10 Cancelled WWE SummerSlam Matches

One of the original ‘Big Four’ pay-per-views, WWE SummerSlam has managed to retain its aura as a night of importance 35 years since it made its bow.

Host to some of the biggest matches and moments of the year, there have nonetheless been plenty of missed opportunities for the Biggest Party of the Summer when matches that were supposed to happen, for whatever reason, didn’t end up transpiring.

From championship bouts and celebrity cameos to blood feud settlers and more, check out these 10 Cancelled WWE SummerSlam Matches.

10. The Big Show vs. The Undertaker - SummerSlam 2000

At SummerSlam 1999, Big Show and The Undertaker teamed up to defeat Kane and X-Pac for the WWE Tag Team Titles.

The so-called Unholy Alliance wouldn’t get to reign as champs for very long, as The Deadman’s injury woes meant he would soon be on the sidelines for an extended period. When 'Taker returned as the American Badass, it seemed as though the World’s Largest Athlete hadn’t gotten over the disappointment and turned heel on his former partner.

All signs pointed towards the two squaring off at SummerSlam, but Show was written off WWE television when ‘Taker threw him off the stage and through a table on the August 7th, 2000 episode of Monday Night Raw.

The Phenom quickly pivoted to a programme with kayfabe brother Kane, while Paul Wight was actually sent to developmental league Ohio Valley Wrestling to lose weight and improve his conditioning.

WWE officials had been upset with the giant’s attitude for a while and a string of subpar performances had convinced them to not only can his lucrative pay-per-view match with ‘Taker, but ship him off to developmental as well.

9. Mr Perfect vs. Brutus Beefcake - SummerSlam 1990

At SummerSlam 1988, Brutus Beefcake was supposed to challenge The Honky Tonk Man for the Intercontinental Title. However, Outlaw Ron Bass and those darn spurs of his meant that The Barber would have to miss his championship bout, allowing The Ultimate Warrior to literally sprint in as his replacement, bag the gold and end Honky’s legendarily long reign.

Two years later, it was not a kayfabe injury but a very real one that took Beefcake off the SummerSlam card. Once again, Beefcake was set to challenge for the IC belt, but a devastating jet ski accident and cost him another pay-per-view payday. Not only that, but Hogan’s best mate would be on the shelf for the best part of three years recovering, with doctors questioning whether he would ever step foot in the ring again.

As was the case two years prior, Beefcake’s removal opened up a spot for a jacked-up suntanned hero in tassels, with Kerry ‘The Texas Tornado’ Von Erich filling in and leaving the Philadelphia Spectrum with a shiny new toy.

8. Seth Rollins vs. Matt Riddle - SummerSlam 2022

One of the most personal rivalries of recent memory has been the one between Seth ‘Freakin’ Rollins and Matt Riddle. After weeks of insults and vicious attacks, a match between the two was made for SummerSlam. Then just days before the premium live event, WWE announced that the match was being ‘postponed’.

According to the company, Riddle had suffered a stinger during an attack by the Monday Night Messiah on the go-home episode of Raw. This was not a real injury, but rather a kayfabe reason for the match being scrapped.

In reality, the new regime had to put the Mysterios on the bill because Rey had a lucrative endorsement deal with a beer company and WWE needed to honour it. Since they weren’t in a title match and there was no celebrity involvement, Rollins and Riddle were the ones whose match was sacrificed to keep the running time reasonable.

Seth admitted afterwards that he was annoyed at not being able to give the fans something that was advertised and had been built up and felt, as a performer, like the cancellation was a “slap in the face”.

The match would instead take place in September at WWE Clash at the Castle while the feud continued into the autumn.

7. Batista vs. Muhammad Hassan - SummerSlam 2005

The short-but-spectacular WWE career of Muhammad Hassan was unlike any other.

Plucked from OVW and given a controversial heat-seeking gimmick, Marc Copani got to work with some of the biggest stars in the industry within his first six months on WWE television. Chris Jericho, Shawn Michaels, Steve Austin, Hulk Hogan, John Cena, The Undertaker – Hassan interacted with them all as it was obvious WWE had big plans for the character.

Very big plans, as it turns out, because WWE were actually thinking about ‘going all the way’ and having him beat Batista for the World Heavyweight Title at SummerSlam 2005 – in America’s capital (and The Animal’s home city) of Washington DC, no less.

Unfortunately for Copani, SmackDown network UPN demanded the Hassan character’s removal following the notorious angle which aired on the July 7th episode of the show. Deluged with complaints due to the terroristic overtones of the segment (which was regretfully kept in despite the London bombings happening earlier that day), UPN decided they didn’t want Hassan on their show and the character was (almost literally) killed off a couple of weeks later at the Great American Bash.

6. Umaga vs. Jackass - SummerSlam 2007

Remember that time Umaga destroyed Jackass stars Chris Pontius and Steve-O on an episode of Raw? And then legitimately kicked Steve-O’s head in after the daredevil had the temerity to laugh off the first attack?

Well, that nearly led to a full-on Umaga versus Jackass match almost an entire year later. The idea was for the Samoan Bulldozer to take on Steve-O, Pontius, Wee Man, Johnny Knoxville and the boys in some sort of wild gimmick match at SummerSlam 2007.

Pushed strongly by Jackass fan Shane McMahon, not only was the match given the green light but posters and television commercials hyping it were released.

And then the whole thing fell apart. Some reports suggested that Knoxville got cold feet in the wake of the Benoit family tragedy, since he had Hollywood aspirations and Vince McMahon’s brand of sports entertainment was being put under the microscope for all the wrong reasons.

Knoxville himself claimed that WWE and the Jackass side simply got their wires crossed when it came to scheduling and expected commitment.

Whatever the issue, the match got taken off the drawing board and we’d have to wait another 15 years to see Jackass and WWE in the ring together proper when Johnny Knoxville took on Sami Zayn at WrestleMania 38.

5. The Wyatt Family vs. John Cena, The Big Show, & Justin Bieber - SummerSlam 2014

Celebrity involvement in WWE is common – especially at major events – as the company like to use people from the wider sports and entertainment worlds to generate mainstream publicity.

In 2014 they didn’t come much bigger than tween idol Justin Bieber. Plans were apparently in place for Bieber to tag with Big Show and John Cena to take on the Wyatt Family at that year’s SummerSlam.

It was actually Show who made the connection with Bieber’s agent Scooter Braun, and the pop star was supposedly eager to do it if WWE promoted his album and paid him a healthy fee. According to Show, WWE gave Scooter the runaround when it came to the financials and he pulled out of negotiations.

In the end, Bray Wyatt faced Chris Jericho to continue their programme, while John Cena headlined SummerSlam and dropped the WWE World Heavyweight Championship to Brock Lesnar in a glorified squash. Big Show didn't even make the cut.

4. Tito Santana vs. Rick Martel - SummerSlam 1990

In the summer of 1987, beloved babyfaces Tito Santana and Rick Martel joined together to create Strike Force. Successful pretty much from the off, they unseated The Hart Foundation to win the WWE Tag Team Titles just a couple of months into their tenure as a team.

They lost them at WrestleMania 4 and, a year later, would disband when Martel abandoned his partner at ‘Mania 5. They’d feud for the next year but never had a significant blowoff until it was booked for SummerSlam 1990.

Right up until the weekend of the show, a match between the two was advertised as happening. However, The Model had sustained an injury in June and wouldn’t be fighting fit until October. The Warlord ended up being drafted in as an opponent for Santana and beat El Matador in what was pretty much an extended squash.

To provide a kayfabe explanation for Martel’s absence, WWE claimed the French-Canadian was attending a fashion show in Paris on the night instead.

3. Alexa Bliss vs. Bayley - SummerSlam 2017

Bayley well and truly had the number of Raw Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss in the run-up to SummerSlam 2017, beating her in various tag matches as well as a non-title singles outing.

Sasha Banks, meanwhile, felt she was owed a rematch after Bliss had beaten her via count-out at Great Balls of Fire.

One-half of the Four Horsewomen subsequently clashed in a number one contender’s match, with The Hugger besting The Boss to officially become number one contender for SummerSlam.

Sadly, Bayley suffered a separated shoulder while wrestling Nia Jax and was forced to relinquish her number-one contender’s spot. It was a bitter blow for the babyface, but it would be to the benefit of Banks, who won a triple threat match and then knocked off Nia to become the new number-one contender.

Not only that, but Sasha went on to unseat Alexa at the biggest party of the summer, kicking off her fourth reign with the strap.

She only held it for eight days before dropping it back to Bliss and it’s interesting to speculate if the creative plans for Bayley would have been the same, had she made it to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

2. Bianca Belair vs. Sasha Banks - SummerSlam 2021

Four years later, the roles were reversed for Banks, who was set to clash with SmackDown Women’s Champion Bianca Belair at SummerSlam 2021.

The Boss had succumbed to the EST of WWE in a classic at WrestleMania 37 and, despite showing the possibility of a union between the two of them, had turned on Bianca before challenging her to a rematch.

Right before Banks was due to make her entrance on the night, it was announced that she was not cleared to compete as scheduled.

Any fans peeved about false advertising were even more miffed when Carmella was announced as her replacement, but then Becky Lynch returned after more than a year away, attacked Carmella and took the match – and the title – for herself.

It was a lot to take in and, once the dust had settled, people began questioning what the deal with Sasha was. According to reports, WWE had known for eight days that she wouldn’t be wrestling in Nevada but decided to keep things hush-hush. Banks herself (who returned at Extreme Rules the following month) has been coy about the real reason why and it remains something of a mystery to this day.

1. Shawn Michaels vs. Mr. McMahon - SummerSlam 2002

SummerSlam 2002 was the scene of one of the most spectacular comebacks in WWE history, as Shawn Michaels returned from an over four-year exile after undergoing what was thought to be career-ending back surgery.

Tearing the house down with former DX buddy Triple H in an Unsanctioned Match, the Heartbreak Kid showed the world that he was still able to perform at the highest level and on the biggest stages.

Michaels himself had some doubts heading into the pay-per-view and had originally pitched to wrestle a much different opponent.

The Showstopper initially wanted to wrestle Mr. McMahon in a Street Fight, feeling fans wouldn’t be expecting a five-star match out of him in those circumstances.

Per the proposed storyline, Michaels would be out for revenge against McMahon for running him into the ground during his prime and being the person ultimately responsible for his physical state.

The Chairman was on board, too, realising it would be a major attraction and likely draw significant interest.

But during a conversation with his future son-in-law, McMahon concluded that The Game would be a better opponent for HBK as he was a true ring general and could help disguise Shawn’s weaknesses.

Luckily for all involved, there weren’t any and Michaels would remain a fixture on WWE TV until his retirement in 2010, 2018 return not withstanding.