BROCK LESNAR HAS ALWAYS BEEN A LARGER THAN LIFE BEAST IN THE WWE. Let’s not mistake that. Dating back to his original debut in 2002, he was pushed to the moon and given all sorts of opportunities based on his looks and raw athletic ability. He was a legit star in the UFC, as he won the Heavyweight title and became a larger than life PPV attraction. However, looking back over his second WWE stint over the last four years, one has to wonder has the WWE properly utilize him over this time? His appearances do generate a buzz, and his charisma and look jump off the screen when he is on TV. He brings a legit realness to the product. But to me personally it has been marred in missteps. Let me sound off for a bit!
First off his contract is extremely crazy, and it doesn’t lend itself to any storyline continuity at all. Wrestling a match at Wrestlemania, and then disappearing until Summerslam doesn’t really work so well in the long run. It makes most of his matches mean less because most fans know once the match is over, he is going away for months. It is even worse when that PPV match is against another part timer as well. His Raw appearances are even more lackluster. For a 3 hour show, he will appear at the end and deliver an F5 and some suplexs and the show ends. Yay! That formula doesn’t really encourage people to tune in for the entire show does it? In his most recent contract he signed in 2015, they seemed to have added some extra PPVs for him to work and even a few house shows. Why waste an appearance on a non-televised event when he can be booked on an additional Raw or PPV…or maybe even have a match on Raw!?
His list of opponents over the last fours years in the WWE makes a person scratch their head. Here they are: John Cena, Triple H, Triple H, Triple H, CM Punk, Mark Henry twice (not official matches), Big Show, Undertaker, John Cena, John Cena, John Cena and Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, Kofi Kingston (House show), Seth Rollins, Undertaker, Big Show (house show), Undertaker, and participating in this years Royal Rumble. In 17 official matches over 4 years, 12 of them have been against John Cena, Triple H, Big Show, and the Undertaker. We saw him take on those guys in matches during his first WWE stint, except for Triple H. Triple H and Undertaker are part time just like Lesnar, so what benefit is it for Lesnar to face them over and over? Besides the actual event’s buyrates, most of those matches don’t benefit either person or the WWE in the long run because they are not on TV between PPVs.
A LITTLE FANTASY RE-BOOKING
When Lesnar made his return to the company in April of 2012 after Wrestlemania 28, he made an immediate impact by taking out John Cena.
Over the next few weeks he tore Cena apart in some of the stiffest brawls ever seen on Raw. He busted Cena open for real in the lead up to the match and in the actual match itself,while also dominating the entire match and then…he lost the match! I don’t have a problem with him going after the WWE’s top dog. Except losing the match made him look stupid. Which essentially started a trend in this second WWE stint.
Lesnar getting into multi-match feuds with already established guys…well more like ready to retire guys…..like Triple H and the Undertaker is counter productive. Lesnar should have destroyed Cena Extreme Rules 2012 and Triple H as he did at Summerslam 2012, but then moved on to something else instead of extending the feud into 2013. Going back and forth with Triple H wasn’t necessary. Lesnar wasn’t elevated by beating Triple H and Triple H didn’t need to beat Lesnar. Lesnar vs the Rock had been rumored for years. WWE should have gone with that match at Wrestlemania 29 and Cena vs Punk for the WWE Title instead of a Rock vs Cena rematch nobody wanted to see again. Punk wins the title. I don’t have a problem with the Rock beating Lesnar here due to the fact Lesnar is about to go on a monster run.
Lesnar still comes back in July 2013 and goes after Punk who is still the WWE Champion. Heyman still turns on Punk but does it at Summerslam 2013, and Lesnar walks out WWE champion. Randy Orton tries to cash in at Night of Champions vs Lesnar in a solid match, but Lesnar retains. Meanwhile, Alberto Del Rio is the World Heavyweight Champion and he still loses the belt to John Cena at Battleground in October. The following night on Raw Cena loses the title to Damien Sandow after a successful cash in. Lesnar takes on Sandow in December at TLC 2013 and unifies the WWE Title and the World Heavyweight Championship in a heck of a match.
Lesnar vs the Undertaker at Wrestlemania 30 in 2014 should have never taken place. The Undertaker and the streak was a huge deal. It was Wrestlemania! The person that broke it should have been someone that was solidifying themselves as the next big star in place of the Undertaker. That’s why Bray Wyatt taking on Taker at Wrestlemania 30 made more sense than 31. Lesnar was already BROCK FREAKIN LESNAR.
Lesnar, still champion, heads into 2014 looking unstoppable. CM Punk or Daniel Bryan would win the Royal Rumble that year instead of that failed Batista experiment. Wrestlemania 30 is still a Triple Threat match, but Lesnar is defending against Punk and Bryan. Lesnar retains the title in an epic match up. At this point, he hasn’t lost to anyone except the Rock at Wrestlemania 29. He goes on to Summerslam 2014 being the undisputed champion for a full year to defend against Cesaro who won the Andre the Giant battle royal at Wrestlemania 30. If Cesaro has really connected with the fans, Lesnar can drop the title here to him. If not, Lesnar can keep marching on as champion until Wrestlemania 31. Lesnar still defends the belt against John Cena and Seth Rollins at the Royal Rumble 2015. Rollins cashes in at Wrestlemania 31 as planned or Reigns or Ambrose beat Lesnar clean to get the ultimate rub from Lesnar and Rollins can cash in later.
Kevin Owens NXT Champion still beats John Cena at Elimination Chamber 2015, but then calls out Lesnar. So it’s Lesnar vs Owens Battleground or Summerslam. Lesnar wins after a strong showing from Owens. Lesnar and Owens cross paths again after Owens costs Lesnar the title at Hell in a Cell 2015. Owens and Lesnar cross paths again in the Royal Rumble 2016. AJ Styles eliminates them both as they battle each other. Lesnar vs Owens vs AJ Styles at Wrestlemania 32 in Dallas.
Lesnar could have been used much differently and against younger guys. Using Brock Lesnar and the Rock at this stage of their career exclusively against guys like John Cena, Triple H, Undertaker, and Big Show is a waste. Much like the Undertaker vs Jeff Hardy match in 2002, a younger guy can still lose a match and be elevated. Just sharing a segment or two with a guy can elevate someone. like the Hurricane verbally sparring with the Rock in 2003, that was some of the best work Shane Helms had on WWE TV. Lesnar taking on guys like Cesaro, Ziggler, Sandow, Owens, and others gives them a boost even if they lose. Moving things around just a bit, CM Punk probably gets a Wrestlemania main event or two, another star gets established by breaking the streak, and Owens, Reigns, Ambrose, Sandow, and Cesaro are elevated to main event status over the course of 4 years. Instead we have Lesnar two years removed from beating the Undertaker, and nobody has really benefited from the streak ending. Since beating the Undertaker the only people Lesnar has been in the ring with are John Cena and the Undertaker! The Roman Reigns match turned into a Seth Rollins cash in, and Lesnar wasn’t involved in the finish. At Battleground 2015, the Seth Rollins match was nothing but an angle to setup another Undertaker match. A waste!
Would my ideas have worked? I don’t know, but it sounds fun on paper. Hey, it may not be the first take or the best take, but it’s Darek’s take on the matter.
