WWE SummerSlam: Ranking every main event in history

16. SummerSlam 2012: Brock Lesnar vs. Triple H

When Brock Lesnar was brought back to WWE the night following WrestleMania XXVIII, it was widely expected that he would run through pretty much the entire WWE roster, including his first opponent upon his return, John Cena. However, Cena picked up the win at Extreme Rules, leaving Lesnar in a weird kind of spot that saw him wanting to renegotiate his contract. Well if that doesn’t get a fan excited, what will?

As much fun as a program about lawsuits can be, Lesnar’s feud with COO Triple H did pick up a bit when he “broke” The Game’s arm (and later the arm of Shawn Michaels). Throw in brilliant performances from the always-reliable duo of Paul Heyman and Stephanie McMahon, who cut some brilliant promos against one another as they always do, and this actually wasn’t that bad. After constantly turning down Triple H’s challenge for a match at SummerSlam, the match was finally set after Steph smacked Heyman on an episode of Monday Night RAW (there’s never been a better slapper in the business). Dubbed “The Perfect Storm”, Lesnar and HHH got it on at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

I was hoping for a little more brutality from a matchup like this, perhaps more like what we would see from Lesnar later on during this WWE tenure, but it just never came. It’s not like this was a bad match by any stretch of the imagination but it just wasn’t what I wanted it to be. I will give them credit for some decent storytelling with Triple H taking it to Brock’s midsection, an injury that essentially forced him out of UFC for a long time, and going with some good back and forth before Lesnar finally made Trips tap out after nearly 20 minutes, which most of Lesnar’s matches certainly don’t go anymore.

The two would have a rematch at WrestleMania the following year and Triple H would get his win back (shocking, I know) with his career on the line.