Every Impossible Wrestling Return Ranked From Worst To Best

3. Brock Lesnar

Edge CM Punk
WWE.com

When assessing Brock Lesnar's post-2012 legacy, it's important to note that, while he does wield influence and has outright rejected certain matches, he didn't book himself in WWE.

It's also important to note that WWE was more likely than not going to f*ck somebody's career up irrespective of whether they were booked to eat multiple German suplexes in a 90 second thrashing.

For a while, that was the legacy Lesnar had somehow carved for "himself": as an incredible if selectively motivated mercenary who destroyed careers. No, Vince McMahon destroyed careers: Lesnar just followed the orders with awe-inspiring, dangerous-feeling execution. The Suplex City bit did grow stale, particularly around 2018, at which point Lesnar's low-effort match structure became a meta story beat designed to babyface Roman Reigns as the lesser of two evils, but before then, Lesnar was fantastic. He measured his selling impeccably on a when-to-do-it basis, and the selling itself was deeply convincing. His match against CM Punk at SummerSlam 2013 was a masterclass.

The Paul Heyman match has reached a drab nadir, but Lesnar's return was ultimately worth it for his David Vs. Goliath special.

A genuinely terrifying comeback delivery system at his best, Lesnar didn't do anything Vince wouldn't have already accomplished in a significantly less violently fun way.

 
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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!