15. Brock Lesnar vs. Triple H, SummerSlam 2012
Many call Bret Hart the king of SummerSlam matches, but one wrestler that may be able to have his own claim to that title would be “The Beast” Brock Lesnar.
Lesnar has become a huge draw for The Biggest Party of the Summer over the last few years, and has consistently been in the show’s main event since 2014, even including 2017’s Fatal-Four-Way for the Universal title. He wasn’t in the show’s main event in 2013, but had a solid showing the year before to end the 2012 card during his big feud with Triple H.
“The Game” was on the tail end of his wrestling career, at least as far as consistently being in the ring is concerned, but did put on a solid show with Lesnar throughout 2012. Lesnar was coming off of a big feud with John Cena to get his return to WWE off to a hot start, and his feud with Triple H helped to keep the momentum rolling to get Lesnar back to his huge star level in the ring.
The rivalry Lesnar and Triple H had was personal and brutal, and this No Disqualification match in the main event surely met everyone’s expectations for two of WWE’s biggest and baddest superstars. The two eventually had two more meetings over the next eight months after this match, but not much could top this first battle.
There was a very “real” feeling to the match, with Triple H targetting Lesnar’s stomach that notoriously gave the former UFC heavyweight champion troubles toward the end of his MMA run, and Lesnar utilizing some MMA submissions on “The Game” throughout.
In the end, Lesnar put in the Kimura lock twice on Triple H on the same arm that had been “broken” a few months prior, forcing the Cerebral Assassin to submit to end the show and put some serious doubt on Triple H’s career.
Obviously Triple H came back for more appearances after this match, but the feeling at the time building up to, during and immediately after the match couldn’t be topped. It all seemed so legitimate, and the match itself was a great bout to help get a feud that would go on for many more months off on a good note.