Battle Of The Part-Timers! Brock Lesnar VS The Rock

[Mitch Henessey]

So in 2011, this happened:

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And in 2012, this happened:

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Brock Lesnar

Brock Lesnar returned to WWE as a former UFC Heavyweight Champion, a legit fighter, MMA champion, and bad ass. At first, Brock received a lot of "cool heel" pops during his feud with Cena, but all that changed, when WWE portrayed Lesnar as a soulless mercenary, who only cares about money.

But Lesnar's main weakness was obvious right off the bat: limited promo skills. Lesnar is okay in little video promos, but anything beyond that is asking too much of him.

Enter Paul Heyman to solve the problem. Heyman's slimy presence silenced the vast majority of Lesnar's cheers, and Heyman proved to be the perfect mouthpiece for Lesnar. Plus, during Lesnar's sporadic hiatuses, Paul is always there to remind of us his monster.

The Rock

The Rock's return provided the buzz of nostalgia we were all looking for. Rock Bottoms, People's Elbows, and the one-liners from his promos. On top of that, Rock returned with a stronger résumé as a movie star.

Most fans begged for the long-awaited "one more" match from Rock. Instead, Rock delivered five more matches. Yes, it's clear Rock was gassed from ring rust and bulking up, but he deserves credit for going above the expected bare minimum.

If I had to choose between the two for the more entertaining return run, I would go with Brock Lesnar. Yes, storyline wise the Triple H feud dragged on for too long, and the Summerslam match was a chore to sit through, but when I compare and contrast between Brock and The Rock, I still give Brock the edge for match quality.

The Extreme Rules match with Cena was a hard hitting and brutal five star classic, with Cena struggling to survive before hitting the Hail Mary shot. The match at Summerslam with Punk told a great story of Lesnar doing everything he could to annihilate Punk, and Punk refusing to quit, and he let his obsession with Heyman get the best of him in the end. Plus, the Triple H feud reached a tedious point during the Wrestlemania 29 build, but this year's steel cage match was pretty damn good. Also, I think about a bigger upside for Lesnar's future. He's not coming back full time, but Brock will be around for a few more years, so you can consider more possibilities for big match ups. You can't say the same thing about The Rock for various reasons (severe injury, lucrative movie career, etc.)

Rock VS Cena at Wrestlemania 28 lived up to expectations in the ring and during the build, and the shocker of Rock beating Cena caught everyone off guard, but his return match at Survivor Series was forgettable at best. Miz and Truth fell into obscurity as two worthless scrubs during the build for the match, and Rock's big return to the ring was too anticlimactic. That's a big problem. Unlike most people, I didn't have a big problem with the Punk matches, but you could see the outcome for the Rumble and Chamber matches coming from a mile away.

And Rock is a tough bastard for gutting it out after the injury during the Wrestlemania 29 rematch, but when you compare it to the Wrestlemania 28 match, this year's contest was very underwhelming and predictable, because there was no logical reason at all for Rock to retain the strap.

So, who would you choose as the more entertaining part-timer? Brock Lesnar or The Rock?

And keep in my mind, I'm not asking for an overall comparison of careers between the two. I want to know a "Who's better?" choice between the recent incarnations of Brock Lesnar and The Rock during their respective returns to WWE.

 

[Sundar]

Rock should win this. He put Lesnar over at Summerslam 2002 and made him the face of the company before leaving.

Of all the biggest names in wrestling, Rock is probably the only guy who has never ever had problems about putting others over. He has probably lost more matches than he has won and he has lost more matches than any of the other top guys and has still managed to remain arguably the company's biggest icon, compared to Lesnar who left them after they had pushed him so hard and let him get clean wins against almost all their major stars.

Losing wouldn't hurt either of them but assuming the match happens at WM30, which will be a huge landmark WM, they should let The Rock win, just as a way of thanking him for all he has done for the company and its fans.

 

[the_peoples_adam]

LESNAR WAS THE NEXT BIG THING....IF HE REMAINED IN WWE CENA WOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN ON THE STATE THAT HE CURRENTLY IS IN.

 

[The Eighties]

I've never liked The Rock much and always dug Lesnar so this is easy for me. Some of the promos between Rock and Cena and Rock and Punk were good but a lot of the filler in the Mania builds bored me and I didn't care for any of the matches.

Lesnar's initial return was handled really well and the match with Cena was a classic despite my disagreeing with the result. I actually thought Brock breaking Triple H's arm was a good set up for their match and the fight itself was ok despite me loathing Triple H as a face. The fact it then drug on into rematches with Brock losing once more just irritated me, however he bounced back with the brilliant feud and match with Punk. The Punk/Heyman/Brock angle this summer is my favourite feud since HBK/Jericho in 2008.

 

[Mongoose McQueen]

Brock Lesnar all the way. Both got equal pops from the crowd but overall, Brock Lesnar has had the better run since his (part time) return.

John Cena vs Brock Lesnar> John Cena vs The Rock
Add the fact that The Rock has only faced two guys in Cena and CM Punk and neither match was particularly "great" IMO. The Rock does not have the physical conditioning that he once had and I believe that showed during his matches with Cena and Punk. He is very bulky and never wrestles so that's the result you get.

Brock Lesnar is in excellent shape, has never stopped being an athlete. His matches with Cena and Punk have both been amazing. I did not enjoy Lesnar's matches with HHH but I blame HHH for being mediocre in the ring.

 

[CyberPunk]

I would give Brock the edge here.

Since returning, Rock appeared in handful of matches against two top workers of WWE, Cena and Punk. His appearances were far and few between and even as WWE champion, he missed few RAWs and was not around for house shows. He was charismatic smooth talker which he always has been but too much of build was left to be done by Cena and Punk for their respective matches. Also, except the Wrestlemania 28 match against Cena, his matches had forgone conclusions.

That's where Brock has had advantage. He has Paul Heyman by his side to remind us of Brock's presence. His matches are far from predictable. Many may have not liked his loss against Cena but I was all for it because it at least portrayed him as someone beatable. I liked his matches with HHH too (the Mania match suffered because it was right after the Taker/Punk match). His matches are far less predictable and despite him loosing 2 of the 5 matches he's featured in, he has that aura of unbeatable, ruthless, soulless man who'll stop at nothing to decimate his opponent.

So to reiterate, it has been Brock.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

The Rock's return might've been box office dynamite, but it's been underwhelming. I'm not talking about the fans who go to Raw shows, they don't care about the quality of what they see. I'm talking about the real fans, the armchair fans, us. None of us could have been impressed by the quality of The Rock's matches and I'm sure most of us got bored of his tired promos. So what if he made WWE millions, that doesn't have an effect on us.

Brock on the other hand has, when asked, deliversed some outstanding matches. The outcome of some of those matches made no sense, yet that didn't really have any bearing on Lesnars standing in the company.

Lesnar put over Cena in his return, The Rock lost to Cena two years after his return. There's no comparison. Lesnar rules, The Rock drools.

 

[Galvatron]

I pick Lesnar. I have to admit that I wasn't too thrilled with the idea of him coming back after the garbage match he had with Goldberg at Wrestlemania XX. There is no wrestler in WWE (including my current favorites) that has my eyes on the screen at all times during his matches. Of all the part timers , he is the one that has me looking forward to seeing his matches the most. Hopefully he wrestles Taker at Wrestlemania XXX, that would be a classic.

 

[MCMG]

That's really difficult question.

The Rock's return was magical. He is such a big name in wrestling history and is one of those guys that everyone seems to love. His charisma and presence on the mic is absolutely legendary and seeing him back was fantastic.

Lesnar's return was also incredible. I never thought that, after leaving, he would return but he did. I actually had that moment on Raw spoiled for me but I was ecstatic.

Lesnar wrestled Triple H twice as well as Punk and Cena once. The Rock faced Cena twice, Punk twice and The Miz/R-Truth. Lesnar's matches were undoubtedly of a higher quality.

Lesnar's match with Cena was probably the best (or at least top two) of 2012 and, in my opinion, the match with Punk has been match of the year. I think it is fair to say that The Rock's matches failed to deliver. They were solid but rather underwhelming.

The Rock did, however, make up for his rather disappointing matches with his promos. Some seemed rather repetitive but seeing him back at his best was a great sight. For example, the Rock Concert about Cena properly had me laughing and was something that no-one in WWE history could repeat.

Overall it is very difficult to say which return was better. I felt I had to see The Rock more for one last run but seeing Lesnar back was superb. If I had to pick one, I would go with Lesnar. Just. Simply because I loved his matches with Cena and Punk.

 

[rge2010]

Brock Lesnar all the way. Both got equal pops from the crowd but overall, Brock Lesnar has had the better run since his (part time) return.

Brock had a European crowd the night after Mania. I truly believe if that was Rock the pop would've being even bigger.

Both are great superstars and I would love to see them do battle. It is probably the biggest match WWE can do right and worthy of Mania 30 Main Event.

Rock goes over this one.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Personally, I'm not sure this match would be all that warmly received by a lot of fans. For a good many, the novelty of The Rock coming back for a few months out of the year, doing his thing, wrestling one or two matches, being put over ahead of other wrestlers, having so much time devoted to him, collecting a big paycheck and then disappearing for the rest of the year has worn off. With The Rock being injured at WM and not showing up for Raw the next night, I think it really sank into the minds of a lot of people that The Rock really and truly isn't "one of the boys" anymore and that's he's really only there just to make a lot of money and promote his movies in front of a big audience no matter what he said about loving WWE and coming "home" and all that.

Brock Lesnar is much more transparent and I think some fans do appreciate that. Lesnar is only interested in making money. Don't get me wrong, money's what it's all about whether you're The Rock, Brock Lesnar or CM Punk or anybody. However, Lesnar's blatantly up front about it. He couldn't care less if WWE went out of business tomorrow as long as he got paid first.

I think fans would view this match as the clash of a couple of mercenaries who, deep down inside, don't really care about WWE, it's fans or the boys & girls in the back. I think that if this match went down, Rock & Lesnar could possibly get a lot of heckling from fans similar to what we saw happen with Goldberg vs. Lesnar over a decade ago. Or, possibly the response of Triple H vs. Brock Lesnar from the fans. While they were really good, physical matches, in my opinion, in which both guys worked hard, a lot of fans just simply weren't into them. If it did go down and given a choice, I'd rather see Brock Lesnar go over.

While I'm sure this match would be a big draw, it's one I'm not all that interested in. Aside from the blatant fact of using it to draw attention, I don't see any real purpose in it. Neither guy has anything to gain from winning or losing to the other as Lesnar would go back into hibernation until the next big show with his big paycheck and The Rock would head on back to Hollywood with his. Since winning or losing won't help or hurt either guy, there's no real drama or story to be told aside from the fact that it's two big names getting two big paydays getting their already two big egos stroked. Again, it kind of puts me in mind of the Triple H vs. Lesnar feud and maybe that's why a lot of fans simply weren't digging the matches since neither man really had anything to gain or lose.

 

[Dirk]

I never really "got" it when Lesnar came back. Was never a fan of him - he's just not what I enjoy. Having said that, even the worst of his matches since his return were good. From a storyline perspective, he was relegated to pretty much Heyman's henchman when they turned Punk face. His win/loss record since his return is not what I'd expect of a former top face.

Cena jobbing to Rocky last year totally caught me with my pants down. It was a dream match. This year's WM result was to be expected, but the match itself had a good story. Rock's promo's took some flak (especially against Punk), but I freaking loved it.

So, all-in-all, Rock just felt like a bigger deal when he made his return. To me at least...

 

[BestWrestlingOpinions]

Hands down Brock Lesnar. He brought some legitimacy back to the sport. He offered some great and brutal matches, with the best one being the one with Punk. Lesnar makes it seem real and awesome, and the story lines with Cena and Punk were almost done to perfection. He acts more like a mercenary for the special occasions whenever he makes his special appearances as Heyman's monster and it fits his schedule perfectly. We knew he isn't the best guy on the mic, but he isn't in the WWE for that reason. He has Heyman for that, and as long as he can provide in the ring, I'll go with Lesnar.

The Rock's matches are predictable for the most part, and to be honest, they weren't that great either. He was carried by Punk in both matches, where they were ok, but the ones with Cena were just horrible. His promos were so forced and felt like he was portraying Cena with the whole pandering to the crowd thing against Punk. He was struggling with his promos a lot, they didn't have the Attitude Era feeling, possibly because he was limited to what he could say. In my opinion, if we were to scrap away everything both men had done 10 years ago, the Rock's return would classify him as a glorified mid-carder, who received a title shot solely because of his Hollywood career. On the flipside, Lesnar managed to prove that he is a beast and so believable in the ring. After all, he is a former UFC Heavyweight Champion. He put on great matches, great stories, whereas the Rock was just so predictable, had forced promos and generally, I was let down by his latest WWE run.