WWE SummerSlam: Brock Lesnar's history at the annual August show
Brock has faced The Rock and other top names at SummerSlam
Sunday 21 August 2016 23:26, UK
Brock Lesnar will take on Randy Orton at SummerSlam on Sunday night - but how has he fared at WWE's August classic over the years?
Not that well last year, it must be said, with The Beast Incarnate submitting to The Undertaker after his opponent connected with a low blow while the referee's back was turned.
However, SummerSlam was also the setting for Lesnar's maiden and most recent WWE Title wins, as you will discover in the paragraphs below…
2002 - defeated The Rock to win WWE Undisputed Championship
At the start of March Lesnar had yet to appear on WWE television, by the end of August he was world champion. Talk about a fast start! He had earned a SummerSlam match against The Rock by winning the King of the Ring tournament but then put his No 1 contendership on the line in a single matches against Hulk Hogan, a bout he would win via submission.
At SummerSlam, Lesnar pinned The Rock following an F5, making him the then youngest world champion in WWE history - Lesnar (25 years, one month and 13 days) was pipped by 24-year-old Randy Orton at the same event two years later. The Anomaly also won the title just 126 days after his debut, a record only beaten by Ric Flair (113 days).
2003 - lost to WWE Heavyweight Champion Kurt Angle
The WWE Title had become the proverbial hot potato after the 2002 edition of SummerSlam, with Lesnar losing the championship to Big Show at Survivor Series, winning it back from Kurt Angle at WrestleMania and then shipping it to the Olympic gold medallist at Vengeance by the time WWE's August extravaganza rolled around again.
Angle, seething at being attacked by Lesnar inside a steel cage weeks earlier, retained the championship after trapping his rival in an ankle lock, despite being whacked in the back with a chair by Vince McMahon earlier in the match. Lesnar would finally regain the title the following month, however, after edging Angle 5-4 in a 60-minute Iron Man Match.
2012 - beat Triple H
Lesnar's decision to quit WWE in 2004 in order to pursue an NFL career - he was, for a short time, on the books of Minnesota Vikings - and then his move into the world of mixed martial arts meant he was absent for eight straight SummerSlams until he decimated Triple H at the 2012 event in Los Angeles, with his submission move, the Kimura Lock, proving decisive.
Lesnar, whose anger with Triple H stemmed from not being offered a greater WWE contract, had used the hold to break the arms of both The Game and Shawn Michaels in the lead-up to the match and then unfurled it again to force Triple H to submit - the Cerebral Assassin's mini-fightback, which included leveling Lesnar with two Pedigrees, ultimately in vain.
2013 - beat CM Punk
SummerSlam 2013 saw two Paul Heyman guys go toe-to-toe and it was Heyman who made the difference, sacrificing himself to help Lesnar overcome Punk. The ECW founder broke up Punk's pin attempt and was placed in The Second City Saint's Anaconda Vice - painful for him but crucial for Lesnar, who was able to batter Punk with steel chairs.
Punk and Heyman had been the best of buddies until weeks earlier - Heyman with the Chicagoan for much of his 434-day reign with the WWE Title between 2011 and 2013 - but the loudmouth promoter had then attacked Punk at Money in the Bank and sided with Lesnar, who would go on to claim his fourth world championship in WWE a year later…
2014 - beat John Cena to win WWE Championship
Lesnar shocked the WWE Universe to its core at WrestleMania 30 when he shattered The Undertaker's 21-match undefeated streak at the event, an achievement that was impossible to ignore as Triple H decided who would face Cena at SummerSlam. Lesnar had been edged out by Cena in his first match back in WWE, at Extreme Rules in April 2012, but not this time.
Cena was blasted with 16 German Suplexes and two F55s, Lesnar administering one of the latter within the first 30 seconds. Cena rallied briefly with an Attitude Adjustment and an STF but could not derail Lesnar, who held on to the WWE Title until the following year's WrestleMania when he fell victim to Seth Rollins' Money in the Bank cash-in.
WWE SummerSlam booking details
WWE SummerSlam will be shown on Sky Sports Box Office (channel 491) AND Sky Sports HD Box Office (492) at midnight on Sunday, August 21 (Monday morning).
WWE SummerSlam will be repeated on Sky Sports Box Office (channel 491) BUT NOT Sky Sports HD Box Office (492) between 10am on Monday, August 22 and 8pm on Thursday, August 25.
Repeat showings will air at 10am, 3pm, 8pm and 1am, with THE FINAL PLAYOUT starting at 8pm on Thursday, August 25.
The event is priced at £19.95 for UK customers, €24.95 for viewers in the Republic of Ireland.
UK viewers can call 03442 410 888 to book WWE SummerSlam NOW, while customers in the Republic of Ireland should call 0818 220 225. (There may be an additional charge for telephone bookings).
You can also book WWE SummerSlam online NOW by visiting this link: https://my.sky.com/orderboxoffice/
Viewers can also book using their Sky TV remote by pressing the 'Box office' button, scrolling across to the sports tab and following on-screen instructions. (Only bookings via Sky TV remote are recordable using Sky Plus).
Sky TV residential customers only. Commercial customers contact Sky for price and to order. Sky Box Office terms apply. Cable customers should contact their local cable operator.
