The booking of Brock Lesnar

[tjmidnight420]

So I guess apparently Brock Lesnar has been hard to deal with since he's returned. "Nuclear" heat even, or so I've heard. He's drawn less of an interested than they expected from him for the money they're paying him, allegedly. I don't want to talk about any of that, but rather what I feel the issue is: the booking of Brock Lesnar.

The night after WM was a hot night to bring him in, in my opinion, as the people tuning in to see the aftermath of Rock/ Cena or HiaC would likely see him and keep tuning in to see what was up. The issue arose when Ace completely forgot he was fueding with Punk, and not Cena. Another problem was "lets try to explain why Brock's only here on so many dates, but don't get too creative with it."

To me, the best course of action would've been to put him in a fued with Punk. Would've used up less dates, as Ace could've announced it on Raw without Brock ever being there. Brock's first appearance would've been at Extreme Rules. Work the match much the same way, except Brock gets the win. Have him cut a promo afterward, instead of appearing on Raw soley for a promo. Have him state that he's only appearing on Raw when he feels like it, otherwise you can catch him every month defending the WWE title on pay per view. Brock looks a beast, CM Punk looks like he needs redemption.

Ace can then hassle Punk about his rematch on Raw, but Punk says he isn't ready yet. Cue a Cena interruption for Over the Limit. For the rest of his dates have him appear sparsely on Raw 'via satellite' to promote his upcoming matches. Have him run through the upper card on PPV. Everyone wants to be the guy that knocks Brock off the mountain.

Meanwhile Punk is busy proving to himself he's worthy of the moniker 'Best in the World,' with WWE having never let us forget he's still got a rematch (never happen, I know.) Finally at Mania you get the scrappy underdog who finally invoked his rematch clause against the unstoppable monster in a match for what has once again become the most important thing in the business: the WWE championship.

Thoughts? How would you have booked Brock?

[Swiss Ultimate]

That would probably have led me to continue watching unlike what actually happened with me getting bored and giving up again.

[Rammsteinmad]

Kinda don't care about Brock to be honest. The guy clearly has no legit passion for pro wrestling, and him coming in basically holds down shit loads of more deserving guys. He's really not as big a draw for the company as they probably thought he would be, certainly not worth what they're paying him (if his supposed paycheck is true)... dunno. They should just keep booking him away from TV, and just wait until Wrestlemania, give us the big fan-orgy Rock/Brock program, and then let him fuck off to anywhere else he wants to go. :mad:

[Hanso Amore]

I dunno. they should have gotten more dates. His return was too short. I dont mind the break that will let him come back later, but could have used him having a 2 month return before getting fired. Actually give time to reestablish him.

[Hanso Amore]

I also think the NUCLEAR HEAT is fucking trash that is made up or is a work to make his break legit.

[tjmidnight420]

Kinda don't care about Brock to be honest. The guy clearly has no legit passion for pro wrestling, and him coming in basically holds down shit loads of more deserving guys. He's really not as big a draw for the company as they probably thought he would be, certainly not worth what they're paying him (if his supposed paycheck is true)... dunno. They should just keep booking him away from TV, and just wait until Wrestlemania, give us the big fan-orgy Rock/Brock program, and then let him fuck off to anywhere else he wants to go. :mad:

I agree with the part about his clear lack of passion. I feel like a better return would've made him a bigger draw for WWE though.

I also think the NUCLEAR HEAT is fucking trash that is made up or is a work to make his break legit.

I agree. The appearance at UFC's event probably would've been mentioned on WWE TV, except everyone expected it to be a work right away.

[dingdongyo]

Kinda don't care about Brock to be honest.

[Damndirty]

Honestly... I think Brock's heart isn't really in anything but to run his mouth about how much of a badass he thinks he is, and how to be a big baby when things don't go his way.

[Jordan]

WWE has really fucked this up, as I think everyone agree's so far. Losing to Cena hasn't helped Cena and obviously hurt Brock. Now his feud with Triple H is by the numbers and obvious. It's poorly planned and could have been the focus of Raw for the whole year but they are now in shit because they fucked Lesnar in his first match. Coming off a retirement loss in UFC it was so obvious the right choice to make.

[Fox]

Putting Cena over was the wrong move. Not having Cena sell the massive beating he took at Extreme Rules was also a terrible mistake. He was supposed to have a dislocated or broken arm, making Lesnar look like an animal. That didn't happen.

Who cares that Brock's heart isn't in the WWE? He's entertaining as hell. The weeks between WrestleMania and Extreme Rules were some of the best that I've seen in a very long time. For the first time in forever it actually felt "real."

They lost all that because Vince is so protective of his Cenation. The product has gone way downhill since Lesnar "quit." Missed opportunity is written all over this thing.

[St. Jimmy]

Brock vs. Cena @ Extreme Rules was Epic.

[Tom Guycott]

I also think the NUCLEAR HEAT is fucking trash that is made up or is a work to make his break legit.

Maybe he's in the doghouse with Punk

[Fignuts]

Cena winning would have been great if they would have gone with the original plan of stretchering out cena.

Could have had Brock run roughshod over WWE while Cena was out, and then set up a monumentous rematch.

The way they did it just made brock look rather silly.

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

I thought it was a mistake wasting Cena/Brock so quickly at a minor PPV like Extreme Rules in the first place.

[Fignuts]

Dunno, feel like it was a good business decision. Put him against the top guy to maximize the impact of his return.

The WWE year doesn't start off in january like the rest of us. It starts off after WM, and that was a great way to kick things off.

[Mr. Nerfect]

I thought it was a mistake wasting Cena/Brock so quickly at a minor PPV like Extreme Rules in the first place.

I agree with this. Given that Extreme Rules was in Chicago, I probably would have gone with CM Punk vs. John Cena for the WWE Championship with Brock Lesnar as the Special Guest Enforcer. Jericho could have faced Daniel Bryan in a match where the winner received a title shot against the champion of their choosing. Sheamus vs. Alberto Del Rio could have been done, further putting Sheamus over as a fighting champion.

[tjmidnight420]

I agree with this. Given that Extreme Rules was in Chicago, I probably would have gone with CM Punk vs. John Cena for the WWE Championship with Brock Lesnar as the Special Guest Enforcer. Jericho could have faced Daniel Bryan in a match where the winner received a title shot against the champion of their choosing. Sheamus vs. Alberto Del Rio could have been done, further putting Sheamus over as a fighting champion.

I feel like that's another ball they dropped. Has Cena beaten Punk clean since the 'summer of Punk'? That whole thing was the perfect opportunity to make CM Punk John Cena's kryptonite. For that to work it needs to be made to look like even though Cena takes everyone else out with ease, it's almost impossible for him to beat CM Punk. Punk would in effect become the perfect foil for the supercena character.

[Next Big Thing]

Dunno, feel like it was a good business decision. Put him against the top guy to maximize the impact of his return.

The WWE year doesn't start off in january like the rest of us. It starts off after WM, and that was a great way to kick things off.

I agree. Having him come back the night after Wrestlemania was great timing. It's what they did after that where I think they fucked up. I think they blew their load early by having his first match back be a loss against Cena on one of the gimmick PPVs. It felt like they were in a rush to get Cena a win against a recognizable and fresh name after losing to Rock or at least hesitant to have him lose on back to back PPVs to part time stars.

Lesnar vs. Cena could have had an intriguing build up to Summer Slam with Lesnar making occasional appearances to wreck shit and taunt Cena... Maybe even have him cost John a title match. If they could build up Rock/Cena for over a year, they could make due with Lesnar sporadically appearing in April, May and June before really building it up in July and early August before one of the Big Four PPVs. Even from a financial perspective, I think Lesnar vs. Cena at Summer Slam would have brought in even more revenue than it typically does.

[Big Vic]

The way they should book Brock now is have him be John Laurinitus's "Mercenary". Perhaps brock comes in this week and F5s the shit outta Vince McMahon.

[James Steele]

They have only so many times they can use Brock Lesnar, and they are using him fine. They are actually doing long-term booking with Brock and the Triple H/Brock match will have months of build instead of being rushed while also still having enough dates to build Brock's WM match effectively.

[Rammsteinmad]

Kinda bullshit how much Lesnar is getting paid for 'appearances'. They should have made it 40 matches or something, instead of fucking showing up and cutting a promo. :foc:

[Ruien]

Putting Cena over was the wrong move. Not having Cena sell the massive beating he took at Extreme Rules was also a terrible mistake. He was supposed to have a dislocated or broken arm, making Lesnar look like an animal. That didn't happen.

Who cares that Brock's heart isn't in the WWE? He's entertaining as hell. The weeks between WrestleMania and Extreme Rules were some of the best that I've seen in a very long time. For the first time in forever it actually felt "real."

They lost all that because Vince is so protective of his Cenation. The product has gone way downhill since Lesnar "quit." Missed opportunity is written all over this thing.

Having Cena lose to Rock and Brock back to back ppv would have been a mistake. The top star of a company losing twice to "part time" employees helps how? It doesn't.

[Mr. Nerfect]

They have only so many times they can use Brock Lesnar, and they are using him fine. They are actually doing long-term booking with Brock and the Triple H/Brock match will have months of build instead of being rushed while also still having enough dates to build Brock's WM match effectively.

I agree that using Brock Lesnar sparingly might be the way to go, but has the WWE even mentioned Lesnar taking out Triple H since the week after it happened?

[James Steele]

I agree that using Brock Lesnar sparingly might be the way to go, but has the WWE even mentioned Lesnar taking out Triple H since the week after it happened?

Yes. Hence the whole Paul Heyman return, law suit thread, Laurenitis on the hot seat, McMahon doing the job review Monday, Triple H making an announcement at No Way Out, etc.

[James Steele]

I agree that using Brock Lesnar sparingly might be the way to go, but has the WWE even mentioned Lesnar taking out Triple H since the week after it happened?

Yes. Hence the whole Paul Heyman return, law suit thread, Laurenitis on the hot seat, McMahon doing the job review Monday, Triple H making an announcement at No Way Out, etc. FFS, Triple H was on a huge PPV fight and wore an arm brace to fucking sell the injury while being around some of the biggest names in pop culture.

[St. Jimmy]

Triple H vs. Lesnar has to happen sometime before September. They're doing no build to anything right now and if they let it go to Survivor Series it'll be dead.

So they'll probably do the match at whatever the December PPV is and be shocked when Lesnar bumps the number by .3 at best.

[St. Jimmy]

Then again, there are easier ways to burn money. For example, TNA.

[Shisen Kopf]

Brock Lesnar broke HHH's arm. He is a naughty boy.

[Fox]

Having Cena lose to Rock and Brock back to back ppv would have been a mistake. The top star of a company losing twice to "part time" employees helps how? It doesn't.

Don't be so narrow minded. Why did the Death of Superman comicbook storyline hit the front page of newspapers across the countries? Because when the man of steel falls, people want to see who took him out. Pacquiao last night is an excellent example as well. When "the man" goes down, people want to see how it happened, and more importantly, his fans want to see him come back and get his revenge. It peaks interest in the product.

When Cena lost to The Rock, people tuned in to find out what Cena would do now. Was he going to turn heel? Would he demand a rematch with the Great One?

Had Lesnar "broken Cena's arm" and had him stretchered out of the building, people would tune in the next night to find out who the fuck else is Brock Lesnar going to destroy? And the Cenation would tune in to see if John would get his revenge on Lesnar, or hell, maybe even to see if he's "okay."

Cena's fan base will never go away (well, until they hit puberty). They truly believe in his whole NEVER GIVE UP, HUSTLE LOYALTY RESPECT bullshit. A loss isn't going to hurt him, it's not going to hurt his standing, and it's not going to hurt his merchandise sales. What it's going to do is spike interest in the product, as long as it's done right.

[Ruien]

Don't be so narrow minded. Why did the Death of Superman comicbook storyline hit the front page of newspapers across the countries? Because when the man of steel falls, people want to see who took him out. Pacquiao last night is an excellent example as well. When "the man" goes down, people want to see how it happened, and more importantly, his fans want to see him come back and get his revenge. It peaks interest in the product.

When Cena lost to The Rock, people tuned in to find out what Cena would do now. Was he going to turn heel? Would he demand a rematch with the Great One?

Had Lesnar "broken Cena's arm" and had him stretchered out of the building, people would tune in the next night to find out who the fuck else is Brock Lesnar going to destroy? And the Cenation would tune in to see if John would get his revenge on Lesnar, or hell, maybe even to see if he's "okay."

Cena's fan base will never go away (well, until they hit puberty). They truly believe in his whole NEVER GIVE UP, HUSTLE LOYALTY RESPECT bullshit. A loss isn't going to hurt him, it's not going to hurt his standing, and it's not going to hurt his merchandise sales. What it's going to do is spike interest in the product, as long as it's done right.


Pacquiao's next fight will have a spike in ratings and after that all his ppvs will drop. I don't know to much about Superman and his comic book series so alright.

But I am being narrow minded because the ONLY play you see to work is Brock Lesnar winning? Yes everything you said is true, but everyone tuned in the next week for basically the same reasons. People tuned in to see what Brock Lesnar was going to do after he lost his fight after dominating the entire bout. People tuned in to see what was next up for John Cena.

You don't have your top man lose event after event to "part" time employees. Why not, as much of a shocker this might be, use someone who will be around to snap and take our Cena and win the match. There are plenty of guys capable of this; Randy Orton (He wasn't suspended), Sheamus, Ryback, Tensai, or any of the main players in the game. Then you will be able to build the story with BOTH wrestlers being around. Instead you would have Brock Lesnar gone for a month or so.

Maybe you need to stop being narrow minded and look at other events that could happen for the better.