What I've Started To Realize About Brock Lesnar's Booking

[BringThePain834]

I get it. There are people that have liked the way that Brock Lesnar has been booked as of late. Getting cheered over Reigns, getting big face reactions for every reason possible, etc. Perhaps the highlight of it all is when he delivered an F5 to Michael Cole. I myself have been a fan of the way he's been booked, but now I'm starting to realize all of the problems it's caused that can only get worse later on. Those affected are the casual fans, (yeah, those fans who don't post on forums and probably have no idea there are wrestling forums, and they also are known to think that everything that happens is real) the WWE Creative Team, and the direction of Brock Lesnar himself. One of the biggest problems I see (or maybe not, depending on how WWE Creative handles it) is that Lesnar is supposedly a face seeing that he's gotten into it with Seth Rollins numerous times, the fans have been and still are cheering him like crazy. Seriously. How do you book a unbeatable, implied to be face monster and which heel do you book him against? They may choose to keep him heel despite the cheers but once again, the face that could or maybe would beat him will be despised. Another problem I see with the way he's been booked is Lesnar's character himself. He's said it in interviews. He doesn't have any respect for anybody, he's the kind of guy that will go and crush all of these "fairy tales" of people wanting to win the title from him, The Undertaker retaining his streak, John Cena getting a win over him and keeping the title, etc. And in my mind, one of the most crucial aspects along with representing the company, (yeah, the "Corporate" guy) kissing up to and standing by the fans, and leading the locker room, is respect. Without that factor, you're not going to really go anywhere as a face. I mean yeah, he'll most likely be over with us internet fans and forum dwellers, but what in the hell would WWE be thinking if they decide to actually make Lesnar a face and keep his character the exact same. It's gonna be damn near impossible for the casual fans to accept it and cheer for him, which is the audience WWE targets anyway. Realistically, he COULD get away with being a tweener, but a full on face? No. Out of the equation. Will not under any circumstances work no matter how hard WWE tries. You just can't have that kind of a top babyface. He neither respects nor cares for the wrestling business and only is there for the money. Now I don't know if anyone else is feeling the same way currently, but I definitely wouldn't be surprised if this changed people's perspectives, and I definitely encourage replies here.

 

[kadroan]

Yeah tweener is the best way you could book him. I could see him feuding with Rollins during the fall, eventually capturing the title again then taking his annual break. Probably defend the title against Rollins at Royal Rumble. Then face HHH again at WrestleMania.

 

[ghost94]

I get it. There are people that have liked the way that Brock Lesnar has been booked as of late. Getting cheered over Reigns, getting big face reactions for every reason possible, etc. Perhaps the highlight of it all is when he delivered an F5 to Michael Cole. I myself have been a fan of the way he's been booked, but now I'm starting to realize all of the problems it's caused that can only get worse later on. Those affected are the casual fans, (yeah, those fans who don't post on forums and probably have no idea there are wrestling forums, and they also are known to think that everything that happens is real) the WWE Creative Team, and the direction of Brock Lesnar himself. One of the biggest problems I see (or maybe not, depending on how WWE Creative handles it) is that Lesnar is supposedly a face seeing that he's gotten into it with Seth Rollins numerous times, the fans have been and still are cheering him like crazy. Seriously. How do you book a unbeatable, implied to be face monster and which heel do you book him against? They may choose to keep him heel despite the cheers but once again, the face that could or maybe would beat him will be despised. Another problem I see with the way he's been booked is Lesnar's character himself. He's said it in interviews. He doesn't have any respect for anybody, he's the kind of guy that will go and crush all of these "fairy tales" of people wanting to win the title from him, The Undertaker retaining his streak, John Cena getting a win over him and keeping the title, etc. And in my mind, one of the most crucial aspects along with representing the company, (yeah, the "Corporate" guy) kissing up to and standing by the fans, and leading the locker room, is respect. Without that factor, you're not going to really go anywhere as a face. I mean yeah, he'll most likely be over with us internet fans and forum dwellers, but what in the hell would WWE be thinking if they decide to actually make Lesnar a face and keep his character the exact same. It's gonna be damn near impossible for the casual fans to accept it and cheer for him, which is the audience WWE targets anyway. Realistically, he COULD get away with being a tweener, but a full on face? No. Out of the equation. Will not under any circumstances work no matter how hard WWE tries. You just can't have that kind of a top babyface. He neither respects nor cares for the wrestling business and only is there for the money. Now I don't know if anyone else is feeling the same way currently, but I definitely wouldn't be surprised if this changed people's perspectives, and I definitely encourage replies here.

This may be ******ed, but can't you just turn Roman heel and beat him?

 

[The Kiz]

Brock Lesnar isn't a babyface as such, he's a tweener and that's the closest he'll get to being a babyface. He's someone that'll do the most heelish things, but the crowd will cheer him for being a bad ass.

 

[BadNewsCarrot]

I'm assuming you've never heard of stone cold Steve Austin. Didn't respect anybody. Didn't care about anybody. Also became the biggest babyface ever.

 

[Mustang Sally]

He neither respects nor cares for the wrestling business and only is there for the money.

I remember a lot of pro wrestling in the 80's. Back then, the concept of a 'tweener was an impossibility. There were good guys, who did only good things........and bad guys, who didn't have a trace of virtue in them. Yes, a wrestler could have a change of heart and go to the other side, but his wrestling style changed completely with it. There was no in-between.

Today, largely because of the Internet, there seem to be more wrestling fans who understand the fantasy world of pro wrestling better than they did then. While it used to be a bad guy wrestler was widely considered to be "unpopular," we know today that the opposite is often true. Therefore, while Brock is acting the bad guy role, he might be cheered because it's understood he's a superior performer.

Conversely, Roman Reigns has been booed even though he's a good guy facing a mega-heel. How can this be? It can be because fans could see he wasn't yet ready for prime time; and now that his performance is changing for the better, the fan reaction is getting more positive.

I don't care for Brock's mercenary status.....not at all. It negatively effected a lot of what was going on at main event level....in terms of performers not getting a shot at the world title. It negatively effected Seth Rollins in his role as MITB holder..... he had no champion around to cash in against. It brought about the need to have Paul Heyman fill in the gaps left by Brock's absence. To WWE's credit, since they had to hire a talker to remind us we still had a world champion, they brought in the best talker in the business. Still, I would rather have had Lesnar than Heyman, wouldn't you?

Of course, many folks who attend wrestling shows don't know a wristlock from a wristwatch (in the immortal words of Gorilla Monsoon. ) and when they see Brock, they see him.....and that's good enough for them. When they see Brock go after Seth Rollins, they cheer Brock. When he beats John Cena, they follow the crowd and cheer Brock. When Brock F5's Michael Cole, they like him for that, too.

But for actual wrestling fans, I'd like to think they cheer Brock because they appreciate a superior performer who shakes up everything the rare times he does appear.....and whether the man is a face or heel doesn't matter that much.

 

[SoulTrain4]

There is no such thing as "tweener" it's good guys and bad guys...period. There may be shades of gray here and there but there are levels of each and that's it.

 

[That N Word]

There is no such thing as "tweener" it's good guys and bad guys...period. There may be shades of gray here and there but there are levels of each and that's it.

And then there is Brock Lesnar....Brock isn't heel or face. He doesn't hate the fans, but doesn't like or respect anyone. He is a badass asskicking SOB.

ALSO,what do you mean there is no such thing as a tweener.

Tweener
A morally ambiguous wrestler who is neither a face nor heel (an inbetweener),[1] e.g. Diesel in 1995/1996 or Stone Cold Steve Austin in 1996/1997. Also sometimes describes a heel who is usually cheered or a face who is usually booed, especially when two faces or two heels face each other.

This defines Roman Reigns,John Cena,Kane,Brock Lesnar,Dean Ambrose, and Triple H at the moment.

 

[Woodstuff]

I think the main thing to remember is that 80% of WWE's fan base don't obsess over the show like a lot of people on this site do. Once you get that through your head, you'll realise that the majority of fans will cheer or boo Lesnar based on how WWE want fans to react to him. If he's a face, he's F5ing somebody on HHHs side. If he's a heel, he's F5ing someone that is fighting against HHH.

Lesnar will be a fully fledged face when he returns because he will want to get his hands on Seth Rollins. If Rollins is face when Lesnar returns, Lesnar will be heel. It's wrestling, not rocket science. All you do by reading into things is over complicate the show and put up walls that will stop you from enjoying it for it's face value.

 

[OYDK]

Lesnar is a "larger than life" person. Tweener, babyface, or heel, the fans are going to react to Brock Lesnar because he's not playing a character. He's being himself. As a face, Lesnar will be portrayed as a guy running through anything and everything on his way to Seth Rollins, and the fans will eat it up, respect or not. As a heel, he'll do the same damn thing... and the fans will eat it up. Either way, people just want to see Brock... they could care less about how much respect or love he has for the business at this point.

 

[LBGetBack]

I get it. There are people that have liked the way that Brock Lesnar has been booked as of late. Getting cheered over Reigns, getting big face reactions for every reason possible, etc. Perhaps the highlight of it all is when he delivered an F5 to Michael Cole. I myself have been a fan of the way he's been booked, but now I'm starting to realize all of the problems it's caused that can only get worse later on. Those affected are the casual fans, (yeah, those fans who don't post on forums and probably have no idea there are wrestling forums, and they also are known to think that everything that happens is real) the WWE Creative Team, and the direction of Brock Lesnar himself. One of the biggest problems I see (or maybe not, depending on how WWE Creative handles it) is that Lesnar is supposedly a face seeing that he's gotten into it with Seth Rollins numerous times, the fans have been and still are cheering him like crazy. Seriously. How do you book a unbeatable, implied to be face monster and which heel do you book him against? They may choose to keep him heel despite the cheers but once again, the face that could or maybe would beat him will be despised. Another problem I see with the way he's been booked is Lesnar's character himself. He's said it in interviews. He doesn't have any respect for anybody, he's the kind of guy that will go and crush all of these "fairy tales" of people wanting to win the title from him, The Undertaker retaining his streak, John Cena getting a win over him and keeping the title, etc. And in my mind, one of the most crucial aspects along with representing the company, (yeah, the "Corporate" guy) kissing up to and standing by the fans, and leading the locker room, is respect. Without that factor, you're not going to really go anywhere as a face. I mean yeah, he'll most likely be over with us internet fans and forum dwellers, but what in the hell would WWE be thinking if they decide to actually make Lesnar a face and keep his character the exact same. It's gonna be damn near impossible for the casual fans to accept it and cheer for him, which is the audience WWE targets anyway. Realistically, he COULD get away with being a tweener, but a full on face? No. Out of the equation. Will not under any circumstances work no matter how hard WWE tries. You just can't have that kind of a top babyface. He neither respects nor cares for the wrestling business and only is there for the money. Now I don't know if anyone else is feeling the same way currently, but I definitely wouldn't be surprised if this changed people's perspectives, and I definitely encourage replies here.

I don't think a long term face run will ever work for Brock, for reasons that you stated But short term, he can be a great, bad ass face.

Brock chasing the title, battling the authority, and trying to destroy everyone in his path would probably be insanely over. Once he wins and is on top, it could only last for so long and a heel turn would likely be inevitable within a year or so, but I think he can have a great short term face run.

But to address your point that casuals won't cheer him....I disagree. I think many already do based on how physically incredible he is and how big of a name he is. Also, he hasn't even been a face yet. He seemed to be turning when he got suspended, but it hasn't fully happened yet. He had issues with Rollins, but he hasn't had the chance to truly go after him yet. His beef with Stephanie just started when he got suspended. When he returns and truly goes after them, all the casuals that haven't already done so will quickly jump on board.

Once the Authority starts stacking the deck against him, and he tries to tear through them, I think the pops will be insane. Lots of potential here.

 

[Bernkastel]

This may be ******ed, but can't you just turn Roman heel and beat him?

Not really. Not without Roman beating his ass, which would make Lesnar look weak, because Roman ain't gonna work as some chickenshit cowardly heel. To get the full effect of Lesnar's current character he's better off being booked as a part timer, because he's never proven himself to be a hot commodity as a full time worker.