Why Brock Lesnar Is Different To Anyone Else in Wrestling

Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman
Image Source: WWE

So it’s official. After a fairly poor Fastlane pay-per-view, the inevitable was confirmed: Brock Lesnar will challenge Goldberg for the Universal Championship in what could be the main event of Wrestlemania 33. The two men obviously have a history.

A 5-month build to one of the most infamous matches in Wrestlemania history back in 2004, a match that lasted less than 90 seconds at Survivor Series last November and just as brief an encounter at the Royal Rumble just over a month ago have lead us to the biggest show of the year. That being said, not a single one of these clashes can be said to have delivered from an in-ring stand point. What hope does that leave for what should be the final explosion at Wrestlemania? Well, when Brock Lesnar is involved, anything is possible because quite simply – the rules do not apply.

When Brock Lesnar returned the night after Wrestlemania 28, it wasn’t the Brock Lesnar who had wrestled on the WWE main roster from 2002 to 2004. Sure, the music was essentially the same, the entrance was familiar and the F5 on John Cena was a welcome sight, but the man himself was not the same. We’ve heard Michael Cole run down just what The Beast had accomplished in his time outside of a WWE ring – IWGP Heavyweight Champion, UFC Heavyweight Champion, the man who took out Randy Couture extremely early on in his MMA career, the list goes on. When Lesnar emerged to face Cena at Extreme Rules, he wasn’t dressed in his old WWE attire – he was dressed like an MMA fighter (albeit one with boots on). This was clearly a deliberate choice and a sign to the fans to expect something different. This look, combined with the way that match played out with Lesnar going for takedowns, dismantling Cena with a ground and pound attack and in general a faux-MMA style, set the tone for Lesnar’s second run in WWE. Things were going to be different.

Brock Lesnar and John Cena
Image Source:
Daily Motion

Lesnar lost that match, a decision that is still as strange nearly 5 years later as it was at the time. But in truth that was one of the first hints that the rules no longer applied to Brock. This would have seriously damaged just about any other superstar, but Lesnar now carried such an aura of realism due to his legitimate UFC background and his new presentation that it essentially didn’t matter. He was immediately thrust into a feud with Triple H, kayfabe breaking The Game’s arm with a Kimura in another MMA call back, that would last until Extreme Rules 2013. The pair had three matches, none of which fully clicked, with Lesnar winning the first and the last. The only blotch on the record appeared when Triple H defeated Lesnar at Wrestlemania 29 in the second to last match on the card. Again this should have derailed Brock – but it didn’t. In fact, following this Mania loss, Lesnar wouldn’t lose again cleanly until a certain Bill Goldberg took him out at Survivor Series 2016. The rise of The Beast was coming.

During this feud WWE also had the sense to bring back Paul Heyman as Lesnar’s “advocate”. There have obviously been managers throughout WWE history. However, yet again, this relationship was something different from the norm. Heyman is so good at hyping a fight that he could make you pay to see Lesnar face just about anyone, but The Beast was far from completely silent. While he still does occasionally talk with a live mic, Brock would counteract Heyman’s eccentric, crazed live promos with UFC-style, backstage sit-down interviews which, more often than not, portray a calm fighter ready to take apart whoever stands in his way. Who will ever forget Lesnar telling John Cena he planned to leave him in a pool of his own “blood, urine and vomit” before announcing “it’s going to be ugly, people”? This type of promotion, with Heyman being the hype guy and Lesnar not being exposed in front of a live crowd, is a perfect storm and something we’ve never seen executed to this level before.

Brock Lesnar and CM Punk
Image Source:
Cageside

Lesnar would take out CM Punk in an excellent match at Summerslam 2013 and destroy Big Show at the 2014 Royal Rumble before casually strolling into Wrestlemania to defeat The Undertaker and break the most celebrated achievement in the history of WWE – The Streak. Whether or not The Streak should have ever been broken, and whether or not Lesnar should have been the one to do it, could be debated all day. Mick Foley, on his WWE Network one man show special, said he believes Brock was the only one who could do it because, quite simply, Brock Lesnar does not care what you think. The pressure of doing it, the weight of being that guy, doesn’t weigh as heavy on the massive shoulders of Brock. Once again – the rules do not apply. The fact the match itself isn’t that great due to The Undertaker being legitimately knocked out early in the contest actually adds to the shock of the finish. Love it or hate it, there is no other moment like that 3-count in WWE history. This was also the turning point in Lesnar’s second run with the company. From that moment right up until Goldberg destroyed him at Survivor Series, Lesnar was an unstoppable machine.

He may not have coined the phrase “Suplex City” until Wrestlemania 31 against Roman Reigns, but the road trip began at Summerslam 2014. In the main event, for the WWE Championship, against none other than John Cena, Lesnar re-defined the term “squash”.  With 16 Suplexes and a handful of F5s, Brock took out the biggest star in the company since the Attitude Era in the most convincing way imaginable. It wasn’t a 90-second demolition, it was a 15-minute physical dissection. At this moment, Brock transformed. He was already a star attraction but the destruction of Cena so soon after ending The Streak pushed him into a different stratosphere.

He, Cena and Seth Rollins would steal the 2015 Royal Rumble with one of the greatest Triple Threat matches in WWE history – one in which Lesnar looked down and out before almost rising from the dead to prevail. He dismantled the chosen one, Roman Reigns, in the main event of Wrestlemania 31. Even when he lost the belt it was th11 rough a booking masterstroke which saw him lose without being pinned. He would return to annihilate Rollins at Battleground 2015 before The Undertaker re-surfaced. Whilst Brock did lose to Taker in convoluted fashion at that year’s Summerslam, he did so by passing out in Undertaker’s Hell’s Gate submission – whilst giving Taker the middle finger. Two months later he would gain his revenge by beating the Deadman inside Hell in a Cell. This run, from the beginning of 2014 until the end of 2015, was the height of Lesnar. He was must-see TV because anything could, and probably would, happen.

Brock Lesnar and Randy Orton
Image Source:
Cageside Seats

2016 was a disappointing year from an in-ring standpoint, with matches against Dean Ambrose, Randy Orton and, as we come full circle, Goldberg all failing to live up to the hype. However therein lies the final proof that the rules just don’t apply to Brock – the hype is still there for his next match. There’s nothing like a Lesnar match because there’s no one like Lesnar. In the build up you don’t even know when he will always appear, making each appearance special. He may not even say a word in front of the crowd, allowing his actions, and Paul Heyman to build the fight for him. Once we arrive at the match itself, it certainly won’t follow a traditional match structure. He could win in 2-minutes, lose in 2-minutes, demolish his opponent for 15-minutes, kayfabe break an arm,  Suplex someone into oblivion or flat out elbow them in the head until they lie in a pool of their own blood (ask Randy Orton how that felt). Anything is possible and this is precisely why there’s still hope for Wrestlemania 33 yet.

Brock Lesnar vs. Goldberg on Sunday April 2nd in Orlando will need to be dressed up in a whole lot of bells and whistles to deliver. This one surely can’t be 90 seconds long, yet it also can’t go long due to Goldberg’s age, limitations and in-ring style. The atmosphere will almost certainly be there which will go a long way, but Brock Lesnar will need to re-write the rule book one more time to deliver a main event worthy of Wrestlemania. Based on past history, I wouldn’t rule it out.

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