WWE: How To Rebuild Brock Lesnar And Bring Back The Pain

By Darragh O'Connor /

Brock Lesnar. Is there any name that invokes such a reaction among a wide spectrum the WWE Universe, the IWC and popular media as a whole? There were cries of joy this time last year when Lesnar made his "triumphant" return to WWE television on the Monday Night Raw after Wrestlemania. He was primed to fill the void left by Triple H, Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker and The Rock, as a needed true big name for the show. One that was set to feud with John Cena. The former WWE and UFC champion got a huge reaction from the crowd and then destroyed Cena in front of the packed out crowd. This made his intentions clear and set out his goal to bring new order and credibility to the WWE with him in it. As the two built towards their match at Extreme Rules will saw Cena beaten and bloodied. This was very important as it gave us a taste of what the WWE could be, and how far the lines could be set in the PG era. In other words that the WWE can be PG but always have an edge. This build-up too made Cena interesting. This is because he looked beatable, and we were enthralled by that idea. Maybe Cena was human after all and Lesnar was a big deal? Well, what happened? Why isn't he the World or WWE champion? Why is he an afterthought? Well, this is due to what happened after a great debut. A loss to Cena, after John played his ever-popular "Super Cena" role to a tee. This came after Lesnar beat the heck out of him for most of the match, only for Cena to muster enough energy to pull out the win. Effectively neutralising the threat there and then. The beast was made tame in one night. This was followed by Brock "quitting" to help forward a random Triple H feud, which Hunter did lose in a critically panned match. Only to have that win negated by another loss at last month at Wrestlemania What is the point of bringing him back? He isn't a threat anymore. He is a presented as a weak-parody of his former self. The question is how can the WWE bring the pain again? Can the Beast be a threat again? I believe so but they have to do a certain number of things. The first thing is don't ever let him cut promos. For whatever reason, the WWE have Lesnar cut promos a lot during this run. This time last year, we were presented with a few a cringe-worthy segments from him and Cena. And they will still try a talking Brock from time to time. This isn't his strong suit and it doesn't need to be. That is what Paul Heyman is there for. Paul needs to do all of the talking for Brock, to have him paint a picture of an animal that will destroy everything is his path. Emphasise that Brock is out of control and then show us the results. Have him destroy things on camera like a car, the ring, the backstage area etc. They did all of these things on Raw this week and it was perfect. That is how you rebuild Brock. They need to use what they have and not force anything. They have one of the best mic men in the business in Paul E and a true titan in Brock. Time to prove it. Next, let him win and win convincingly. It's still unclear why they put him in so many no-win situations, or against guys that even if he wins that will be cancelled out by a rematch a short time later. This is crazy as it makes everything feel silly, forced and pointless. What did his feud with Cena prove? Nothing. We got a great match but it was pointless. His feud with Triple H? At the moment it is the same. Brock must destroy Triple H at Extreme Rules for him to have any credibility left as what they are saying that he is. Brock is a total destroyer, that is his gimmick and he has yet to really established that idea to the whole audience. If he doesn't beat Triple H then any one has a chance against him. The magic is gone. Lesnar in his earlier run (2002ish) was built into an established powerhouse through series of great feuds and matches with middle to top starts. These he won and showed that he was fairly unbeatable, not in a Super Cena way, rather he beat his foe's brains in until he decided that the match was over. This was backed up with random run-ins or squash matches on TV, like this one against Funaki. http://youtu.be/zg-nKDOUfVE People, mainly the younger fans, only know him as the guy who lost both to Cena and then Triple H. There is still time to save this run and really re-establish Lesnar as an œber-Heel, and also for WWE to get their money's worth. That said, Lesnar needs this big win over Triple H to get that ball rolling. Then they can open things up for a shot and win over Cena for the title. That is the only way that I can see this saved from a complete bust. It would also wrap everything up nicely for an Undertaker vs. Cena match at next year's Wrestlemania. This week was a great start on the reboot of Brock Lesnar, but it is a long and dangerous road ahead. I hope that WWE will not mess this one up. We will find out in two weeks.