If Lesnar had stayed????

[mace87]

I was watching the Brock Lesnar return match against John Cena at Extreme Rules this morning and in the build up to the their match Lesnar suggests that if would have still been around there would never have been a John Cena. I also think he mentioned it in this build up to the Summerslam match too.

It got me wondering weather Lesnar is right and if he had stayed for the 9 years he was absent would there be a John Cena like we know now and just how dominant would Lesnar have been?

How many championships would he have won?
Who would have been his rivals as he would probably have been the number 1 heel?

IMO it's difficult to imagine a WWE without John Cena as we all love or hate him so my guess would be Cena would still be the face of the company but not have had 15 world title reigns and Lesnar would have been the top heel and at least a 10 time champion!

 

[MattRhys20]

I think there is some validity to the argument, however; bearing in mind that the time Lesnar and Cena started off in WWE, we still had the brand split.

What I could have imagined happening, is that they both would have become faces of each brand, Lesnar on Raw and Cena on Smackdown (or vice versa). Now how this would have played out I don't know, because that would have meant Lesnar vying to be top guy on RAW against the likes of HHH & HBK and Cena going at it with the likes of The Undertaker, Edge and Jeff Hardy on Smackdown.

It then gets a bit complicated from there

 

[Tyrant25]

I doubt the potential WWE saw in Lesnar would've hindered Cena. I'm sure he'd be in the same position as he is today. For one, a heel can't be the face of the company, and two, Lesnar can't talk. Lesnar would've definitely been a top heel, but Cena would've been the top face either way bar none.

 

[Mudlup50]

I have to imagine it would have been pretty similar. Lesnar was a force no doubt, but I think him staying would more hurt his legacy and the legacies of:Edge, Orton and heel Punk. Instead of them getting so many title reigns, Lesnar would get a few more and most likely lose it quite quickly as heel champs typically do in this modern era. Granted maybe he would've stayed and broke Cena's neck and we'd be in a completely new WWE but I seriously doubt that. Cena got traded to Raw pretty much right after hitting it big, and Lesnar would be the face of the blue show. :shrugs: not bad, just doesn't seem like much Raw history would change

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Cena brought up something I found interesting and something that also, at least in my eyes, has a good deal of truth about it.

In his promo with Heyman last week on Raw, Cena mentioned that Brock Lesnar has no passion for anything but himself, that he's essentially a mercenary. It's an opinion that I share about Lesnar, I'm not saying that to knock him or put him down, it's just something that he himself has demonstrated. What that translates to me is that Lesnar having no passion is equivalent to Lesnar having no heart. It's true that he was the embodiment of the ultimate sports entertainer in the eyes of Vince McMahon. Vince rolled out the red carpet in 2002 for this 24 year old athletic freak of nature, Vince even personally met with Lesnar to get him to sign with the company and he'd never done that with anyone before. I don't think he's done it with anyone since. Lesnar was given the biggest push of anyone really since Hulk Hogan, winning his first WWE Championship within a little over 5 months of his TV debut at SummerSlam. Lesnar mowed down everybody put in front of him, including big stars and up & coming stars.

However, it all came down to the fact that Brock Lesnar simply didn't have what it took. In my opinion, and that's all it is mind you, Brock Lesnar figured that he'd get into WWE, figured it'd be easy and that he'd make a big ass pile of money. He was right about the big ass pile of money, but he was dead wrong on how easy it'd be. He found out that there was a price to be paid for all that fame, all that glory, all that money: he'd have to work harder than he'd ever worked for anything in his life. You wanna dance, you've got to pay the band and the band in this case was WWE's touring schedule. All the athletic ability, freakish strength, legends putting you over and chiseled physiques and even the support of fans don't mean squat if you don't love it or have the heart for it. If it's JUST something you do for the sake of a huge paycheck, people will eventually discover that whether it be someone in the front office, one of the boys in the back or a friend/family member of somebody on the roster who also knows Lesnar personally.

When I think of John Cena not being as big of a deal as he's become, it's just not something that forms with any degree of solidity. Some people hate Cena, some love him, some tolerate him, some kinda sorta like him, etc. and that's neither here nor there. What isn't debatable in regards to Cena is his work ethic, his devotion and love for WWE. I don't care how much you might hate him, you're just flat out full of bullshit so rich you could use it to grow tomatoes the size of Big Show's head if you don't believe that John Cena has worked harder than any other wrestler on the WWE roster over the past 10 years. In terms of work ethic and passion, I think that John Cena would be who Brock Lesnar is if Lesnar had heart.

 

[JoeFromTomsRiver]

As has been said, the bulk of the years that Lesnar was gone, SD and RAW were separate entities. I think they would have tried their best to have Cena as the top guy on RAW and Lesnar the top guy on SD for a number of years, leading to a champion vs. champion match at WM. A match we never got during the brand extension.

OR, Lesnar vs. Cena could have just been another Orton vs. Cena, a feud that Creative went back to the well for so many times that people got burned out by it.

 

[Pedigree1]

Brock is indeed a hired gun. A mercenary if you will. Cena did in fact bring that point home.

Lesnar is someone for his size and God given athletic ability doesn't have to work that hard to be add good as he is. Brock does this only for money. He doesn't have the heart for the business never did. If Brock had stayed and had the heart and passion, it be safe to say he would have been the greatest all time.

No one ever has had the heart or passion that Cena has. 12 years now, he had been putting in the work busting his ass. He deserves every accolade he has gotten. No one has ever worked harder than Cena. That is just fact

 

[Reflection]

John Cena is a much more versatile character and has more qualities than Brock Lesnar.

He can cut intense promos on the mic when the situation demands it, Brock can't, and always requires a mouthpiece. Cena wins.

He is the biggest babyface and will be the biggest heel if he turns. Brock isn't the biggest heel, nor would be the biggest face if he turns. Cena wins.

He sells much more merchandise than Brock does. Cena wins.

He is a more responsible character; you can send him as the company's representative for any promotional or interview and he won't let you down; can't say the same thing about Brock. Cena wins.

He has a more likable real-life character that smiles almost always, talks kindly to people, does endless charities, appreciates his fans... Brock is the total opposite. Cena wins.

Above all, he isn't ashamed to be a 'fake wrestler'. Cena wins yet again.

Brock Lesnar is a very dominating fighter; but Vince McMahon wasn't looking for the best fighter... he was looking for the best face of the company; the most loyal total package ever. John Cena would have been John Cena whether or not Brock Lesnar stuck around.

 

[Redemption-2012]

First of all I am a massive Brock Lesnar fan but my favorite Wrestler of all time is John Cena. IMO, both would of been huge stars.

 

[lil steroid meat]

Meh. Cena's legacy would be around the same. Cena and Lesnar would have been on different brands.

The only thing that would be different is that there would be no Batista. Brock would have been a better version of Batista.

 

[themick]

Agree with Barack. Batista's probably the one whose career is most affected by Brock leaving, especially given that he's about ten years older. No way 35year old Dave gets pushed to the moon in 2005 if Cena, Orton and Lesnar are all around.

 

[mcfly2012]

Lesnar could have been in the Hogan Rock and Austin bracket in my opinion. I mean arguably he is the main draw now.Biggest word in the world is if. We will never know.

 

[Hem]

If Lesnar had stayed I think Cena would still be at the same place that he is today, a freaking 15 time World Heavyweight Champion who is the biggest name in the game. I think the fate of Cena and HHH would have been solidified as the top players in the past few years. The careers who Brock would have had the biggest effect on would be those of;

1) Randy Orton - Arguably the biggest and most notorious heel of the pg era but with Lesnar being around for the whole part of the nine years (perhaps excluding some vacation/injury time) the positioning of Randy Orton would not be in the top 3 thats for sure. However that doesn't mean that Randy Orton would just be stuck as a mid card guy because I think he has all it takes to be at the top and would absolutely be a main event talent.

2) Batista - Reality of the matter is that Dave Batista was one of the biggest faces and heels of the pg era right behind Cena and HHH so having BARRRACK LESNAR inserted into the picture might have put a damper on Big Daves impressive career. I am not saying Batista would have only a single or a couple of World Title reigns but I am saying that he would not be at the place he is in today.

3) Edge - Along with Orton, Edge was also a man who dominated the bad guy role in the WWE for the better part of his career. Now having said that he is a not as built as WWE likes to have their guys be and thats why I think had Lesnar stayed and been the top heel the whole time than I believe Edge would only have a few WHC reigns under his name and would generally be perceived as an upper mid card guy.

4) Mark Henry - Although Marks major heel run began not too long ago I believe had Lesnar been around Mark Henry would never have had the Hall Of Pain gimmick due that pretty much being Lesnars whole character, the guy who likes to hurt his opponent. I believe the two would have had some sort of a feud during the duration of the 9 year time span but I do not think that it would have taken Mark Henry to a position of future WHC and would just leave Henry to be relegated to the mid card scene perhaps fighting for the IC/US titles or just putting over the younger guys.

5) CM Punk - The man with the longest WWE Championship reign of the current era.. Punk is an interesting person as to who would be affected by Brocks presence in the WWE because I don't think that with Brock being a full time WWE guy anyone else would have had a longer title reign than him. I don't think that the Paul Heyman and CM Punk duo would have ever occurred and even if it had it would never have lasted for as long as it did because of the fact that Paul Heyman is mainly a BROCK LESNAR PERSON. I think Punk would still be a main event face and have several feuds with Brock, in fact I think those feuds might have helped Punk elevate his career even more.

6) The Undertaker - If Brock Lesnar was a full time no break WWE wrestler than I think the current value of him being a special attraction would completely fade away. I think he would just become a major ticket and merch seller much like John Cena. This means no special Brock Lesnar returns to the WWE match to do this and now to do that, as in Brock Lesnar never becomes the 1 in 21-1. I think both man would have had a show down at WM and maybe a few times at other ppvs before that but I think it is obvious that Taker would have won the match and continued the streak. The sheer fact that Lesnar is a special attraction who WWE wants to milk the most heat, money and ratings out of is the sheer reason he was able to beat the streak at WM.

 

[kcordloh]

Lesnar staying means Eddie doesn't win the WWE Title in 2004, we don't get the hug that still haunts some of us, Goldberg/Lensar is not completely booed out of the building, and JBL never becomes WWE Champion.

Orton doesn't win the World Title at Summerslam 2004 to erase Lesnar as the youngest champion ever.

Lesnar probably doesn't drop the WWE Title for an extended period until WM 21 to John Cena, and Orton wins the World Title at WM 21 also.

Batista doesn't really get a major push until summer 2005, and gets a shot at the top, but the crowd probably doesn't get behind him as much since Orton didn't get his push hot shotted so he doesn't burn out as quickly.

Edge/Orton/Batista/Kennedy/Lashley/Umaga/Punk/Hardy would get the biggest losers. Cena was always going to get to the top. You know he wants it and is willing to sacrifice for it. But guys who got pushed because there was an opening? I doubt Punk would have gotten much of a push with Lesnar there.

Jeff Hardy was always going to get over when he returned, and that would have been a sweet match, but I doubt he would get a WWE Title run.

I see Lesnar as being in roughly the same position as Orton now, the #2 guy in the company. But, keep in mind, without his fighting credentials, and the fact he left, other guys would have got a rocket push and not cooled off so much. Maybe Zach Ryder would not have gotten buried.

 

[Dragon Chief]

This topic has been brought up many times.

I don't think much would change if Brock Lesnar stayed, he would have just slowed down the pushes of a few wrestlers. If Brock Lesnar had stayed I doubt JBL would have won the WWE title to become the top heel on SmackDown, instead it would have been Lesnar holding the title until WrestleMania 21 and dropping it to John Cena, and in the main-event it would have been Randy Orton V. Triple H instead of Batista V. Triple H. That's how I see things occurring, Lesnar would have been the biggest heel of the company and John Cena would still become the face of the company. I don't know where Batista and JBL would fit into all this nor do I know how far Orton would have gone as a face if he they went with the original plans but I guess that's what speculation is for.

 

[Tjfitzsimmons88]

if brock didn't leave a lot of things would have been different,
Cena would not be a 15 time world champion,
Edge would not be a 11 time champion
orton wouldn't be a 12 time champion
batista wouldn't have been champion as many times as he was
undertaker wouldn't have gotten all those runs towards end of his career
eve triple H I believe wouldn't be a 13 time world champion.

even under card guys might not have gotten the runs they had or even gotten any runs, guys like Rey... maybe his one after eddie but he other 2 I doubt.

 

[Dagger Dias]

Keep in mind that the WWE had two World Championships for several years. Guys like John Cena, Randy Orton, Triple H, Edge, and Undertaker could all still have held many World Championships if Lesnar had stayed. People like to predict that there never would have been a John Cena if Brock had stayed. Cena haters truly are grasping at straws when they say things like that. The one who would have suffered more than anyone else is JBL. As much as I liked his rich heel gimmick, there's nothing he brought to the table during his long WWE Championship reign on Smackdown that Lesnar couldn't have done better.

JBL is not the only one who comes to mind if Brock Lesnar had been employed by the WWE this entire time and never went to UFC. Mark Henry, Khali, Big Show, Umaga, Batista, Bobby Lashley, Kane, Alberto Del Rio, and maybe even Sheamus all come to mind as possible victims of pushes they would not receive during the last decade if Brock had remained a main eventer this whole time. As long as there was still two World Championships this whole time, Cena/Orton/Edge/Trips/etc would still have seen the same amount of success. It's the guys who had shorter pushes who would be more at risk, especially big monster heels.