Tag: WWE Raw

UFC Hall of Fame: Does Current WWE Star Brock Lesnar Belong with MMA’s Best?

Brock Lesnar, despite having just seven fights in the UFC, was one of the most popular and controversial fighters in the history of the promotion. From his debut in 2008 to his retirement at the end of 2011, Lesnar made a mark on the UFC…

Brock Lesnar, despite having just seven fights in the UFC, was one of the most popular and controversial fighters in the history of the promotion. From his debut in 2008 to his retirement at the end of 2011, Lesnar made a mark on the UFC heavyweight division that won’t soon be forgotten.

Lesnar made the most of the few moments he had, rebounding from a loss to Frank Mir at UFC 81 with four consecutive wins. He took the UFC title from the legendary Randy Couture and smashed Mir in a rematch.

It was that second fight with Mir that solidified Lesnar as the UFC’s top all-time drawing card, setting a company record for most pay-per-view buys that still stands. When Brock Lesnar fought, people took notice. He polarized fans who either loved him or hated him. No one was ambivalent.

Lesnar retired with a 5-3 record last year after a long battle with diverticulitis. We’ll never know what Lesnar might have been had he started his career immediately after winning an NCAA title in 2000, or how far he could have taken his career if illness hadn’t robbed him of his ability to train and prepare properly for bouts. 

Above, Bleacher Report lead writers Jonathan Snowden and Jeremy Botter debate Lesnar’s place in UFC history. Are the financial windfalls he almost single-handedly brought to the UFC enough to earn him a place in the UFC’s Hall of Fame? Or is his meager record enough to keep him out?

Watch the video and then give us your thoughts: Is Brock Lesnar a Hall of Famer? 

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WWE: Brock Lesnar’s Most Controversial Moments

Wherever he goes, WWE superstar Brock Lesnar brings controversy with him. Look no further than WWE RAW for an example. In just a few weeks back with the company, he’s cursed up a storm, busted the biggest star in the mouth and re-written the rulebook w…

Wherever he goes, WWE superstar Brock Lesnar brings controversy with him. Look no further than WWE RAW for an example. In just a few weeks back with the company, he’s cursed up a storm, busted the biggest star in the mouth and re-written the rulebook when it comes to merchandising.

No one is beyond Lesnar’s reach. Racial and ethnic groups, alternative lifestyles, people he doesn’t like? All fair game. Lesnar’s most dangerous weapon isn’t a right hand or a suplex. It’s his mouth and it’s led to more than a little drama.

Whatever you say about Brock, you can never say he’s boring to watch. Let’s take a look back at Lesnar’s most controversial moments.

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Brock Lesnar Chronicles: Week 2 in the UFC Legend’s Return to the WWE

Were you a big Brock Lesnar fan who’s not quite sure how to feel about his return to pro wrestling? Can’t be in front of the television every Monday night, or unclear how to work a DVR despite it being 2012? Well, I’ve found my purpose in life, bringin…

Were you a big Brock Lesnar fan who’s not quite sure how to feel about his return to pro wrestling? Can’t be in front of the television every Monday night, or unclear how to work a DVR despite it being 2012? Well, I’ve found my purpose in life, bringing you Brock Lesnar’s WWE exploits weekly right here at Bleacher Report.

The Facts:

  • After recapping Lesnar’s triumphant return to the WWE last week, they waste little time bringing Lesnar out to the ring. He’s there with John Laurinaitis, the new authority figure, which establishes Lesnar as a bad guy. The crowd hasn’t quite caught on, as Lesnar is met with more cheers than boos. Lesnar has one goal—bringing legitimacy back to the WWE.

    Laurinaitis announces the two will meet at Extreme Rules on PPV in three weeks. Then…wait for it…that’s John Cena‘s music! The former champion interrupts Lesnar, who once again forgot the sleeves on his MMA style t-shirt. Positively Belichickian.

    Cena slaps Lesnar in the face and Lesnar responds, sensibly, with a takedown and some ground-and-pound. The first punch was a solid one. Potato alert! Later the announcers hint that Cena actually lost some teeth in the exchange.

    An absolutely comical number of superstars run into ring to separate them and even more comically, can’t. It’s an ode to Stone Cold Steve Austin and Mike Tyson in the lead-up to WrestleMania 14. The two go back and forth playing “hold me back” and Cena ends up with a split lip. Someone may need to remind Lesnar that wrestling is worked.

    Lesnar is finally dragged out the ring, while Cena smiles maniacally. Things are finally simmering down as we cut to a commercial break. (Lesnar Segment 1)

  • Lesnar later comes back out for an interview with Josh Matthews. Lesnar tries to give himself a new nickname, “The War Machine,” and tells Matthews that Cena couldn’t hold his jock strap, as he proved it in the ring. (Lesnar Segment 2)
  • The show ends with Lesnar, once again, getting the best of Cena. He sneaks up behind Cena after the WWE’s biggest star won a squash, kicking him right in the nuts and F-5ing him. The show goes off the air with Cena lying helpless in the ring, (Lesnar Segment 3)

 

My Not So Humble Opinion:

  • The segment played to Lesnar’s strengths. He didn’t have to talk much and got to takedown and punch someone in the face. He’s probably loving this return. In two weeks, Lesnar hasn’t taken a single bump and has dominated Cena.
    They went a little too far filling the ring with wrestlers. It wasn’t exactly believable to see the two men shrug off the entire WWE roster to get at each other. But it was intense and it worked. If you wanted us to believe in a feud between the two men, well, some blood the hard way is a good start. (Segment 1)
  • Lesnar’s first promo since returning to the WWE went fairly well. Lesnar lets us know he’s proud to be back in wrestling, just like he’s proud of everything he does. It didn’t blow anyone away, but it was perfectly respectable. It will get better as he gets back in the swing of things. (Segment 2)
  • Has John Cena never watched wrestling before? Everyone in the building knew Lesnar would hit the ring. Everyone, except apparently, John Cena. They are really doing a good job building Lesnar back into a star. (Segment 3)

 

Brock Talk:  

  • First and foremost I’d like to thank you, Mr. Laurinaitis, for bringing credibility back to the WWE.” (Segment 1)
  • “A guy like John Cena? He thinks he’s at the top. But he couldn’t hold my jock strap in a million years.” (Segment 2)

 

Classic Lesnar Moment of the Week:

Lesnar apologizes after talking trash to Frank Mir after their UFC 100 rematch.

What’s next for Lesnar? Will Cena get his revenge? Will Lauriniatis serve as his mouthpiece going forward, or was that a one-time thing? And will Lesnar debut a t-shirt with sleeves? Stay tuned to this space for the latest in all things Brock Lesnar.

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Brock Lesnar: Why the Former UFC Champion Will Thrive in Today’s WWE

Brock Lesnar’s debut was amazing to behold. Entering the arena for the first time, he met multiple veterans, even former champions head on. He tossed them around like they were children, violated them, scaring everyone in the industry in the process. T…

Brock Lesnar‘s debut was amazing to behold. Entering the arena for the first time, he met multiple veterans, even former champions head on. He tossed them around like they were children, violated them, scaring everyone in the industry in the process.

The pro wrestling industry.

The champions in question were Al Snow, Spike Dudley and reality star Maven, not Frank Mir and Randy Couture. The event wasn’t UFC 81; it was a random episode of WWE RAW all the way back in 2002, years before he ever seriously considered stepping into the UFC Octagon.

Lesnar adapted quickly to the Octagon, but it’s easy to forget just how quickly he made his mark in pro wrestling as well. Lesnar was a natural. He learned the ropes incredibly fast, becoming a competent and then a good worker in record time. He also had a presence about him. Although you’ll never mistake him for the Rock on the microphone, Lesnar has a physical charisma that draws the eyeball. He looks like the ultimate badass, and fans buy into him hook, line and sinker.

Lesnar, in short, is a star. And the WWE is desperate for a star right now. At WrestleMania, the Rock stole the show despite being almost a decade removed from the business. The company has so little confidence in rising players like Daniel Bryan that they didn’t even trust them to deliver a real match on the biggest card of the year. Chris Jericho and CM Punk were upstaged by the ancient Undertaker and decrepit HHH. The wrestling business needs Brock Lesnar now more than ever.

Some insiders expressed concern about Vince McMahon and Brock ever co-existing. Brock is proud and prickly. Vince used to getting his own way. A WWE return could, these experts suggest, be a disaster waiting to happen. When two powerful egos collide, the fallout could be devastating.

But I think there is a high upside here too.

Lesnar and pro wrestling were made for each other. The first time around, the marriage between the two broke up over scheduling issues and the grind of the road. If Lesnar can find a happy medium this time, including a schedule that only has him working a couple of days a week, the relationship with Vince has the potential to thrive.

The bottom line, as a certain wrestler may have said a million times or more, is that Brock Lesnar is a pro wrestling savant. He was made for the business the way he never was MMA. He became a UFC champion despite being entirely ill-suited for the occupation. In wrestling, he was seemingly sculpted for success.

I can’t wait to see him, possibly on Raw as early as tonight. It’s Lesnar’s second act—I, for one, think it will be better than the first.

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