If WWE Was Being Honest About Brock Lesnar

WWE Royal Rumble 2019 Brock Lesnar Finn Balor
WWE.com

Brock Lesnar is, at his best, at his most motivated, a phenomenal attraction. He is capable of crafting a gut-punching spectacle like no other; the drama and ugly realism of his best matches is unparalleled in the company. His head-splattering war against AJ Styles at Survivor Series 2017 elevated AJ’s newly-won WWE Title, or at least removed the decomposition odour of Jinder Mahal’s run. One year later, his meta masterpiece opposite Daniel Bryan solidified his new heel character as a drastic, awesome departure from his fading babyface act.

Brock Lesnar cleanly won both matches.

Brock Lesnar also cleanly defeated Finn Bálor at this year’s Royal Rumble in a match that deviated from Bálor’s less-than-extraordinary selling-heavy, inexpressive formula. Bálor intelligently and ferociously exploited Lesnar’s weak spot in a very good match a few minutes shy of great. It was, by some distance, Bálor’s best nine minutes of 2019.

Brock Lesnar, at his best, at his most motivated, elevates WWE’s full-time roster as major match players—but the best any of that roster manages is a narrow defeat that doesn’t really affect their trajectory one way or the other. Those matches are simply great moments within WWE’s terminal moment-driven booking.

We’ve reached a point at which, hypothetically, if any WWE performer were to cleanly slay the Beast, the reaction would be one of abject shock. The fans cannot get behind an underdog challenge in the intended spirit because they have been conditioned to expect total omni-slaughter from the stupidly over-powered final boss.

Funnily enough, fewer and fewer fans are inserting a coin to continue.

CONT'D...(2 of 5)

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Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and surefire Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!