WWE SummerSlam: Ranking every main event in history

14. SummerSlam 2006: Edge vs. John Cena

Over the course of his time in WWE, John Cena has had so many different rivals. I’ve discussed his history with Randy Orton and there’s another guy coming up on this list that also had a fun run with the 16-time champ, but Edge has to be right up there as one of Cena’s most memorable opponents. The two battled so many different times over the years and this feud through the summer of 2006 was one of the few bright spots in WWE at that time.

It all started when Edge won the WWE Championship in a Triple Threat Match that also featured Cena and Rob Van Dam. RVD was needed to help the new ECW brand so that left Cena and Edge to clash over the strap leading into the biggest show of the summer. They had a few matches leading into the event, including one on Saturday Night’s Main Event, in which Edge was disqualified when Lita slapped the referee, leading to the stipulation that if Edge got himself disqualified at SummerSlam, he would lose the title.

Things got personal when Edge visited Cena’s father’s house (that guy just can’t catch a break) and slapped him. That led to some nice intensity for the match, which wasn’t their best but it got the job done. These two always had nice chemistry with one another and whether on the mic or in the ring, these two were perfect opponents. The no-DQ stipulation brought down the quality of the match just a tad but The Ultimate Opportunist showed why he had the name by finding a way to cheat to win when Lita threw him a pair of brass knuckles.

While this math was solid enough, the events following SummerSlam were even better, including Cena throwing Edge into the Long Island Sound, which all led to a fantastic TLC match between the two at Unforgiven. Cena won the belt for the third time and held it for more than a year before having to vacate it due to a torn pectoral muscle.