10 DUMB WWE Booking Decisions (We Didn't Want To Admit Were GENIUS!)
1. Brock Lesnar Loses First Match Back
There was gnashing of teeth when WWE had Brock Lesnar lose his first match back in the company. John Cena beat him at Extreme Rules 2012, and people understandably wondered where 'The Beast' was going to go from there. In storyline, that loss humbled Brock a bit and forced him to become even more violent so he could dominate the scene.
This is something Paul Heyman hinted at in promos once the Cena match had been and gone. He argued that Lesnar would be even more dangerous now his pride had been wounded post-UFC highs. After that, Brock went on to break some arms and then eventually maul Cena like he was some 1980s jobber.
He arguably needed to lose at Extreme Rules to create that spark.
This was a world class fighter returning "home" to find out that some other alpha male had muscled in and moved the furniture around. WWE wasn't the same hunting ground for Lesnar in 2012 as it had been in 2004. He'd need to adapt to survive then thrive, or die out.
The Cena setback was part of that evolution.
What other WWE booking looked silly on paper but worked out? For more wrestling, check out 10 New Main Event Megastars WWE Are Secretly Building and 10 Next Big Things In Wrestling That Totally Flopped!