Top 15 WWE SummerSlam undercard matches

1997: Intercontinental Championship — Owen Hart vs. Steve Austin

We’ll kick things off in East Rutherford, New Jersey, where WWE presented SummerSlam 1997. On a card that featured then-WWF Champion The Undertaker getting beat by Bret Hart for his fifth and what would be final championship in the company, Hart’s younger brother Owen was in a championship battle himself.

Owen had just recently been reunited with Bret and members of the family to reform the Hart Foundation. And one of the targets at the center of their attack, was “Stone Cold” Steve Austin. About a year earlier, Austin had shed his “Ringmaster” persona and turned the volume way up on who he really was. And then, he spent the majority of his career making Vince McMahon his personal punching bag.

Heading into SummerSlam, Austin had already beaten Hart in a 10-man tag team match in Calgary a month earlier. And in the weeks leading up to their one-on-one match, Austin teamed up with Dude Love to beat Hart and the British Bulldog for the tag titles. So Hart had Austin’s number going into August.

On this night, Austin would defend the Intercontinental Championship against the reigning King of Harts. The biggest thing we remember from this match is that Owen inadvertently dropped Austin on his head, and broke his neck. Owen would cover the Texas Rattlesnake, and claim the title. But the concern then shifted to Austin, who would be out of action for some time time while he healed. Hart would wear a t-shirt over the next few weeks that read, “Owen 3:16, I just broke your neck” in response to the popular “Austin 3:16” shirt that was selling all over the world.

Austin would go on to a Hall of Fame career, having beaten the biggest names in the history of wrestling. Unfortunately for Owen, his induction into the Hall of Fame seems to still be some time away, although countless people are pushing to make it happen.