10 Times WWE Booked The Wrong Guy To Win

7. John Cena Beats Brock Lesnar - Extreme Rules 2012

Cena Bloody Mouth
WWE

Yes, things worked out in the end. Despite this loss, a WrestleMania loss to Triple H, and a sobering UFC suspension, Lesnar's killer aura has not been tarnished. Real, blood-drawing elbow strikes will see to that.

But it took the sheen off Lesnar's debut, the misery following which was compounded by his heat-free series with Triple H. To properly resuscitate the Lesnar character, WWE felt compelled to have him end the Undertaker's WrestleMania streak - a booking decision which could have easily made it onto this list.

Moreover, it made zero sense for Cena's 2012 trajectory, either. 2012 by design was meant to be the worst year of Cena's career - if it wasn't, he wouldn't need to redeem his loss at the hands of The Rock at WrestleMania XXVIII - which, it should be pointed out, was barely decisive. He lost the match more than Rock won it.

Cena in the Extreme Rules post-match did look (and indeed was) thoroughly battered - but that does not inform the record books. He won. In former UFC champion Lesnar's first WWE match in eight years.

He was meant to be suffering a crisis of confidence resulting from an embarrassing loss, but this didn't seem to bother him as he galavanted with John Laurinaitis in a comedy feud a few weeks later.

In this post: 
John Cena
 
Posted On: 
Contributor
Contributor

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 current Undisputed WWE 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!