Brock Lesnar is a truly extraordinary figure in the worlds of both professional wrestling and combat sports. He furthered his mystique Saturday night with his unanimous decision victory over Mark Hunt at the UFC’s milestone 200th event. Up until the moment he decided to step into the octagon once again, Brock was doing quite well in the WWE. From ending the Undertaker‘s streak, to decimating John Cena at the 2014 Summerslam, the Beast has never been made to look weak. Put these two factors together, and there lies the problem. Lesnar will return to WWE beginning with a match against Randy Orton at next month’s Summerslam. Based on how he has already been booked and the legitimacy shown in UFC, how can Brock lose clean?
The UFC-WWE Marriage
Brock Lesnar returning to the UFC was not purely a UFC venture, it was a true partnership. WWE heavily advertised the bout on their website and social media accounts. They went as far as to upload the weigh-in and Q and A sessions on their Youtube channel. So obviously the company wanted their fans to know about the fight and were hoping Lesnar would win. He did win, but what now?
You have advertised the Beast winning in a “real” sport, how do you expect anyone to believe that he could lose in WWE? No doubt, the UFC partnership was great for the mainstream publicity that WWE so desperately desires. But, it has backed them into a booking corner. There may not be one wrestling fan in the world that believes Brock will lose to Orton next month. We just saw him win at “real” fighting, how can we expect him to lose to Orton or any of the other superstars? They have not done what Brock has!
Prior Booking
Maybe the idea of Brock losing clean would be a little easier to comprehend if he was not booked so strongly. WWE have actually booked someone with such a great combat sports pedigree correctly, dominating everyone. That is the believable formula. HE ENDED THE STREAK AND DESTROYED THE COMPANY’S TOP STAR. There is nowhere else to go after those two steps are taken. Since then he has never been pinned cleanly and made to look completely and utterly unbeatable. His most recent match with Dean Ambrose at Wrestlemania 31 suffered from this line of thinking. As great as Dean Ambrose is, we could never really believe that he could beat the Beast. The match itself turned out to be a glorified squash. Even if someone is a pure WWE fan and has no idea of Brock’s UFC pedigree, this booking alone makes it unbelievable that he would ever lose clean.
Possible Solution
So, what is the plan for Brock? Is he just never supposed to lose? Honestly, that might have to be the case for the length of Brock’s deal. It’s been done before by the late great Andre the Giant. In a way Brock and Andre are very similar. They are special attractions that will always bring the big house. Part of Andre’s mystique was the fact that he never lost until Hulk Hogan trounced him at Wrestlemania 3. So, it is not crazy to think WWE could take the same path with the Beast Incarnate. Have him never lose clean, until he puts over the next big star on his way out.
(Main Photo: WWE.com)
