WWE SummerSlam: Power Ranking Every Show

2005

Overall, this Washington-based event was very good. It had the iconic headline clash sold it to millions of fans, as former friends Hulk Hogan and Shawn Michaels competed for bragging rights in the main event. The feud was built nicely, had HBK assume the heel role against the recent Hall of Fame inductee, and the fans were understandably electric. Nonetheless, due to Hogan’s refusal to do a job at the following PPV, Michaels intentionally made a mockery of the match by over-selling all of Hogan’s offense. It was comical and the clash was still memorable, but it could have been so much more.

The best match overall was undoubtedly the Ladder match between legendary friends turned bitter rivals Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero with the custody of Mysterio’s son Dominic on the line. It was a personal feud that many would argue overstepped the realms of taste and decency, but at least the contest was excellent. This was kind of the story of most of the card, as it had many elements that were very good, but nothing overall broke the boundary towards outstanding. John Cena vs Chris Jericho, Batista vs JBL and Randy Orton vs Undertaker all fit into this category. To employ a once popular WWE phrase, it was a B+ PPV.