2. Bull Nakano vs. Alundra Blayze – 1994

Bull Nakano vs. Alundra Blayze is the high point of the first twenty years worth of matches featuring women at SummerSlam. For a long time, it was the gold standard for women’s wrestling in the US.

This match was ahead of its time in terms of presentation, storytelling, and execution. It was the first women’s match in the event’s history and both competitors were treated like legitimate athletes.

The All-American babyface against a Foreign Menace trope hasn’t exactly aged well but the classic power-versus-speed dynamic is timeless. Nakano uses her size, power, and arsenal of submission maneuvers to abuse the champion for most of the match.

Blayze tries to use her will and wits to survive her onslaught but the challenger is surprisingly versatile. For every attack Alundra could manage, Nakano responded and attempted to wear her down with an inventive hold.

In one of the highlights of the bout, Blayze fought out of a Boston crab only for the Japanese star to quicky cinch in a stellar inverted sharpshooter with a double chicken wing. Most fan today will recognize it as a move Paige adopted as her finisher, the PTO.

It looked bleak when the challenger went for a leg drop off the middle rope. Nonetheless, Alundra quickly rolled out of the way and caught Nakano from behind with bridging german suplex to retain.

This entry still lives up to the hype and it took WWE decades to restore this level legitimacy to their women’s division after Alundra Blayze left the company.