Ranking All 29 WWE SummerSlam Main Events Ever
9. The Rock Vs. Brock Lesnar (2002)
As a match, Rock vs. Brock Lesnar was an awesome
battle. But it was the story of the Great One and the Next Big Thing that
really drove this main event. Lesnar had debuted just five months earlier and
had run through everyone put in front of him. The Rock was still considered one
of the true greats in WWE at the time. The question was whether the Brahma Bull
could stop the charge of The Beast.
During the match, the Long Island fans read the writing on the wall and openly booed Rock and cheered for Lesnar. Brock kicked out of a Rock Bottom and hit his own, then no-sold a spinebuster setting up the People’s Elbow, ending the match with a devastating F-5 that kicked off Lesnar’s run at the top of the promotion.
This was a perfect example of WWE going all-in on a
superstar and it paying off, big time. It’s proof that the company knows how to
do this, which makes you wonder why they do this star-making process so rarely.