10 Best WWE SummerSlam Main Events Ever - According To Dave Meltzer

6. SummerSlam 2014 - John Cena Vs Brock Lesnar (****1/4)

Daniel Bryan John Cena
WWE.com

Almost more of a brave booking masterstroke rather than just a match, the SummerSlam 2014 annihilation of John Cena by Brock Lesnar reset 'The Beast' in just about every conceivable manner after questionable handling of his return had almost rendered him as uninspired as the chasing pack of regulars on the roster.

Though the match was sensational, defeat to 'The Champ' at that year's Extreme Rules pay-per-view had thoroughly dented his momentum, and deeply unoriginal bores with Triple H stretching into 2013 sucked the remaining specialness out of his once-mammoth presence.

A match one year earlier against CM Punk had helped turn a corner for Brock, but few considered him the rightful choice to end Undertaker's WrestleMania streak until they witnessed his systematic destruction of John Cena the following August.

Cena, to his credit, was selfless almost to a fault. Allowing Brock to hit him with 16 German Suplexes before a second F5 polished him off, Cena was effectively beaten from the opening seconds after getting surprised with Lesnar's finisher before even having a chance to find his feet.

It was a unique venture for WWE, both in how they booked Cena and main events in general, and became the the template for the future (substantially more satisfying) Brock battles.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett