The Run-In #4

Forgive me, but I just can’t drink the Kool Aid on this Brock Lesnar thing right now. I've said it before – I wasn't really watching WWE programming at the time of his reign. In my time getting back into pro wrestling hardcore (say, from 2004 to now), I've watched a number of his matches, and just was never that big of a fan of his. Or I didn't care. Who knows. The fact of the matter is, his return has helped get some casual fans back to watching WWE programming, but I fear that they are rushing his return a bit too quickly. More below...

The problem with today's WWE (which I get into a bit during this week's blackrasslin podcast) is that they don't know how to let things slowly build. When I say build, think of it like a Hollywood film. A suspense or thriller. You hear about a movie, one of those "whodunit" flicks, and the hype has been excellent. Great cast, great director, big action. Everything you want in a feature film. Would you want to pay $12 (or however much it costs to hit the cinema these days) to find out who the killer is in the first 10 minutes? Especially if the rest of the movie is just the cast going through the motions, killing time to make it to two hours of screen time? The WWE has been booking their major angles like this for the last few years, and it's helped in doing nothing but making people not trust WWE Creative with booking. When I heard that Lesnar signed onto the WWE for a year, I got the immediate bad feeling about it, because I've seen this before. Hell, we just saw The Rock return over the last year, and aside from a few high points, the Creative staff didn't have much in the way of developing the Cena/Rock feud past the "you're in movies" vs. "you wear purple" barbs. Ho-hum.

The WWE in 2012 feels that it's better to get a big name, because obviously getting big names means big ratings – right? Look at the rating for this past Monday's Raw, though. The show did a 3.1 – which isn't bad compared to regular TV programming, but with the perceived clamor after Brock's F-5 return last week? You'd expect the number to have spiked, especially in the first quarter of this week's show, where we got a well-done encounter that featured Cena slappin' the taste out of Lesnar's mouth, and Lesnar connecting with a shot that bloodied Cena's mouthpiece. It was a great way to open the show...but the quarter wasn't the highest rated of the show. And the announcement of Cena vs. Lesnar at April 29^th's Extreme Rules PPV? Doesn't that feel a bit rushed, considering that Lesnar's not professionally wrestled for eight years or so?



My problem is the idea of building these big-ticket matches that supersede the Championship belts that are held so high. The Rock and John Cena obviously went on last at WM28, but with two Heavyweight Title matches on the bill, plus Undertaker vs. HHH, it's rough that a match that has no real bearing on the promotion post-Mania doesn't help build the WWE title and World Heavyweight title as things that matter. After years of crap finishes and pointless title reigns, now should be the time to elevate these belts, in both length of title reign and weight of title defenses. Extreme Rules is taking place in Chicago, and I have been hoping that a return match between CM Punk and Chris Jericho in some kind of gimmick WWE Championship title match would be the main event, but I don't see how Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena in a match that's reportedly not having any kind of gimmick in it won't go on last. I could be wrong, but it just feels like they could have waited and let things grow.

I know what they were thinking – the WWE is a) limited to how many appearances Brock's contracted to do monthly and b) currently on a two-week European tour. They felt they had to do something major because I highly doubt Brock's Germany bound, but why not let this slowly build? Did we NEED to have Cena/Lesnar battle less than a month into Brock's return? If you would allow me to put on my Fantasy Booker 59Fifty, walk with me for a bit.

I'd still have Brock return the night after Raw and F-5 Cena, as a statement of return. The fans wanted it, so give it to them. I'd then let it rest. Maybe show a backstage segment where Lesnar is talking to Johnny Ace and they drop the "new legitimate face of WWE" line, and a stand-off with Cena. Let them pass for the next few weeks not interacting, but Lesnar cutting promos on Cena calling him out for not being legitimate, and post Extreme Rules (even the Raw the following night), do the gimmick they pulled this week with Cena slapping Lesnar. After that, have a number of weeks where Cena has matches and always has to watch his back, because Lesnar can be anywhere and won't hesitate to low-blow Cena blindly. Cena could even harp on how Lesnar can be perceived as a legitimate bad ass but resorts to underhanded tactics and running-in to get his point across. Give Lesnar some matches around the end of May/beginning of June where he is decimating guys like Zack Ryder, Kofi Kingston – guys who can take his offense and make him look like the monster he is. And let this super-battle culminate with the 1-on-1 match at Summerslam.

OK my 59Fifty is off. And if this was 1987, that storyline would've worked like gangbusters. 2012 WWE doesn't wait that long. I'd drop my foreplay/booking analogy, but that might get a bit graphic, but essentially, it doesn't hurt to butter the fans up before going full bore with the money-making match. Giving us Lesnar/Cena with a quick, yet decent, build is cool, but if the lack of spike in the ratings is any indicator, the PPV numbers won't budge past their normal buyrate, and hell, Extreme Rules isn't even one of their premiere PPV events!

In the end, coordinating an event to coincide with a big(ger) pay-per-view would've been how I want to see this go, and maybe I'm jumping the gun, but I can't see this hot-shot booking playing into WWE's favor in the long run. We've got a good amount of time before WM29 hits...pray that Lesnar is still around – and happy – by the time the payoff will really count.

I kind of went off on a rant there, didn't I? Agree with my thoughts? Leave a comment, let me know what you think!