How is Brock Lesnar doing?

Sorry I didn't get around to doing a RAW write-up last night.  I'm not sure I'm going to continue doing them in the future but nonetheless, I did see Brock Lesnar's stuff from RAW and I'd like to address how the WWE has handled him so far.  Brock Lesnar came back to the WWE as a superstar who is actually bigger than the WWE and the company needs to accentuate that fact.  He made a huge amount of money and got worldwide exposure for his UFC/MMA career and I don't think the WWE will be able to capitalize on that.

If you missed it last night, John Lauranaitis came out and introduced Brock and gave him a mic.  However, John Cena interrupted him and came into the ring and slapped Brock.  Lesnar then took him down and pounded on him with right hands including one to the face that busted Cena open.  The whole WWE locker room came out to separate them and failed a couple of times before finally succeeding.  Brock later gave an interview and in the end segment, attacked Cena again after his match with David Otunga.  Lauranaitis also announced Brock v. Cena at Extreme Rules.  This was an idea that I totally disagree with. 

Don't get me wrong, everything from last night was great with this program.  It was made to be a big deal and came across that way.  One of the things that made Brock so appealing in the UFC was that he did not fight 14 times a year and he was not on television at least twice a month, if not more.  He fought a couple times per year and he was very entertaining and appealing at those times.  I understand that once he signed to come back to the WWE that he would be on tv more than during his MMA career but I was at least hoping he would only fight once in a while.  Brock should only be wrestling on pay-per-view and never on RAW.  You have to make people realize that the only way they are going to see him fight is if they pay money.  You can't get away with that once or twice a month, however.  The WWE needs to book Brock like he is bigger than the WWE and putting his first match back on a B-PPV does not do that.

My theory as it pertains to major wrestlers returning is that there first match back will draw more buys than usual.  However, a figurative timer starts after this and the more appearances and matches that guy has diminishes his value.  This specifically happened with The Rock in the last year.  He got huge buzz in 2011 at WrestleMania XXVII for hosting the show and the WWE booked him for the 2012 WrestleMania right away.  The problem was that the WWE got two hasty and put his first match back earlier at Survivor Series 2011 in a meaningless tag team match.  This failed to produce huge numbers and it helped The Rock lose some of his luster and eventually he became just another WWE superstar on the roster.

That same thing is already happening with Brock by announcing his first match back this month instead of drawing it out and protecting the hell out of Brock's appearances.  He should not wrestle unless it is on a big PPV and it is made to be a big deal.  Extreme Rules is not a major PPV and I'd be surprised if this show does more than 300,000 buys worldwide.  Booking his first match back on this PPV is a big mistake and has already diminished his value.  The timer has started and every match he is in after this PPV will diminish his draw until WrestleMania.  When Goldberg came to the WWE in 2003 this very same thing happened and they are repeating history with Brock.  Brock's first match back should be able to produce huge numbers/buys but being done so fast, I don't think it will do huge numbers. 

The WWE needs to minimize his RAW appearances and what he does on those shows.  They need to protect him like they've never done before and they need to make sure he only wrestles a handful of times.  If they do this, they should be able to increase buys for every show he is on leading up to WrestleMania XXIX next year.  In reality, if they continue to book him so fast, he will become less and less special and he will eventually blend in with every other major WWE superstar, bringing PPV numbers back to normalcy. 

April 2, 2012 WWE RAW Review

This was a night of the WWE not giving fans what they wanted until the end.  It's back to normal after WrestleMania, so here we go...

The show starts with the all the RAW guys in a meeting with John Lauranaitis, who said he will use his new power to give the people what they want.  Punk interrupts and said they all considered him to be a giant toolbox.  Ace made a match for later: CM Punk v. Mark Henry for the WWE Title.  Lauranaitis used the term people power to describe his new powers as GM of both shows and this was the theme used all night by Cole.

The Rock came out to a huge ovation and he said he wanted to thank Cena for bringing it to the Rock like no one else has before.  They both made history and he thanked the people and said this was only the beginning.  He had a vision last night that he will become WWE Champion in the future.  Guess that means he'll be back.

Santino v. Jack Swagger v. Dolph Ziggler-US Title-This match was made by Ace in the opening segment.  This started off 2 on 1 until a pin attempt and then Ziggler and Swagger were at odds.  The finish was the cobra on Swagger.  Swagger, at one point, did a wheelbarrow on Santino in order for Ziggler to hit the rocker dropper.  Nothing match but afterwards, they went after Santino but he ran away up the ramp.  They chased after him but Brodus Clay stopped them.  Ziggler came running for him but Brodus hit his headbutt and Dolph went flying.  Then, Brodus' dancers came out and danced with Santino and Brodus.  Clay came across good here and it's the next step for his character to get out of those weekly squash matches.  *1/4

Lord Tensai w/Sakamoto v. Alex Riley-Sakamoto was Tensai's second and Tensai walked to the ring dressed like a samurai.  Tensai was described as a former WWE superstar who went to Japan and dominated there and now he's back to dominate the WWE.  They never acknowledged him as Albert or A-Train.  He used a lot of power moves and strikes.  Lots of YES chants and this was prevelent all night.  The finish was Tensai winning with his choke sit-out powerbomb.  After the match, he put the claw on Riley and it looked stupid.  The crowd was dead for this match.  *

CM Punk v. Mark Henry-WWE Title-This was the 10PM match and it was very enjoyable.  It was similar to the Henry/Cena match from a couple weeks ago but Punk kept getting hope spots that Henry kept shutting down.  Henry tried for a Vader Bomb and missed and then, Punk missed his springboard clothesline.  Punk hit two running knees in the corner and went for the bulldog but Henry held on to him and threw him outside and Punk got counted out.  This was a very fun little match that got some time too.  Afterwards, Henry did the World's Strongest Slam on the floor and Ace came out.  Johnny said that Punk was going to have to defend the title more often and Jericho came out through the crowd.  He said he was going to send Punk down the road to alcoholism just like his father.  He grabbed a bottle of liquor and poured it all over him and his head and face.  Jericho grabbed another bottle and smashed it over the back of Punk's head.  I liked this part and it felt dramatic.  Officials came down to help Punk.  The match was **1/2

Sheamus came out and before he could talk, Alberto Del Rio came out.  Huge Daniel Bryan chants and they were even booing Sheamus any time he talked or did anything.  Del Rio said Sheamus will lose the belt and that Lauranaitis agreed to give him a match with Sheamus on Smackdown and if he won he'd get a future shot at the title.  By this point, Del Rio's mic was giving out and Sheamus hit the Brogue Kick on him.  The fans were really shitting on this whole segment and on both guys.  They wanted to see Daniel Bryan and they did for a second.  Josh Matthews tried to interview him about his loss at Mania but he just stared at him and said nothing.  The crowd was hot for Bryan the entire night and that's all they gave to them.

Cody Rhodes v. Kofi Kingston-Nothing match and quick.  Big Show came out and showed pics of Cody's loss at Mania trying to embarrass him like how Cody did to him before.  This distracted Cody and Kofi hit Trouble in Paradise for the win.  *

Mark Henry and Abraham Washington were talking backstage.  Washington said that Henry needed a change and he wanted to represent him in the future.  He gave Henry a business card with AW initials on it.  The problem here was they never actually said who the guy was and I'm guessing no one remembered him at all from his time on Smackdown a while back.  We were supposed to already know who he was, I guess.

Eve came out and said she got her Mania moment and it was easy.  It's easy to manipulate any man except Ace and she said "let's hear it for people power."  That was the whole segment.  The crowd was hot for Ryder though during this.

The Miz v. Zack Ryder-Nothing match as Miz hit the Skull-Crushing Finale for the win.  Good heat for Ryder but they continue to bury him.  *

Cena came out to address the WWE Universe on his loss at Mania and he got huge heat.  He said we all take defeats in life, which was a quote from Ali.  There was speculation on how he'd react and if he would finally lash out against the WWE Universe.  He said he wouldn't.  He's a man and he admits defeat and if he let anyone down, he apologizes.  Lots of We Want Lesnar chants and some YES chants.  Cena went along with the YES chants and plugged Daniel Bryan on camera.  He called down The Rock because he has earned Cena's respect.  Brock Lesnar came out to a tremendous ovation, biggest of the night.  He came in, went to shake Cena's hand, and hit the F5 and the place was buzzing the whole time for Brock.

Bryan got a major reaction the entire night with lots of chants and he had just as much heat as The Rock did.  The crowd was hot for many things tonight but Bryan was probably #2 on the list right behind Brock.  The show as a whole decent except for the Henry/Punk match, the Jericho segment, and Lesnar coming out.  One gets the feeling that the WWE really doesn't understand what works in 2012 at all though when it comes to guys like Ryder and maybe Bryan.  Maybe it was just that crowd tonight but they need to experiment more with Bryan and keep that YES thing over everywhere.  Let's just hope they don't book Lesnar as a heel with Cena as a face.

WrestleMania XXVIII Review

Daniel Bryan v. Sheamus-World Heavyweight Title-Bryan was pretty over tonight but as soon as the match began Sheamus hit the Brogue Kick and won in 28 seconds.  *

Team Johnny is in the back and The Miz tries to pump everyone up but they disregard him.  Lauranaitis comes in and says when his team wins it will be comparable to when Hulk slammed Andre and when Stone Cold wouldn't submit to the Sharpshooter at WM13.

Kane v. Orton-Not much to this match.  There was a Daniel Bryan chant though.  Kane had 3 different chinlocks on Orton.  Kane went up top and jumped but Orton countered with a dropkick.  Orton went for punt but Kane countered it into a chokeslam.  They ended up on the top rope and Randy looked like he was going for an RKO but Kane ended up hitting a top rope chokeslam for the win.  The finish was pretty decent.  *3/4

Santino, Captain Keith from Deadliest Catch, and Mick Foley are all at a table with crabs on their plates in front of them and they did a skit.  Foley pulled out Socko and Santino had the cobra and they ate until Ron Simmons came from behind and said damn.  This was sort of humerous, I thought.

Cody Rhodes v. The Big Show-Intercontinental Title-Cody needed this win but he didn't get it.  Cody got some offense in and hit his Disaster Kick.  He went for it again but Show countered with a spear and then he hit the WMD for the win.  No wonder no one takes Cody seriously when they don't give him a much needed singles win.  *1/2

They showed a Divas video.

Eve/Beth Phoenix v. Maria Menounos/Kelly Kelly-Daniel Bryan chants again.  Maria was on the bottom during most of her time in-ring but she didn't take any bumps or anything, just selling and her facials were horrible.  Maria got the win by rolling up Beth.  This match was terribly terrible.  *

Matt Striker interviewed Shawn Michaels and he came out to ref the next match.
Jim Ross was out to call this match.  Undertaker v. HHH-Hell in the Cell-Up until now, the night was horrible but this brightened up everything.  Taker had a great outfit and his haircut wasn't bad, just a mohawk.  HHH came out through a skull's mouth display on the stage.  The match started slow with a lot of brawling outside by Taker.  Taker did hit his apron legdrop on HHH and he used the steps on him and brought them in the ring.  HHH went for a Pedigree on the steps but Taker countered it.  However, HHH hit his spinebuster on the steps soon after but right away, Taker hit the Hell's Gate choke.  This was then countered by HHH with a powerbomb similar to the Silva/Rampage PRIDE fight a couple years ago.  HHH went for a chair and started laying into Taker heavily.  HBK finally got the chair away from him and he told him to cover him and end it.  HHH pushed HBK out of the way and grabbed the chair again.  HBK pleaded with Taker to stop the match but Taker said no, don't stop it.  HHH now went for the sledgehammer as he was telling HBK to end it.  He kept telling him this, by this point.  HHH aimed the sledgehammer as if to crush Taker's head like a watermelon but HBK pulled it away.  HHH still told HBK to end it and Shawn almost did but he hesitated and Taker put the Hell's Gate on HBK.  HHH saved him but Taker started fighting back.  He put the choke on HHH and he was passed out but HBK was still down.  Charles Robinson came running down and Taker hit a chokeslam but only got a two-count.  So, Taker grabbed Robinson and chokeslammed him.  He went for the tombstone which was reversed into HBK hitting the superkick on Taker.  HHH hit the Pedigree but only got a two and HBK couldn't believe.  After HBK was thrown out of the ring by HHH, Taker went on an assault and hit the tombstone but couldn't get him.  Both guys were down but they began to move, hitting each other on the way up.  They both battled back and forth and went for their finishers but both failed.  Taker went for the chair and HHH went for the sledge.  Taker beat him to the punch and stepped on the sledgehammer and he went to town with the chair.  HBK was pleading with Taker to stop and he even blocked a sledgehammer shot, grabbed it, and threw it out of the ring.  HHH is up but he knows he's done for and he gives Taker the crotch chop and Taker hit him with the sledge.  Taker pulled him up and tombstoned him for the win.  Taker had welts all over his back after this match.  HBK helped up Taker and they hugged and then they both helped up HHH and all three exited.  When they got to the top of the ramp they hugged.

This match was beyond epic and needs to be watched.  The drama was there, just like last year, but it was even better.  The story was great as HBK kept pleading with both guys to stop but they kept fighting.  The crowd reaction was simply amazing.  This was the most epic match ever in WrestleMania history and maybe even in WWE history.  *****

The Hall of Fame guys came out like they do every year, with intros from Howard Finkel.

They did a stupid Flo-Rida and Heath Slater segment where Slater got beat up.

Team Teddy v. Team Johnny-Everyone and their mother was out for this but no one cared until the very end.  Lauranaitis had an all white suit on with a red tie.  Lawler saw this and said his suit would give Brother Love a heart attack.  If Bruce Pritchard gets better from his heart attack, he might find that line funny.  The highlight of this match was Ryder, Kofi, and Truth hitting triple somersault planchas on Team Johnny.  In the end, Ryder was on fire and the crowd loved him.  He went for the Ruff Ryder on the Miz but was thrown over into Ziggler.  He went for the Broski Boot but Eve got in the ring and went for it too.  Ryder stopped to get her and Miz hit the Skull Crushing Finale for the win.  Afterwards, Eve kicked Ryder in the balls.  *1/2

CM Punk v. Chris Jericho-WWE Title-This was a solid little match but it lacked heat.  Punk's pop was soft and the crowd seemed to care more about Jericho throughout the match.  My guess is that the Taker/HHH match took a lot out of the crowd.  Before the match, Ace told Punk that if he got DQ'ed, he would lose the belt.  Jericho began by antagonizing Punk, trying to get him disqualified.  Punk went for a chair, and went to swing it at him but stopped.  This match had a ton of counters back and forth.  Jericho hit the codebreaker but Punk rolled out of the ring.  After Jericho got him back in, Punk hit the GTS but Jericho had his foot on the ropes.  Both men were up top and Punk went for a rana but Jericho countered it into the Walls of Jericho.  Later, Punk went for his springboard clothesline but Jericho countered it into the codebreaker.  The match was starting to get a little heat by now.  They countered a lot of moves in the finale with a lot of pin attempts but in the end, Punk slapped on the Anaconda Vise and won.  They made Punk look really good during this match.  The match didn't start really heating up until the last few minutes and it needed some heat but it was still pretty good and worth tracking down.  ****

Brodus Clay came out and told everyone to get their phones and call their mamas.  He called his and she said she was in the building and he told her to come out.  A woman with a dress, grey wig, and a butt pad came out and danced along with like twenty more similarly dressed dancers.  They all danced.

P. Diddy came out to intro MGK, who played his song for Cena.  Also, Flo-Rida came out and played his songs for The Rock.
John Cena v. The Rock-Tons of heat for this match, as expected.  This was your typical Mania, Hogan-esque match.  Cena dominated in the beginning and even had a bearhug on Rocky.  He went after his ribs which got injured from a table bodyslam outside.  Rock went for the elbow but failed and Cena went for the STF instead.  He hit the 5-knuckle shuffle but missed with the AA and they both hit clotheslines at the same time.  Cena hit an AA and got a two-count and then Rock hit the Rock Bottom for a two-count.  The crowd was mixed by this point.  Cena went up top and landed a sick rocker dropper and landed on Rock's back and neck.  His AA missed and Rock hit a spinebuster into a sharpshooter but Cena got to the ropes.  Rock put it on again and Cena broke the hold.  Later, Cena went for a sunset flip from the apron and nailed the STF out of it.  The Rock was still in it and nailed a spinebuster into the People's Elbow.  Cena then tried for a superplex but it was blocked and The Rock nailed a crossbody instead.  Cena rolled through, hoisted the Rock onto his shoulders, and hit the AA.  Now, Cena got cocky and tried for his own People's Elbow and he looked like a total douche doing it!  As he was running towards The Rock for the elbow, Rock was up and hit the Rock Bottom for the win.  Cena was upset that he lost and the crowd went home happy.  This was a pretty solid match and worth the wait.  It wasn't a show stealer or anything but it was pretty good.  One has to think The Rock will be back at some point since he won this one.  ***3/4

Overall, this Mania was a hell of a lot better than last year's with three pretty solid matches including that epic Taker/HHH match.  That is certainly a match of the year candidate.  The WWE came through with this one but they have to get people to care more about guys like Rhodes, Ziggler, and Punk, especially if they are the future of the company right now.  Although, like I said, the Punk reaction might be due to the Taker/HHH heat.