For: The Castration Of The Beast
This is a little harsh because Big Show had apparently hurt his hand so some plans may have had to be changed at the last minute. But for a match that was supposed to get Brock back onto the map as a major force in the WWE, it did anything but. Firstly it did nothing to establish Lesnar as a legitimately dangerous wrestler who could dissect opponents with lethal moves and submissions. Instead it showed him as a guy who needed chair shots to beat the Big Show, who is a guy who could have really taken the loss clean. Secondly, the chair beat down was supposed to get Lesnar heat in the same way that the Rock's beatdown of Mankind at the 1999 Royal Rumble really made him look like a brutal character. The trouble was that there was no emotion behind this match. Big Show challenged Lesnar a couple of weeks ago because he didn't like him...and that was it really. The Rock and Mankind were in the middle of an extraordinary feud that had involved the Corporation oppressing this scruffy looking performer (cause that sort of thing only happens in kayfabe...) in favour of the Corporate Champion. Furthermore, the Rock/Mankind match was an 'I Quit' Match which added a whole new layer of emotion as Rock continued to brutalise Mankind to try and get him to quit. Big Show and Lesnar had none of that- it was just a guy hitting another guy on the back for a good 10+ minutes after the match. It didn't get emotions going because there was nothing to really care about. Furthermore, it went on for waaaay too long. It also didn't help that at the end of it all, Show got up and went to the back, rather than getting stretchered off. This was an eminently forgettable match and follow-up that left neither competitor looking that strong- a concern as we head to Wrestlemania.