5 SummerSlam Debutants Who Challenged For The WWE Title

'The Next Big Thing' became WWE Undisputed Champion in his SummerSlam debut way back in 2002.

Brock Lesnar's initial run in WWE was an absolute massacre. He'd see off The Hardy Boyz before winning the King of the Ring, defeating Bubba Ray Dudley in the first round, Booker T in the quarter-finals, Test in the semi-finals, and Rob Van Dam in the finals. This, in turn, propelled him into the Championship match against 'The Great One', not before he'd lose an Intercontinental Championship match via DQ to RVD and have the shortest of feuds against Hulk Hogan of all people, blood and all. It was all kicking off.

Brock, of course, defeated Rocky at SummerSlam to become the youngest WWE Champion of all time at the age of just 25 - a record that still stands to this day.

This win saw champion Lesnar become exclusive to SmackDown after Stephanie McMahon went under Eric Bischoff's nose - up until that point the champ wasn't attached to a brand - which led to that feud with The Undertaker. You know, the one with arguably the bloodiest Hell In A Cell Match of all time, not the one with The Streak's demise.

Will Shinsuke Nakamura be able to follow in Brock's footsteps and bring the big one home in his SummerSlam debut? Only time will tell, although I hope he does before Baron Corbin cashes-in his Money In The Bank contract because the heat would be nuclear!