How Brock Lesnar vs. Bray Wyatt went from undesirable to an undeniable dream match
Is Brock Lesnar the ultimate opponent for “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt? Here’s how it became the dream match WWE fans didn’t know they wanted until now.
It’s safe to say that Bray Wyatt has been one of WWE’s hottest acts for some time now, and so far, his “Fiend” persona has been handled perfectly.
Since his successful SummerSlam re-debut against Finn Balor, he has been a hot topic of conversation within the WWE Universe. He hasn’t appeared on every episode of Raw in the last month (which is smart so he doesn’t feel overexposed), but he has made an impact whenever he has shown up.
The Fiend’s quick destruction of Balor at the biggest party of the summer led fans to speculate who would be next on his list of victims. Having him target Universal champion Seth Rollins eventually is a given (and it could happen as soon as Hell in a Cell in October), but a match with Brock Lesnar might also be interesting if gone about the right way.
Wyatt vs. Lesnar almost originally came to be five years ago when Wyatt contended for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at the 2014 Money in the Bank pay-per-view. The winner of that night’s Ladder match was likely penciled in to face Lesnar at SummerSlam, as John Cena did, and the idea of Wyatt going up against someone as terrifying as he was intrigued a lot of people.
Of course, with the dominant tear Lesnar later embarked on as champ, it was probably for the best that WWE waited to pull the trigger on the matchup back then. It wasn’t until early 2016 that rumors once again ran rampant of Wyatt vs. Lesnar being discussed internally, this time for WrestleMania 32.
Unfortunately, by then, Wyatt had been so heavily damaged after years of bad booking that it hardly felt like an attraction worthy of the WrestleMania billing. It was teased for a few months, but WWE ended up going in a different direction with Lesnar and Dean Ambrose at the event instead.
It’s worth nothing that Wyatt and Lesnar never once came in contact with each other during the 2-on-1 Handicap match that pitted Wyatt and Luke Harper against Lesnar at Roadblock in March 2016. The Beast Incarnate spent the entire outing manhandling Harper and pinned him for the victory.
Perhaps the powers that be knew even then that it would have been a waste to give away Wyatt vs. Lesnar on a throwaway special. Perhaps they were aware that the bout could be revisited down the road once Wyatt’s character had been heavily rehabbed.
Three years later, Wyatt has more momentum than he’s ever had before. Lesnar also isn’t the same one-man wrecking crew he was back in 2016 (having lost to Goldberg, Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins twice in that time), so it’s at least plausible that these two could go one-on-one and it would be considered a fair fight.
Lesnar lost the Universal Championship to Rollins at SummerSlam last month and no indication was given what was next for him. When WWE does decide to bring him back into the fold, it shouldn’t be for anything involving the title, especially considering how little his last few reigns accomplished.
Rather, he’d be better off entering a program with a fresh face such as Wyatt/The Fiend. Although Lesnar is undoubtedly an attraction, he should be used to help elevate up-and-coming talent every now and again and not be booked to make the rest of the roster look weak.
The Fiend is still early in his run and he’s a few more key victories away from being on Lesnar’s level, but once he eventually reaches that point, it wouldn’t be a stretch to call Lesnar versus Wyatt a dream match by modern day standards.
Lesnar and Wyatt producing a five-star mat classic is highly unlikely, but the sheer sight of the two standing across the ring from each other (with Wyatt portraying his Fiend persona) would be nothing short of sensational.
More importantly, a win for Wyatt over Lesnar would be career-changing and instantly establish him as the most dominant force in all of WWE. It’s hard to say if WWE would go so far as to have Wyatt beat The Beast Incarnate, especially coming off Lesnar’s latest loss to Rollins, but it’s not like there are many other competitors fans wish to see Lesnar face upon his return.
Four years removed from when they almost waged war at WrestleMania, Wyatt and Lesnar might finally be destined to do battle at the upcoming installment of the Show of Shows in the spring of 2020. If WWE can keep Wyatt strong until then, they’ll have a marquee match on their hands for their grandest event of the year.