Shinsuke Nakamura is going to make his SummerSlam debut in grand fashion when he challenges Jinder Mahal for the WWE Championship.
This begs the question, which other wrestlers have competed for the WWE Championship in their first ever SummerSlam match? And how have they fared?
Here is a full list of all WWE Championship matches in the history of SummerSlam. The entries in bold are the ones that include a challenger competing in his first ever match at a SummerSlam event. The defending WWE champion will have a “(c)” included after his name.
1990: Ultimate Warrior (c) defeats Rick Rude
1992: Ultimate Warrior defeats Randy Savage (c) [count out]
1993: Lex Luger defeats Yokozuna (c) [count out]
1994: Bret Hart (c) defeats Owen Hart
1995: Diesel (c) defeats King Mabel
1996: Shawn Michaels (c) defeats Vader
1997: Bret Hart defeats Undertaker (c)
1998: Steve Austin (c) defeats Undertaker
1999: Mankind defeats Steve Austin (c) and Triple H
2000: The Rock (c) defeats Kurt Angle and Triple H
2001: Kurt Angle defeats Steve Austin (c) [disqualification]
2002: Brock Lesnar defeats The Rock (c)
2003: Kurt Angle (c) defeats Brock Lesnar
2004: John Bradshaw Layfield (c) defeats Undertaker [disqualification]
2005: John Cena (c) defeats Chris Jericho
2006: Edge (c) defeats John Cena
2007: John Cena (c) defeats Randy Orton
2008: Triple H (c) defeats The Great Khali
2009: Randy Orton (c) defeats John Cena
2010: Randy Orton defeats Sheamus (c) [disqualification]
2011: CM Punk (c) defeats John Cena (c)
2011: Alberto Del Rio defeats CM Punk (c) [MITB cash-in]
2012: CM Punk (c) defeats Big Show and John Cena
2013: Daniel Bryan defeats John Cena (c)
2013: Randy Orton defeats Daniel Bryan (c) [MITB cash-in]
2014: Brock Lesnar defeats John Cena (c)
2015: Seth Rollins (c) defeats John Cena
2016: Dean Ambrose (c) defeats Dolph Ziggler
On August 20 in Brooklyn, Shinsuke Nakamura will join Lex Luger, Owen Hart, Vader, Kurt Angle, and Brock Lesnar as the only wrestlers to compete for the WWE Championship in their first ever SummerSlam match.
Brock Lesnar (2002) is the only one of those five challengers who walked out of the event with gold around his waist.
Lex Luger did defeat the defending WWE champion Yokozuna in 1993, but the title did not change hands due to a count out.
Owen Hart (1994), Vader (1996), and Kurt Angle (2000) were all defeated in their championship quests.
2011 is a special case where Alberto Del Rio did indeed finish the night as WWE Champion in his first ever SummerSlam event, but he also competed earlier in the night, and so the championship victory was not his debut match at SummerSlam.
Shinsuke Nakamura will be the first wrestler in 15 years to compete for the WWE Championship in his first ever SummerSlam match. What do you think his chances are of joining Brock Lesnar as the only such challenger to walk out of the PPV as the new WWE Champion?