Beasts are meant to be conquered, but Brock Lesnar’s day of reckoning will not be WWE No Mercy 2017.
Brock Lesnar is The Beast Incarnate. That’s not just some marketing slogan that came into being after “The Next Big Thing” stopped being cool. Lesnar is an animal that has taken the form of man. He uses his unadulterated athleticism coupled with his superhuman strength to lay waste to whoever is in his path.
Wrestling fans love Lesnar because it is “real” with him.
His 16 German suplexes on John Cena at WWE SummerSlam 2014 were awesome for a few reasons – one being the air of invincibility around Cena. That said, the air of violence, brutality and seriousness around Lesnar is the biggest reason.
Those 16 suplexes were ordered into that match by a higher power, but Lesnar doesn’t make it feel that way. If Lesnar wanted to go out and manhandle somebody, even somebody who has shown the feats of strength that Cena has, he could without a problem.
That’s why we, as wrestling fans, love Lesnar. That’s also why we love Braun Strowman.
Strowman is the man challenging Lesnar for the WWE Universal Championship at WWE No Mercy 2017. He’s also the man who most resembles what Lesnar brought to the table in 2002. Strowman is the next big thing.
No moment exemplified that better than SummerSlam 2017. Three years after Lesnar made an example out of the seemingly invincible Cena, Strowman did the same to Lesnar. It wasn’t 16 suplexes. It was Strowman’s vicious running powerslam, twice, through announce tables. They took Lesnar out of the match, but the Fatal 4-Way stipulation allowed Lesnar to be stretchered out, recover in the back and come back out for the victory.
Strowman couldn’t finish the job like Lesnar had three years earlier, but he’ll have the chance to pick up where he left off at No Mercy.
It’s too bad it’s not going to happen.
There are multiple reasons Lesnar will walk away from No Mercy as champion, but for now let’s keep the focus on Strowman.
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Braun Strowman isn’t there yet.
Strowman is great. It’s amazing how far he has come from when he started. He is a truly special, unique talent. He still has to learn a few things, though.
Strowman’s promos could use some work. He has had some good ones in the past, but his character since his arrival has mostly been one-dimensional.
It will be hard to ever portray him as an underdog due to his size, but a good way around that would be adding some backstory, or even acknowledging his WWE past with The Wyatt Family.
For now, though, Strowman needs another manhandling of Lesnar to continue the monstrous reactions he’s getting. However, Lesnar needs to retain with a well-booked finish (read: not just a couple random F-5’s out of nowhere for the pin.) If they can avoid ruining a great showing with a bad finish, they’ll do a great service to Strowman and really put him in position to be the star at Survivor Series, Royal Rumble and, maybe, WrestleMania.
So don’t worry, Strowman fans; his time is coming. Strowman may even be the guy who takes the title from Lesnar down the line. It’s not likely, but if he keeps getting the reactions he’s getting, anything could happen. Just ask Daniel Bryan how much things can change.
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Brock Lesnar’s Value is Best with the Championship.
When Lesnar first returned in 2012, it wouldn’t have made much sense for him to hold a title, based on his work schedule, but that was a different wrestling world.
When Brock first returned to Monday Night Raw in Miami, it was only one night after WrestleMania XXVIII and The Undertaker going to 20-0 at WrestleMania. In two short years, Lesnar’s career would be forever altered by his defeat of ‘Taker, ending the streak at 21.
At this point, Lesnar’s value is highest with the belt. He’s seen as the biggest, most dangerous Superstar in WWE. The realness he brings injects a shot of energy into any building he enters. That win over The Undertaker sent him from novelty act to a legit top member of the WWE roster.
On top of that, outside of WWE, he’s the biggest mainstream star in the company, besides John Cena. When Jon Jones mentions Lesnar’s name in regards to a potential MMA fight, it brings attention to the Universal Championship. That’s free advertisement for the company, which might get some fringe fans to tune in on Monday nights.
Lesnar brings that to WWE and it’s almost impossible to calculate exactly how much value he brings to the company. It’s safe to say that it has a big impact though, and that Lesnar deserves to be holding that belt.
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Brock Lesnar’s Next Loss Should Be A Big Moment.
Lesnar losses are a big deal. Even before WrestleMania XXX, Lesnar’s only post-return losses came to John Cena and Triple H. WWE has done right by him and gone out of their way to protect him.
Lesnar is not undefeated since the win over The Undertaker. He was pinned by The Deadman at SummerSlam 2015. He also lost via pinfall to Goldberg at Survivor Series 2016 and he was eliminated from the 2017 Royal Rumble by Goldberg. He suffered a few other losses, but in multi-man matches where he didn’t get pinned or submitted.
WWE has a tendency to ignore such things. Lesnar is champion now and they know his next loss is going to come at WrestleMania 34, so they’re going to do whatever they can to make sure the man who beats him get’s the biggest rub possible. Their short-term memory loss is frustrating at times, but they usually have a good thought process behind their actions. This is one of those times.
Next: What Will Steal the Show at No Mercy?
A loss at No Mercy doesn’t move the needle, but Lesnar falling in the main event of WrestleMania is a big moment. It’s the moment that the WWE Universe deserves at the end of this memorable, but controversial run from Lesnar.