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WWE veteran Brock Lesnar made his way to the main roster immediately after WrestleMania 18 was done and dusted with, in 2002. Dubbed as The Next Big Thing, Lesnar quickly rose up the ranks and won the 2002 King of the Ring tournament by defeating Rob Van Dam in the finals. The victory made sure that he would get a WWE title opportunity at SummerSlam 2002.
Brock Lesnar put down a bunch of WWE greats on his path to Championship glory, including Hulk Hogan. Lesnar faced The Rock at SummerSlam 2002, in his first appearance at The Biggest Party of the Summer.
For the next two decades, Lesnar dominated the event like no other, despite being away from the ring for eight years in 2004-2011. Lesnar is certainly one of the biggest contenders for the title of Mr. SummerSlam. Let's take a look at all 8 of his victims at what many fans regard as WWE's second-biggest event of the year after WrestleMania.
Also, have a look at our latest edition of Dropkick Diskussions right below.
#8 The Rock (2002)
The Rock took on Brock Lesnar with the former's WWE title on the line at SummerSlam 2002. The Brahma Bull was on his way to Hollywood immediately after the event, and the fans were not happy with the same. Despite being a heel, Brock Lesnar began getting cheered heavily at one point in the match, and the reaction of the live crowd suddenly changed from cheering for The Rock to booing The Great One out of the building.
In the end, Brock Lesnar delivered a thunderous F5 on The Rock and captured the WWE title to a huge pop. Following the match, when the PPV came to an end, The Rock took the mic and hinted at his eventual heel turn that would come in early 2003. Lesnar would hold the WWE title for months on end, successfully defending it against The Undertaker at Hell In A Cell in the process.
The Rock wrestled last at WrestleMania 32, defeating Erick Rowan in a squash match. He is currently one of the biggest stars in Hollywood, and it seems unlikely he will ever come back as an active performer.
#7 Triple H (2012)
Brock Lesnar made his long-awaited return to WWE in 2012 and attacked John Cena to a big pop. He eventually lost to Cena at Extreme Rules, and later kicked off a feud with WWE EVP, Triple H. The two behemoths went at it at SummerSlam 2012, in what many deemed a dream match. The night didn't end for Triple H as he had planned, and he tapped out to Lesnar's Kimura Lock.
Following the match, Triple H's mannerisms hinted that he was going to retire, but he resumed the feud months later, on the road to WrestleMania 29. Triple H is currently involved a lot more in WWE's backstage affairs as WWE's EVP, and hasn't wrestled a match in a long time.
#6 CM Punk (2013)
This match was promoted by WWE as The Best vs The Beast. Lesnar had targeted CM Punk on the road to SummerSlam, and The Voice of the Voiceless wasn't going to go down without a fight.
Punk had been one of the biggest villains in all of WWE for the past one year or so, and his feud with Lesnar again established himself as a babyface.
At SummerSlam, Punk gave Brock Lesnar one of the best matches of his career. The back and forth affair lasted well over 25 minutes, and ended with Paul Heyman interfering and costing Punk the match. The Straight Edge Superstar was given an ovation by the fans following the loss, for his incredible performance.
Punk left WWE in 2014, and hasn't wrestled ever since. He joined WWE Backstage in November 2019, until the show's demise, back in June.
#5 John Cena (2014)
The original plans for SummerSlam 2014 called for Brock Lesnar to take on WWE World Champion Daniel Bryan, and capture the belt from him in the end. The plans would see Lesnar maul Bryan in a dominating performance, but Bryan's injury resulted in John Cena taking his place as Champion at The Biggest Party of the Summer. What happened at SummerSlam wasn't something anyone had imagined in their wildest dreams. Lesnar had put down The Undertaker at WrestleMania 30 months ago, and was the most dangerous entity in WWE at the time.
The 16-minute bout saw Brock Lesnar absolutely dominating Cena and handling him like a rag doll. The fans gasped in terror at the sight of Lesnar destroying the biggest WWE Superstar of the 21st century as if he was an enhancement talent. Lesnar delivered 16 German Suplexes to Cena, with a devastating F5 finally finishing things up. Lesnar's victory for the WWE World title cemented him as a terrorizing figure who would be almost impossible to stop in the coming years, and that's what pretty much ended up happening.
Cena steadily turned into a part-time star. He came back on the road to WrestleMania 36 to wrestle Bray Wyatt, and lost to The Fiend in a Firefly Fun House match.
#4 Randy Orton (2016)
If you cringed at the punishment John Cena received at the hands of Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam 2014, it's interesting to ponder on what was your reaction when he was done with Randy Orton at the event two years later.
Orton and Lesnar had both made their way to WWE's main roster in the spring of 2002, after brief stints in Ohio Valley Wrestling. The duo had a match on SmackDown back in late 2002, with Lesnar picking up the win. Soon after, Lesnar became a SmackDown exclusive, while Orton joined Triple H's Evolution and kicked off his mega push on the RAW roster.
The two hadn't crossed paths since 2002, and WWE rightfully dubbed the match like a dream encounter. Brock Lesnar demolished Orton on this night and inflicted more damage on The Viper than the fans were comfortable with. In the end, Lesnar kept hitting Orton on the head with elbow shots, until he began bleeding. Eventually, the official stopped the match and Lesnar was declared the victor.
Orton spent the better part of 2020 feuding with WWE Hall of Famer Edge and is still going strong on the main roster. He will challenge Drew McIntyre for the WWE title at SummerSlam 2020.
#3, #2 & #1 Roman Reigns, Samoa Joe, and Braun Strowman (2017)
At SummerSlam 2017, Brock Lesnar came out as the Universal Champion, and the odds were heavily stacked against The Beast Incarnate. Roman Reigns, Braun Strowman, and Samoa Joe were all gunning for Lesnar's title, and the stipulation stated that Lesnar and Paul Heyman would leave WWE if the former lost the match.
The 20-minute bout was an incredibly chaotic affair, as all four behemoths did their best to leave the arena with the title on their shoulders. In the end though, Brock Lesnar won the match by hitting an F5 on The Big Dog and retained his title.
Reigns hasn't wrestled a match for around the past five months, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. He pulled out from his WrestleMania 36 match against Goldberg, which led to Strowman getting the opportunity and eventually winning his first Universal title.
The Monster Among Men is still the Champion three months later. Joe's WWE career has been marred with injuries, and he was currently seen behind the commentary desk on WWE RAW.
