WWE SummerSlam 2012: John Cena Faces CM Punk, Big Show; Triple-H, Brock Lesnar Clash

West Newbury, Massachusetts native John Cena is back in the spotlight (no surprise there), squaring off against current WWE champion CM Punk and the unstoppable giant, The Big Show, for the WWE Championship at the 25th anniversary edition of SummerSlam on Sunday night at Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA.

Cena, who holds a record 11 WWE championships, hasn't held the belt since Night of Champions back in 2011. CM Punk, meanwhile, has held the championship title since defeating Alberto del Rio at Survivor Series last year, and The Big Show -- who was fired earlier this year but returned with an ironclad contract as a heel -- hasn't held a championship since December 18, 2011, when he won the World Heavyweight Championship against Mark Henry but lost the strap in 45 seconds when Daniel Bryan cashed in his Money in the Bank contract.

Aside from the Triple Threat match for the championship, the other match of note is the one-on-one fight between WWE COO Triple-H and Brock Lesnar. The feud has been building ever since Lesnar attacked Triple-H in the ring several weeks after his return to the WWE, breaking Triple-H's arm. Triple-H would challenge Lesnar to a match at SummerSlam, but Lesar's representative, Paul Heyman, kept publicly turning down the invitation until being goaded into accepting the match by Triple-H and his wife, Stephanie McMahon. Triple-H and Lesnar, both WWE veterans, have never faced one another in the ring.

SummerSlam begins at 8 p.m. ET. The pay per view can be purchased on the WWE website.

For more SummerSlam 2012 coverage, follow along with our stream and blog, Cageside Seats.