10 Best Opening Matches In SummerSlam History | partsFUNknown - video Dailymotion

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You gotta get the party started just right and these 10 matches did just that. These are the 10 best opening matches in SummerSlam history.  00:00 - Start 00:43 - 10 01:47 - 9 02:38 - 8 03:26 - 7 04:26 - 6 05:19 - 5 06:10 - 4 06:59 - 3 07:59 - 2 09:00 - 1  SUBSCRIBE TO partsFUNknown: https://bit.ly/2J2Hl6q TWITTER: https://twitter.com/partsfunknown FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/partsfunknown/ Buy wrestling merchandise here: https://www.wrestleshop.com/ Read more Feature content here on WrestleTalk.com: https://wrestletalk.com/features/

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00:00Ah, you know what? Let me drop the too cool for wrestling facade for a minute. I really love

00:04making lists of best opening matches. The main new one was super fun, and I'm hoping that lovely

00:08Tempest will ask me to do one of these for every Big Four pay-per-view. Why? Because it's a chance

00:12to go and watch a bunch of matches that don't get talked about to death. Main events, they've all

00:15been done. Celebrity matches, they've all been done. Worst matches, oh my god, they've all been

00:19done. But talking about good opening matches, that's a chance to go back and watch some really

00:23solid three and a half to four star wrestling matches that I might not have seen in absolutely

00:26yonks. And for those that aren't British but are curious, one yonk is roughly equal to

00:30three ages plus a donkey's year. Let's head back in time and look at some of the best

00:33curtain-jerkers and mid-carders most trusted to kick off the biggest party of the summer.

00:37I'm Adam Haling from Parts of Unknown, and here are our 10 Greatest Summerslam Opening

00:41Matches Ever.

00:42Number 10, 123 Kidd vs. Hakushi, 1995. I complain about Summerslam 1995 all the time, and for

00:49good reason. Here are some of the matches. Former WWE Champion Bret Hart vs. The F***ing Dentist,

00:55Undertaker vs. Wish.com UFC, Cowboys vs. Nazis, Diesel vs. Mabel, every goddamn summer I mention

01:03it, but as much as it pains me to admit it, there are one or two bright spots on this top

01:08three worst Summerslam of all time. Sean vs. Razor 2, Electric Booga Ladder, and the opening

01:13match pitting the man who would be X-Pac, 123 Kidd vs. Hakushi, a fighter whose gimmick was

01:18that he was covered in protective kanji, apparently after Japanese folkloric minstrel Hoichi the Earless

01:23called that because his ears were ripped off by ghosts. Ah, finding this stuff out.

01:27Anyway, even though it doesn't really make sense that these two intensely lower mid-card

01:30guys open up the second biggest show of the year, it's a really nice little match, the

01:34kind of indie-like cruiserweight bout that WCW would open all of its pay-per-views with

01:38in the mid-90s. Impressive athleticism from both guys, especially Hakushi, flipping over

01:43the ropes like he's in RevPro. Not a scrap of story on it, but fun and fast.

01:47Number 9, The Brain Busters vs. The Hart Foundation, 1989. Hey look, you get to see Arn Anderson

01:52with hair. Kind of. That's like spotting a unicorn. Hard to imagine these guys having

01:55a bad match, to be honest, and if you'd like to see FTR's beloved dads go to work with

01:59some old-school heel tag chicanery, this is for you. I mean, it's one half of the best

02:03formulation of the Four Horsemen vs. the best technical team in the Hulkamania era. FTR

02:07probably thinks this match should be taught in schools instead of maths. It's an oldie,

02:10so do try to temper your expectations for spectacle. But that doesn't mean it's slow.

02:14Far from it, especially from Brett setting the stage for his singles run that began

02:17properly two years later at Summerslam 91. It's amazing how much compelling drama you

02:21can squeeze out of very little when you act like A. Tags are really important, you need

02:25to prevent them at all times, and B. Tag match rules are really strict, so when the heels

02:30bend them, for example, covering their own head so the ref can't tell the illegal man

02:33is making the pin, this match is like fiber. Get it down ya, it's good for ya.

02:38Number 8, Edge vs. Lance Storm, 2001. You truly hate to see Canadians fight. It's like watching

02:43kittens spread rumors about each other, or dogs cheat at cards. Doesn't really make

02:46sense, and they're better than this. Anyway, Summerslam 2001, one of the very best Summerslams

02:51just by the way, and it's all invasion all the time, which is a shame because all the

02:54constant title changes of the period, Dilute was otherwise a signature singles win with

02:59Edge nabbing Lance Storm's IC title. At Udera crowds, Heyman and JR on commentary, two very

03:05gifted wrestlers, especially Storm at this time. It's no surprise, this is great. A little

03:09short at only 11 minutes, an extra 5 would have really taken it over the top, but it's

03:12really good, clean, face, heel IC title wrestling, with a bit of sports entertainment thrown in

03:17there in the form of Christian almost accidentally costing his then brother the match, slowly

03:21spinning those wheels for that heel turn, and leading to a great false finish at that.

03:25Number 7, the British Bulldogs vs. The Fabulous Rougeaus, 1988. Did you know that since

03:29its inception, every single Summerslam for 5 years opened with a tag match? I know, isn't

03:34that half interesting? AEW may have brought time limit draws back into booking fashion, but the brass

03:39balls of WWE to open the first ever Summerslam, the first of a brand new pay-per-view format,

03:43with a 20 minute tag team time limit draw. And it's good! Much like the Hart Foundation, the British

03:49Bulldogs were an amazing team as they combined one of the most acclaimed technical wrestlers of the

03:52day and his big, dumb, strong friend. And that dynamic really works. Dynamite Kid zipping around

03:57all over the place, and then Dave Boy Smith just throwing dudes into space. Also, their dog Matilda had

04:02her own little table set up at ringside. It's f***ing darling! Also, the Rougeaus are intensely gifted and

04:07charismatic heels, cutting off the ring, constantly little bits of cheating or hugging each other like

04:12French perverts. This all works, gangbusters, and the crowd love all of it, even after 20 minutes.

04:17You'd never guess that both teams absolutely despised each other behind the scenes, with Jacques

04:21Rougeau punching four of Dynamite Kid's teeth out weeks later. Fun wrestling!

04:25Number 6, Rey Mysterio vs. Dolph Ziggler, 2009. Some things you need to get used to hearing from

04:30this point on the list. Dolph Ziggler and Intercontinental Championship. WWE certainly

04:35has a thing they like to do with Dolph. Well, two things if you can't make them go out there and

04:38have a moan. WWE have opened SummerSlam with Dolph Ziggler fighting for the Intercontinental Championship

04:43four f***ing times. 2009, 2010, 2014, and 2018. There's a reason for this. He's really good at IC title

04:52matches, because that's when they give him 10 minutes or more to bump around like a slinky and work his

04:56arse off. And speaking of slinkies, Rey Mysterio is in this one too. It's good then. The two men

05:00have excellent chemistry, whether it's Dolph pitching Rey onto the turnbuckle only for him to

05:04moonsault right back onto him, or Rey hurricanranaing Ziggler into a cameraman. They're great together,

05:09and it's cool to see Ziggler both act as a power base for Rey, but also be super athletic in his

05:13bumps too. Really good flow to the match, some great near falls. No wonder WWE felt they could rely on

05:18Zigglypuff. Number 5, Becky Lynch vs. Natalya, 2019. You heard me. I'm not Natalya's biggest fan.

05:24She doesn't quite feel real. Watching her cut a promo is like watching an animatronic at Epcot

05:28try to convince you that it's people. Or a cat. But you can see why WWE keep her around. She's a

05:32reliable hand who can occasionally turn out a classic. See also her NXT match with Charlotte

05:36and this match against Becky Lynch, who could probably turn out a great SummerSlam match

05:39against a bucket of paint. It's a submission match with a slightly curious addition to the stipulation,

05:43that in this case, rope breaks don't count, which they probably only put in there so they could do the

05:47sharpshooter tied up in the turnbuckle spot, which admittedly looks pretty damn great. The Canadian fans are

05:52into it too, and what follows is an aggressive and smart match. As Natalya targets Becky's left

05:56knee, softening her up for the sharpshooter, even though it's more of a lower back submission hold,

05:59but shush. And Becky actually remembers to sell it. That helps. The match builds until both women are

06:04trying to lock in the sharpshooter. Yay, Canada. Yay, that's where we're from. Before Becky can lock in

06:08the disarmer for the win. It's great stuff. Number 4, Chris Jericho vs. Dolph Ziggler, 2012.

06:13Hello Dolph, good to see you again. This match, which is bafflingly not for the Intercontinental

06:18Championship, considering that both men have been hot glued to the f***ing thing over their careers,

06:21is from Summerslam 2012, and it's just swell. The show off was currently Mr. Ziggy and the Dolph,

06:26and Jericho was on his way out of the company for probably some sort of Fozzy-related reason. While

06:30this match should have served as a passing of the torch between braggadocious blonde wangs,

06:33for some unknown reason, Y2J wins this match, with WWE saving his loser leaves WWE loss to a random

06:39episode of SmackDown. Dumb that. Anyway, the match is great, the two men telling a tale around if Jericho

06:43can still go, especially with visibly injured ribs. It builds some excellent near falls, including a

06:47small package after incredibly loud Vicky Carrero interference, before Jericho scores the win.

06:52And hey, it was probably Dolph's time. But also, Jericho won with a f***ing proper

06:56knee-to-the-head lion tamer. So that's an instant five stars.

06:59Number 3, Bianca Belair vs. Becky Lynch, 2022. The first official pay-per-view of the Triple H era.

07:05The first official pay-per-view match of the Triple H era. And not only was it a barnstormer,

07:08but afterwards, Bayley returned and look, she's got some new friends. Dakota Kai and Io Sky had a face-off

07:13with Becky and Bianca. And while damage control definitely wasn't all plain sailing,

07:17what a moment. Anyway, the match, which is the final heel act of a year-long heel run of big-time

07:22Bex. After making everyone very cross with their non-match match at SummerSlam 2021,

07:26and making everyone very happy during their excellent Mania 38 match, Becky and Bianca close

07:30out their feud with another excellent fight, a feat made even more impressive by the fact that,

07:35holy s***, Becky Lynch separated her shoulder during it. Not even towards the end, like three

07:39minutes into a 15-minute match. That's so many more minutes. Not to worry, she moves the outside,

07:44pops it back in. On she goes, immediately getting hoisted up for a KOD on the outside,

07:48Becky Lynch is f***ing nails. Belair's home state of Tennessee is super into it,

07:52as both women's excellent chemistry escalates through a series of ponytail-based offense,

07:55until Bianca scores the decisive win. Fight forever, five claps.

07:59Number two, Seth Rollins vs Dolph Ziggler 2018. Ah, Dolph Ziggler, wrestling in the opening match

08:04of SummerSlam for the Intercontinental title, All Is Right With The World. This is by far the best of

08:08his SummerSlam matches. Hell, along with that match with The Miz, this might be Dolph's best match. Why? Well,

08:13he's great, but he's also wrestling Seth Rollins, and Seth Rollins in Intercontinental title scene

08:17mode, aka the best Seth Rollins, dressed tonight like Thanos, albeit with a golden curb-stomping

08:22boot instead of a golden glove. You delightful dork, Seth. And holy s***, who's that with him?

08:27That's Jon Moxley. That's not Dean Ambrose. That is Jon goddamn Moxley there at ringside. The match

08:33goes an insane 22 minutes, making it the longest opening match in SummerSlam history. The first

08:38SummerSlam match we mentioned way down this list, the one that was a time limit draw,

08:41that was two minutes shorter than this match. And while some might see it as too long,

08:46these are some super workers in there, and by the time the match gets to the final five minutes,

08:49the crowd are white-hot for it, great googly moogly. It's like watching the anime version of

08:54Bret Hart vs. Mr. Perfect, only with an inverted superplex transitioning into a reverse Falcon Arrow

08:58spot. Silly beautiful boys. And number one, Rey Mysterio vs. Kurt Angle 2002.

09:04Hee hee, clap clap. Look, I know Roland Ziggler is probably technically better,

09:09and I can't wait to hear all about that when I watch the top 10 list that you make,

09:12but this is my favorite SummerSlam opener ever. Hell, probably my favorite opening match ever.

09:16In his prime Rey Mysterio, in his super prime Kurt Angle, wrestling for a 10-minute sprint. Yes,

09:21absolutely please. Kurt Angle is my favorite wrestler, precisely for matches like this. The action is

09:26so crisp, so clean, there's barely a blown spot in the whole thing, and even though it never really

09:31slows down, there's so much character in it. What could be a storyless exhibition match made so much

09:36more compelling by Angle's pompous refusal to admit that the man half his weight might just be

09:40able to keep up with him, and keep up with him, Mysterio does. Goddamn SmackDown's mid-card was

09:45insane in 2002, and this was basically the first proper glimpse of that. Two pillars of the SmackDown

09:506 wrestling in a match that packs a huge amount of fun into what's actually closer to nine minutes,

09:55setting the stage for an insane tag match featuring both men at No Mercy 02,

09:59still one of the best tag matches of all time. And that's our list. What's your favorite SummerSlam

10:04opening match? Let us know about it in the comments. Don't forget to check out last week's list,

10:07the biggest mistakes WWE made with SummerSlam, which you can hear a bit of now.

10:12No, I am not going to talk about Diesel and Mabel again. As per my list of matches I want to stop

10:17talking about, I am done with that mudslide of bollocks, and we should talk about things that have not

10:22been discussed into a shallow grave. SummerSlam season is upon us, as WWE attempts to put together a car

10:28that can compete with going out for a nice walk on a beautiful summer's evening, and as I get old,

10 Best Opening Matches In SummerSlam History | partsFUNknown

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