10 WWE Matches That Were Meant To Be Epic (But Failed Miserably)
3. Brock Lesnar vs. Triple H (Summerslam 2012)
When Brock Lesnar came back to WWE in 2012 and worked one of the most aesthetically unique matches in modern pro wrestling history in his first match in eight years against John Cena, expectations grew for what he could do in his next match. His opponent was Triple H, another one of the greatest of all-time, so it should have been awesome. The Game, by that point in his career, was a beloved legend, having most recently proven his worth in a classic against Undertaker at WrestleMania XXVIII. Instead of asking, What do you get when you put two icons against each other for the first time, perhaps we should have been asking, What do you get when you put two icons that combined to make up 60% of the most epically disappointing matches in history against each other? Brock vs. HHH was not a bad match, but similar to many of the matches listed, it was so far from the quality that you would expect that it felt terrible by comparison. In reality, Triple H and Brock Lesnar had several good matches in their 2012-2013 rivalry, but there was not a classic in the lot. At Summerslam 2012, everything set up for them to put on a thrilling show. WWE barely built up any of the other matches, so there was nothing capable of stealing their spotlight. No other match on the card was given any considerable time to play out, meaning that all the time in the world was available for them to tell their story. Yet, the bell rang and it just did not click. Brock went for a Kimura Lock approximately every 30 seconds (exaggerated for emphasis) for twenty minutes and Triple H struggled to play the badass babyface (it just never suited him). When worth a watch is all you can get from two future first ballot Hall of Famers, that is a problem.
"The Doc" Chad Matthews has written wrestling columns for over a decade. A physician by trade, Matthews began writing about wrestling as a hobby, but it became a passion. After 30 years as a wrestling fan, "The Doc" gives an unmatched analytical perspective on pro wrestling in the modern era. He is a long-time columnist for Lordsofpain.net and hosts a weekly podcast on the LOP Radio Network called "The Doc Says." His first book - The WrestleMania Era: The Book of Sports Entertainment - ranks the Top 90 wrestlers from 1983 to present day, was originally published in December 2013, and is now in its third edition.
Matthews lives in North Carolina with his wife, two kids, and two dogs.
