The 2012 SummerSlam was the 25th annual SummerSlam professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by WWE. It took place on August 19, 2012, at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California for the fourth consecutive year. It was the first SummerSlam held since the end of the first brand extension, which happened shortly after the 2011 event.
Eight matches were contested at the event, including one on the pre-show. In the main event, Brock Lesnar defeated Triple H by submission. In other marquee matches, The Miz retained the WWE Intercontinental Championship against Rey Mysterio, Daniel Bryan defeated Kane, and CM Punk retained the WWE Championship against Big Show and John Cena.
Production
Background
SummerSlam is an annual pay-per-view (PPV) produced every August by WWE since 1988. Dubbed "The Biggest Party of the Summer", it is one of the promotion's original four pay-per-views, along with WrestleMania, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series, referred to as the "Big Four". It has since become considered WWE's second biggest event of the year behind WrestleMania. The 2012 event was the 25th SummerSlam and was scheduled to be held on August 19, 2012, at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California for the fourth consecutive year. It was the first SummerSlam held since the end of the first brand split in August 2011, right after the previous year's event.
Storylines
The event comprised eight matches, including one on the pre-show, that resulted from scripted storylines, which resulted from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portrayed heroes, heroes, or less distinguishable characters in scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches. Results were predetermined by WWE's writers, while storylines were produced on WWE's weekly television shows, Raw and SmackDown.
The most highly promoted match, billed as "The Perfect Storm", on the card saw Triple H facing of against Brock Lesnar. On the April 30 episode of Raw, Lesnar attempted to renegotiate his contract with General Manager John Laurinaitis. Triple H (in his corporate role as Chief Operations Officer) intervened, and declared that the contract Lesnar had agreed to upon re-signing with WWE was still valid and thus Lesnar could not add any other clauses to it. This led to a brawl between Lesnar and Triple H resulting in the latter having his arm broken by Lesnar via the Kimura armbar. Triple H returned at No Way Out, not only addressing Lesnar and the lawsuits brought against WWE, but also challenging him to a match at SummerSlam, in exchange for his dropping the lawsuits that his legal representative, Paul Heyman, made against WWE and Triple H. On the June 18 episode of Raw, Heyman made an appearance, rejecting Triple H's challenge on behalf of Lesnar. After further goading from Heyman, Triple H attacked him. Meanwhile, it was announced that Lesnar would respond to Triple H's challenge on the July 2 episode of Raw; however, at the event it was announced that he would instead return at Raw 1000 on July 23. On that night, Heyman again declined the challenge, but after Triple H's wife Stephanie McMahon slapped him (due to making remarks about their children), Heyman accepted on behalf of Lesnar. Then, on the August 6 episode of Raw, Shawn Michaels made an appearance to announce that he would be in Triple H's corner at SummerSlam. However, Michaels would not make it to SummerSlam after Lesnar used a kimura lock to break his arm on the August 13 episode.
In another match, CM Punk defended the WWE Championship against John Cena and Big Show in a triple threat match. In recent weeks, Punk claimed that even though he was WWE Champion, he often felt as if he was pushed to the background in favor of stars like Cena and The Rock. At Raw 1000, The Rock declared he would be getting a WWE Championship shot at the 2013 Royal Rumble PPV. That same night, Cena cashed in his Money in the Bank contract to challenge Punk for the title. After Big Show's interference led to a disqualification, The Rock rushed the ring to help fend off Big Show. Punk would then attack Rock, hitting him with a GTS and turning heel for the first time since 2011. The following week, Cena and Big Show would fight in a number one contender's match for a shot at the WWE Championship at SummerSlam. After Punk's interference led to a no contest, new Raw General Manager AJ Lee announced that Punk would defend the title against both Cena and Big Show in a triple threat match at SummerSlam.