10 Ways These Classic WWE SummerSlam Matches & Moments Have Aged Poorly
Elijah King
Published Mar 27, 2026
WWE has made SummerSlamfeel like the second most important show of the year for most of its existence right behind WrestleMania. Fans will start thinking about the SummerSlam card over a month in advance when seeing the champions and potential challengers. Many of WWE’s greatest moments have come at the event, involving names like Steve Austin, Bret Hart and John Cena.
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However, not everything loved on the shows at the time will have the same long-term lasting legacy. Wrestling is prone to having certain matches or moments still providing the same entertainment value decades later. Quite a few noteworthy names saw their great memories changing as time went on. The following SummerSlam moments and matches don’t hold up today.
10 Triple H & Rey Mysterio Both Returning From Injury At SummerSlam 2007
One of the major selling points for SummerSlam 2007 was the return of multiple legends from injury. Triple H and Rey Mysterio were each making highly anticipated returns after missing many months to have matches on the second biggest night of the year.
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Fans loved it at the time since it was such a unique scenario giving two things they missed at the time. However, both matches are harder to watch back today. Mysterio looked a little out of shape in a lackluster win over Chavo Guerrero. Triple H was in great shape, but his match with Booker T was also mediocre.
9 Zeus Teaming With Randy Savage In Main Event Of SummerSlam 1989
WWE’s Golden Era tactics would be hated today if trying to use those same ideas to the modern fans. Tiny “Zeus” Lister was a respected actor in films like Friday, The Fifth Element and The Dark Knight Rises. WWE casted him to play a wrestler in the No Holds Barred film against Hulk Hogan.
However, this branched into trying to use the same angle on WWE TV despite Hogan playing a different character in the film. The SummerSlam 1989 main event of Hogan and Brutus Beefcake vs Randy Savage and Zeus does not hold up since Zeus and even Beefcake felt so out of place.
8 Mandy Rose Winning Feud Over Sonya Deville At SummerSlam 2020
One of the more recent instances of a moment not holding up just a few years later came at SummerSlam 2020. Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville had a very underrated feud of former best friends having a bitter rivalry after disagreement.
The win for Rose over Deville felt like a huge moment at the time. However, little came for Mandy afterwards until she rebuilt in NXT before a controversial firing. Sonya even appeared in NXT as an ally of Rose to make their match feel even longer ago than it was.
7 Jesse Ventura Refereeing SummerSlam 1999 Main Event
WWE struck a deal for former wrestler and commentator Jesse Ventura to return to the company at SummerSlam 1999 after becoming Governor of Minnesota. The show taking place in Minnesota made it feel like a big deal that Ventura was the special referee for the main event.
Mick Foley won the WWE Championship over Triple H and Austin when Ventura made the count. However, a short one-night title reign for Foley and Ventura feeling out of place makes this entire scenario come off less exciting or interesting today.
6 Boiler Room Brawl Stipulation At SummerSlam 1996
Most New Generation Era fans have huge nostalgia for the infamous Boiler Room Brawl between The Undertaker and Mankind at SummerSlam 1996. The match is worth watching at least once by every fan since it featured a massive heel turn by Paul Bearer and was a huge night in the Undertaker/Mankind rivalry.
Unfortunately, the Boiler Room Brawl scenario is less exciting watching with the context of 2023. It limited both Undertaker and Mick Foley of doing many of their best and trademark moves trying to brawl from the boiler room. There is a reason WWE never continued this stipulation after just four matches.
5 Kurt Angle Finishing SummerSlam 2000 Main Event Concussed
The triple threat main event between The Rock, Kurt Angle and Triple H at SummerSlam 2000 used perfectly layered storytelling. A love triangle involving Stephanie McMahon and each wrestler’s motives entering the match made it a success.
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However, this match doesn’t hold the same entertainment value today due to knowledge of a scary real-life moment. Angle suffered a terrible concussion and continued the match completely out of it. Triple H did everything in his power to lead Angle through the finish as an in-ring general, but it’s hard to watch back.
4 Ronda Rousey Winning First WWE Title At SummerSlam 2018
The lackluster second WWE run for Ronda Rousey has already made some fans forget how over she was in the first run. Rousey defeating Alexa Bliss at SummerSlam 2018 was the first title win for the former MMA legend in WWE.
Fans reacted well to Ronda’s short and dominant victory over Bliss to become the Raw Women’s Champion. The title reign ended up being a bit lackluster, and Rousey never had as much crowd support again to make this moment feel less special today.
3 Lex Luger's Celebration At SummerSlam 1993 After Count Out Win
SummerSlam 1993 showed a time when WWE felt they could get away with anything and fans would go along with it. Lex Luger received a massive push all summer touring the country in his Lex Express tour bus by essentially replacing Hulk Hogan as the top patriotic face.
Yokozuna defending the WWE Championship against Luger that night had fans expecting a star-making win for Lex. The victory did work out in his favor, but it was through the count out finish. Luger was celebrated with the face locker room emptying and confetti falling despite not winning the belt to make him look like a fool.
2 The Rock Winning WCW Championship At SummerSlam 2001
WWE utilized the WCW Championship during the Invasion when the WCW and ECW brands joined the show. The Rock returning after a few months off filming his first movie led to a huge return entering the feud against WCW Champion Booker T.
SummerSlam 2001 had a better Kurt Angle vs Steve Austin match end in DQ, but they main evented with Booker vs Rock. The moment of Rock winning the WCW Championship felt huge since it was a huge title to add to his accolades. However, constant title changes and the Invasion angle failing makes that moment rarely remembered today.
1 Kane's First Unmasked Match At SummerSlam 2003
Fans to watch this storyline in real time will understand how big of a deal it was when Kane unmasked for the first time. Triple H conning Kane into putting his mask on the line for one more title shot on Raw led to the moment fans waited years for.
Kane turned heel right after attacking his tag team partner Rob Van Dam. SummerSlam 2003 was the first match for unmasked Kane and was booked as the co-main event for that selling point. The match was quite disappointing and set up a lackluster run.
