The Seven Best Opponents
Brock Lesnar is 5-2 at SummerSlam. Whats even more amazing is that Brock Lesnar has faced seven men who are or will be in the WWE Hall of Fame. Let’s take a brief look back at his history and why I think he should be considered “Mr. SummerSlam.”
In 2002, Brock Lesnar was a rookie who won King of the Ring and the opportunity to face The Rock for the Undisputed WWE Championship. This might have been the first time “marks” took over a match. The crowd, wanting to cheer for someone fresh, turned on The Rock and began to back “The Next Big Thing.” After a back and forth bout, Lesnar was able to defeat The Rock in a very memorable main event of the best SummerSlam of all-time. 16 minutes against The Rock was a solid outing for a rookie who was just getting started.
One year later, Brock Lesnar took on Kurt Angle for the WWE Championship. Not realizing at the time that this would be the last time we would see Lesnar at SummerSlam for almost a decade, both men’s technical prowess took over in a 20 minute instant classic. Many remember their WrestleMania match more because of the botched Shooting Star Press, but this match was just as good at the one we saw in Seattle. After this feud dominated Smackdown, the show will suffer average world champions the following year including JBL and Eddie Guerrero. They lost their “superstar” champion.
Returning to the Wrestling Ring
Brock Lesnar would return in 2012, facing off against Triple H at SummerSlam. This feud was a great build and big praise to Paul Heyman. The guy spoke two sentences about Triple H and Stephanie McMahon’s children, which sparked a fire in the former world champion. A “broken” arm and targeting Shawn Michaels made this feel even more important and personal. The match was billed “The Perfect Storm” and headlined a show that had a lackluster card beneath it. It was a fight and a battle, ending the night with the questions surrounding the career of Triple H. Brock Lesnar made an impact on that night and would continue to carry his “MMA” persona fully into WWE.
2013 was a year of Paul Heyman guys. CM Punk and Brock Lesnar had an INCREDIBLE 25 minute match that SHOULD have main evented the show. This is arguably the best match from both men that I have watched in WWE and feel that it really established both men in their roles in WWE. CM Punk could hang with the best of them, but the best could not beat the beast. With this win, it seemed like Lesnar was poised to become a champion once again. He would soon break the most coveted streak in professional wrestling and follow up his 2013 SummerSlam with an opponent unlike any other.
We saw Brock vs. Cena a few times before this, but this was for the WWE Championship. Brock Lesnar introduced “Suplex City” to John Cena, en route to a 16 minute bout and a dominant performance that has never been seen performed on him. John Cena had little offense, little fight and his move set was constantly reversed by Lesnar. Finally, “Super Cena” was destroyed and all was right in the world. Once again, Brock entered the main event of SummerSlam and walked out victorious.
