The Lesnar Push

Tommy Platinum · 08-14-2009, 08:05 PM

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This may have been discussed before, but it was an amazing event in wrestling history in my opinion. I've been watching some 2002 stuff, and it just hit home how unprecedented and shocking it was to have somebody pushed that quick. Brock Lesnar only debuted after Wrestlemania X8, and by Summerslam that very year, he was Undisputed Champion. His push was aided by winning the King of The Ring tournament just a couple of short months after debuting, leading to his title opportunity against The Rock at Summerslam, where he became the youngest World Champion of all time. The monster push continued after he had reached the top, notably beating The Undertaker in his own preferred environment inside Hell in a Cell, getting a big face turn at Survivor Series, going on to win the Royal Rumble in 2003 and subsequently headline his very first Wrestlemania as an active member of the roster.

There are a few questions I'm asking here. Firstly, do you believe this push worked? Do you agree with pushing somebody this quickly? In hindsight, should it have been done? Or does the fact that Lesnar left the company just two short years into his WWE career put a black mark over the whole thing, and put it down as a mistake? Secondly, do you believe it will ever happen again, or will Lesnar's push forever be a unique case in wrestling history?

Personally I think it worked, but I can't see another wrestler ever coming along with Lesnar's combination of talent, credibility (due to his size and physical attributes) and age. I also think it worked so well largely due to Heyman's role as his manager. I think he was highly influential in having people buy into Lesnar's push, because it would be very easy for a push like this to go very wrong. Heyman constantly put Lesnar over, and this, combined with his physical credibility and his obvious talent, made it work.

Thoughts on the "Lesnar push" and whether we will ever see something similar in wrestling again?

KenTheKiller · 08-14-2009, 08:07 PM

The way you summed it up.. he had an entire dream career in about two years. Ridiculous.

I think the push at the time was great but could never and should never be replicated.

Necro · 08-14-2009, 08:09 PM

Look at his MMA career right now in comparison. It's pretty amazing what he's done in such a short amount of time in UFC too..

KenTheKiller · 08-14-2009, 08:10 PM

Let's face it.. amateur wrestling star, pro wrestling star, MMA star.. besides supposedly being shit in the NFL he's pretty much a freak of nature in everything he's done.

Bigpapa42 · 08-14-2009, 08:21 PM

I'm sure there are aspects I'm overlooking as I consider it, but I don't think it was wrong. It created a star who was capable enough in the ring and who fans bought as legit. If the fans rejected him, then I would say it failed.

Did the mega push result in Lesnar having a shorter career? Would he have stayed longer if he didn't achieve such success in a short time? Did it affect how he acted backstage and all of that? I honestly don't know, but I those are where potential negatives could be.

I won't say it should never be done again, but I think the right situation is unlikely to develop again where it works and is justifyable.

King Steventon · 08-14-2009, 08:31 PM

"Sucess" in general is a very subjective term. It was sucessful in instantly creating a new main event star who was OVER and a DRAW. And he was awesome in the ring to boot, but that's irrelevant here. On the other hand, it was unsucessful because it wasn't long term and he left so quickly. Putting a dude over your top stars (Rock, Taker, Hogan) is a big thing, and for him to leave quickly meant the work put in to him was wasted.

I think Lesnar himself was the biggest factor in it. The dude was a great amatuer, an ego maniac, and was given it all too quick. He got bored of pro wrestling quickly, which is why he is now in MMA, where he can put his amatuer skills to real use and be a part of a sport more popular and credible.

I can't see it being done again for a very long time as promoters - rightfully - will have been put off by Lesnar. However, I imagine if you were to give someone with the talent and, the thing Lesnar lacked, dedication the same treatment, the payoff and rewards for it could be huge. Can you imagine if Lesnar had the same attitude of Danielson or DDP, and actually cared about the business and cared about putting on good matches (not that he didn't produce)? If he was still working today at the level he was he would have already attained legendary status.

Also, as an aside, I have no idea why they needed to have Heyman interfere in his matches during his push. The dude is meant to be a monster, let him beat Bubba Ray cleanly for fuck's sake.

Internet God · 08-14-2009, 08:32 PM

I think the push worked amazingly and think there was nothing wrong with doing that. Lesnar just happened to be the right guy for it. He had the ring skills, the size and the credibility for everything to happen that quick and not be a failure. With Heyman as his manager, fans legitimately bought him as a monster which is what he truly is. Now, if Heyman wasn't his manager, I don't think it would have worked out so well and people probably would have rejected him.

It also helped that when they showed him taking ice baths, running with a huge tree log on his shoulder, that wasn't a gimmick, that was the real Brock Lesnar. The guy is a true animal and the real deal.

I don't see this type of push happening ever again though. I think that with Lesnar leaving within two years of coming in, WWE wouldn't want that to happen again with someone they just pushed to the moon. I think they learned their lesson with that one from Lesnar and don't want that to happen again. The way they booked his push and everything about it was great. I don't think that WWE would even be able to book something like that correctly in today's landscape.

Tommy Platinum · 08-14-2009, 08:38 PM

Yeah another thing that must be said is that nobody in today's WWE could ever get a push like Lesnar's, simply because when Lesnar was first pushed, we were talking about the undisputed title and become THE top guy in the company. When he defeated the Rock, it was really like he was the man. Nowadays, it would never be as much of a gamble simply because there are 3 World Titles. Pushing somebody that hard on one brand can never be comparable to what they did with Lesnar, even though there were 2 World Titles soon after Lesnar's win over Rock.

King Steventon · 08-14-2009, 08:42 PM

You say that as if Triple H didn't appoint himself world champion the night after Summerslam to take the wind out of Lesnar's sail.

KenTheKiller · 08-14-2009, 08:45 PM

Yeah but that's almost better.. maybe not for being "the man" but it's much less risk basing a brand on a guy instead of a company. Sure.. in a month or two the brands became really separate with different champions but my point still remains that the risk isn't as big when you have other shows to carry any load.

I think what may have been the biggest problem isn't his time in WWE but his time in pro wrestling. Despite having all the gifts to succeed I'm not so sure it's something he ever wanted before he started thus may not have been as passionate outside of the ring as most. He won the big accolades in a short period and felt there was nothing left to accomplish. Maybe someone like an Evan Bourne, CM Punk, Samoa Joe, Bryan Danielson, etc. would work because they've been around for awhile and have a love for the business. Not saying it could work for any of them since they don't have the genetics that Lesnar has, but this point stands too.

The Lesnar Push

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