Brock Lesnar confronts Shawn Michaels in the ring for the first time on Raw.

Well, it’s official: Shawn Michaels will be in his best friend’s corner at SummerSlam when Triple H steps into the ring against Brock Lesnar, who confronted The Showstopper on Raw. But before “The Perfect Storm” rolls through Los Angeles for WWE’s summer classic, Shawn Michaels’ participation — or at least his moral support — in the historic contest begs the question: Does “Mr. WrestleMania’s” presence lend itself toward a Triple H victory? Or will Michaels end up an inadvertent liability for his friend and former teammate?

On the one hand, having Michaels around certainly can’t hurt Triple H. HBK is one of the greatest of all time, a WWE Hall of Famer and, a co-founder of D-Generation X along with The Game. And although Michaels won’t actually be participating in the contest against Lesnar, there’s something to be said for the idea that The King of Kings will compete better with his partner in crime backing him up. In fact, The Game tends to elevate himself to another level even when he competes against Michaels, so it stands to reason The Showstopper’s mere presence will act as a catalyst to propel Triple H to a higher level of competition. Not to mention that Paul Heyman, Lesnar’s legal representative, has a dubious history of interfering in the wrecking machine’s contests; HBK’s presence could act as an equalizer for “The Mad Scientist’s” fabled sneak attacks and help level the playing field for the two in-ring competitors.

On the other hand …

Having HBK back Triple H in a high-stakes contest is not a recipe for guaranteed success. Michaels was ostensibly supporting The King of Kings in his epic “End of an Era” clash against The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXVIII (remember, HBK hit The Deadman with a superkick that nearly sealed the contest), and that wasn’t enough to propel Triple H to victory against The Phenom. Lesnar may not quite have the big-match pedigree of The Undertaker, but he is just as ruthless, if not more so, than the fabled Phenom.

Lesnar and Undertaker base their fighting styles in two different philosophies: Whereas The Deadman prefers to unman his opponents psychologically, using his mystique and apparent invincibility to intimidate them, Lesnar favors a more straightforward — read: attack, attack, attack — approach. Having a friend in his corner might be more of an advantage to Triple H in a contest of mind games — moral support can be a strong aid in reinforcing one’s mental fortitude, especially from a companion as close as Shawn Michaels. But if HBK isn’t planning on involving himself physically in “The Perfect Storm” — and we can only assume that he won’t be — his backing might not carry over as much into the match as the WWE Universe thinks it will.

Of course, Lesnar did promise that he’d "see" Michaels before SummerSlam. So perhaps the question isn’t so much whether HBK will help elevate Triple H to victory, but whether or not “Mr. WrestleMania” will make it to SummerSlam at all.