WWE SummerSlam’s Greatest Ever Performers

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3. The Undertaker

Record: 9 wins, 5 losses, 5 Title Matches, 4 Main Events

Memorable Moment: Turned on by Paul Bearer in 1996

The Undertaker is one of the greatest stars to ever step into WWE, with his unique gimmick, evolving character and uncanny power entertaining fans for over two decades. Whilst his WrestleMania Streak is more revered, his presence at SummerSlam is impossible to ignore, as the Deadman has competed in more matches there than anyone else. Even as he reaches the twilight of his fabled career between the ropes, the Phenom remains as one of the biggest draws and most respected performers in history, and is set to headline this year’s SummerSlam after first appearing at that event in 1991, interrupting the wedding of Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth.

The following year Undertaker made his first deliberate steps into a SummerSlam ring, defeating Kamala and then Giant Gonzales, before taking the main event slot on the show in 1994 when he conducted a convoluted story with an impostor Undertaker. Fortunately for the Phenom, after these early disappointing clashes, his opponents experienced a serious upsurge in quality for his following summer showings, defeating Kama in a Casket match before falling victim to the deranged Mankind in a boiler room brawl, which ended with Paul Bearer’s shocking betrayal in 1996. Undertaker would then lose his WWE Championship in 1997 to Bret Hart, and then fail to capture it back in the main event opposite Steve Austin the next year.

The next five years of Undertaker appearances at SummerSlam were decidedly substandard, but presented him as a vital mainstay at the important event. Between 1999 and 2003 he competed against X-Pac & Kane, Kane, DDP & Kanyon, Test and A-Train, twice winning the World Tag Team Championship in the process. His status at the summer spectacular grew in his later years, as he first challenged JBL for the WWE Championship in a losing effort in 2004, and the following year falling to the brash youthfulness of Randy Orton. After these disappointments, Undertaker’s most recent SummerSlam appearance was both more successful and undoubtedly his greatest contest of his fourteen outings, stealing the show with Edge inside Hell in a Cell. Where will his legacy stand after his bout with Brock Lesnar on August 23?

Next: The Ultimate Warrior