Views from the Hawke’s Nest: Brock Lesnar – Here Comes the Pain – Disc 2 [Blu-Ray]

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Wrestlemania
March 30, 2003

Kurt Angle(c) vs. Brock Lesnar [WWE Championship]

I have *never* understand the hype for this match. I genuinely encourage you to make your case in the comments for why you think this is a great match.

Anyway, this match was all about Kurt Angle dominating (and I mean, *DOMINATING*) Brock Lesnar for a very long time. Brock had to survive Angle’s dull offense that looked like it was more about slowing Brock down than beating him down. That is not an entirely illogical story to tell, but it does not make for gripping pro wrestling (at least in this case). After surviving ankle locks and work on his mid-section/back, Brock managed to hit two F-5s. He then infamously botched a Shooting Star Press and almost killed himself in the process. That certainly took some steam out of already dull match. He finished Kurt with another F-5. (**1/4)

 

Backlash
April 27, 2003

Brock Lesnar(c) vs. John Cena [WWE Championship]

This match had some good ideas and some boring ideas, and it came together to make an underwhelming match. Much like the Angle Wrestlemania match, this suffered in part from forcing Brock into a traditional babyface, in-ring role of having to sell a lot and making comebacks at all the right times. Unlike the Wrestlemania match though, they had Brock dominate for a while to start the match, and Cena had to cheat to cut him off. Cena logically busted Brock’s forehead cut open and used chokes to slow him down. While the latter was also logical, it was not exactly scintillating to watch.

Both of these issues are a product of WWE’s need to control things and only have things worked in a certain way. If you book John Cena near his hometown to challenge for the title, why not just let him work babyface for the night? Why swim upstream like that?

When Brock Lesnar showed in his first four months that he could compellingly dominate opponents in the ring like no other, why would you force him into traditional wrestling roles? It does not make any damn sense. With Brock in particular, it is becoming crystal clear that they had no idea how to use him for most of his original run. Anyway, Brock ended up winning with the F-5. (**3/4)

 

Smackdown
September 18, 2003

Kurt Angle(c) vs. Brock Lesnar [Iron Man match for the WWE Championship]

As someone who is not a big fan of Iron Man matches that go longer than fifteen minutes and the matches Angle and Brock had together in the WWE, this was surprisingly compelling. Due to the mandatory sixty minutes match length, Brock working in a more traditional WWE manner actually makes sense. Brock trying to just run through Angle would be both illogical for the story and impractical in terms of trying to work the match. Brock adjusting to the rules of the match was just smart professional wrestling (even if the concept is far from smart booking). Brock cheating to get the initial lead and then jumping out to a big lead eventually created a situation where Kurt had to be quite desperate down the stretch. Unfortunately, Kurt was noticeably fatigued and had trouble conveying the desperation. That took away a bit from the drama down the stretch. Other than that, this was a compelling sixty-minute match, which is enough of an accomplishment for me to consider this a success. Brock sat in an ankle lock for the final 20 seconds to save the victory for himself. (***1/4)

 

Smackdown
December 11, 2003

Brock Lesnar vs. Rey Mysterio

This was a better mix of WWE style and what Brock Lesnar should be doing than the last few matches on this set. Brock mostly dominated the match, but Rey got so much offense in that it seemed conceivable that he could somehow win. Brock did such a believable job of looking discombobulated here that he genuinely looked quite shitty at times. It worked for the match though, as it made it seem like Rey had done a tremendous job of keeping him off balance. This is a bit of a hidden gem. Brock ended up winning of course by the way. He used the Brock Lock instead of the F-5.

After the match, Hardcore Holly showed up and scared Brock away. One of the most unintentionally hilarious moments in WWE history. (***3/4)

 

Smackdown
June 12, 2003

Brock Lesnar(c) vs. The Big Show [WWE Championship]

This was the infamous superplex/broken ring match, and it was pretty damn great. The Big Show looked hungry and motivated. That was reflected in his work, as he mauled Brock with fury and purpose. This was the odd situation where I was one-hundred percent okay with Brock getting his ass kicked. He just could not handle Big Show’s size on this night and looked believable outmatched. Show hit the chokeslam, but Brock managed to kick out. Show then got a bit stupid and tried for a super chokeslam. Brock managed to crotch him and then did the superplex that “broke” the ring. Fantastic match and spectacle. (****)

 

Wrestlemania
March 14, 2004

Brock Lesnar vs. Goldberg

This was genuinely the first time that I have ever seen this match. As everyone knows by now, this was a complete failure in every way. I am not sure what else I can contribute to this one other than I am grateful this did not end up being the last time that we saw Brock. Goldberg won after two spears and a jackhammer. You only need to watch this once for historical purposes, and then you should ignore it forever. (DUD)

 

Raw
July 1, 2002

Brock Lesnar (w/ Paul Heyman) vs. Ric Flair

This was an open challenge to any veteran in the back. It was a solid brawl that got over the fact that Flair had to cheat pretty much to even stand a chance against someone like Brock. It is questionable to make Flair look remotely credible against Brock, but WWE will always be WWE. After some Heyman interference, Brock won with the F-5. (**3/4)

 

Global Warning
August 10, 2002

The Rock(c) vs. Triple H vs. Brock Lesnar [WWE Championship]

This was a very fun spot-fest. They kept this at a nice pace and did not overly rely on the “two men in, one man out” structure for a triple threat match. They protected Brock fairly well in this one, as he never looked too weak and got to kick out of the finishers of both guys. This is not a terribly significant match in WWE history, but it was very easy to watch and a worthwhile inclusion on this set all the same! Rock won after a Rock Bottom on Triple H. (***1/4)

 

Smackdown
June 26, 2003

Brock Lesnar, Kurt Angle, & Mr. America vs. The Big Show, Shelton Benjamin, & Charlie Haas

This sounds like a bit of a mess on paper, but they laid it out quite well. Doing the heat segment on Brock was both surprising and dumb though. I’ve come to expect stuff like that by this point on the set though. They just did not know how to make Brock seem special. Anyway, America was making the hot tag and was having a fair amount of success (even took down Show). Vince McMahon came out though and distracted him with an injured Zack Gowen. Show then easily finished America with a chokeslam. (***)

 

Vengeance
July 27, 2003

Brock Lesnar(c) vs. Kurt Angle vs. The Big Show [WWE Championship]

This was on its way to being a great main event. The story early on was that Show was dominating, and Brock had to work together with Angle to clear him out if they wanted a chance to win. They looked like they would finally have the chance when Angle put Show through a table. Show recovered though and things looked precarious again. They managed to take Show out yet again, and Angle then pinned Brock after an Angle Slam to win the title. This started out very well, but the momentum petered out the longer it went. As odd it may sound to some, the match just was no longer as interesting when The Big Show was not involved. Angle and Brock just made each other less compelling. It will forever be baffling to me, I know. It was also a very weak way to have Angle win back the title from Brock. It was merely a solid match that could have been great. (***1/4)

 

Extreme Rules
April 19, 2012

Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena [Extreme Rules]

This match is rather infamous because of the finish. There really is just no way you can justify having John Cena go over in Brock’s return match to the company. There is just no way. Fortunately, everything before the final three seconds was beautiful.

Brock and Cena both deliver some of the best performances in WWE history in this match. No one in the WWE conveys viciousness at the level that Brock does. Everything he does looks like it is death for his opponent to take (and maybe it is). On top of that, there is an expression of glee on his face after every blow that makes everything even more glorious. Cena matches him though by taking the beating of a lifetime. He gets busted open hardway multiple times and allows himself to look completely hopeless. The fact that John Cena actually needed his chain to have any hope of winning this one does help to put Brock over as a killer. It was just the wrong person to beat Brock at the wrong time. (****1/4)

 

Watch Brock Lesnar vs. Rob Van Dam

7.0

The final score: review Good

The 411

The inconsistency of this set truly reflects how piss-poor WWE has handled Brock at nearly every stage of his WWE career.