10 Most Violent WWE Matches Of The Modern Era

Violence in matches isn’t always for the benefit of storytelling or the appeal of watching larger than life brutes collide as hard as possible. It’s not always satisfying to watch a violent match or a horrific moment of sadism in the wrestling ring, as sometimes instead of leading to anything meaningful, it’s just terrifying and ultimately for pointless shock value.

Brock Lesnar and Randy Orton’s SummerSlam encounter was sadly one of those kind of matches, a contest completely overshadowed by disgusting physicality that didn’t add anything extra to Lesnar or pay off narratively for Orton.

After a decent start to their main event match, Lesnar grounded Orton and began pounding him in the head. Unlike in another notable match of Lesnar’s 2010s run, Brock didn’t open him up safely, concussing the Viper while reshaping his head into a bloody pulp.

It was a moment that took all the life out of the arena as the match was called as a TKO and Lesnar’s hands were raised high to an audience unaware of the reality of what they just watched. The fact that it didn’t lead anywhere only amplifies how much of a waste it was.