Brock Lesnar is pretty much a household name these days. Those who dont know him as a wrestler know him from his days in UFC. Either way, he is known as a walking ass-kicking machine. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6qPCm9-Cf0 Brock debuted on SmackDown in 2002, the night after WrestleMania X8; by years end, he had demolished basically everyone, beaten the Undertaker in Hell in a Cell, won the King of the Ring, destroyed Hulk Hogan and pinned the Rock to become the youngest WWE Champion in history at age 25. It looked like the human manifestation of Ruthless Aggression was going to be the new face of the WWE in the new millennium. But after only two years on WWE programming, he too, left the company. This, coupled with Austin retiring from in-ring competition, Kurt Angle undergoing surgery, the Rock making sporadic appearances, and Goldbergs contract expiring, left the WWE without a marketable face to get behind. That is, until they found John Cena. Since Brock left, Cena has become the #1 company man, doing whatever the company requires, and representing the WWE whenever he can. In this role he has amassed a staggering amount of accomplishments: 15 World title reigns, including a 280-day initial reign and a staggering 380-day third reign, two Royal Rumble wins, multiple WrestleMania main events, Tag Team and U.S. Title reigns, and overall a ten year-plus reign at the top of the WWE. Though many people have a problem with his character, one cannot deny the major role he has played in the WWEs successes over the last ten years. But what if Brock never left? Would he have been the face of the WWE? Would he, not John Cena, have had all the title reigns, main event spots and glory? I find it hard to believe that Brock could have been presented as anything other than what he was: a straight-up bad ass. It would've been difficult for them to really market Lesnar as a top babyface in the PG era without changing his image as a manifestation of destruction. Brock is best at being that, which is why people enjoy watching him; he doesnt have to put on a fake smile or cut cheesy promos. He just arrives, F-5s, and leaves. Furthermore, he doesnt even need to speak; he can get Paul Heyman to do that for him. And speaking of Paul
Alexander Podgorski is a writer for WhatCulture that has been a fan of professional wrestling since he was 8 years old. He loves all kinds of wrestling, from WWE and sports entertainment, to puroresu in Japan.
He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Queen's University in Political Studies and French, and a Master's Degree in Public Administration. He speaks English, French, Polish, a bit of German, and knows some odd words and phrases in half a dozen other languages.
