Where Are They Now?: Every SummerSlam Main Eventer

Ever since its inception in 1988, SummerSlam has become an essential event every year for the WWF/E. “The Biggest Party Of The Summer” bridges the gap between WrestleMania and Survivor Series becoming the 2^nd biggest PPV of the company’s calendar. In its 33-year run, it has seen its fair share of main event stars and today we will take a look to see where all these main eventers are today. 

Hulk Hogan 

A staple of the WWF main events for many years, Hulk Hogan main evented 4 SummerSlam events across the ‘80s, ‘90s and ‘00s. Wrestling 3 tag (1 of which was a 2-on-3 handicap) and 1 singles bout, Hulk was always the one to get the decisive pinfall. 

The biggest name in wrestling is not hard to find today, with his signature red and yellow attire, handlebar moustache and bandana cropping up for WWE returns. With his merchandise instantly recognisable, Hogan still appears at his beach shop as well as on WWE Network specials and on WWE TV. He has appeared on screens in 2021 on Legend’s Raw and as the swash-buckling co-host of WrestleMania 37. 

Randy Savage 

“Macho Man” Randy Savage would main event the first 2 SummerSlam events, initially teaming as a face alongside Hogan against Ted DiBiase and André The Giant. Yet the next year, he had turned to the dark side as the newly rechristened “Macho King” tagged with Zeus against Hulk Hogan – who teamed with Brutus Beefcake. 

A colourful personality and icon of the squared-circle, on May 20^th 2011, Savage suffered a heart attack whilst driving, causing a crash into a tree, which killed him. 58 at the time, it was a massive loss for the wrestling industry.   

André The Giant 

By SummerSlam 1988, André was noticeably less mobile in-ring, having long been serving due to his gigantism. He was heavily protected in this match, looking dominant but doing little as the others carried the weight of the bout.  

André Roussimoff passed away from congestive heart failure in January 1993 in his Paris hotel room. The pop-culture phenomenon, this news took the world by storm. His ashes were scattered on his ranch. In tribute to his immense contributions to the sport of pro wrestling, André was the first-ever WWE Hall of Fame inductee, now with an annual battle royal named in his honor. 

Ted DiBiase 

At this event, it was Ted who was the recipient of the pinfall, falling victim to an Atomic Legdrop and Flying Elbow. “The Million Dollar Man” was very much the glue that held the match together as a worker of his skill helped overlook his partner’s lacking performances.  

DiBiase runs the Heart of David Ministry and has done so since 1999. However, he has made a larger presence on TV in 2021 where he was involved in the Million Dollar title match between Cameron Grimes and LA Knight. 

Brutus Beefcake 

Beefcake would headline the 1989 SummerSlam when teaming with Hulk Hogan. His team would emerge victorious in the bout that could be considered the biggest of his career. 

“The Barber” was inducted into the 2019 Hall Of Fame class and seems to be enjoying his retirement from pro wrestling. 

Zeus 

Actor Tommy Lister Jr. was brought into the WWF as Zeus – playing his fictional character in the film No Holds Barred. Whilst his performance was very uninspired, he would have another wrestling match in both WWF and WCW. 

“Tiny” Lister appeared in on-screen TV and movie roles such as Friday, The Fifth Element, The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air and Walker, Texas Ranger amongst others. After many health issues over the years, he died on December 10^th 2020 at the age of 62. 

Ultimate Warrior 

The main event of the 1990 SummerSlam saw a rematch from the previous year. In 1989, The Ultimate Warrior defeated Rick Rude for the Intercontinental title but in 1990 they clashed again for Warrior’s WWF championship belt. 

The always controversial Warrior passed away in 2016 of a heart attack, a matter of days after his last WWE appearance in which he spoke about: “Every man’s heart one day beats its final beat” before stating the “spirit of the Ultimate Warrior will run forever!”. 

Rick Rude 

“Ravishing” Rick Rude would have his only WWF PPV main event at the 1989’s edition of SummerSlam where he would lose to The Ultimate Warrior in a WWF title cage match. Rude would be out of the company within a year. 

Unfortunately, a back injury sustained in a match with Sting in 1995 ended Rude’s career. Despite his in-ring career ending, he still got work with the WWF, WCW and ECW. He seemed as if he was set for a return to action before his death in April 1999 due to heart failure. An apparent overdose of mixed medicines took his life prematurely. 

Sgt Slaughter 

1991’s “Biggest Party Of The Summer” saw the team of The Ultimate Warrior and Hulk Hogan defeat The Triangle of Terror with Sid Justice as the guest referee. In the end (as predicted), the good guys dispatched the Iraqi sympathizers as Hogan pinned Slaughter following throwing powder in his eyes and hitting his Atomic Legdrop. 

The kayfabe ex-marine still often crops up on WWE TV on special events including legends tributes, often as a US patriot representing America against a modern, foreign heel. In addition, he has lent his likeness to many cartoons and is still a popular attraction on the convention circuit. 

Colonel Mustafa 

When Slaughter was repackaged as a pro-Iranian in the midst of the Gulf War, he was brought in with a former WWF World champion: The Iron Sheik. Renamed Colonel Mustafa, he would be chased out of the SummerSlam bout – running away to the backstage area, followed by a chair-wielding Ultimate Warrior. Mustafa would drop down the card afterwards losing to the likes of Pat Tanaka, Tito Santana and even a now-face Sgt Slaughter. 

If you want to know where to find the master of the Camel Clutch today, he is likely tweeting something wacky and profanity-heavy such as calling Hulk Hogan a jabroni or threatening to break B. Brian Blair’s back and make him humble in all capital letters. 

General Adnan 

In a trivia quiz, a SummerSlam main eventer you may forget is General Adnan. Mostly a manager, the wrestler better known as Sheik Adnan Al-Kaissie was an ex-Olympian and WWWF World Tag Team champion with Chief Jay Strongbow. At the time of his SummerSlam main event, he was 52. 

A close friend of Saddam Hussein (who he went to school with), the Iranian’s personal life is kept quiet except for a 2005 book about his life and 2006 Fox interview on Hannity & Colmes. He currently resides in Hopkins, Minnesota and is 82 years old.  

The British Bulldog 

Davey Boy Smith would main event 1992’s event in Wembley Stadium in London, England in the only event to feature a main event for the Intercontinental championship. In front of the biggest wrestling audience for many years (excluding WrestleMania 3’s falsified figures), he won the strap from Bret Hart to a thunderous reaction from the 80,000 fans in the venue.  

Tragically, Davey Boy Smith died in May 2002 of a heart attack. It was announced in 2020 that he would be inducted into that year’s Hall of Fame however this was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Bulldog was instead inducted earlier this year (2021) on March 30^th with his family present at the ceremony. 

Bret Hart 

Bret Hart would main event 3 SummerSlam events, these being in 1992, 1997 and 2010 against The British Bulldog, The Undertaker and The Nexus. All of these had different yet important prizes on the line. 

Having recently overcoming cancer, his legacy is further spread through family relatives who are in the industry. At the 2019 Hall of Fame ceremony, he was tackled by an invading fan during The Hart Foundation’s induction. In addition to cropping up in WWE, with whom he has since reconciled, he has appeared more recently in AEW and Impact! Wrestling. He made waves earlier in 2021 as well for dubbing the current WWE championship as a “piece of crap”. 

Lex Luger 

Luger challenged Yokozuna in 1993 for the WWF title, winning the match but only by count-out. Despite not winning the belt, he still celebrated; waving the flag, being held on the shoulders by a portion of the face roster and having balloons rain from the ceiling.  

From 2011, Luger worked with WWE on their wellness policy for testing wrestlers for drugs and illicit substances. A public speaker, Luger is now in a wheelchair and uses his Christian beliefs to share stories with others. He also recently appeared in a viral wrestling video featuring himself, Rob Van Dam and Ron Simmons. 

Yokozuna 

The faux Japanese sumo fighter retained his WWF championship at 1993’s event, losing by count-out after being knocked out cold by the titanic-plated forearm of the future “Total Package”. 

The 600-pound Samoan was a member of the Anoa’i family which counts The Rock, Roman Reigns, The Usos, Umaga and Rikishi as cousins of Yokozuna. Having weight problems throughout his life, he died in Liverpool, England in 2000 due to pulmonary edema. 

The Undertaker 

The Undertaker is one of the more high-profile SummerSlam acts over the years, wrestling everyone from Kamala to Brock Lesnar. In his lengthy career, he has headlined 5 SummerSlams with 3 wins and 2 losses in this spot. 

The Undertaker retired from in-ring action in 2020 with a celebration of his WWE tenure at Survivor Series. He has since gone on to break kayfabe which he had gone great lengths to protect during his in-ring career. He has had a recent appearance on The Joe Rogan Podcast where he made sweeping and controversial comments about today’s wrestlers.  

Brian Lee 

In 1994, The Undertaker wrestled “The Undertaker”. This imposter, managed by Ted DiBiase, was portrayed by ECW and Smoky Mountain star “Prime Time” Brian Lee. The match was ranked as the worst in SummerSlam history on a recent top 10 list written by myself. 

Brian Lee’s whereabouts these days are unknown as he keeps quiet with no social profiles. However, we do know his last match was in 2014 for NWA SAW TV. 

Diesel 

1995’s SummerSlam saw an unappealing Diesel vs Mabel main event, going on last over a Razor Ramon vs Shawn Michaels IC title ladder match. Diesel did hit an outside dive however (likely the most athletic move of his career) and won with a middle rope clothesline. Nash would also main event in 2003 in the Elimination Chamber match for the World Heavyweight title but was taken out early as the first to be eliminated. 

A recent Hall Of Fame inductee with the NWO, Nash will often make a return on WWE TV at legend’s reunions and nostalgia shows. Nash is, as of writing, the most recent guest on Steve Austin’s Broken Skulls Sessions. 

Mabel 

Having won the 1995 King Of The Ring tournaments, the future Viscera and Big Daddy V would take challenge for the WWF title that year but would injure Diesel in the match. King Mabel’s reputation for hurting top guys elsewhere – including breaking The Undertaker’s orbital bone – would see him out of the WWF within a year of him main eventing the WWF’s 2^nd biggest show. 

Nelson Frazier Jr. would pass away of a heart attack in February 2014 just a matter of days after turning 43 years old. 

Shawn Michaels  

HBK’s SummerSlam main event history sees him having 3 uniquely memorable yet all quite reviled matches. His only win was a win over Vader in which Michaels played his creative control to get the win despite originally set to lose. His losses came at SummerSlam 2003’s Elimination Chamber match when eliminated by Goldberg yet later won by Triple H and SummerSlam 2005’s battle with Hulk Hogan which saw Shawn fling around like a pinball machine on a trampoline. 

“The Showstopper” is a current NXT producer and writer on top of being a trainer at the WWE Performance Center. He was inducted into the 2019 Hall of Fame as a member of DX, which – coupled with a individual induction – makes him one of a rare few who are 2-time WWE Hall Of Famers. 

Vader 

Vader originally lost by DQ then by pinfall to Michaels but was originally supposed to win. Annoyed at Vader’s stiff style, HBK used his backstage sway to get the win with Michaels never dropping it to Vader – robbing “The Mastodon” of a WWF title run. Instead that was given to Sid who had little to offer that Big Van Vader could not. 

Vader would continue wrestling even after his terminal illness announcement. Having been diagnosed with 2 years to live, he would eventually die in June 2018 after a month-long hospital treatment for pneumonia. 

Steve Austin  

Perhaps surprisingly, Austin only had 2 SummerSlam main events, one of which helped the PPV become the best-selling of any “Biggest Party Of The Summer”: 1998. In ‘98, he defeated The Undertaker to retain his WWF title before next year being the recipient of the pin in the 1999 triple threat for the WWF title in which Mick Foley would win a match also featuring Triple H. 

“Stone Cold” hosts the Broken Skulls Sessions podcast for the WWE Network and will make on-screen appearance on big PPVs or on WWE TV when they feel they need to pop a rating. 

Mick Foley 

Mick Foley’s main event saw a surprise result as he actually won a triple threat for the WWE championship where he seemed like the less likely to win. He pinned “The Texas Rattlesnake” to get the win, a title reign that would last a solitary day and would be his last SummerSlam card-closer. 

Having this year recovered from Covid-19, Foley remains a prominent name at conventions and signings, touring across the US. Additionally, he has a presence on TV and films including starring in The Big Show Show. He makes regular updates on his FaceBook page. 

Triple H 

Triple H has SummerSlam show-ender losses to Mick Foley, The Rock and Brock Lesnar and a win in 2003’s Elimination Chamber bout. Of these only his 2012 loss to a dominant Brock Lesnar was a singles match. 

Triple H is the C.E.O of the WWE and is the brains behind the NXT product we see on TV. Although it seems at present that his role in the company is being threatened by the top brass especially Nick Khan – this backstage turmoil has apparently caused vast upheaval behind-the-scenes as HHH fights for his job. 

The Rock 

Dwayne Johnson racked up 3 consecutive SummerSlam main events. He first defeated both Kurt Angle and Triple H in 2000, then defeated Booker T for the WCW belt in 2001 and would lose to Brock Lesnar in 2002 giving “The Beast Incarnate” the title of the youngest-ever WWE champion. 

Today, it is not hard to find “The People’s Champion” as he is perhaps the world’s most famous actor. A huge name in Hollywood, his most recent blockbuster role is him playing a starring role in Disney’s Jungle Cruise. 

Kurt Angle 

Kurt Angle’s run at the top of the SummerSlam totem pole in 2000 saw the crazily-overbooked yet thoroughly enjoyable triple threat for the WWF championship. Angle was legitimately concussed before the match and had to come out mid-way through and was also in a kayfabe love triangle with Triple H and Stephanie McMahon so it was quite the time for the Olympian.  

Angle was released from WWE in 2020 and now has his own podcast The Kurt Angle Show hosted by revered wrestling personality Conrad Thompson where the 1996 gold medalist discusses everything from Chris Benoit to milk.  

Booker T 

An invading force from the recently-defunct WCW, Booker T entered SummerSlam 2001 as a 5-time WCW champion but would leave empty-handed after the master of the Spinneroonie would get overzealous. A curious choice for main event, his battle with The Rock likely closed due to the Austin/Angle WWF championship match ending with a DQ result. 

The ex-Harlem Heat member now hosts his own podcast and is still a common sight on WWE PPVs on their kick-off panel. 

Brock Lesnar 

Lesnar has the most SummerSlam main events of any wrestler with 8. This starts in 2002 with his first world title win in 2002 when he defeated The Rock all the way to his 2019 loss to Seth Rollins in a Universal title bout. 

Brock Lesnar’s future seems uncertain with him not appeared for the WWE for a year and a half. Lesnar recently displayed a new look with mixed reactions by observers.  

Chris Jericho 

Chris Jericho’s 2 SummerSlam show-enders have both been multi-man affairs. He would be a part of the 2003 SummerSlam main event Elimination Chamber but emerge victorious in the 2010 Nexus vs WWE bout although he was eliminated in the match. 

“The Demo God” is still in the spotlight today as one of the top names in All Elite Wrestling where is the leader of The Inner Circle and currently feuding with MJF. 

Randy Orton 

“The Apex Predator” was still a young pup when competing in the 2003 Elimination Chamber but the next year he would be in a singles match challenging Chris Benoit for the World Heavyweight title. In 2007, he would unsuccessfully challenge John Cena for the WWE title. His final main event to date ended in gory fashion as Lesnar went about creating a Jason Pollock painting with the blood from Randy’s cranium. 

Orton is a big part of the Raw roster with the veteran currently in the oddball tag team RK-Bro with Riddle. 

Goldberg 

Goldberg’s participation in the Elimination Chamber saw him as an imposing threat, eliminating Shawn Michaels, Chris Jericho and Randy Orton before falling victim to a well-placed Triple H sledgehammer shot and eating the pin. The result of such match has been criticized over the years. 

Bill Goldberg makes a return every so often for a marquee match. He is set to challenge Bobby Lashley for the WWE belt at SummerSlam this year. 

Chris Benoit 

“The Rabid Walverine”’s 2004 main event saw him lose his World Heavyweight strap to Randy Orton – making “The Viper” the youngest world champion in WWE history.  

In one of the darkest moments in wrestling history, in 2007 Benoit would become forever infamous for a double-murder homicide. In this, “The Crippler” would murder his wife Nancy and son Daniel and finally himself. Such a blot on the company, Benoit has more-or-less been erased from WWE history since.  

Edge 

Firstly, Edge defeated John Cena in a WWE title match in 2005. In 2008, Edge would have an unfairly overlooked Hell In A Cell against The Undertaker in which he would lose. Finally, his team would defeat The Nexus in the 7-on-7 2010 main event. 

Edge has come out of retirement and will face Seth Rollins at this year’s event. 

John Cena 

6 different SummerSlam main events, Cena has faced Edge, Randy Orton, The Nexus, CM Punk, Daniel Bryan and Brock Lesnar at the event and has a record of 2 wins to 4 losses. 

Set to have his 7^th main event, he will challenge Roman Reigns for the Universal title this year. Elsewhere, he is still a huge Hollywood star having just had a noteworthy role in The Suicide Squad. 

CM Punk 

Winning the World Heavyweight title from Jeff Hardy in 2009, Punk would be attacked after the match by The Undertaker. His 2011 match was more overbooked with him beating John Cena in a WWE title match after guest referee Triple H missed a rope break before Kevin Nash returned and Alberto Del Rio cashed in his Money In The Bank briefcase on “The Cult Of Personality”.  

CM Punk is once again a hot wrestling prospect, with his name sprinkled into AEW programming and a return to the ring under Tony Khan seeming imminent. 

Jeff Hardy 

The younger Hardy brother would main event the 2009 event in a Ladder Match in which he would jump off ladders, fall off ladders and be attacked with a ladder; aka doing ‘Jeff Hardy things’. He would be unsuccessful in his bid to hold onto his World Heavyweight title. 

The face-painted high-flier is still on the WWE roster today as a member of the Raw lower-card. 

John Morrison 

In the 2010 7-on-7 bout, John Morrison was the first member of the WWE contingent ousted from the bout – knocked out after 7 minutes by a lariat from Skip Sheffield. However, he did manage to score an elimination prior, pinning Michael Tarver. 

The former Impact Wrestling world titleholder is aligned with The Miz on the Raw brand with his wife Franky Monet on the NXT brand. 

R-Truth 

Just one of the more disposable members of the WWE team vs The Nexus at 2010’s SummerSlam, the former 2x NWA World Heavyweight champion was quite quickly disposed of in the bout, eliminated via Skip Sheffield clothesline. 

Truth is seemingly a WWE faithful, sticking around as a central part of the 24/7 championship picture. 

Daniel Bryan 

The ex-Nexus member made a shock return to main event the 2010 SummerSlam bout and impressed in the match, submitting Darren Young and Heath Slater whilst being the last wrestler eliminated on the WWE side. He would headline in 2013 also when defeating John Cena to win his first WWE championship. 

Like CM Punk, Bryan is one of the names floating around as a potential signee to All Elite Wrestling having let his WWE contract expire. 

Darren Young 

Darren Young was eliminated within a minute in the match, quickly tapping out to Daniel Bryan. Young would become the first openly gay wrestler in WWE history during his tenure with Vince McMahon’s company.  

Now going under the name Fred Rosser III, he is a competitor in both NJPW and NWA. 

Michael Tarver 

Likely the most forgotten member of The Nexus, Tarver was taken out by John Morrison following the Starship Pain. 

Tarver would wrestle in Chikara, NJPW and Big Time Wrestling afterwards but is now chasing after a musical career. 

Skip Sheffield 

Protected in the match, the future Ryback eliminate Morrison and Truth before being taken out after a Codebreaker and spear.  

Now, Ryback is now flogging his dietary supplements and having fans voting for him to retire on a Twitter poll. 

David Otunga 

David “A-List” Otunga was eliminated via Walls of Jericho in the match around the 19-minute mark. 

Otunga still crops up on PPV pre-show panels and will occasionally do a bit of commentary. 

Heath Slater 

The ginger-haired enhancement talent shockingly pinned both Edge and Jericho in this match and both within less than a minute of each other. “The One-Man Rock Band” would finally fall to Bryan’s LeBell Lock. 

Heath is now signed to Impact Wrestling where he was friends with Rhino before getting put on the shelf with an injury and not returning since. 

Justin Gabriel 

Gabriel was pinned by John Cena in the closing stages after the South African had missed with his tope rope 450° Splash. 

Better known as PJ Black, he is currently signed with Ring Of Honor.

Wade Barrett 

The leader of the faction, Barrett was the last on The Nexus team eliminated when forced to tap out to the STF by Cena who had miraculously recovered from a lethal DDT on concrete. It’s almost as if none of this whole wrestling stuff is real(!). 

Barret returned to WWE in August 2020 as an NXT commentator. He has remained in this role since. 

Roman Reigns 

From 2010-2017, there were no unique main eventers who had no headlined before. In 2017, one of those to break this trend was “The Big Dog” Roman Reign where he would challenge for the Universal title in a fatal four-way. The next year he would finally beat the man who won the previous year: Brock Lesnar. 

“The Tribal Chief” is currently looking at a 3^rd main event, with him looking to defend his Universal belt in the show-closing match this year against John Cena.  

Samoa Joe 

Samoa Joe would also take part in the fatal-four way bout in 2017 when challenging for Brock Lesnar’s Universal title. Joe’s bid for the title would prove to be unsuccessful with Lesnar pinning Reigns for the win. 

Joe was released from WWE in 2021 but would quickly return as NXT GM William Regal’s patrolling bodyguard. He has now been cleared to return to the ring, set to challenge Karrion Kross for the NXT title belt. 

Braun Strowman 

In his first SummerSlam main event, Strowman was portrayed as the unstoppable monster – powerslamming Brock Lesnar through any and everything and taking control of the match with imposing feats of strength. Strowman’s second main event in 2020 saw him lose his Universal title to “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt; with his loss overshadowed by the huge return of Roman Reigns. 

Strowman was released from WWE in 2021 and has some booked dates outside of the company, which he charged a high 5-figure sum for. It seems likely he will be rehired by the promotion at a later date. 

Seth Rollins 

Seth Rollins main evented the 2019 SummerSlam event where he would defeat Brock Lesnar to win back the Universal strap. It took a huge splash through an announce table and many superkicks and stomps but “The Architect” would pull off the star-cementing win. 

Set to face Edge at this year’s PPV, “The Messiah” is on the SmackDown brand whilst juggling a family life as a new father. 

Bray Wyatt 

One of the hottest stars in 2019, “The Fiend” had cooled off by SummerSlam 2020 but was still popular enough to win the Universal championship. He defeated Braun Strowman but would be attacked post-match by Roman Reigns. 

Wyatt, like aforementioned talents, was released in 2021 by WWE. His future is an intriguing albeit unknown one. It is yet to be seen what he will do next if that is in the ring or outside of it. 

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