WWE No Mercy 2017: 3 Things We Learned
By Tim Sherry
credit: wwe.com
1. Brock Lesnar’s Title Reign Is On Fumes
When Brock Lesnar captured his fourth World Championship in WWE back in August of 2014, there was a certain mystique around it. Wrestling in only his 8th match since returning to the company after an eight-year hiatus, “The Beast Incarnate” took the belt after dismantling John Cena at that year’s SummerSlam. Over the course of 16 minutes, Lesnar unleashed punishment that had never been administered to Cena in his entire career and when the destruction was over, he was once again the official dominant force in the company.
Lesnar’s ensuing title reign was a lot of fun. He had a solid follow up match with Cena at Night of Champions before engaging in a match of the year candidate at the Royal Rumble against Cena and Seth Rollins. His WrestleMania 31 match against Roman Reigns was even a solid tilt, although it got infinitely better when Rollins cashed in his Money In The Bank briefcase and won the title.
However, his most recent title reign hasn’t had the same intensity as the previous one. It didn’t help that he attained his fifth world title by defeating Goldberg for it at WrestleMania 33 in what was one of the most asinine programs of the entire year. But since then it seems Lesnar has shown many chinks in his 40 year-old armor. He was taken to the brink by Samoa Joe at Great Balls of Fire in a match that lasted less than seven minutes. His SummerSlam title defense in a fatal 4-match was terrific, however, Lesnar spent two-thirds of it in the locker room. And his most recent feud with Strowman made him look as weak as he has in his entire career. His victory in just over nine minutes against Strowman didn’t do him any favors.
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All this evidence leads to one thing. Lesnar’s time as champ should be coming to a close soon. His recent challenges have shown that his dominance is waning and if the guy can’t last more than 10 minutes in a world title match, then maybe it’s time to give the belt up, especially when the company is loaded with young guys who are ready to take the next step. It’s been a lot of fun, but Lesnar needs to drop that title, and do it soon before he looks any worse.