10 Jaw-Dropping Times WWE Blurred The Lines

Pipebombs, screwjobs, a real-life affair, and a WCW invasion...

cm punk pipebomb
WWE.com

For the WWE, blurring the lines between fiction and reality has often been used as a sound basis for building a compelling storyline.

A recent example came just this past year in the aftermath of a SmackDown, with Daniel Bryan criticising the Miz’s wrestling style. Things quickly escalated off the back of that, and soon the Miz was calling into question Bryan’s recent retirement, even bandying about the C-word. The C-word being coward, of course.

Regardless of whether this was scripted or not, treading so closely to these real life issues is what captures the fans' attention. As alluded to previously though, this is by no means a novel concept.

For years, the company has been creating these storylines that make you question what’s real and what isn’t, and more often than not it’s been a recipe for success. This article will likely prove just that, as we look back at ten instances in which the WWE blurred those lines between reality and that dreaded F-word.

The F-word being fake, of course.

10. Brock Lesnar’s Return

cm punk pipebomb
WWE.com

When Lesnar returned to the WWE in April 2012, it marked the end of an eight-year hiatus, and it’s safe to say that plenty had changed since we’d last seen him in action.

After a brief stint wrestling in Japan, he’d turned his attention to the world of legitimate combat sports, where he’d quickly become the UFC Heavyweight Champion of the world. So rather than simply bring back the Lesnar we’d been used to seeing in 2004, the WWE drastically changed his character and fully embraced that UFC stint.

Gone were most of Lesnar’s power moves, being replaced by MMA-inspired takedowns, strikes, and ground-and-pound attacks. It made for a far more realistic-looking style, not least because we started seeing Lesnar busting opponents open the hard way.

John Cena was his first victim, taking one of those raking elbows in the early goings of their Extreme Rules 2012 match, leaving fans wondering whether or not Lesnar was fighting him for real.

Obviously he wasn’t, because Cena won, but the uncertainty created by having Lesnar acknowledge his MMA past was an awesome way to blur the lines and ramp up the excitement surrounding the big return.

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Elliott Binks hasn't written a bio just yet, but if they had... it would appear here.