Brock Lesnar SummerSlam Match Do Or Die?
Brock Lesnar is learning that what the WWE universe gives, they can just as easily take away. You may recall that two weeks ago that Lesnar, Paul Heyman, and Triple H officially announced the match between Lesnar and Cena at SummerSlam 2014. The announcement was well orchestrated, and initially met with a huge reaction from the crowd in attendance. Now the wrestling blog-o-sphere has turned on Lesnar.
The Inquisitr previously reported that backstage tensions have been building around Brock Lesnar and the other WWE talent. At the heart of the tensions is Lesnar’s appearances in the WWE events. Lesnar is only a part-time worker. According to the Pro Fight Database, Lesnar has wrestled at seven Pay-Per-View events since 2012. Of those seven, Lesnar has lost only twice. The first loss was in 2012 by pinfall at the hands of John Cena, his SummerSlam 2014 opponent. The second loss was to Triple H one year later.
If the pattern holds, then Lesnar will likely lose the upcoming match against John Cena.
In fact, Lesnar is widely expected to win the August 17 match against Cena and leave the Staples Center as the WWE World Heavyweight Champion. From a storytelling perspective, it would make for interesting symmetry. Cena handed Lesnar one of his few Pay-Per-View losses in a bloody match during the Extreme Rules Pay-Per-View in 2012. But what happens after Lesnar walks away with the belt?
In April of 2014, Lesnar broke the hearts of wrestling fans everywhere when he handed The Undertaker his first defeat at WrestleMania in 21 years. The loss was a huge shock as The Undertaker was widely expected to extend the streak for a 22nd year. In a recent interview with The Huffington Post, Dave Batista, star of Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy and sometime WWE wrestler, gave voice to issues many fans had with the way the match played out:
“It sucked! Honestly, I thought it sucked. I haven’t really talked much about it but I think it was a bad decision, a horrible decision. I don’t have any say in the matter but to me, watching as a fan, it made me sick. Brock Lesnar beating him didn’t seem to work and it really wasn’t good that Brock left the day after. I just don’t see how that made sense at all. I don’t think anyone wanted to see the streak broken and it just didn’t make sense to me.”
If Lesnar wins the SummerSlam match as expected, he won’t be able to disappear the next night as he did after WrestleMania. Wrestling INC. reports that Lesnar is scheduled to appear at the August 18 post-SummerSlam edition of Monday Night Raw, the WWE’s flagship show on USA Network. Lesnar is also scheduled to appear at the September 15 edition of Monday Night Raw. A Pay-Per-View, Night of Champions, is scheduled for September 14.
Who wins SummerSlam will likely come down to what’s best for business. With the WWE Network still far short of the 1.3 million to 1.4 million subscribers it needs to break even, and losing subscribers every week, it’s in Vince McMahon’s best interest to do what will draw subscribers and viewers. Even if it isn’t necessarily what the fans think they want.
