No Brock Lesnar Means No Reason To Watch

The last time we saw Brock Lesnar he was flat on his back being saved by Seth Rollins as John Cena was one second away from capturing the WWE Championship.

The next time we see Brock Lesnar is rumored to be January.

Let me run that back. The last time we saw the WWE Champion, conquer or conquerors, the beast incarnate and the one in 21-1, he was one second away from losing the title. Now he’s just at home, drinking beer, and getting on top of his wife.

Raw has been stale without Lesnar. The only thing worth watching is Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins, but with the insertion of John Cena and the goofy writing, that feud has become watered down. I understand that Cena has to do something and that going after the guy who cost you the title makes sense, but wouldn’t it make more sense for Cena to still want the title? What does he gain from beating Rollins other than some redemption? Unless Rollins puts up his Money in the Bank briefcase, Cena doesn’t get anything out of this feud.

I get why Cena wants his redemption. They guy cost him the title. But as long as Rollins has the briefcase, shouldn’t Cena still want the title? Then he can say, “I’m the champion. You can challenge me anytime you want. Instead of attacking me from behind, face me like a man.” Obviously Rollins wouldn’t go for it, but what if Cena keeps pushing him. What if Cena gets to Rollins before Rollins gets to him. And I’m not even saying Cena has to attack Rollins, because that’s not in Cena’s character, he just has to come out during interviews and after matches. Keep egging him on, reminding Rollins that he can’t beat him unless it’s a sneak attack. Maybe Seth’s pride and ego will get in the way. Maybe.

After getting his ass handed to him at SummerSlam, Cena vowed to return stronger than ever. And he did at Night of Champions. He had Lesnar beat. Apparently he’s forgotten all about that because he wants to go after the guy who cost him the title instead of the guy who has the title.

After all the trash-talking between Cena, Lesnar, and Paul Heyman leading up to SummerSlam and Night of Champions…Cena quit caring. Why isn’t he on TV every week calling out Brock? Why isn’t he saying, “I had you beat. You were done. Had to be saved. Reign over.”? Why isn’t he challenging Brock Lesnar to a match at Hell in a Cell where, theoretically, Seth Rollins or anyone else can’t interfere and save Brock this time. And why aren’t Heyman and Lesnar immediately accepting that challenge to prove that Brock is still the beast and that even if Rollins didn’t interfere at Night of Champions, Brock was going to kick out and destroy Cena once again?

Oh, it’s because WWE didn’t have the foresight to think about all this when they put the title on Lesnar and then did an immediate rematch. They didn’t realize that they booked themselves into a corner. Lesnar couldn’t lose the title a month after winning it, but Cena couldn’t lose cleanly again. So they did a screw finish and instead of burning through more of Brock’s dates and now have him sitting at home with the belt while Raw tries to move on without its main titleholder.

Brock should’ve been sitting at home after SummerSlam. He should’ve taken the belt and declared that no one can beat him, so why bother? And when Cena got pissed, Heyman should’ve told him to stick it. Prove that you’re worthy of another shot. And actually prove it, not “Cena cleans house at the end of one episode of Raw so he’s obviously ready to face Lesnar again” prove it. I’m talking months of “Cena takes on all challengers, goes the extra mile, and shows no remorse” proving it. In fact, “prove you’re worthy” should’ve been the whole theme surrounding Raw for the next couple of months. Have everyone on the roster say they want a shot at Lesnar and then have them fight to prove it.

The WWE Title is the most important title in the universe, right? So act like it. Have people actually care that the champion isn’t showing up. Have people pissed off that the champion sits at home and collects the largest paycheck of anyone while they bust their ass every week to entertain the crowd.

Instead we’re left with a champion that doesn’t care that he almost loss even though he’s supposed to be the baddest dude in the WWE in forever, a top babyface who is an idiot, a second babyface who watches too much iCarly, a top heel with a terrible supporting cast, and a mid-card and tag team division in the same holding pattern it’s been in for at least five years.

WWE has clearly given up on Raw with Monday Night Football back in town. They all but admit it every single week. Lesnar isn’t coming back until January. If the WWE Champion doesn’t care enough to show up to Raw and defend his status as the best wrestler in the universe and the WWE roster doesn’t seem to care that the champion isn’t showing up, why should we bother showing up to our televisions to watch?