The Impact of Brock Lesnar's Return to the WWE - Here Comes the Pain?
On Monday, April 2nd, the WWE followed up arguably their best WrestleMania ever by making another big splash. Former WWE champion and superstar Brock Lesnar returned from an eight year sabbatical (pursuing an NFL and UFC career) and proceeded to confront John Cena and serve him an emphatic F-5. Rumors had been swirling for a few days that Lesnar had re-signed with the company and many people thought he would make a surprise cameo at WrestleMania (actually rumors had been swirling for approximately 4 months since Brock announced his retirement from UFC). However Vince McMahon decided (wisely) that WrestleMania was good enough to stand alone and Lesnar could wait to appear the following night. He did and immediately confronted, and subsequently squashed John Cena – the biggest name on the roster. Now that Lesnar is back in the WWE (reportedly he has signed at least a 1 year contract), questions are flying as to how he will be utilized and how he will fit in with the current state of wrestling.
Question #1 – Why Bring Him Back?
WrestleMania 28 proved to be a gigantic success for the WWE – Sun Life Stadium in Miami was full and energized and the early reports show a buy rate that exceeded 1 million. One of the main reasons (if not THE main reason) was the return of The Rock to WWE television. The company rolled the dice with The Rock and announced the main event for WrestleMania 28 the night after WrestleMania 27 (leading to an unprecedented yearlong build for the main event match between The Rock and John Cena). Coming off of that success, Vince wanted to make another big move and proceeded to bring in the biggest name that was available. Wrestling fans had been wondering when Brock Lesnar would return ever since the day he left. When Lesnar left, he was at the height of his success (3-Time Champion) but he wanted to pursue a dream of playing in the NFL. That proved to be unsuccessful, but then Lesnar decided to try his hand at UFC. At the time, UFC was a growing business and signing Lesnar provided them with the bump in popularity they predicted. He didn’t disappoint (becoming the Heavyweight Champion in a relatively short time), but his success was hard to maintain. Lesnar suffered through several painful injuries and health issues (particularly a very nasty case of diverticulitis) that forced him to vacate his title. When he attempted to return, he suffered a brutal beating by Alistair Overeem that proved to be his final match in UFC. The minute he announced his retirement, WWE fans suspected he would be back in a WWE ring within a year. Not only did he return, but he was immediately thrust into a storyline with Cena that excited the fans and provided a boost to the ratings. Rumors are already flying about what part Lesnar will play in WrestleMania 29 (several main events have already been rumored – Lesnar vs. Rock, Lesnar vs. Cena, Lesnar vs. Undertaker, Lesnar vs. Stone Cold) so Vince has successfully piqued the interest of the wrestling fans. Now it will be fun to see which road he will go down.
Question #2 – How Will He Fit In?
Now that Lesnar is back in the fold, how will he fit into the current state of wrestling? During Lesnar’s first WWE run, he was loved for his brawling, physical style. He could mix submission, mat-based style wrestling with powerful and fluid fast-paced wrestling (he also threw in some high-risk, high-flying moves as well). One of his stated reasons for joining UFC when he did was so he could “beat up people” and be as physical as he wanted. Now that he’s back in the WWE, it will be interesting to see how he adapts. During his 8-year hiatus, the landscape of the WWE has changed dramatically. The company has emphasized more wrestling and storylines and less violence and bloodshed. During Lesnar’s second Raw show, he and Cena engaged in a brawl that Brock started off by busting Cena’s lip with a visibly stiff shot. A few weeks later, they engaged in a match at the Extreme Rules PPV. Less than a minute into that match, Lesnar busted Cena’s head open with a vicious elbow. Later in the match, Cena’s mouth was again split open and finally his left arm was injured while Lesnar applied an armbar submission. Cena won the match, but left with a noticebable limp and damaged left arm. It remains to be seen whether this injury is legit or part of a storyline, but the blood he spilled during the match was real. Now stiff shots have been a part of wrestling since the beginning and will continue to be a part as long as wrestling is around. However, Brock has been in an environment for the past few years that encourages and promotes toughness, violence and physicality. Will he be able to reign in some of his more violent tendencies, not only to comply with the new PG nature of the WWE, but to avoid alienating a lot of the talent in the locker room who won’t be eager to get in the ring with someone who could legitimately injure them?
A second part to that question is the communication aspect of his wrestling persona. During Lesnar’s first run, Paul Heyman was used as his “mouthpiece” – someone who communicated exactly what Brock was thinking and wanted to do, since Lesnar was extremely limited on the mike. Now that he has returned, don’t expect Heyman to follow suit. Over the last few weeks, Lesnar has been given more freedom on the mike, and although he has improved in that area, he is far from good (in fact his speech outlining his contract demands to John Laurinitis on the 4/23 episode of Raw was downright brutal). He’s much better off being a destructive personality who doesn’t talk (like he did when he attacked announcer Josh Matthews backstage earlier in the 4/23 show), than a destructive personality who struggles with long speeches and complex sentences.
Question #3 – Is This Another Rock Situation?
This question ties in with the first question addressed earlier. Vince was obviously very successful in bringing back The Rock and saw a significant jump in ratings and PPV buy rates when The Rock was on the card. Now that WrestleMania has passed, Vince is trying to catch lightning in a bottle again by bringing back Lesnar. When Rock was announced last year as the main event this year, it raised a lot of questions. How rusty would he be in the ring? How would his movie schedule interfere with wrestling appearances? At how many events would he actually appear? Now with Lesnar being added in, some questions are the same (ring-rust, # of appearances), but several others are being raised. Obviously Lesnar doesn’t have a movie schedule to worry about, so will he be a full-time member of the roster? Will he travel with the roster and appear at house shows, media events and fan interactions, or will he only show up for Raw and the PPVs? What kind of program will he be put in? How soon will he win a title? Clearly the WWE wanted to make a big headline when they brought him in, so they immediately put him in a program with their top guy (Cena). So what’s next? Are they going to continue with the Cena angle and build up a WrestleMania main event (it seems unlikely since they have already put them in a main event at a PPV) or will they give Lesnar a run through all of the top guys on the roster (CM Punk, Sheamus, Daniel Bryan, Big Show, etc.) culminating with a WrestleMania main event with a returning Rock? Vince has a lot of cards available to play with the Lesnar angle – it will be interesting to see which direction he chooses to go.
There’s no doubt that Lesnar’s return has raised the interest in the WWE product (for both the casual and lifelong wrestling fan). Rumors of his comeback have been floating around ever since he left (remember the storm created when Undertaker sat ringside at one of his UFC fights and they had a little confrontation after it was over?), so now that he has arrived it will be fun to see how he is used. He has a bit of a reputation as being difficult to work with in the past, and some of that has already surfaced in his short time back in the WWE – allegedly he blew up backstage after his match with Cena at the PPV when Cena wasn’t carted off on a stretcher – so it will be interesting to see how they will attempt to keep him under control. Whether he’s back for a long run or a short stay, it promises to be exciting.
Question #1 – Why Bring Him Back?
WrestleMania 28 proved to be a gigantic success for the WWE – Sun Life Stadium in Miami was full and energized and the early reports show a buy rate that exceeded 1 million. One of the main reasons (if not THE main reason) was the return of The Rock to WWE television. The company rolled the dice with The Rock and announced the main event for WrestleMania 28 the night after WrestleMania 27 (leading to an unprecedented yearlong build for the main event match between The Rock and John Cena). Coming off of that success, Vince wanted to make another big move and proceeded to bring in the biggest name that was available. Wrestling fans had been wondering when Brock Lesnar would return ever since the day he left. When Lesnar left, he was at the height of his success (3-Time Champion) but he wanted to pursue a dream of playing in the NFL. That proved to be unsuccessful, but then Lesnar decided to try his hand at UFC. At the time, UFC was a growing business and signing Lesnar provided them with the bump in popularity they predicted. He didn’t disappoint (becoming the Heavyweight Champion in a relatively short time), but his success was hard to maintain. Lesnar suffered through several painful injuries and health issues (particularly a very nasty case of diverticulitis) that forced him to vacate his title. When he attempted to return, he suffered a brutal beating by Alistair Overeem that proved to be his final match in UFC. The minute he announced his retirement, WWE fans suspected he would be back in a WWE ring within a year. Not only did he return, but he was immediately thrust into a storyline with Cena that excited the fans and provided a boost to the ratings. Rumors are already flying about what part Lesnar will play in WrestleMania 29 (several main events have already been rumored – Lesnar vs. Rock, Lesnar vs. Cena, Lesnar vs. Undertaker, Lesnar vs. Stone Cold) so Vince has successfully piqued the interest of the wrestling fans. Now it will be fun to see which road he will go down.
Question #2 – How Will He Fit In?
Now that Lesnar is back in the fold, how will he fit into the current state of wrestling? During Lesnar’s first WWE run, he was loved for his brawling, physical style. He could mix submission, mat-based style wrestling with powerful and fluid fast-paced wrestling (he also threw in some high-risk, high-flying moves as well). One of his stated reasons for joining UFC when he did was so he could “beat up people” and be as physical as he wanted. Now that he’s back in the WWE, it will be interesting to see how he adapts. During his 8-year hiatus, the landscape of the WWE has changed dramatically. The company has emphasized more wrestling and storylines and less violence and bloodshed. During Lesnar’s second Raw show, he and Cena engaged in a brawl that Brock started off by busting Cena’s lip with a visibly stiff shot. A few weeks later, they engaged in a match at the Extreme Rules PPV. Less than a minute into that match, Lesnar busted Cena’s head open with a vicious elbow. Later in the match, Cena’s mouth was again split open and finally his left arm was injured while Lesnar applied an armbar submission. Cena won the match, but left with a noticebable limp and damaged left arm. It remains to be seen whether this injury is legit or part of a storyline, but the blood he spilled during the match was real. Now stiff shots have been a part of wrestling since the beginning and will continue to be a part as long as wrestling is around. However, Brock has been in an environment for the past few years that encourages and promotes toughness, violence and physicality. Will he be able to reign in some of his more violent tendencies, not only to comply with the new PG nature of the WWE, but to avoid alienating a lot of the talent in the locker room who won’t be eager to get in the ring with someone who could legitimately injure them?
A second part to that question is the communication aspect of his wrestling persona. During Lesnar’s first run, Paul Heyman was used as his “mouthpiece” – someone who communicated exactly what Brock was thinking and wanted to do, since Lesnar was extremely limited on the mike. Now that he has returned, don’t expect Heyman to follow suit. Over the last few weeks, Lesnar has been given more freedom on the mike, and although he has improved in that area, he is far from good (in fact his speech outlining his contract demands to John Laurinitis on the 4/23 episode of Raw was downright brutal). He’s much better off being a destructive personality who doesn’t talk (like he did when he attacked announcer Josh Matthews backstage earlier in the 4/23 show), than a destructive personality who struggles with long speeches and complex sentences.
Question #3 – Is This Another Rock Situation?
This question ties in with the first question addressed earlier. Vince was obviously very successful in bringing back The Rock and saw a significant jump in ratings and PPV buy rates when The Rock was on the card. Now that WrestleMania has passed, Vince is trying to catch lightning in a bottle again by bringing back Lesnar. When Rock was announced last year as the main event this year, it raised a lot of questions. How rusty would he be in the ring? How would his movie schedule interfere with wrestling appearances? At how many events would he actually appear? Now with Lesnar being added in, some questions are the same (ring-rust, # of appearances), but several others are being raised. Obviously Lesnar doesn’t have a movie schedule to worry about, so will he be a full-time member of the roster? Will he travel with the roster and appear at house shows, media events and fan interactions, or will he only show up for Raw and the PPVs? What kind of program will he be put in? How soon will he win a title? Clearly the WWE wanted to make a big headline when they brought him in, so they immediately put him in a program with their top guy (Cena). So what’s next? Are they going to continue with the Cena angle and build up a WrestleMania main event (it seems unlikely since they have already put them in a main event at a PPV) or will they give Lesnar a run through all of the top guys on the roster (CM Punk, Sheamus, Daniel Bryan, Big Show, etc.) culminating with a WrestleMania main event with a returning Rock? Vince has a lot of cards available to play with the Lesnar angle – it will be interesting to see which direction he chooses to go.
There’s no doubt that Lesnar’s return has raised the interest in the WWE product (for both the casual and lifelong wrestling fan). Rumors of his comeback have been floating around ever since he left (remember the storm created when Undertaker sat ringside at one of his UFC fights and they had a little confrontation after it was over?), so now that he has arrived it will be fun to see how he is used. He has a bit of a reputation as being difficult to work with in the past, and some of that has already surfaced in his short time back in the WWE – allegedly he blew up backstage after his match with Cena at the PPV when Cena wasn’t carted off on a stretcher – so it will be interesting to see how they will attempt to keep him under control. Whether he’s back for a long run or a short stay, it promises to be exciting.
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