Brock Lesnar's 2012 return came at a time in which the company had only dipped a toe into part time employment for megastars. This goes some way to explaining the befuddling decision to have John Cena defeat him in his first WWE contest for eight years, but the result didn't undermine an explosive fray that saw the Chicago crowd baying for 'The Champ's blood.
Roaring the former UFC Champion on, the audience were unrelenting in their vitriol towards the still-cartoonish Cena. Lesnar bloodied Cena in seconds, leathering him with elbows and fists. The initial shock from the crowd turned to anger when doctors actually tried to help stymie the claret.
Brock chuckled at the chaos at various points as nearly 15,000 Chicagoans breathlessly urged him to finish the job. His eventual loss following a beating with a chain and Attitude Adjustment onto the steel stairs did little to dull their enthusiasm.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett
