Chris King’s Top 10 Recent WWE SummerSlam Main Events

Chris King ranks the ten best WWE SummerSlam main events of the past decade, featuring Roman Reigns, Brock Lesnar, Cody Rhodes and more.

This year’s annual SummerSlam PLE is right around the corner, and the biggest party of the summer never disappoints. There have been some great main event matches over the years, including Stone Cold vs. The Undertaker, Brock Lesnar vs. The Rock, and CM Punk vs. Jeff Hardy in a TLC match for the World Heavyweight Championship. Chris King is naming his top ten main events of the last decade in SummerSlam history! 

10 – The Fiend vs. Braun Strowman: Falls Count Anywhere (Universal Championship) 

The build-up to this match was lackluster in my opinion. WWE decided to use ‘The Monster Among Men’s’ friendship with Alexa Bliss in order for Bray Wyatt to play mind games with his former black sheep of The Wyatt Family. After their encounter at Extreme Rules I really thought they were going to dig deeper into their storied history together, but they went a whole new direction. 

Strowman and The Fiend beat the tar out of each other inside and outside the ring. The Monster Among Men shoulder-tackled his former mentor through the barricade and hit a chokeslam through the announce table. Both behemoths fought backstage, and Wyatt took control after a Sister Abigail for a near-fall. Strowman grabbed a box cutter from the toolbox The Fiend used an earlier cut to expose the wood. The Fiend took advantage and hit a urinagi and two Sister Abigails to win the Universal Championship. Immediately following the match, Roman Reigns made his shocking return to destroy both monsters and declare his intentions for the universal title. 

9 – Brock Lesnar vs. Randy Orton 

The dream match where ‘The Viper’ Randy Orton and ‘The Beast Incarnate’ Brock Lesnar faced off for the first time in WWE history. Both superstars were alumni from the OVW Class of 2002, along with John Cena and Batista. The WWE Universe had been anticipating this colossal fight between both of the most elite superstars in wrestling. Reminiscent of all of Lesnar’s matches in 2014-2019, this was a one-sided affair with Orton taking a lot of punishment. 

A surprise RKO on the announce table turned the tide of the match, but he couldn’t get the job done. Instead of winning the match with a pinfall, The Beast took off his gloves and delivered stiff elbow strikes to his opponent’s skull, causing him to bleed, and ended the night with a total knockout. The PLE ended in a disappointing thud, and the WWE Universe was not happy with the result.

8 – Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar (Universal Championship) 

‘The Big Dog’ Roman Reigns was defeated at WrestleMania 34 by his nemesis ‘The Beast Incarnate’ Brock Lesnar. The two titans clashed again at The Greatest Royal Rumble, and Lesnar retained his title by escaping the cage that was torn by a wicked spear. Reigns challenged The Beast at SummerSlam this time; he had ‘The Monster Among Men’ Mr. MITB Braun Strowman waiting in the wings, ready to cash in. 

Before the bell rang, Strowman came out to announce he would cash in the contract directly after the match, which made the WWE Universe actually care about this match. Reigns immediately hit three Superman punches and three spears, but Lesnar locked in the guillotine to choke out his challenger. At the end of the short match, The Beast hit two F5s on Strowman and flung the briefcase all the way down the ramp. Back in the ring, The Big Dog hit another spear to win the Universal Championship.

7 – Seth Rollins vs. Brock Lesnar (Universal Championship) 

At WrestleMania 35, ‘The Beastslayer’ Seth Rollins shocked the world by defeating Brock Lesnar with a low blow and three stomps to win the Universal Championship. At Extreme Rules after Rollins retained his title, ‘The Beast Incarnate’ finally got his comeuppance on his rival after he cashed in at WrestleMania 31 and cashed in on Rollins to become the new universal champion. On the road to SummerSlam, The Beast annihilated Rollins and injured his ribs with vicious F5s onto chairs and a stretcher. 

Unlike their clash at Mania, this is a full-on fifteen-minute battle for the richest prize on Monday Night Raw. The Beast started the match beating his opponent from pillar to post, but The Beastslayer shocked Lesnar with some fantastic offense. The champion took control and made his rival pay for his offense against a relentless beast. Rollins barely survived the onslaught and delivered a gutsy performance to become a two-time universal champion.

6 – Roman Reigns vs. John Cena (Universal Championship)

John Cena made his shocking return to WWE after Roman Reigns’ successful retention against Edge. For weeks, both top-tier superstars traded barbs, including Cena using Reigns as a stepping stone to get to break Ric Flair’s legendary world championship record. The man who claims to be in “God Mode” then declared that if he loses his universal title, he would leave WWE forever. 

Throughout the entire match, ‘The Tribal Chief’ utilized his brute power and strength to overpower his opponent, but Cena continued to use quick rollup pinfall attempts to outsmart the Universal Champion. Reigns dominated and trash-talked his opponent and cut off any momentum Cena garnered. The Hollywood star bounced back with his signature five moves of doom, including an avalanche AA for a near-fall. Cena mocked the champion with a spear, and The Tribal Chief secured another victory to retain his title. Following the win, Brock Lesnar made his shocking return, and Reigns looked like he saw a ghost as he nervously exited the ring.

5 – Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns vs. Samoa Joe vs. Braun Strowman Fatal 4-Way (Universal Championship) 

The 2017 SummerSlam PLE was salvaged with the biggest main event, both figuratively and physically, in WWE history, where Brock Lesnar defended his Universal title against Roman Reigns, Samoa Joe, and Braun Strowman. At WrestleMania 33, Lesnar began his reign of terror and only defended his title one time at Great Balls of Fire against Samoa Joe. Roman Reigns and Braun Strowman were already tearing each other apart during the summer and were included in the main event title picture. 

This was one of the most chaotic car-crash-fatal four-way matches in professional wrestling history. ‘The Monster Among Men’ powerslammed Lesnar through two announce tables and threw the other on top of him. The champion was taken out of the match by medical personnel, and all three other juggernauts beat the hell out of each other. ‘The Beast Incarnate’ made his return and successfully retained his universal championship by hitting an F5 onto Reigns.

4 – Cody Rhodes vs. Solo Sikoa Bloodline Rules Match (Undisputed WWE Championship)

‘The American Nightmare’ Cody Rhodes ended Roman Reigns’ reign of terror at WrestleMania 40 and became the new Undisputed WWE Champion. The Tribal Chief left with a whimper, and his former enforcer, Solo Sikoa, was ready to take over as the new self-appointed tribal chief on SmackDown. Following Jacob Fatu’s attack on Jimmy Uso, Sikoa announced his new bloodline with Tonga Loa, Tama Tonga, and Fatu. An egotistical Sikoa then vowed to bring back the undisputed title back to his bloodline and challenged Rhodes to a bloodline rules match at SummerSlam. 

Sikoa looked great in his first-ever WWE championship match against Rhodes, cutting off the champion at every turn. The champion had to dig down deep, but bloodline shenanigans were too much to overcome. Sikoa seemed to have the match won until Roman Reigns made his historic return and cost his former enforcer the undisputed title.

3 – Roman Reigns vs. Jey Uso Bloodline Rules Match (Undisputed Universal Championship) 

WrestleMania 39 was the beginning of the Bloodline civil war after Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn defeated The Usos to become the new undisputed tag team champions. After losing the tag team titles, ‘The Head of the Table’ became even more abusive to his cousins than ever before. The final straw for Jimmy happened at Night of Champions when Reigns shoved him while screaming, “There ain’t no day 1 no more,” and superkicked Reigns. The Usos finally turned their backs on their abusive cousin and went rogue. 

At Money in the Bank, Jey made history by being the only superstar to pin the undisputed universal champion in three years. In the weeks following, Jey challenged Reigns to a title match at SummerSlam. Solo Sikoa and Reigns took out his brother Jimmy, and it changed into a Bloodline Rules Match where everything was on the line. If Jey wins, he becomes the Tribal Chief and the undisputed universal champion. 

Jey went toe-to-toe with his cousin in a brutal bloodline rules match. The champion continued to prove dominance while trash-talking his opponent on his way to another successful title defense with the help of Solo Sikoa. Jey mounted a comeback and was seconds away from becoming the new tribal chief and undisputed champion until his brother pulled the referee out of the ring to stop the pinfall. Reigns was able to take advantage of the distraction to put his younger cousin away and continue his dominant title reign.

2 – John Cena vs. Cody Rhodes: Street Fight (Undisputed WWE Championship) 

At Elimination Chamber, John Cena shocked the entire world by turning heel on Cody Rhodes and joining forces with The Final Boss. On the road to WrestleMania, Cena degraded, humiliated, and verbally attacked the WWE Universe for their desperate attempts to dress and act like him for over twenty years. He called it an abusive relationship, and he wants no part in it anymore. Rhodes was forced to make a choice on the grandest stage of them all, listening to the fans or retaining his title, and Cena capitalized on his mistake and became the historic first-ever 17-time WWE Undisputed Champion. 

‘The Last Real Champion’ defended his title against Randy Orton and CM Punk and retained under nefarious circumstances. Rhodes was sick and tired of Cena’s egotistical behavior and forced him into a street fight in his last ever SummerSlam match. The real John Cena woke up and thanked his rival for showing him who he really is and not this robotic jerk he has been for the last six months. 

Cena and Rhodes went to war over the coveted title in a fantastic street fight that, in my opinion, was one of Cena’s best matches of his entire retirement tour. The Last Real Champion utilized every move in his arsenal, including a thunderous AA through the announce table for a near-fall. Rhodes fired back with a CrossRhodes for a near-fall as well. Both superstars fought throughout the raucous crowd and around the sound area. Cena had his opponent on his shoulders coming up the hydraulic elevator that Rhodes uses in an iconic moment for another AA on the entrance ramp. 

Both superstars delivered everything under the sun, including the CrossRhodes trifecta, an avalanche AA, and still Rhodes kicked out. The champion set up a table for another thunderous avalanche AA, but it was reversed into a Cody Cutter followed by CrossRhodes to become the new Undisputed Champion! Following the match, the G.O.A.T. was given a standing ovation until Brock Lesnar made his shocking “Holy Shit” return to WWE and attacked Cena.

1 – Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar Last Man Standing Match (WWE Undisputed Universal Championship) 

At the 2022 SummerSlam, The Beast Incarnate made his shocking return to confront Roman Reigns and his former advocate, Paul Heyman. At Crown Jewel, Lesnar was screwed out of the match due to bloodline shenanigans. At WrestleMania 38, Reigns defeated Lesnar in a unified title match dubbed “The Greatest WrestleMania Match” to 

become the undisputed WWE universal champion. Cowboy Brock didn’t take the loss lightly and challenged his longtime rival to last-man-standing match at SummerSlam. If The Beast loses, he can never challenge for the title again. 

Lesnar driving a tractor to the ring is one of the wildest moments in WWE history. Him flying off the top of it after formally introducing himself to start the match is incredible. The Beast took the champion to Suplex City and even got his comeuppance on Heyman by delivering a ferocious F5 through the announce table. Both superstars beat the living hell of each other all over the place. Lesnar hauled his opponent inside the tractor and dumped him into the ring. The Beast picking up the ring by a tractor with Reigns inside is one of the most iconic moments in SummerSlam history. 

In the middle of the match, Austin Theory came down to cash in his MITB, but it was thwarted by a vicious F5 on top of the briefcase. Reigns and The Usos just lifted every single piece of equipment and remnants of the announce table to be the last man standing in one of the most exciting and memorable matches!