2020 Royal Rumble Preview

The Rumble is Sunday.  Here's the card.

Universal Title: Strap Match: The Fiend Bray Wyatt v. Daniel Bryan
RAW Women's Title: Becky Lynch v. Asuka
Smackdown Women's Title: Bayley v. Lacey Evans
US Title: Andrade (w/Zelina) v. Humberto Carrillo
Falls Count Anywhere: Roman Reigns v. King Corbin
Sheamus v. Shorty G
Men's Rumble Match
Women's Rumble Match

1. Bray Wyatt has magical powers; wrestling in good matches in his current incarnation has so far not been one of them.  The Universal belt is currently the Smackdown belt, Bray took it from Seth Rollins at the Saudi show in October. Roughly, his deal is acts of vengeance against those who have wronged him in the past (roughly's doing a lot of work in that sentence) and so he set his sights on Bryan, with whom he feuded during the Yes! Yes! Yes! deal.  They've given Bryan just enough of this to keep this a viable program and that's gonna end here with Bray keeping the belt.  There's not much reason for workrate optimism.

(Edit, Wyatt keeps, I went 3 1/2 and it's the best you can expect, probably)

2. Becky's had the RAW built since taking it in the 3 way at Mania from Rousey, but they've managed to position her as the chaser in this program, with Asuka being the woman she just can't get by (it's better in theory than in execution).  Becky should win here and it should be pretty good.

(Edit - Becky keeps, I went 3 1/4 and it's a tick disappointing)

3. White meat babyface Bayley is now a heel; she took the Smackdown belt from Charlotte back in October (Becky's a face, Asuka's a heel, Bayley's a heel...I'm not sure what Charlotte is) Without much time in between Evans went from pretty bad cartoonish heel to pretty boring babyface...I mean, I guess a switch makes sense here in a match not worth seeing.  The women's pool gets shallow quickly, and Lacey Evans just shouldn't be in wrestling matches at this level.

(Bayley keeps and this was not good)

4. Andrade's a good worker and he and Zelina have a good act; he took the belt from Rey at an MSG house show and is now programmed with really green Carillo; this feud doesn't seem ripe enough for a title switch. "Nice and little" seem likely adjectives to describe this match.

(moved to pre-show)

5. Reigns has been on the short end of this program so far; that changes here.  Corbin is the male Lacey.

(Regins wins, this was what it was)

6. Chad Gable's currently the victim of the elderly promoter's pathological need to occasionally humiliate his employ..I mean, independent contractors. He's going to lose to Sheamus here in a match too short to matter (not unlike Gable, it appears)

(moved to preshow)

7. Brock's got the RAW belt, he's entering at number one.  That makes for a good dynamic and gives them two reasonably likely ways to book this match;  (1) somebody eliminates Lesnar and that person wins the Rumble and then challenges Lesnar at Mania (2) somebody eliminates Lesnar and that person does not win the Rumble and then still challenges Lesnar at Mania because the person who does win the Rumble challenges Wyatt.  I'll say they do #2 and it's McIntyre who does the eliminating and Reigns who wins.

(Pretty good Rumble, they chose option 1 and made it McIntyre)

8. Maybe Baszler wins?  What's Rousey doing currently?

(Charlotte won, Baszler was last out, it was fine)

That's the show; it's not great, but it's the Rumble and even a bad Rumble is worth watching.

(that's what happened, not great but Rumble matches are always worth watching)

I've done it for Mania, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series.  Here is my ranking of every match in the history of the Royal Rumble.  Times are approximate, star ratings are for the 3 and up matches.  Apologies if I missed anything. Updated through 2019.

     1.         '03 WWF Title: Kurt Angle d. Chris Benoit 20 min 5
   2     '15 WWF Title: Brock Lesnar d. Seth Rollins/John Cena 23 min 4 1/2

   3.       ’00 WWF Title HHH d. Cactus Jack 27 min 4 ¼
   4  ’01 IC Ladder: Chris Jericho d. Chris Benoit 19 min 4 ¼
   5. '17 WWF Title: John Cena d. AJ Styles 24 min 4 1/4
   6. '16 IC Falls Count Anywhere: Dean Ambrose d. Kevin Owens 21:30 4 1/4 
   7  ’04 Rumble Match: (Chris Benoit) 61:30 4
   8 ’92 WWF Title: Rumble Match (Ric Flair) 62 min 4
   9. '18 Rumble Match (Shinsuke Nakamura) 65:30 min 4 
   10 '14 Bray Wyatt d. Daniel Bryan 22 min 4
   11. '17 RAW Title: Kevin Owens d. Roman Reigns 23 min 4
   12 ’91 Rockers d. Orient Express 19 min 4
   13 ’95 WWF Title: Diesel draw Bret Hart 27 min 4
   
   14. '19 Smackdown Womens Title: Asuka d. Becky 17 min 3 3/4 stars
 ’ 15. '10 Rumble Match (Edge) 49:30 3 ¾

      16.      '00 Tables Hardys d. Dudleys 10:30 3 ¾
   17.  ’94 Tags: Quebecers d. Bret/Owen 16:30 3 ¾
   18. ’04 WWF Title: HHH draw HBK 22:30 3 ¾

   19   '11 World: Edge d. Dolph Ziggler 20:30 3 ½  
   20  ’02 WWF Title: Chris Jericho d. Rock 19 min 3 1/2 
   21 ’98 WWF Title: Casket Match: Shawn Michaels d. Undertaker 22 min 3 ½
   22 ’07 WWF Title: Last Man Standing: John Cena d. Umaga 22:30 3 ½
   23. '19 Universal Title: Brock Lesnar d. Finn Balor 9 min 3 1/2 
   24 ’99 WWF Title: I Quit Match: Rock d. Mankind 22 min 3 ½
   25 ’93 WWF Title: Bret Hart d. Razor Ramon 18 min 3 ½
   26 ’11 Rumble Match (Alberto del Rio) 69 min 3 1/2 
   27 ’90 Rumble Match (Hulk Hogan) 59 min 3 ½
   28 ’97 Rumble Match(Steve Austin) 50:30 3 ½
   29 '18 Women's Rumble (Asuka) 59 min 3 1/2
   30. '19 RAW Women's Title: Ronda d. Sasha 14 min 3 1/2 
   31. '17 Cruiser Title: Neville d. Rich Swann 13 min 3 1/2
   32. '18 WWF Title: AJ Styles d. Owens/Zayn 16 min 3 1/2

   33 ’01 WWF Title: Kurt Angle d. HHH 24:30 3 ¼
   34 ’13 WWF Title: Rock d. CM Punk 23:30 3 ¼  
   35 ’93 IC Shawn Michaels d. Marty Jannetty 14:30 3 ¼
   36 ’05 Edge d. Shawn Michaels 18:30 3 ¼
   37. '18 Smackdown Tags: Usos d. Gable/Benjamin 14 min 3 1/4
   38 ’09 WWF Title: Edge d. Jeff Hardy 19:30 3 ¼

   39  '16 WWF Title Rumble Match (HHH) 61:30 3 1/4
   40 ’12 Rumble Match (Sheamus) 55 min 3 ¼
   41 ’05 Rumble Match (Batista) 51:30 3 ¼
   42 ’03 Rumble Match(Brock Lesnar) 53:30 3 ¼
   43 ’00 Rumble Match(Rock) 52 min 3 ¼
   44 ’01 Rumble Match(Steve Austin) 62 min 3 ¼
   45 ’06 Rumble Match (Rey Mysterio) 62 min 3 ¼
   46 ’07 Rumble Match (Undertaker) 56:30 3 ¼
   47 ’89 Rumble Match(John Studd) 64 min 3 ¼
   48 ’98 Rumble Match (Steve Austin) 55:30 3 ¼
   49 ’08 Rumble Match (John Cena) 51:30 3 ¼
   50. '19 WWF Title: Daniel Bryan d. AJ Styles 24:30  3 1/4
   51 '14 WWF Title: Randy Orton d. John Cena 21 min 3 1/4 
   52 ’10 World: Undertaker d. Rey Mysterio 11 min 3 ¼
   53 ’11 WWF: Miz d. Randy Orton 20 min 3 ¼  
   54 ’05 World: HHH d. Randy Orton 21:30 3 ¼
   55 ’07 Hardys d. MNM 15:30 3 ¼

   56 ’12 WWF Title: CM Punk d. Dolph Ziggler 14 min 3

   57 ’01 Tags: Dudleys d. Edge/Christian 10 min 3
   58 ’08 WWF Title: Randy Orton d. Jeff Hardy 14 min 3
   59 ’92 Owen/Anvil d. Orient Express 17 min 3
   60 ’95 Tags: Bob Holly/123 Kid d. Tatanka/Bam Bam Bigelow 15:30 3
   61 ’02 Rumble Match(HHH) 69:30 3
   62 ’94 Rumble Match: (Bret/Lex) 55 min 3
   63 ’93 Rumble Match: (Yokozuna) 66:30 3
   64 ’91 Rumble Match (Hulk Hogan) 65 min 3
   65 ’96 Rumble Match(Shawn Michaels) 59 min 3
6 66. '19 Rumble Match (Rollins) 57:30 min 3
   67 ’99 Rumble Match (Vince McMahon) 56:30 3
   68 ’95 Rumble Match (Shawn Michaels) 39 min 3
   69 ’09 Rumble Match (Randy Orton) 58:30 3
   70 '14 Rumble Match (Batista) 55 min 3
   71 ’13 Rumble Match (John Cena) 55 min 3
   72 '15 Rumble Match (Reigns) 59 min 3
   73 '17 Rumble Match (Orton) 3
   74. '19 Women's Rumble Match (Becky) 72 min 3
   75 ’88 Rumble Match (Jim Duggan) 33:30 3 
   76 ’02 IC: William Regal d. Edge 10 min 3
   77 ’04 Eddy Guerrero d. Chavo Guerrero 8 min 3
   78 ’13 World: Last Man Standing: Alberto del Rio d. Big Show 17 min 3
   79 ’09 ECW: Jack Swagger d. Matt Hardy 10:30 3
   80 ’96 Tags: Smoking Gunns d. Bodydonnas 11 min 3
   81 ’03 Tags: Dudleys d. Regal/Storm 7:30 3

   82 '16 US: Kalisto d. Del Rio 11:30 3
   83. '17: Women's Title: Charlotte d. Bayley 13 min 3
   84 ’97 WWF Title: Shawn Michaels d. Sid 14 min 3
   85 ’89 Haku d. Harley Race 9 min 3
   86 ’97 IC: HHH d. Goldust 17 min 3

   
   87 ’06 Jr.: Gregory Helms d. Kash, Funaki, Noble, Nunzio, London 7:30
   88 ’88 Jumping Bomb Angels d. Glamour Girls 14 min
   89 ’89 Hart Foundation/Duggan d. Dino Bravo/Rougeaus 16 min
   90 ’96 WWF Title: Undertaker d. Bret Hart 29 min
   91 ’08 World: Edge d. Rey Mysterio 12:30
   92 ’88 Ricky Steamboat d. Rick Rude 17 min
   93 ’00 Taz d. Kurt Angle 3 min
   94 ’02 Ric Flair d. Vince McMahon 15 min
   95 ’98 IC Rock d. Shamrock 11 min
   96 ’05 WWF Title: JBL d. Big Show/Kurt Angle 12 min
   97 ’06 WWF Title: John Cena d. Edge 14
   98 ’97 Vader d. Undertaker 13 min
   99 ’13 Tags: Hell No d. Rhodes Scholars 9:30 
   100 ’93 Steiners d. Beverlys 10:30 
   
   101. '18 RAW Tags: Sheamus/Cesaro d. Rollins/Jordan 13 min.
   102. ’07 World: Batista d. Ken Kennedy 10:30
   103. ’90 Ronny Garvin d. Greg Valentine 17 min

   104. '16 Women: Charlotte d. Becky 11:30
   105. ’10 ECW: Christian d. Ezekial Jackson 12 min
   106 ’88 Islanders d. Young Stallions 14 min
   107 ’02 Tags: Taz/Spike Dudley d. Dudleys 5 min

   108  '16 Tags: New Day d. Usos 11 min
   109 ’12 World: Cage: Daniel Bryan d. Big Show/Mark Henry
   110 '19 Smackdown Tags: Miz/Shane d. The Bar 13:30 min
   111 ’00 IC: Chris Jericho d. Chyna d. Bob Holly 7:30
   112 ’08 JBL d. Chris Jericho 9:30
   113 ’10 US: Miz d. MVP 7:30 
   114 ’97 Garza/Aguayo/Canek d. Estrada/Metal/.Guerrera 11 min
   115 ’04 WWF Title: Brock Lesnar d. Bob Holly 6:30
   116 '18 Universal Title: Lesnar d. Kane/Strowman 11 min
   117 '15 Tags: Usos d. Miz/Mizdow 9:30
   118 ’03 Brock Lesnar d. Big Show 6 min
   119 Euro: '99 Sean Waltman d. Gangrel 6 min
   120 ’98 Vader d. Goldust 8 min
   121 ’95 IC Jeff Jarrett d. Razor Ramon 18 min
   122 ’99 IC: Ken Shamrock d. Billy Gunn 14:30
   123 ’04 Jr. Rey Mysterio d. Jamie Noble 3:30
   124  ’91 Boss Man d. Barbarian 14 min
   125 '14 Brock Lesnar d. Big Show 2 min
   
   126’92 IC: Roddy Piper d. Mountie 5:30
   127 ’08 Ric Flair d. MVP 8 min
   128 ’98 Mini/Mosaic/Nova d. Battalion/Torito/Tarantula 8 min
   129 ’97 Ahmed Johnson d. Farooq 9 min
   130 ’96 Ahmed Johnson d. Jeff Jarrett 6:30
   131 ’10 WWF: Sheamus d. Randy Orton 12:30
   132 ’07 ECW: Bobby Lashley d. Test 7:30
   133 ’04 Tags: Evolution d. Dudleys 4:30
   134 ’03 World Title: Scott Steiner d. HHH 18:30
   135 ’09 World John Cena d. JBL 15:30
   136 ’99 Boss Man d. Road Dogg 12 min
   137 ’90 Hacksaw Duggan d. Big Boss Man 10:30
   138  ’91 Ted DiBiase/Virgil d. Dusty/Dustin 10 min
   139 ’00 Tags: New Age Outlaws d. Acolytes 2:30
   140 ’94 Tatanka d. Bam Bam Bigelow 8
   141  ’94 IC: Razor Ramon d. IRS 11:30
   142 ’96 IC: Goldust d. Razor 14:30
   143 ’89 Rockin Robin d. Judy Martin 6:30
   144 ’11 Women: Eve d. Natalya/Layla/Michelle McCool 5 min
   145 '15 Bellas d. Page/Natty 8 min
   146 ’12 Bellas/Beth/Natalya d. Kelly/Eve/Alicia/Tamina 5:30
   147 ’02 Women: Trish d. Jazz 4 min
   148 ’09 Women: Melina d. Beth Phoenix 6:30
   149 ’92 Tags: Natural Disasters d. LOD 9:30
   150 ’98 Tags: LOD d. New Age Outlaws 8 min
   
   151 ’91 Mountie d. Koko 9
   152 ’05 Casket: Undertaker d. Heidenreich 13:30
   153 ’91 WWF Title: Sgt. Slaughter d. Ultimate Warrior 12:30
   154 ’06 World: Kurt Angle d. Mark Henry 9:30
   155  ’93 Bam Bam Bigelow d. Big Boss Man 10 min
   156 ’95 Undertaker d. IRS 12:30
   157 '15 Ascension d. New Age Outlaws 5:30
   158 ’01 Women: Ivory d. Chyna 3:30
   159 ’99 Women: Sable d. Luna 4:30
   160 ’12 Brodus Clay d. Drew McIntyre 1 min
   161  ’06 Boogeyman d. JBL 2 min
   162  ’90 Bushwackers d. Rougeaus 13:30
   163 ’12 John Cena draw Kane 11
   164  ’90 Brutus Beefcake draw Lanny Poffo 11 min
   165  ’92 Beverlys d. Bushwackers 15 min
   166  ’10 Women: Mickie James d. Michelle McCool :30
   167 ’03 Torrie Wilson d. Dawn Marie 3:30
   168 ’06 Women: Mickey James d. Ashley 7:30
      169. '94 WWF Title: Yokozuna d. Undertaker 14:30

2018 Summer Slam Preview (Every Summer Slam Match in History Ranked)

Hi - for years in this space (and more than a decade prior) I've been doing previews of the "Big 4" WWE yearly PPVs.  Summer Slam is Sunday.

I'd like to start with a list:

1. Almas v. Gargano (NXT, Jan) 5
2. Cole v. Ricochet/Dream/Sullivan/Dain/EC3/Dream (NXT, Apr) 4 3/4
3. Gargano v. Ciampa (NXT, Apr) 4 1/2
4. Gargano v. Ciampa (NXT, June) 4 1/2 
5. Mustache Mountain v. Undisputed Era (NXT, July) 4 1/ 2
6. Ali v. Murphy (205 Live, June) 4 1/4 
7. British Strong Style v. Undisputed Era (UK, June) 4 1/4
8. O'Reilly/Strong v. Lorcan/Burch (NXT, June) 4 1/4
9. Dunne v. Gibson (UK, June) 4 1/4
10. Alexander v. Murphy (205 Live, May) 4 1/4

11. Ali v. Itami (205 Live, Aug) 4 1/4 
12. Strong v. Itami (205 Live, Feb) 4 1/4
13. Dunne v. Bate (NXT, Dec 2017) 4 1/4
14. Cole v. Black (NXT, Jan) 4 1/4

15. Ciampa v. Black (NXT, Jul) 4

16. Bate/Dunne v. O'Reilly/Strong (UK, June) 4
17. Nakamura v. Styles (MITB, June) 4
18. New Day v. The Bar (Smackdown, Aug) 4
19. Gauntlet Match (205 Live, Apr) 4
20. Gauntlet Match (Smackdown, June) 4

Those are the 20 best WWE matches year to date.  What I'd like you to note is how virtually none of them come from the main roster. (Edit - Summer Slam was good; couple of four star matches, you can't complain -- but the night before was one of the best shows in the history of the promotion.  Exactly the thing I'm talking about here)

It's always been true that there was distance between the WWFs being the top wrestling promotion in the world and the quality of WWF matches; in 2018 we've seen that hit critical mass, the combination of a global spike in match quality (driven by New Japan) and the increased availability of those matches (New Japan now has a US outlet) makes them easy to contrast with WWE match style.

But more than that - more than that is that list.  Because WWE has great wrestlers and WWE puts on great matches - they just do so in the corners, on the fringes of their own promotion instead of front and center and if you care about this stuff, the active decision to do that is crazymaking.  

Here's the card.

1 Universal Title: Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Roman Reigns

2 WWE Title: AJ Styles (c) vs. Samoa Joe

3 Daniel Bryan vs. The Miz

4   US Title: Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs. Jeff Hardy

5 IC Title: Dolph Ziggler (c) (with Drew McIntyre) vs. Seth Rollins (with Dean Ambrose)

6 RAW Women's Title: Alexa Bliss (c) vs. Ronda Rousey

7 Briefcase Match: Braun Strowman (MITB holder) vs. Kevin Owens

8 Smackdown Tag Titles: The Bludgeon Brothers (Harper and Rowan) (c) vs. The New Day (Big E, Kofi Kingston, and/or Xavier Woods)

9 Finn Bálor vs. Baron Corbin

10 Smackdown Women's Title: Carmella (c) vs. Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair

1. Lesnar's had what is currently positioned as the primary belt in WWE for over a year; the build for this match is the same as the build for their Mania match - Brock appears to be leaving the promotion to go back to UFC, he has complete disregard for WWE, for WWE fans, for professional wrestling in general, and will take the Universal Title with him on his way out....unless Roman Reigns can stop him. You'd assume they have to pull the trigger now; they've really devalued Brock in the eyes of the fans and whatever main event credibility Reigns has can only sustain so many setbacks.  Lesnar showed up on the go home RAW looking remarkably lean; that might aid him cosmetically here but it's hard to predict his putting in a ton of effort if this is the end of his (current, 'cause he'll be back) run.  Reigns wins, takes the title, in an okay match where the fans probably boo him out of the building.  (Reigns took in a short match)

2. AJ is the lineal WWF champion, this is his second run with the belt, he took from Jinder last November making this the longest reign since Punk's from much of '11-13.  Like AJ, Joe is one of the great wrestlers of the century; he got to WWE past his working prime, although still conveys a physical menace that makes him a credible title contender.  My hope is this is the match of the night and that he takes the title (are they setting up an AJ's wife turns heel angle)? (4 stars, even with a DQ finish)

3. The best modern WWE programs have a worked shoot feel; the Bryan/Miz feud has always been some version of that - Bryan taking the position that Miz represents crappy WWE wrestling and Miz serving as Vince's "no other wrestling matters" mouthpiece.  WWE has done a deplorable job with Bryan since his return, frittering away who should by all rights have been their hottest act.  The match will be good; if Danielson is leaving the company (I don't expect he will) he loses, and might lose regardless. (4 stars, match of the night, Miz went over)

4. One challenge in evaluating the quality of WWE wrestlers is many of them have disappointing matches - but move, say, Chris Jericho over to NJPW and he's had two 4 1/2 star matches in 2018.  There's a sense that Nakamura's no longer an elite worker; he's had some good matches in WWE, but really only his debut against Zayn hit the level you'd expect given Nakamura's pre-WWF work. Nakamura took the US title from Jeff in April; he should keep it here; Orton is in this mix somehow and probably this match will disappoint. (Nakamura kept in a 3 star TV type match)

5. This is Ziggler's 6th IC run, he took from Rollins (who is probably the most over act on the main roster currently...male act, Ronda is maybe more over...) back in April; Ziggler/McIntyre are a solid heel act, Ambrose is just making his return after a nearly year long injury absence; that return is enough for Rollins to take the title here, you'd assume, unless they pull a trigger on a now bearded Ambrose making a bearded heel turn.  A longstanding hobby horse of mine is that crowd reaction should largely not figure into match ratings; if I'm the only person in a comedy club laughing or the only person who says "I really got that play" I'm not going to discount how much I liked it because the people next to me didn't like it.  The live performers care, but that's a different argument than my evaluation of how good their performance was.  Ziggler/Rollins had a good Iron Man match in a recent PPV; it wasn't a match of the year candidate, but it was far from the bust that many analysts labeled it, weighing their evaluation heavily on the disinterested crowd.  This match should be good. (Rollins kept in a 3 1/2 star match that was fine and presumably ended a program that was fine)

6. Alexa Bliss is not a good wrestler (she's not awful) Ronda Rousey is a big star who conveys athletic credibility and who isn't a good wrestler yet but sure seems like she could be.  It's probably time to give her the belt, but they could hold off as long as the All Women's PPV. (Ronda squashed her)

7. Strowman's just not my kind of wrestler; he's a largely unskilled big guy whose career depends upon being booked to win noncompetitive matches against better workers.  Like Alexa, he's not awful, but he's on my bottom rung of guys who arent actively bad.  He's got the Money in the Bank Briefcase and is putting it on the line against Owens here.  Heels are better choices for the briefcase, as cashing it in against a weakened champion is essentially a chickenshit move.  I'd move it to Owens, but they could leave it with Strowman and have him use it to start a program against the new champion Reigns.  Or they could give it to Owens and feed him to Reigns as a first feud.  My expectation is low here.  (Strowman squashed him)

8. Were I ranking every wrestler in the entire promotion, Cesaro would absolutely be in the top 5, he's not on either the main card or the 3 match pre-show here.  Instead, we have this tag title match which is a perfectly reasonable match - the New Day is a good team (I hate their cartoon shtick; their pancake thing is also not for me) and Luke Harper is a tremendous brawler who I'd like as an upper mid card singles (or in Strowman's spot) so this match should be fine and I don't have any idea who they put over.  A reminder, these are not the lineal WWF tag titles, because those no longer exist.  These are the Smackdown titles and they're two years old.  (3 1/4, about as good as a short match without a finish could be)

9. Finn Balor is an elite wrestler and Baron Corbin should not have a job in a promotion as laden with talent as this one.  Hopefully Balor goes over in a short match but that probably isn't how this works. (Balor squashed him)

10. Carmella is the worst wrestler you'll see Sunday night; both Becky and Charlotte are good; I don't know what they're doing here, Becky and Charlotte are having a version of the Sasha/Bayley "are they still friends or nah?" angle.  Asuka, note, is not on the card.  (Charlotte took, Becky turned, it was okay-ish)

There are 3 pre-show matches, the junior title with Cedric Alexander (a very good wrestler) defending; a mixed tag, and the RAW tag title which hopefully will find The Revival taking the belts away from the enhancement team who currently has them. A reminder, these are not the lineal tag team belts because they no longer exist. These are the RAW belts, they've been around since 2002.

So - it could be a good show, Samoa Joe might become WWF Champion, Bryan Danielson and Shinsuke Nakamura are on the card in what might be good matches; Finn Balor will be in a bad match; the IC should be worth watching with a possible Ambrose turn; it could be Brock Lesnar's last WWE match for the foreseeable future.  It's certainly not as good a show as a similarly positioned NJPW show; it's almost certainly not as good as show as the NXT show the night before - but it's 2018 WWE which means a ton of great wrestlers having matches just as good as the promotion wants them to have.  (It was a good show; the night before had two of the 10 best matches in the history of the promotion, and a 4 1/2 star tag, and the best women's match WWE has had this year)

Here's every Summer Slam match ranked. Star ratings are mine, match times are approximate.

1.       1994 WWF Title Cage: Bret Hart d. Owen Hart 32 min 4 ¾
2.       1992 IC Davey Boy Smith d. Bret Hart 25 min 4 ¾
3.       2000 Tags: TLC: Edge/Christian d. Hardys d. Dudleys 15 min 4 ½
4.       1995 IC Ladder: Shawn Michaels d. Razor Ramon 25min 4 ½
5.       2013 No DQ: Brock Lesnar d. CM Punk 25min 4 1/4
6.       2016 AJ Styles d. John Cena 23 min 4 1/4
7.       2017 Universal: Brock Lesnar d. Samoa Joe/Roman Reigns/Braun Strowman 21 min 4 1/4
8.       1991 IC: Bret Hart d. Mr. Perfect 18 min 4 ¼
9.       2009 WWE Title TLC: CM Punk d. Jeff Hardy 21:30 4 ¼
10.       2013 WWE Title Daniel Bryan d. John Cena 27 min 4 1/4
11.     2011 World Title No Holds Barred: Christian d. Randy Orton 23:30 4 ¼

12.       1996 WWF Title: Shawn Michaels d. Vader 22 min 4
13.       2002 Nonsanctioned: Shawn Michaels d. HHH 27:30 4
14.       2016 Universal: Finn Balor d. Seth Rollins 19 min 4
15.       2000 2/3 Falls Chris Benoit d. Chris Jericho 13 min 4
16.       2008 HIAC: Undertaker d. Edge 26 min 4
17.       2011 WWF Title: CM Punk d. John Cena 24 min 4
18        2014 WWF Title: Brock Lesnar d. John Cena 16:30 4
19.       1989 Brainbusters d. Hart Foundation 16 min 4
    
20.   2004: World: Randy Orton d. Chris Benoit 20 min 3 ¾
21.   1998 IC Ladder: HHH d. Rock 26 min 3 ¾
22.   2017 RAW Tags: Rollins/Ambrose d. Sheamus/Cesaro 19 min 3 3/4
23.   2001 WWF Title: Kurt Angle d. Steve Austin 22:30 3 ¾
24.   2003 WWF Title Kurt Angle d. Brock Lesnar 21 min 3 ¾
25.  2015 WWF Title: Seth Rollins d. John Cena 19 min 3 3/4
26.  2015 Kevin Owens d. Cesaro 14:30 min 3 3/4
27.   2012 Brock Lesnar d. HHH 18:30 3 ¾
28.   1999 WWF Title: Mankind d. Steve Austin/HHH 16:30 3 ¾
29.   2010 Team WWE d. Team Nexus 35:30 3 ¾
30.   1989 Rick Martel/Rougeaus d. Rockers/Tito Santana 15 min 3 ¾

31.   2004 Kurt Angle d. Eddie Guerrero 3 ½
32.   2001 Hardcore Ladder: RVD d. Jeff Hardy 16:30 3 ½
33.   2002 IC: RVD d. Chris Benoit 16:30 3 ½
34. 2016 Brock Lesnar d. Randy Orton 11min 3 1/2
35. 2017 US: AJ Styles d. Kevin Owens 16 min 3 1/2
36.   1997 IC: Steve Austin d. Owen Hart 16 min 3 ½
37.   1998 Lion’s Den: Ken Shamrock d. Owen Hart 9 min 3 ½
38.   2012 Chris Jericho d. Dolph Ziggler 13 min 3 ½
39.   2009 IC: Rey Mysterio d. Dolph Ziggler 12:30 min 3 ½
40.   1997 WWF Title: Bret Hart d. Undertaker 28 min 3 ½
41.  2015 Undertaker d. Brock Lesnar 17 min 3 1/2
42.   1990 Tags: Hart Foundation d. Demolition 15:30 3 ½
43.   1992 Ultimate Warrior d. Randy Savage 26 min 3 ½
44.   1997 Cage: Mankind d. HHH 16 min 3 ½
45.  2013 World: Alberto del Rio d. Christian 12:30 3 1/2
46.   2003 Eddie Guerrero d. Chris Benoit/Tajiri/Rhyno 10:30 3 ½
47.   2009 DX d. Cody Rhodes/Ted Dibiase, Jr. 20 min 3 ½
48.   1993 Tatanka/Smoking Gunns d. Bam Bam Bigelow/Headshrinkers 11 min 3 ½
49.   1988 British Bulldogs draw Rougeaus 20 min. 3 ½
50.   1996 Boiler Room Brawl Mankind d. Undertaker 27 min 3 ½

51.   2005 Ladder: Rey Mysterio d. Eddie Guerrero 20:30 3 ¼
52. 2014 Bray Wyatt d. Chris Jericho 13 min 3 1/4
53.   2002: Edge d. Eddy Guerrero 12 min 3 ¼
54.   2011 Wade Barrett d. Daniel Bryan 11:30 3 ¼
55.   1995 Hakushi d. 123 Kid 9 min 3 ¼
56.  2015 Roman Reigns/Dean Ambrose d. Bray Wyatt/Luke Harper 11 min 3 1/4
57.   1999 Test d. Shane McMahon 12 min 3 ¼
58.   1998 Hair: 123 Kid d. Jeff Jarrett 11 min 3 ¼
59.   1998 WWF Title: Steve Austin d. Undertaker 21 min 3 ¼
60.   2000 WWF Title: Rock d. Kurt Angle/HHH 20 min 3 ¼
61.   2006 WWF Title Edge d. John Cena 15:30 3 ¼
62.   2010 RAW Title: Randy Orton d. Sheamus 19 min 3 ¼
63.  2015 Sheamus d. Randy Orton 12 min 3 1/4
64.   1993 Tags: Steiners d. Heavenly Bodies 9:30 3 ¼
65.   1989 IC Title: Ultimate Warrior d. Rick Rude 16 min 3 ¼
66.   2002 Kurt Angle d. Rey Mysterio 9 min 3
67.   2001 IC: Edge d. Lance Storm 11 min 3
68.   2001 Jr: XPac d. Tajiri 7 min 3
69. 2014 Seth Rollins d. Dean Ambrose 11 min 3
70. 2016 WWF Title: Dean Ambrose d. Dolph Ziggler 15 min 3
71.   2006 I Quit: Ric Flair d. Mick Foley 13 min 3
72.   2001 WCW Title: Rock d. Booker T 15 min 3
73.   2005 WWF Title John Cena d. Chris Jericho 15 min 3
74.   1988 Tags: Demolition d. Hart Foundation 10 min 3
75.   1994 IC: Razor Ramon d. Diesel 15 min 3
76.   2002 WWF Title: Brock Lesnar d. Rock 16:30 3
77.   2004 Dudleys d. Rey Mysterio/Paul London/Billy Kidman 8 min 3
78.   2011 Rey Mysterio/John Morrison/Kofi Kingston d. Miz/R Truth/Alberto del Rio 9:30 3
79.   1993 Bret Hart d. Doink 10 min 3
80.   2007 Rey Mysterio d. Chavo Guerrero 12 min 3
81.   2008 MVP d. Jeff Hardy 10 min 3
82.   1996 Owen Hart d. Savio Vega 13:30 3
83.   2008 World CM Punk d. JBL 11 min 3
84.   2012 World: Sheamus d. Alberto del Rio 11:30 3
85.   1995 Bret Hart d. Isaac Yankem 16 min 3
86.   2012 IC: Miz d. Rey Mysterio 9 min 3
87  2016 Owens/Jericho d. Cass/Enzo 12 min 3
88.   1992 Shawn Michaels draw Rick Martel 8 min 3
89.   1991 Virgil d. Ted DiBiase 13 min 3
90.   2007 WWF: John Cena d. Randy Orton 21 min 3
91.   2014 Roman Reigns d. Randy Orton 16:30 3
92.   2008 Batista d. John Cena 13:30 3
93.   2003 Elimination Chamber 19 min 3
94.   1999 Tag Team Gauntlet 16:30 3

95.   1997 Davey Boy Smith d. Ken Shamrock 7:30
96.   1999 Lion’s Den: Ken Shamrock d. Steve Blackman 9 min
97.   2000 Hardcore: Shane McMahon d. Steve Blackman 10 min
98.   2007 ECW: John Morrison d. CM Punk 7 min
99.  2014 IC: Dolph Ziggler d. Miz 8 min
100.     2016 Women: Charlotte d. Sasha 14 min

101.   2005 Randy Orton d. Undertaker 17 min
102.   2004 IC: Edge d. Chris Jericho/Batista 8:30 min
103.   2001 Chris Jericho d. Rhyno 12:30
104.   1994 Women: Alundra Blayze d. Bull Nakano 8 min
105.   1999 IC/Euro: Jeff Jarrett d. DLo Brown 7:30
106.   1993 Razor Ramon d. Ted DiBiase 7:30
107.   1996 Goldust d. Marc Mero 11 min
108.   1998 Euro: DLo Brown d. Val Venis 15:30
109.   2005 Edge d. Matt Hardy 5 min
110.   2012 WWF Title: CM Punk d. John Cena/Big Show 14:30
111.   2006 Chavo Guerrero d. Rey Mysterio 11 min
112.   2012 Daniel Bryan d. Kane 8 min
113.   2017 Finn Balor d. Bray Wyatt 10:30
114.   2015 Tags: New Day d.. Prime Time Players/Los Matadores/Lucha Dragons 10 min
115.  2014 Rusev d. Jack Swagger 9 min
116.   2002: Ric Flair d. Chris Jericho 10:30
117.   2004 HHH d. Eugene 14 min
118.   2010: Smackdown Title: Kane d. Rey Mysterio 12:30
119.   2003: Kane d. RVD 12:30
120.   2005 Kurt Angle d. Eugene 5 min
121.   2007 IC: Umaga d. Carlito/Ken Kennedy 7:30
122.   1989 Hulk Hogan/Brutus Beefcake d. Randy Savage/Zeus 15 min
123.   1988 Hulk Hogan/Randy Savage d. Ted DiBiase/Andre the Giant 14:30 min
124.   1990 Power&Glory d. Rockers 6 min
125.    2011 Mark Henry d. Sheamus 9:30

126.    2007 Kane d. Fit Finlay 9 min
127.    1999 Hardcore: Al Snow d. Boss Man 7:30
128.     1999 Rock d. Billy Gunn 10 min
129.    1993 WWF Title: Lex Luger d. Yokozuna 18 min
130.    1991 Ricky Steamboat/Davey Boy Smith/Kerry von Erich d. Warlord/Power&Glory 10:30                                                                                                                                             
131.     2005 Hulk Hogan d. Shawn Michaels 21:30
132.                        1993 Shawn Michaels d. Mr. Perfect 11:30
133.                        2009 Tags: Chris Jericho/Big Show d. Cryme Tyme 9:30
134.                        2012 Tags: R-Truth/Kofi Kingston d. PTP 7 min
135.                        2009 WWF Title Randy Orton d. John Cena 21 min
136.            2013 Cody Rhodes d. Damien Sandow 6:30
137                               2017 WWF Title: Jinder Mahal d. Shinsuke Nakamura 11:30
138.                        2008 WWF Title HHH d. Khali 9:30
139.                        2007 Booker T d. HHH 8 min
140.                        2006 DX d. Vince McMahon/Shane McMahon 13 min
141.                        2006 World Batista d. Booker 10:30
142.                        2004 JBL d. Undertaker 17:30 min
143.                        2005 World: Batista d. JBL 9 min
144.                        2002 Un-Americans d. Goldust/Booker T 9:30
145.                        1999 Tags: Undertaker/Big Show d. XPac/Kane 12 min
146.                        2001 Tags: Undertaker/Kane d. DDP/Kanyon 10 min
147.                        2006 ECW Title: Big Show d. Sabu 8:30
148.                        2009 MVP d. Jack Swagger 6 min
149.            2015 IC: Ryback d. Miz/Show 5:30 min
150.                        1995 Barry Horowitz d. Skip 11:30
151.                        1991 Big Boss Man d. Jacques Rougeau 9:30
152.                        2001 Dudleys/Test d. APA/Spike Dudley 7 min
153.            2013 Ring of Fire: Bray Wyatt d. Kane 7:30
154.                        1997 LOD d. Godwinns 10 min
155.                        1988 Powers of Pain d. Bolsheviks 5:30
156.                        1994 Bam Bam Bigelow/IRS d. Headshrinkers 7 min
157.                        1993 Jerry Lawler d. Bret Hart 6:30
158.                        2004 Kane d. Matt Hardy 6 min
159.                        1996 Smoking Gunns d. Bodydonnas d. New Rockers d. Godwinns 12 min
160.            2015 Neville/Stephen Amell d. Stardust/Wade Barrett 7:30 min
161.            2014 Women: Paige d. AJ Lee 5 min
162             2017 Smackdown Women: Natty d. Naomi 11 min
163.                   2017 RAW Women: Sasha Banks d. Alexa Bliss 13:30
164.                        1989 Ted DiBiase d. Jimmy Snuka 6:30
165.                        1990 IC: Kerry von Erich d. Mr. Perfect 5 min
166.                        1993 IRS d. 123 Kid 6 min
167.                        1990 Hulk Hogan d. Earthquake 13 min
168.                        1990 WWF Title Cage Match: Ultimate Warrior d. Rick Rude 10 min
169.                               2017 John Cena d. Baron Corbin 10 min
170.                        1991 Tags: Street Fight: LOD d. Nasty Boys 6:30
171.                        1991 Hulk Hogan/Ultimate Warrior d. Sgt. Slaughter/Mustafa/Adnan 12:30
172.                        1995 HHH d. Sparky Plugg 7 min
173.                        2010 IC Dolph Ziggler no contest Kofi Kingston  7 min
174.            2015 Dolph Ziggler no contest Rusev 11 min
175.                        1997 Boriquas d. DOA 9 min
176.                        2003 Tags: LaResistance d. Dudley Boys 8 min
177.                        1998 Tags: New Age Outlaws d. Mankind 5 min
178.                        2000 IC: Eddy Guerrero/Chyna d. Val Venis/Trish Stratus 7 min
179.                        2011 Women: Kelly Kelly d. Beth Phoenix 6:30
180.                        2000 XPac d. Road Dogg 4:30
181.         2016 IC: Miz d. Apollo Crews 5:30
182.                        2004 John Cena d. Booker T 6 min
183.                        2003 Undertaker d. A-Train 9 min
184.                        2002 Undertaker d. Test 8 min
185.                   2014 Stephanie McMahon d. Brie Bella 10 min
186.                        2010 Big Show d. CM Punk/Luke Gallows/Joey Mercury 6:30
187.                   2015 Team PCB d. Team Bella d. Team BAD 15 min
188.                        1989 Mr. Perfect d. Red Rooster 3:30
189.            2013 Dolph Ziggler/Kaitlyn d. Big E Langston/AJ Lee
190.                        1988 Big Boss Man d. Koko B. Ware 6 min
191.                        1990 Jake Roberts d. Bad News Brown 4:30
192.                        1990 Warlord d. Tito Santana 5:30
193.                        1993 Ludwig Borga d. Marty Janetty 5 min
194.                        1996 Sid d. Davey Boy Smith 6 min
195                        2000 Jerry Lawler d. Tazz 4:30
196.                        2000 RTC d. Rikishi/Too Cool 5 min
197.                        1992 Tags: Natural Disasters d. Beverly Brothers 10:30
198.                        1992 LOD d. Money Inc  15 min
199.                        1991 IRS d. Greg Valentine 4 min
200.                        1990 Randy Savage d. Dusty Rhodes 2 min

201           2016 US; Rusev NC. Roman Reigns 0 sec.
202.                        2005 US: Chris Benoit d. Orlando Jordan 30 sec
203.                        1988 IC Title: Ultimate Warrior d. Honky Tonk Man :30
204.                        2009 ECW Christian d. William Regal :30
205.                        2017 Randy Orton d. Rusev :30
206.                        2011 WWF Title: Alberto del Rio d. CM Punk :30
207.                        2008 ECW Matt Hardy d. Mark Henry :30
208.            2013 WWF Title: Randy Orton d. Daniel Bryan :30
209.                        1992 Undertaker d. Kamala 3:30
210.                        1990 Hacksaw Duggan/Nikolai Volkoff d. Orient Express 3:30
211.                        1995 Smoking Gunns d. Blu Brothers 6 min
212.                        1992 Crush d. Repo Man 5:30
213.                        1988 Dino Bravo d. Don Muraco 5:30
214.                        1989 Hacksaw Duggan/Demolition d. Andre the Giant/Boss Man/Akeem 7:30
215.                        1998 Edge/Sable d. Marc Mero/Jacqueline 8:30
216.                        2003 Shane McMahon d. Eric Bischoff 10:30
217.                        2006 Hulk Hogan d. Randy Orton 11 min
218.                        1989 Greg Valentine d. Hercules 3 min
219.                        1988 Rick Rude d. JYD 6:30
220.                        1992 Nailz d. Virgil 4 min
221.                        1997 Goldust d. Brian Pillman 7 min
222.                        1994 Tatanka d. Lex Luger 6 min
223.                        2009 Kane d. Khali 6 min
224.                        1988 Bad News Brown d. Ken Patera 6:30
225.                        1991 Natural Disasters d. Bushwackers 6:30
226.                        1998 Oddities d. Kaientai 10 min
227.          2016: Tags: Anderson/Gallows d. New Day (DQ) 9 min
228.                        2008 IC/Women Santino/Beth Phoenix d. Kofi Kingston/Mickie James 5:30
229.                        2000 Undertaker no contest Kane 6 min
230.          2016 Natalya/Nikki/Alexa d. Naomi/Carmella/Becky 11 min
231.                        1993 Undertaker d. Giant Gonzalez 8 min
232.                        1994 Jeff Jarrett d. Mabel 6 min
233.                        1989 Dusty Rhodes d. Honky Tonk Man 9:30
234.                        1988 Jake Roberts d. Hercules 10 min
235.                        1994 Undertaker d. Undertaker 9 min
236.                        1995 WWF Title: Diesel d. Mabel 9 min
237.                         2017 Cass d. Show 10:30
238.            2013 Natalya d. Brie Bella 4 min
239.                        1995 Women: Bertha Faye d. Alundra Blayze 5 min
240.                        1999 Women: Ivory d. Tori 4 min
241.                        2000 Women: Kat d. Terri 3 min
242.                        2010 Women: Melina d. Alicia Fox 5:30
243.                        2007 World: Batista d. Khali 7 min
244.                        1996 Jerry Lawler d. Jake Roberts 4 min
245.                        1995 Undertaker d. Kamala 16:30
246.                        1990 Sherri d. Sapphire (forfeit)
247.                        2007 Diva Battle Royal 7 min
248.                        2004 Diva Dodge Ball 3 min

Ranked, 2018 WWE Roster (1-100)

There are more than 100 acts signed to this promotion, I didn't rank all of them. 

I didn't rank the women; were I to add them in, they'd be in the single digits. 

Some tags were split, some kept together.  I may have missed someone.  I didn't rank Neville.  Did I consider injuries and age and availability and all manner of factors?  Yes, yes I did. 

1. Daniel Bryan
2. Sami Zayn
3. AJ Styles
4. Cesaro
5. Ricochet
6. Finn Balor 
7. Johnny Gargano
8. Kyle O’Reilly
9. Roderick Strong
10. Shinsuke Nakamura
11. Samoa Joe
12. Kassius Ohno
13. Seth Rollins
14. Kevin Owens
15. Akira Tozawa
16. Hideo Itami
17. Pete Dunne
18. The Usos
19. Cedric Alexander
20. Kalisto
21. Harper
22. Dean Ambrose
23. Roman Reigns
24. Brock Lesnar
25. Gran Metalik
26. Dolph Ziggler
27. Apollo Crews
28. Chad Gable
29. The Revival
30. New Day
31. Rusev 
32. Andrade Cien Almas
33. Adam Cole
34. Tommaso Ciampa
35. Tyler Bate
36. TJP
37. Lio Rush
38. Aleister Black
39. Jeff Hardy
40. Karl Anderson
41.   Bobby Fish
42. Bobby Roode
43. Bobby Lashley
44. Drew McIntyre
45.   War Raiders
46. Drew Gulak
47. Shelton Benjamin
48. Sheamus
49. Bray Wyatt
50. Jason Jordan
51. Velveteen Dream
52. Braun Strowman
53. TM-61
54. Authors of Pain
55. Matt Hardy
56. John Cena
57. The Miz
58. Chris Dijak
59. Mustafa Ali
60. Mark Andrews
61.   Randy Orton
62. Fandango
63. Jack Gallagher
64. Trent Seven
65. Colons
66. Oney Lorcan
67.   Chris Jericho
68. Tyler Breeze
69. Ariya Daivari
70. Noam Dor
71. Lince Dorado
72. Brian Kendrick
73. EC3
74. Buddy Murphy
75.   Goldust
76. Sanity
77.   Tony Nese
78. Luke Gallows
79. Baron Corbin
80. Bo Dallas
81. Zack Ryder
82. Cass
83. Mojo Rawley
84. Rowan
85. Elias
86. Street Profits
87. Lars Sullivan
88. Mike Kanellis
89. Curtis Axel
90. Heath Slater
91. Danny Burch
92.   Curt Hawkins
93. Tye Dillinger
94. No Way Jose
95. The Forgotten Sons
96. Heavy Machinery
97.   Kurt Angle
98. Sin Cara
99. Jinder Mahal
100. Chad Lail