Every Bret Hart Match At SummerSlam, Ranked From Worst To Best

Publish date: 2024-05-04

When you think about WrestleMania, Shawn Michaels is "Mr. WrestleMania" but Bret Hart deserves to have the moniker "Mr. SummerSlam." Before The Hitman was the franchise player, he was involved in some tag team classics with his brother-in-law Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart in his early days at SummerSlam.

RELATED: Bret Hart's 10 Best PPV Matches, According To Cagematch.net

SummerSlam was the perfect place for Hart to knock it out of the park and consistently hit home runs. He competed in several WWE Championship, Intercontinental Title, and Tag Team Championship matches with many legends in the business. There was even one year where The Excellence of Execution pulled double duty at SummerSlam.

11 Team WWE Vs. The Nexus - 2010

Bret Hart ended 12-and-a-half year exile from WWE in January 2010 and he was involved in a few major storylines. At SummerSlam, the main event featured a seven-on-seven elimination match between Team WWE and The Nexus.

It was quite surprising that The Hitman was included in this match as he was no longer operating at the peak of his powers. Undertaking a role as a manager for Team WWE would have been beneficial. Nevertheless, Bret's involvement was minimal and he got disqualified for nailing Skip Sheffield with a steel chair.

10 Bret Hart Vs. Doink The Clown - 1993

The 1993 King of the Ring winner, Bret "The Hitman" Hart was prepared to face off with Jerry "The King" Lawler at SummerSlam. However, Lawler had other ideas as he came down to ringside with crutches and his left knee was iced up. Moreover, The King dropped another bombshell by announcing Doink the Clown as his replacement.

Doink was no match for Bret and The Hitman certainly deserved to have a marquee match. The match wasn't anything special, and Hart was ready to seal the deal with his patented Sharpshooter but Lawler nailed him in the back of his head with his crutch.

9 Bret Hart Vs. Isaac Yankem - 1995

The Hitman has a good track record of making big guys look good inside the squared circle. However, his opponent Isaac Yankem better known as Kane a couple of years later was still relatively green.

This was a forgettable match at the 1995 edition of SummerSlam and The Hitman took the fight to Yankem with a superb suicide dive onto the outside. Bret prevailed by disqualification all thanks to Yankem and Jerry Lawler trapping Hart in the ring ropes. The bout went on for 16 minutes which Yankem was nowhere near ready for.

8 The Hart Foundation Vs. Demolition - 1988

The inaugural SummerSlam event in 1988 presented a golden opportunity for Bret Hart and his brother-in-law Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart. The Hart Foundation challenged Demolition for the WWE Tag Team Championship. Demolition now had their former manager Jimmy Hart in their camp alongside Mr. Fuji.

RELATED: Demolition & 8 Other Teams That Blatantly Ripped Off  Of The Road Warriors

The two teams would meet once more at SummerSlam a couple of years later and it was a better outing. Nevertheless, it was a decent match but Demolition slowed the pace down once they took the initiative. Ultimately, Jimmy Hart raced down to ringside to pass Ax his trademark megaphone who clobbered Bret in the back of the head with it, which allowed Smash to pin Hart and retained the titles.

7 Bret Hart Vs. Jerry Lawler - 1993

Jerry "The King" Lawler couldn't avoid Hart for long as President Jack Tunney came down to ringside and forced Lawler to collide with Hart. If he failed to comply, he would have been suspended indefinitely.

The Excellence of Execution was in no mood to hang around in his second straight match of the night. They both hit each other with brutal shots with the crutch which inevitably broke. However, Hart was incensed and he lost the match by disqualification as he refused to break the Sharpshooter which seemed like an eternity that he held Lawler for ransom.

6 The Hart Foundation Vs. The Brain Busters - 1989

An underrated gem got SummerSlam 1989 off to a bright start with tag team action. The Hart Foundation faced off with The Brain Busters in a non-title match. It's bizarre that The Brain Busters' newly won Tag Team titles were not at stake, even though the match was assigned before they won the gold.

Nevertheless, it was tag team wrestling at its finest in a hard-hitting match. Both teams worked exceptionally well as a cohesive unit and the match went back and forth. Moreover, Bobby "The Brain" Heenan stood on the rope to distract the referee. Arn Anderson took advantage and he nailed Bret with a double ax handle with Tully Blanchard covering Bret for a hard-fought win.

5 The Hart Foundation Vs. Demolition - 1990

For the second time in years, The Hart Foundation and Demolition clashed in a Tag Team Title match. However, their clash at SummerSlam 1990 was slightly different as Crush replaced Ax, and it was a two out of three falls match.

RELATED: 10 PPVs Where The Tag Team Title Match Was Better Than The World Championship

The quality in this match was second to none and arguably the match of the night. The scores were leveled at one apiece which went to an enthralling decider. Ax's interference did not materialize as The Road Warriors intercepted it. Ultimately, Bret and Anvil reclaimed the WWE Tag Team Titles and they registered their first win at SummerSlam after losing their first two bouts.

4 Bret Hart Vs. The Undertaker - 1997

Bret Hart was aiming to emulate Hulk Hogan as a five-time WWE Champion but he had to overcome The Undertaker in the main event of SummerSlam 1997. Undertaker wasn't the only person he had to worry about as his bitter rival Shawn Michaels oversaw proceedings as the special guest referee.

Hart and Undertaker's 1996 Royal Rumble match was mediocre but they made up for it in a huge way. The action was off the charts and they were evenly matched. Hart thrived as a heel, and he used heelish tactics by spitting in Michaels' face to provoke him. Michaels was incensed but he accidentally hit Undertaker in the face with a steel chair and he reluctantly awarded Hart the WWE Championship.

3 Bret Hart Vs. Mr. Perfect - 1991

The 1991 iteration of SummerSlam was a significant one in Bret Hart's career as it was his first singles match on a WWE pay-per-view. The Hitman collided with one of the best Intercontinental Champions of all time, Mr. Perfect in an instant classic.

This was technical wrestling at the highest order with Hart showing why he belonged in the upper echelons of the card. Hart showed his resiliency by kicking out of the Perfect Plex which rarely happened. Ultimately, Hart seized the opportunity presented to him as he finished off Perfect with the Sharpshooter.

2 Bret Hart Vs. The British Bulldog - 1992

For the second year in succession, Bret Hart was involved in a memorable Intercontinental Championship match at SummerSlam. However, The Hitman got the nod to close out SummerSlam 1992 with his brother-in-law The British Bulldog.

They collided in front of 80,000 fans at Wembley Stadium in London, England. It was a proud moment for Bulldog to have the biggest match in his career in his home country. Nevertheless, Hart and Bulldog told a brilliant story with Bulldog upsetting Hart to become Intercontinental Champion for the first time.

1 Bret Hart Vs. Owen Hart - 1994

Unquestionably, Bret Hart's greatest match at The Biggest Party of the Summer came at SummerSlam 1994 against his younger brother Owen. The Hitman defended the WWE Championship in a steel cage match with the entire Hart Family residing at ringside.

This was a five-star classic and it epitomized the greatness of both competitors. They showed that they did not need blood to have an excellent cage match. Bret and Owen battled for half an hour but it was Bret who stood tall as he escaped the cage with his brother's leg helplessly stuck in the cage.

NEXT: The 10 Best Matches To Take Place At Both WrestleMania & SummerSlam, Ranked

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