WWE SummerSlam: Biggest Breakout Performances in PPV History

WWE SummerSlam 2016 is on Aug. 21, and it's Finn Balor's pay-per-view debut on the main roster. The world-traveled Superstar is now part of Monday Night Raw, and WWE has high hopes for his future success as a top guy.

SummerSlam is going to be Balor's night.

The Demon has 16 years of experience under his belt, and if any NXT talent can handle the pressure, it's him.

He has the opportunity of a lifetime to prove he belongs. This is especially true because the man he's facing is Seth Rollins, and The Architect knows something about proving himself to the wrestling world.

Rollins has spent nearly every moment since the demise of The Shield showing he is main event material. He has always risen to the occasion, and he is now among the elite of WWE. But without breaking out and establishing himself as the man to beat, Rollins would have never become the star he is today.

This is what WWE expects of Balor.

This will be the biggest night of his career because not only will he be under pressure, but the new Universal Championship will also be on the line. If Balor goes over, he will become the top champion on Raw. 

But Balor must prove himself on the SummerSlam stage, and he will not be the first to do so. Over the years, fans have witnessed Hall of Fame workers sew the seeds of greatness at this event. One by one, the company's best talents used SummerSlam as the platform to reach that next level.

This could happen for Balor.

SummerSlam provides the perfect spotlight for WWE's future headliners, and it probably always will.  

Bret Hart (1991)

Bret Hart was a tag team guy. Along with Jim Neidhart, Hart reached the top of WWE's tag team division. The Hart Foundation was the team to beat, and there was arguably no one better on any level.

But when Hart embarked on a solo career, some fans could not envision him going far. It's not that they didn't want to see him succeed; he just had no reputation as a singles star in WWE. Was it all just wishful thinking on the company's part?

Was Hart just a good technician and meant to be a tag team wrestler?

Answers to those questions came at SummerSlam in 1991, when The Hitman faced off against Mr. Perfect for the WWE Intercontinental Championship. 

This was Hart's time to prove himself to the world. If he wanted to be mentioned among the all-time greats of WWE, he had to set the tone at SummerSlam. This was his opportunity to shine, and he could not have had a better opponent to work with.

Curt Hennig was the perfect man for the job.

This match stands out for anyone who's ever followed Hart's career because it redefined who he was. No longer was he the tag team guy; he was a singles sensation with aspirations of rising to the top. He became one of WWE's workhorses, as fans saw he was much more than a technician.

He was a master technician and capable of becoming a world champion.

Without this match at SummerSlam, it's debatable how much longer it would have taken for him to reach that level—if he reached it at all. But with this bout on his resume, Hart proved he was ready to take the next step towards greatness in WWE.

The Rock (1998)

Credit: WWE.com

The Rock.

When The Rock first debuted, fans hated him. He was too happy, too handsome and too smiley. He was a sugarcoated babyface—the likes of which fans had not seen since the 1980s—and no one wanted that anymore.

Times had changed, and The Rock was just too slick for his own good.

But the moment he turned heel, Rocky began to gain some traction. Fans began to listen to his promos, and more importantly, they began to take him seriously. They could see he was all business, and they wanted to know if he could prove it in the ring.

They found out when he stepped into the ring against Triple H at SummerSlam in 1998.

This was not just a case of one guy getting elevated, however. This match involved two guys with dreams of headlining WrestleMania. The Game was on his way up, and he brought everything he had against The Rock at SummerSlam.

Rocky looked more like a polished professional than a man working to find himself. He was hungry to prove what he could do, and he did so on that night.

This was a precursor of things to come for both men—a glimpse into the future of their main event careers. The Rock left his failed babyface gimmick behind, and all of his bravado was checked at the door. This was about putting in the work to show what he could do with the whole world watching.

Rocky proved himself and laid the groundwork for a Hall of Fame career that would not have existed without moments like the one at SummerSlam 1998.

Mankind (1996)

The Undertaker had already reached legendary status by 1996. He was a bankable main event star, and he was a fan favorite. He was nearly indestructible, and that was the problem.

The Deadman needed an opponent.

WWE found an opponent in Mick Foley, who had spent the majority of his career as Cactus Jack. Jack was a suicidal madman, willing to destroy his body in the name of chaos. He seemingly had no reason for existence other than working toward an early grave.

The reality was that he was a pro wrestler who had taken a tremendous beating over the years. He was never considered highly proficient in the ring, and now he was being thrust into the limelight against one of WWE's top stars of all time. 

What could he possibly contribute?

But the fact is that Mankind was the perfect choice to face The Phenom. Finally, Taker had an opponent who tested him psychologically. Mankind could be beaten down and bloodied, but he could not be stopped. 

Nothing scared him, and no one intimidated him. That could not have been said of anyone in WWE when it came to The Undertaker.

Their match at SummerSlam in 1996 showcased exactly how good the booking was, as the chemistry between them became evident quickly. The Boiler Room Brawl was the perfect setting for them, and fans were sucked into the drama of it all.

This was Mankind's road to relevance in WWE. Once the fans saw the threat he posed to their favorite, he instantly got over. He wasn't just mumbling idle threats or babbling incoherently; there was a method to his madness. Mankind vs. The Undertaker went down in history as one of the best rivalries of all time, and SummerSlam was a big part of it.

Randy Orton (2004)

Randy Orton was a member of Evolution, and that meant he was heading to big things. He was at Triple H's right hand, and he was being groomed for his future role in the company. WWE had high expectations, and Orton was meeting them one by one.

But then the World Heavyweight Championship happened, and everything sped up exponentially.

Suddenly, he went from being a young star with potential to being the man wearing the gold. Orton's progress was advancing faster than anyone could have imagined, and it was thanks to his world title win at SummerSlam.

But winning the gold that night was just the first step. That win opened the door for his split from Evolution, which led to his solo career.

It didn't exactly come that easily for him, though, as fans may have cheered for him initially, but they were not quite on board with his new babyface run. He was outnumbered against Evolution, and his cockiness was perhaps too much to hide.

Fans may have wanted a hero, but he still seemed a bit too arrogant for his own good.

But without this match at SummerSlam, Orton may have never reached the point that fans would even consider him as a top guy. He found his way, built a Hall of Fame career and has now reached a point where he's done everything a WWE Superstar can possibly do.

It's all cake from here because, even if he loses to Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam this year, he won't lose a step. Orton is a top guy; he's basically WWE royalty. He's a legend, and SummerSlam 2004 was his kick-start.

The Ultimate Warrior (1988)

The Honky Tonk Man was perhaps the most ridiculous heel in WWE history. 

He was hated because he was annoying. He was booed because he had a lame gimmick. He didn't look the part of a WWE villain, and many fans saw that from the beginning. Honky Tonk Man was a clown who desperately needed a beatdown.

Enter The Ultimate Warrior.

Warrior was the polar opposite of HTM; he looked like a superhero—someone fans could rally behind. He fit in with WWE, and he was exactly what the company needed at the time. He was a threat to Hulk Hogan, which was also what WWE needed.

Hogan was still the top guy, but his act had grown tired. The only way to get more miles out of him was to create new stars around him. The best choice at the time was The Ultimate Warrior.

But Warrior's complete destruction of Honky Tonk Man did more than elevate him; it set him on the path to replacing Hogan. While this was not something fans could have predicted at the time, the fact was that he caught fire like few before him ever had.

The Ultimate Warrior became the hero WWE needed, and it worked on every level.

Honky Tonk was defeated in arguably the most memorable SummerSlam moment of all time, and Warrior was the one who made it happen. It was just the beginning for him, and it defined his run from that point on. He was charismatic, powerful and driven to be the best. 

He had the best start possible, thanks to this one match.

Brock Lesnar (2002)

Like everyone on this list, Brock Lesnar needed a spark to achieve greatness in WWE. His match against The Rock in 2002 was that spark, and he had perhaps the most impressive breakout match of all time.

This was not The Rock of 2016, returning for a one-off match against Lesnar; this was The Rock just four years into his massive WWE run. He was The People's Champ, The Great One and the face of WWE. Rocky had it all, and he rarely lost big matches.

This was the man who Lesnar, just five months into his WWE career, beat at SummerSlam.

Lesnar's rise to fame was cemented at this event, as he was crowned the new WWE champion. He was given the keys to the kingdom, and some would argue he has never lost them. Despite how much time has passed since his initial run, Lesnar's impact on WWE will be felt as long as he keeps returning to the fold.

He is such a force of nature, and he probably always will be.

But The Rock had to be willing to do business with him first. WWE knew what it had with Lesnar, and the fans could see it as well. However, without Rocky doing the honors, The Beast may have never been born. He needed his SummerSlam moment, and it got him over like nothing else could have.

Fans saw what he was capable of; they saw his raw athleticism and controlled ferocity. They also saw how much he wanted it. Lesnar was on display for the world to see, and he did not disappoint. The Beast Incarnate took WWE by storm, and he has not stopped.

Tom Clark can regularly be seen on Bleacher Report. His podcast, Tom Clark's Main Event, is available on iTunes, Google Play, Amazon Android, Windows Phone and online here.