What a monster...
Brock Lesnar has signed a new contract with the WWE and will likely be involved in some capacity in tomorrow night's event. I hate the Internet. It has utterly and truly ruined the faux mysteries of kayfabe, the good old days of rag sheets, and the awesome goodness of getting the PW Torch newsletter in the mail.
I understand the business side and why Lesnar's contract signing was leaked to drive up PPV orders; but, it takes away the huge pop that would have accompanied Lesnar's "surprise" appearance.
For my smart marks, how would you book Brock's program for the upcoming year? What match should he interfere with at Mania? Would you do a run in or have Lesnar sitting at ringside for the main event and Hell in the Cell?
Alas, I am hyped about Rock-Cena, worried about HHH-Taker, and am anticipating the clinic that Punk and Jericho are going to put on for the fans.
My quick predictions are as follows. Punk gets over on Jericho because the latter is going on a tour with his band after Wrestlemania. Even though he has all of the backstage stroke, Taker has to win. It would be the height of foolishness and HHH's hubris to kill the streak. Taker needs to win and retire with the streak intact. The Rock loses to John Cena because of Lesnar's interference. The Rock could lose clean and it still wouldn't hurt his legacy. Cena is making too much money in merchandise, and is too over with the tweens and young girls to drop the belt. In a perfect world Cena would lose, turn heel, and have a long journey back to the top and redemption.
Unfortunately, it ain't gonna happen.
Monday's Raw should be epic. Welcome back Brock. You are a beast and were greatly missed.
3 comments:
CD,
I’m not really tuned in to the WWE universe. Actually, I haven’t been a wresting fan for a long time and even then my allegiance was to the southern regions. Presently, I am a serious fan of mixed martial arts and this how I am familiar with Brock Lesnar.
After losing the heavy weight title there was a lot of speculation that he would be returning to professional wrestling. I see it turned out to be true. There was an interesting exchange between Brock and the Undertaker at a UFC event before he lost his title. I watched the video of the interchange and it reminded be of the commitment to character that it takes to be a professional wrestler. Actually, I don’t think it’s really about playing a role. Wrestlers embody the “roles” they play and the gap between identity and performance collapses to a certain extent. That’s who they are in and out of the ring. I remember seeing the character “the Miz” on MTV’s “the Real World” back in the 1990s. He wasn’t even a wrestler yet and his character was already developed. Incidentally, I think rappers have the same kind merging of identities going on.
I noticed this type of commitment during that brief exchange between Lesnar and the Undertaker at the UFC show. Also, I recall Lesnar saying in an interview that he and Kurt Angle were really fighting in many of the matches during there feuds. It made me wonder how one “really” fights in an event where the winner is preordained. I guess wrestling techniques can be applied in a way that expresses the true feelings and intent of the performers towards each other despite what the bosses want. The real competition between wrestlers must take place on this level. How much punishment can you take while in performance mode and maintain the professionalism required to do the job. This shared experience would foster a communal feeling and also the family-like antagonisms you see with a lot of retired wrestlers.
Anyway, this may all be obvious and prosaic to a pro wrestling fan but this is what your post made me think of.
@Ray. You have lots of insight. Your observations explained just why we love this thing, especially so in the past. Trying to figure out what is more real than real in a fake universe is part of the fun!
Welcome back Brock! I figured he would come back to wrestling, a mans got to make money somehow. I actually thought he had a good run in the UFC. Very few fighters stay at the top for long, it's hard to be versatile enough. His striking was always his biggest shortcoming. Maybe from all those years of pulling punches in the ring. Lol. Seriously, though, I'd never want to step in the cage with him.
Here's to hoping he'll bring some excitement to this years wrestling lineup!
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