Why WWE Needs Brock Lesnar to Defeat Triple H at SummerSlam

Outside of WrestleMania, there is arguably no WWE pay-per-view event that is more important than SummerSlam.

The yearly event that takes place in Los Angeles is one of the WWE's "big four" PPV's, along with WrestleMania, Survivor Series and The Royal Rumble, and the top storylines and matchups of the summer are usually set up to take place at the event.

This year, there will be two main events that WWE fans will be able to look forward to at the August 19 PPV.

First, there will be a match for the WWE Championship involving the now heel CM Punk defending against John Cena, presumably, with possible appearances by Big Show, and maybe even The Rock. 

The other is the match that has been being set up for months now: former WWE champion Brock Lesnar against the legend and current COO, Triple H.

Lesnar triumphantly returned to the company after eight years away the night after WrestleMania, where he entered into an angle with John Cena.

Lesnar would lose to Cena at Extreme Rules, his only match since being re-signed with the company.

The night after that PPV, Lesnar kayfabe broke Triple H's arm after attacking him and putting him in his patented Kimura lock, and then did not appear on WWE television until Raw's 1,000th episode last Monday night.

Lesnar had been staying relevant through the return of his former manager, Paul Heyman, who has been dealing with the on-air promos during Lesnar's scripted absence. 

The Game and Heyman have now had several interactions that resulted in multiple lawsuits by Heyman against Triple H and the WWE, Triple H challenging Lesnar to a match at SS, and even Stephanie McMahon getting involved last week.

All of it was inevitably leading to Lesnar's return and acceptance of the challenge set forth by The King of Kings. 

When you look at this match, however, it all seems as though it is very much set up to put Triple H over.

Lesnar was, after all, the one who came out and broke Triple H's arm. If history repeats itself in the WWE, The Cerebral Assassin (who is playing the babyface in this rivalry) will assuredly get his revenge at the PPV.

Plus, Triple H is still considered one of the most protected wrestlers in the company even though he rarely wrestles anymore.

If Lesnar was unable to go over Cena at ER, it seems unlikely that Vince McMahon, Triple H and the rest of the WWE brass would be willing to put him over at SummerSlam clean over The Game.

However, that is exactly what the WWE must do if they want a solid payoff from this angle moving forward.

Hiring Lesnar back has, to this point, been a relative bust. The initial excitement over his return and his excellent match with Cena has completely gone away due to his long absence from television.

Lesnar only had a limited amount of appearances required by his one-year contract, but having him off TV for this long has hurt not only the company as a whole, but his credibility as a performer.

Heyman has done his best to keep heat on Lesnar,  but without him ever showing up on TV, it has made it difficult for fans to care that much about the payoff of the rivalry between these two juggernauts. 

However, while it may be too late to capitalize on the momentum for Lesnar's appearance at SummerSlam, the match can still be very useful to the company in keeping Lesnar relevant going into the fall and the eventual lead-up to next year's WrestleMania.

There is little doubt that Lesnar will be competing in a high profile WrestleMania match next year against one of the top superstars in the company, possibly even for the WWE Championship.

But how relevant would he really seem if he goes into the new year with an 0-2 or 0-3 record since his return?

Putting Lesnar over in this match would reestablish him as a dominant force who can destroy whoever stands in his path, and make up for his loss to John Cena in his first appearance.

Triple H does not need the win for any reason at this point in his career. As I mentioned, he is not a full-time wrestler anymore, and his days of contending for the WWE Championship are well behind him.

One clean PPV loss to Lesnar would also not take away anything from the fans' view of The Game. All WWE fans know that not only is he the current COO of the company, but that he is also one of the greatest superstars of all time, regardless of the result of this particular match.  

If Lesnar loses, however, the consequences would be much more severe. The WWE fans would stop caring about him altogether.

Lesnar was correctly booked as a destroyer who only cared about himself, out to make an example of whoever stood before him in the WWE, and if the COO dares to challenge him, he should break his arm again at SummerSlam.

Having Lesnar stand tall at the end of what is sure to be a great co-main event at SummerSlam would cement him as a serious contender for the WWE Championship down the road, and set up numerous possibilities for his Survivor Series and WrestleMania opponent.

Perhaps he will even win the WWE Championship and defend it at The Royal Rumble against The Rock.

Regardless of the direction they want to take him in afterwards, the one thing that is for sure is that there is only one logical booking decision for this match: Brock Lesnar must come out the winner.