, screaming and spitting into my awestruck eyes: Their IC title ladder match.

This encounter is a fine example of how the ladder match format, in the right scenario, can increase opportunities and allow for storyline advancement and in-ring experimentation. Neither of these guys were top stars at this point in their careers. But each, in their own ways, showed some potential to be such. In fact for the Rock, this match would be the one to cement his position.

The two had a dramatic, stunt filled, but not empty, or directionless outing that really turned the tempo up in Madison Square Garden. As a good guy, I always felt that Trips was booked to be too over-reliant on Chyna’s help to pick up wins, making him look weak (seriously…. This happened all the time, against all manner of talent) and despite the fact that the Rock’s nation buddies did interfere in this one, I still feel this was the case.

However, the fans loved this gang-warfare stuff, and both guys came out absolutely sparkling. Once again, for the first time since 1995, the Intercontinental title match had stolen the show at Summerslam.

8.Ultimate Warrior vs. Rick Rude (1990)
Proof indeed, that Cage matches do not necessarily need to be overly bloated to be exciting, nor indeed feature two competent wrestlers

Rick Rude’s run as a top-flight star in Stamford, may have not been the most lengthy, but he certainly made the most of it with stunning efforts such as this one, a scorcher that has certainly left it’s fiery mark on many’s a fan. The beginning of the encounter, when Warrior stares and poses at Rude from the outside while Rude stands atop the Cage taunting his opponent, is electrifying stuff.

And also adding to the ridiculous enjoyment scale, is the tremendously hot crowd - who Rude works expertly throughout this, building them up, and giving them the goods at exactly the right time. A Blue-cage classic.

7. John Cena vs. Chris Jericho (2005)
Chris Jericho was the first ever Undisputed champion. Ever. Yet, his run on top was soured by promotional indifference, as he was never treated as the main star and not given a full opportunity to fulfil his potential as the next big cross over star.

Instead the WWE chose to push Stephanie McMahon, and their idiotic storyline trends such as her custody battle with Triple H over their dog. Ah well. So after dropping the gold, Jericho moved up and down the card for the next three years, fitting into whatever role was asked of him. Every so often he got a title shot, but it was always In a mutli-person match. Never was he given enough confidence in to be the sole contender. Until this point.

Cena’s rivalry with Jericho was a no-brainer. Although it was unfortunate that the Champ’s feud with Christian fizzled out, this was a fine substitute. Never had Cena looked more credible. Okay, so fair enough, an enormous percentage of the crowd booed the good guy out of the building, but that was to become an increasingly frequent issue for the guy. And yes, we all knew Chris Jericho was leaving the WWE, and would be putting Cena over. However, for the duration of this glorious outing, the two made us forget that.

This was an entirely involving, dazzling match, that really exceeded expectations. As an added bonus, it was the first time, for a long time, that Jericho was pushed as a serious contender, a serious threat and of course, he excelled.

6.Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart (1994)
Summerslam has a fine tradition of cage matches and this is, for this viewer, the greatest of the lot.

Bret and Owen had many good matches throughout ‘94 and this is up there as one of the best. In fact, it was always special when they were in the ring together, in any capacity.

This was built up with Owen finally becoming something of a real threat, having taken the King of the Ring, a couple months prior. And combine this with the tumultuous year the two brothers had had, and you’ve got a recipe for one heated cage match. That’s exactly what this was, but it wasn’t the bloody affair one would have perhaps expected.

Yes, it was brutal, long and shocking, but it was also a fine wrestling match. Very similar to a cage affair between Bret and HBK (Superstars? Anyone….?), it unfolded in a fantastically nail-biting manner, and had that all-time great finish with Bret leaping down as Owen hung over the ground below, his leg trapped in the steel frame.

This was another one of those fine examples of how Owen had all the tools to be a more frequent main eventer, if only they stuck with the right long-term direction for his character. At this point in his career, I believe he was moving in the right direction. Only one criticism here… they were still using that damn ugly blue cage.

5.Kurt Angle vs. Brock Lesnar (2003)
Never mind the Elimination Chamber match (you know, the one where HHH killed Goldberg’s momentum so badly, he never regained it), this was the real main event in ‘03 for anyone who like me, didn’t care for Bill Goldberg.

These two had already notched up a classic singles match at ‘Mania, and this one was up to that very high standard. Like before, there was some doubt about Angle’s health going in, during the period that has since never let up, where we began to fear for his health, almost every single time he steps out there. Who am I kidding - we do fear for him every single time he hit’s the ring.

This one was a little different from the Mania epic, because now Angle was the clear favourite, and Lesnar the foul heel. Having aligned himself with Vinnie Mac, Lesnar, who had quickly ran out of stuff to do as the good guy, was about to really hit his stride as a heel. Even when being himself, nowadays (check out his awesome fight at UFC 87 for evidence), he just exudes a ghastly, unlikeable aura.

Perhaps it’s the military haircut, or just maybe, it’s the pencil drawing Sable’s rubbishy doodled on his considerable chest? This was the first big PPV bout that saw him take up his natural role, of a big ol’ p***k farm-boy. This was a wrestling clinic between the two former amateurs, with the added bonus of McMahon, in a role he’s good at, being a disruptive presence on the outside. This is the sort of fine action that really makes one wish that Lesnar had some sense in that enormous head of his.

Great match, and one where we were able to cheer finally, for Angle, as a champion, and as a good guy.

4.Bret Hart vs. Doink/Jerry Lawler (1993)
I was ten years old. When I saw Jerry Lawler insult and abuse Bret’s parents, Stu and Helen Hart, I was absolutely stunned. How could this vile man do and say these things? And that fiend Doink, throwing water over the Hart brothers! The shame…

At ten, this stuff was completely beyond my comprehension. No-one at the time was more evil. Yokozuna? Maybe, but I couldn’t have cared less about Lex Luger, so there was no heat there for me. Giant Gonzalez? He was just a goon with insanely artificial, rubber hands. Ludwig Borga? I wasn’t American, so his insults went way over my head. But Lawler? Here was a clown who was insulting one my favourite heroes, a guy who earned the title of the King of the Ring. And worse still, he wore a horrible singlet, and had a terrible haircut.

Those were unforgivable sins. I hated him. Here at Summerslam, following Bret’s outstanding series of matches at the King of the Ring, Lawler, the self-proclaimed “king”, was challenging Bret for that very title. But being the creep he was, Lawler didn’t have the guts to go through with it, so he conjured up a story that he had been injured in a car accident on the way to the arena (and actually sported a set of crutches), and announced Doink as his replacement.

Needless to say, Bret slapped Doink around like he was an unwanted Pancake. After what was a fine, heated match-up, Hart locked the famous Sharpshooter upon his foe, but gasp! Lawler smashed a crutch over his head, and thus revealed he wasn’t hurt at all, and proceeded to beat the “Hitman” mercilessly. Bret’s brothers had to be held back from jumping into the squared circle, but the heroic President Jack Tunney (remember when it was such a big deal the rare time an authority figure would pop out like that?) came out to force Lawler to have his bout with Bret. Excellent stuff.

They had a classic battle, which of course, saw Lawler take every shortcut in the book, but the Hitman prevailed, and eventually applied the sharpshooter to rapturous applause from the Michigan fans. However, Bret had been pushed too far, and even after Lawler submitted, he maintained the hold. I was terrified. Like everyone else, I cheered Bret’s anger, because it was well deserved, but hell, it was a scary moment. Sadly, the ref reversed his decision in light of Bret’s disobedience. Bret had beaten Doink by disqualification, but had himself suffered the same fate against “The King”. It was a fittingly crushing evening’s work for the Hitman.

So Summerslam 1993… It wasn’t the greatest event in the card’s history, but with two top-drawer Bret matches, who could complain? The show had it’s moments, but for me, this was the main event, easily. This, is how you have a top star do double duty when you need to fill time, and this is a perfect example of why Bret was, for so long, the company’s MVP. From a personal standpoint, Jesus, I hated Lawler so much…

3.Shawn Michaels vs. Triple H (2002)
Everyone has their all-time dream match right? Everyone has that match, that when they’re 15 and talking absolute garbage with their ‘rasslin’ lovin’ friends, that they dream up, that they think would epitomize exactly who and what they love about the business. Mine has happened.

As a kid, Shawn Michaels was a cut above the rest. He was one of the guys that I idolized, who I really was inspired by. However, much of his run at the top, I missed, during a period of exile from Pro-wrestling. I missed out on so many moments that became the stuff of legend for everyone else. Sure, I went back, and caught up, and collected the best stuff. But it wasn’t quite the same. I regretted with all my heart, missing all that stuff first time round.

Triple H got me back into wrestling. In 2000, I’d seen it for quite some time, in small doses, and knew who a lot of the guys were. I’d seen enough that I roughly had an inkling as to what had happened, and was vaguely familiar with all the top stars. But I hadn’t been really paying attention. Watching HHH, I took notice. It was like being a kid again. In 2000, at this peak, no-one was more convincing as a performer. He told stories in the ring, and immediately, I rediscovered the reasons why I enjoyed wrestling in the first place. Once again, I was hooked.

When Michaels returned to the WWE in 02, I was elated. Sure, I knew he could never wrestle again, but I was just happy to see him on television again, in real-time, not three or four years after the fact. And that match I always wanted to see, HBK vs. HHH was even more tantalizing, Not only were they arguably the two most important wrestlers in history, in regards to my following of the sport, but they were guys with history. They had back-story, the perfect build-up actually. On screen, and off-screen, they had been best friends, and at one point, enemies, without ever having that one encounter.

Then it happened.

Say what you will about Hunter, and his form in this turbulent of years, but at Summerslam 2002, he undoubtedly pushed himself to the limit, and carried his end in what was one of the WWE’s greatest bouts of the year. And it was fantastic. ingeniously, these two built the match up in a way designed to lower expectations. Hunter was permanently suffering leg injuries, and was unreliable, while Michaels had not worked in four years. There was every chance this would absolutely suck. They had to infer the notion that it wouldn’t be a mat-classic, but more likely, a scrappy brawl. It was neither. Instead, we got a well-conceived, perfectly executed, half-hour hardcore slice of exceptional storytelling.

Shortcuts? No way.

The gimmicks here were not means of taking the easy way out, the weapons shots were crucial story elements. Psychologically, everything was in place, and fundamentally, the action was solid. Spots were inventive and thrilling, familiar, yet unpredictable. Everything clicked, in what was the match of the night (on a fantastic overall show, for that matter). And most remarkably, Michaels was well and truly back. Who would have thought, after this, he would still be going today?

I honestly felt like this was a swansong for the guy, a feeling I would again reproduce when he won the title a few months later. But far from being a farewell, Michaels merely reignited a fire within himself here, and with all of us who completely marked out for his return.

2.Bret Hart vs. British Bulldog (1992)
What hasn’t been said about this match already? Easily the finest moment of Davey Boy Smith’s career, this was also an absolute benchmark in the legacy of Bret Hart. Whilst Davey himself was, at his best, a great athlete, and an excellent performer, his ability was sadly limited by health and drug problems.

One only has to look at his eyes throughout this war to realise the damage he was causing himself to attain his superhuman physique. However, it says a lot for his skill, and talent, that he was still involved in arguably one of the WWE’s finest every singles matches. Incidentally, Smith was one of my absolute favourites growing up, (along with Hart, Curt Hennig, and Shawn Michaels for the record), but it wasn’t his strength that actually impressed me. It was that he was faster than other guys his size, and had much better matches, with much more actual wrestling. Of course, you weren’t going to see much more technical prowess anywhere else than in this outing with the “Hitman”.

Some people would label this period as Bret’s peak. For me, I’m not so sure. He had many of his finest matches in this year, and the one following, however in 94-96, he was often lumbered with guys who weren’t on par with opponents such as those he faced in the first couple of years of his singles career. In fact, when he was given an opponent on such a level (i.e. Austin, Michaels, Smith), his later WWE performances were easily as outstanding as the early ones. Thus, one has to regard Bret Hart as amongst the most consistent top stars in WWE history. Certainly, in the modern era, he is alongside Michaels as being without competition.

Wait, I was talking about a match wasn’t I? Oh yes…Summerslam 92, Davey Boy Smith, the Intercontinental championship. This meant so much to me, because at the time, it was rare to see two baby faces compete with each other on PPV, and even more of a rarity to see them fight for a title (though ironically, this very same show featured Savage/Warrior). And for me, the IC title was the big one. The World title? It was simply the belt Hogan wore all the time, and as a youngster, I had no interest whatsoever in Hulkamania.

The Intercontinental ranks were the place to go for the best matches, and for my favourite performers. This one was made extra special, because even if those primitive virgin years, my friends and I knew that Bret and Davey were “real” family. That added an extra layer to it.

The story of the match, had perennial underdog Bret Hart, actually go into proceedings as the favourite. Sure, Davey had the hometown (well.. London.. in this context…t’was close enough) fans on his side, and a huge wave of momentum. But Bret was Bret, and that meant, he was the best. He’d hit his stride as the IC Champion, and in an element that is hard to relate to for today’s fans, he really was believed to be the best. He really was utterly convincing as the guy willing to defend everywhere and against anyone. He was the most honourable champion in years.

Davey on the other hand, was enormously popular, but had yet to find huge success as a singles star. This was his moment. But as the match progresses, it’s clear that it’s a moment of greatness he shares with his brother-in-law. I’m not going to go into details of the match, because everyone should just go watch it. It’s simply phenomenal.

Think Bret’s comebacks are repetitive? Believe Davey couldn’t do mat work at his size? Watch this match, it literally has everything. Outstanding, and a memory that will stay with me forever.

1.Bret Hart vs. Mr Perfect (1991)
Ahh… I remember visiting my local Xtra-vision, and staring at a musty, crusty rental copy of Summerslam 91, sitting on the shelf, acquiring that cigarette-stained-dust that only video shops can produce. I had to have it. It wasn’t the wedding between Randy Savage and the beautiful Elizabeth. And it certainly wasn’t the Battle between Hogan, the Warrior, and Slaughter’s bunch of fiendish Iraqis. No, it was the Intercontinental title match between Bret, and my absolute favourite, Mr Perfect.

At the time, this was like, the Wrestlemania main event to end all main events. That was a pretty high billing for it to live up to.

It didn’t disappoint.

I watched in astonishment as two of the federation’s finest performers had an all-out classic. This featured everything I loved about wrestling, stunning mat work, devastating submissions, a little bit of flying, and a simple, clear, but gripping story. Perfect flies all over the place here, despite wrestling in extreme pain, he still looked amazing. Sad to say, that we didn’t often get to see him perform on this level due to injury. I for one, believe he could have had years of PPV classics of this standard, if only his body were able to cope. Still, this is one helluva memory of the guy. Bret’s first singles championship, is one of the best examples of one peer passing the torch to another. My only regret is that Perfect had to pass said torch so early in his career.

This bout is another that is held on a pedestal. In my opinion, it’s the sort of scintillating affair that is the epitome as to why Summerslam is (or can be…or more fittingly…used to be) such a special event. It’s a showcase of wrestling excellence. Yes, it wasn’t the main event. But in a way, it was. It was the main title defence on the show, it was the big singles match, and it was the show stealer. It wasn’t possible to not sit up and take notice of this match.

Obviously, there’s a whole bunch of stuff that just missed out. Randy Savage versus the Ultimate Warrior, from 1992, was one such effort- a good match overshadowed both by a wacky storyline involving Ric Flair, and the ridiculous quality of their effort the previous year. In , err, Macho Man’s, um, retirement match.

Randy Orton’s claiming of the World Heavyweight strap (his first world title), in a tough tussle with Chris Benoit could be swapped for one or two of the other bouts I have chosen, while John Cena’s 2006 battle against Edge is arguably interchangeable with the defence against Orton the following year, depending on my mood!

Clearly, what this means, is that Summerslam has played host to a huge array of superior wrestling contests. It’s run the gauntlet too, from technical masterpieces, to hardcore brutality, to spot-fests, to old-fashioned brawls. While Wrestlemania may have all the pageantry, Summerslam has plenty of sizzle.

Mind you, whether this year’s event will deliver the goods, is anyone’s guess… Don’t expect to see Hart/Hennig replicated in the WWE title match anyways…

Thanks for taking the time to check this out. I welcome any and all feedback and I can be contacted at www.myspace.com/michaelwrestlingetc or simply by emailing me at michael@wwepreview.com. I look forward to hearing from you, and will be back soon!