Who's Win Was Bigger? Brock Lesnar Over The The Rock Or Sheamus Over Cena

[Mitch Henessey]

Sheamus and Brock Lesnar have had two of the biggest wins in recent memory as far as winning a world title goes. At 25, Brock defeated The Rock at Summerslam '02 for the WWE Undisputed championship. At that time, he was the youngest world champion in WWE history, but as we all know, Orton broke this record by winning the World Heavyweight Championship at 24.

Then of course there was the most recent shocker at the TLC ppv, where Sheamus defeated Cena for the WWE championship. This took everybody by surprise. Nobody was expecting Sheamus to go over WWE's #1 face. Now of course he has been endorsed by Triple H, and I won't deny that, but still I believe it's a big deal that he went over Cena, and has held on to the title for as long as he has.

So with all that in mind, who's win do you think was bigger? Brock Lesnar or Sheamus? I'm going to go with Brock Lesnar simply because of how BIG The Rock still was back then. Sure, this wasn't as surprising as Sheamus beating Cena, but that's mainly because Lesnar was made out to be this unstoppable beast. Sheamus on the other hand, didn't really have the impressive track record of destruction that Lesnar had leading up to his title win.

So who's your pick for more impressive title win? Brock or The Rock? Thoughts?

 

[Blade]

Sheamus's win over Cena was surely bigger.

In Summerslam 2002, The Rock was about to leave. WWE didn't need to protect him or worry about his credibility. They knew he was on his way out so they thought they may as well use him to put over a younger star since The Rock's credibility would likely never matter again, Rocky would never again be the biggest star in the company. So regardless of when the Rock left, he was always going to put over whoever was hottest at the time, and that just happened to be Lesnar. Anyone who knew The Rock was leaving, which quite a few people did, would've known there was a strong chance that Lesnar was going to win the title. So Lesnar winning was mildly surprising, but not a huge surprise. Not to mention he'd been to booked to make it to the top of the mountain, whether it was at Summerslam, later that year, or some time the year after it, he was always going to win the title.

Sheamus' win was pretty much a huge surprise. Cena was still the biggest star in the company and he is going to be for quite some time. He's not going to leave to do movies, so WWE is always going to try protect him and his credibility, not that he really needs it. Sure, the WWE had started pushing younger stars at the end of last year but nobody would've thought that Sheamus would've won the title, at least not from the WWE's Golden Boy. Fans knew that WWE had a chance to shake shit up then and there, but never thought they would. So WWE putting the title on Sheamus was a big "Screw you" to anyone who doubted that WWE would take a risk while not in real competition with any promotion, and it gave the WWE the shake up fans had been asking for for years. But, in typical smark fashion, fans still weren't happy. So meh. But yeah, Sheamus' win was bigger. And as for the booking, while Lesnar was always booked as the guy rocketing to the top, nobody thought that Sheamus was being built up to take the title. He did some ECW stuff, retired Jamie Noble and beat up Lawler. That booking hardly screams 'FUTURE CHAMPION'. It wasn't until the battle royale that people realised that WWE wanted him as a fresh heel main eventer. Because people saw what WWE had been doing with Drew McIntyre as the fresh, dominating midcard heel of smackdown, people I guess kind of assumed Sheamus would play that role, but on Raw. Again, we got a surprise.

 

[jmt225]

Easily Brock Lesnar, both today and in hindsight.

Think back to that win.... Lesnar really was the next big thing. People bought into the hype. What's Sheamus, exactly? He's still pretty much a no one. He got the win out of nowhere, when before that and since then he has done absolutely nothing. At least when Lesnar got the win over The Rock, he got nearly four months of a VERY strong push against guys like the Hardys, RVD, etc. before it happened. Who exactly did Sheamus beat before he won the title? Oh yeah, Golddust and Jamie Nobel. No wonder nobody gives a fuck about him. And they won't anytime soon because since winning the title, what exactly has he done? Again, NOTHING. Brock after beating The Rock, right away went into a program with The Undertaker.

Also, look at Brock's success. His run in WWE might have only lasted two years, but it's still one of the most memorable runs in recent WWE history. Plus, look how well he's doing outside of WWE, and there's no way he wouldn't have the name value he currently has in MMA if he hadn't received the push he got in WWE, which pretty much all started with his win over The Rock.

Plus, let's not forget Brock beat a much bigger name in The Rock than Sheamus did with Cena, on WWE's second biggest pay-per-view on the year, in a FANTASTIC match. Moreover, you add in pay-per-view buys for that event, and the ratings that followed... there's no question which win was bigger.

Besides, Sheamus' win over Cena is going to lead to nothing. The dude will lose the belt soon, have a couple of rematches after that, and then get moved to Smackdown, lose there, and then become a mid-carder. That's going to be his career. There's no long term with this guy. His win against Cena means nothing. How did it boost ratings exactly? What kind of crowd reaction is he getting? Oh that's right, ZERO.

Brock, on the other hand, always pulled in solid numbers for WWE, and always got great reactions from the crowd. If he remained a professional wrestler, he'd still be a top guy today, no doubt.

The answer here is Brock Lesnar, and it's not even close in my mind.

 

[Dagger Dias]

Sheamus over Cena was bigger than Lesnar over The Rock. Lesnar was in the middle of ONE of the fastest pushes in WWE history, and even though I couldn't stand the guy, I knew this win was coming. Sheamus, on the other hand.... Has received (correct me if I'm wrong) THE fastest push in WWE history. He went from being a nobody on ECW to getting an early promotion to Raw, to moving directly up into the main event by winning the breakthrough battle royal. Did we think he was going to win? Probably not in most of our cases. I sure didn't. I thought the TLC match was just them testing future title feuds out to see how fans would react to Sheamus and that he would soon end up in a role on Raw similar to McIntyre's on Smackdown. Then when Sheamus won, I (like many others) thought it was a mistake at first. Nope, he may have won by a fluke but he went from "nobody" to WWE Champion faster than anyone, and by defeating the biggest star of the federation in the process. It got EVERYONE talking. The thread on Sheamus becoming the new champion received something along the lines of 80 posts in less than a day. Sheamus had a bigger win than Lesnar because of the shock value alone of his win.

 

[Trill Co$by]

If you ask me, the biggest title change EVER was at New Year's Revolution when Edge defeated Cena for the belt by cashing in the MITB briefcase.

I mean seriously, stop and take a look back at the events that had occured that night alone. Edge versus Ric Flair starts off the night, and it's for the Intercontinental title. Ric Flair, the legend that he is, pulls out the victory and Edge is pissed. So, Edge storms out of the arena and is completely forgotten. Then, John Cena begins his EC match where he starts out as number 1. He struggles to survive against 5 other people, four of which were on a hot streak in Kurt Angle, Kane, Chris Masters, and Carlito. And after that match, Cena was done for and barely able to hold up his title and then out of no where, Vince's song comes on.

And what does he come out for? To announce that Edge is cashing in his title shot.

I mean in today's world, it's so predictable, but the way that Edge was no where near the main event picture when he had his and then suddenly became WWE Champion was unbelievable. Hell, to this day, I still remember waking up that Monday morning and going to WWE.com expecting to see Angle or Cena had won, only to see Edge's hand raised with the WWE title.

Now if there's ever been a bigger win then that, I'd like to know.

 

[Shocky]

This thread isn'ta which was more shocking, this was a Which was Bigger, and it was easily the Next Big Thing taking down the Rock. Brock Lesnar came into the WWE, and instantly based on his size alone impressed a lot of people. Then you add into the fact the stamina, agility and speed of the man, with the mouthpiece of Paul Heyman, you had a perfect formula for an unstoppable wrestler.

You could see the Lesnar win coming, as he began to steam roll big name after big name, culminating in the absolute destruction of Hulk Hogan on Smackdown several weeks before the Big Event. Not only did Lesnar go into Summerslam and dominate the Rock, the Rock became an after thought in a matter of minutes, and Brock was seen as a legit world champion, despite Triple H trying to slow him down by splitting the World titles.

Sheamus on the other hand certainly shocked everyone more, but the way he won the title invalidates h im. If Sheamus would have flat out beat Cena in the middle of the ring, we might not be having this discussion. Sheamus won the title on what most conceive as a fluke in reality and in storylines. Sheamus in reality has the title because he spots for Triple H in the gym, and in the storyline he won because Cena pretty much slipped off the rope. Not very impressive when trying to establish a guy as champion.

Brock Lesnar won the title, and most back then thought he could beat anyone in the WWE at anytime, Sheamus is probably seen as a top 20 wrestler at best in the company.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

If you ask me, the biggest title change EVER was at New Year's Revolution when Edge defeated Cena for the belt by cashing in the MITB briefcase.

I mean seriously, stop and take a look back at the events that had occured that night alone. Edge versus Ric Flair starts off the night, and it's for the Intercontinental title. Ric Flair, the legend that he is, pulls out the victory and Edge is pissed. So, Edge storms out of the arena and is completely forgotten. Then, John Cena begins his EC match where he starts out as number 1. He struggles to survive against 5 other people, four of which were on a hot streak in Kurt Angle, Kane, Chris Masters, and Carlito. And after that match, Cena was done for and barely able to hold up his title and then out of no where, Vince's song comes on.

And what does he come out for? To announce that Edge is cashing in his title shot.

I mean in today's world, it's so predictable, but the way that Edge was no where near the main event picture when he had his and then suddenly became WWE Champion was unbelievable. Hell, to this day, I still remember waking up that Monday morning and going to WWE.com expecting to see Angle or Cena had won, only to see Edge's hand raised with the WWE title.

Now if there's ever been a bigger win then that, I'd like to know.

No. This win wasn't even close to what Sheamus and Lesnar did. You have to remember, Edge cashing in the briefcase on Cena was more of a shock moment, than a BIG win. Besides, Cena's losing the title this night, was designed to not make him not look weak. Cena, after having the shit beat out of him in the chamber, and bleeding like crazy, has Edge come down, and cash in the briefcase after hitting two spears. It wasn't really even a match. I think it was three weeks later when Edge lost the title to Cena at the Royal Rumble. I remember that match because I was there.

Sheamus and Lesnar had matches with two of WWE's biggest names at the time. Now the Lesnar/Rock match was far better than the Sheamus/Cena match, but still, both Lesnar and Sheamus actually had a contest of a match, while Edge, being the ultimate opportunist, just happened to be in the right place at the right time. Also, Lesnar's journey to the title was far more impressive than Edge's.

 

[The Mark of Zur-En-Arrh]

I'd go with Lesnar. When you ask which win was bigger, you need to consider impact both after the 3 count that night, and on the 'E' in general afterward. Brock went from destroying jobbers, to destroying mid-carders, to destroying legends. I think they put the belt on him to convince us, the audience, that he could hang with the ME guys, because after winning the title he faced Taker, Big Show, Benoit, Angle and was then helping newer guys like Cena get over. This guy won a Royal Rumble and even won the title at WM as well.

Sheamus pushed Cena off the turnbuckle through a table and won the belt. Apart from causing every wrestling fan to say 'WTF?' at the exact same time, Sheamus hasn't been booked to look like a convincing champion, and while HHH and HBK might encourage the Creative Team to put him in big angles AFTER he loses the belt, they're not likely to please any fans or garner a great deal of interest.

Lesnar's win made us all want to see what would happen next. Sheamus's win made us wonder how long it'd be before Cena won the belt back, meaning we had no hope or faith in Sheamus as WWE champion from the minute he won the belt. They didn't even change the name plaque on the belt straight away, so no one was going to believe he'd hold the belt this long anyway.

So, yeah, Lesnar hands down.

 

[Big Nick Dudley]

In my opinion, Brock's win over The Rock was much bigger, for quite a few reasons.
1. Brock Lesnar beat The Rock. The Rock was probably, next to Steve Austin, the most over guys of the last 10-12 years. Cena, while over with little kids, women, and some hardcore fans (not many), gets booed out of most buildings (barring house shows) he wrestles in. Do I think every bit of criticism he gets if fair? No, not really. But by and large, with the wrestling audience community, as a whole, he is NOT nearly as over as The Rock was. Not even close.


2. Brock Lesnar was hands down a better a competitor than Sheamus. He was wayy more over with the fans than Sheamus will ever be. I really don't see Sheamus sticking around the title picture after he loses it to whoever that may be. I know he kisses Triple H's a**, but at some point, it will become clear to the powers that be over in WWE that this guy is not "the next big thing."

3. Kind of falls in line with my second reason, but it is clear that Sheamus is NOWHERE NEAR as over with fans as Brock was. Brock was a big animal. A muscle bound guy who could ACTUALLY WRESTLE! He put on great matches with the Undertaker, Kurt Angle, and hell, he even made the Big Show and John Cena look alright. In terms of great matches, Sheamus has done NOTHING! His match with Cena was junk (most Cena matches are). Will he improve over time? I don't know, it's possible. But if I were a betting man, I would say Sheamus has reached the height of his fame already.

Remember, this isn't the most SHOCKING win, it's the biggest. Was it shocking to see this neverwas beat the face of the company for the WWE Title? Absolutely. But with Sheamus being a virtual nobody, that in no way makes it a BIG win. With Cena not being nearly as over as the face of the company should be, and Sheamus not really being all that impressive so far, I really cant agree that this is even close to being as big as Brock beating Rock.