The curious case of brock lesnar

Brock Lesnar is a special attraction in professional wrestling. He is chiseled out of granite, he is a legit bad ass and his performances have a big event feel. Lesnar came on the scene destroying guys left and right throwing around massive men with cat like quickness. His meteoric rise within the ranks of wwe was that of no other man. Brock had the ncaa championship pedigree with Goliath like strength and a George Nada kick ass attitude.
He was clearly the next big thing in professional wrestling. Until, he decided not to be. Lesnar was not suited for road life with all of its ups and downs tempting all of its "demons". So, he quit. Lesnar gave his notice going into a huge match with Bill goldberg, who was also finishing up wwe, at wrestlemania 20. Goldberg versus lesnar was the irresistable force taking on the immovable object but the crowd, knowing both men were leaving, never gave the match a chance and the epic battle that could have been became an infamous gaff at wrestlemania.

Lesnar tried football not playing since high school and was the final cut player of the Minnesota Vikings. He wrestled in Japan with limited motivation and won the iwgp title mainly because of his look and reputation but wasn't long for trips to japan. Then brock lesnar found ufc and even with a debut loss people were pretty certain this guy would find some success inside of the octagon. Lesnar decimated heath hearring, overwhelmed randy couture, destroyed frank mir and withstood Shane carwin.  Brock was chiseled out of granite could seemingly take people down controlling them at will and becoming one of ufc's most marketable stars. Unfortunately, a contest against Cain Velazquez and a very dangerous life threatening battle with diverticulitis ended his mma career. Immediately after brock announced his retirement after a loss to Alistair overeem the buzz began about a wwe return.

Lesnar made a triumphant return to wwe Monday night raw after wrestlemania 29 and has become a destroyer ever since.  He has left superstars like John cena, triple h, the Undertaker,  Roman Reigns and most recently randy Orton in a heap as lesnar stood victorious. In a typical brock lesnar match the crowd goes bananas for the spectacle that is the beast incarnate welcoming his prey to suplex city. Lesnar brings a real feel to each of his matches as was proven when he cut randy Orton wide open, hard way, with a stiff elbow shot. Lesnar, who tried his best to protect Orton left a gash in Randy's head that needed 10 staples to close up. However, the reaction I saw after the summerslam match was a need for something new from brock lesnar. It seemed like people are beginning to sour on the prototypical brock match of suplex, suplex, suplex, suplex, suplex, suplex, suplex, suplex and f5 for the win. Randy Orton is a top star representing one half of the newly separated brands and he got almost no offense what so ever and was made to look like a meager bum against raw's beast. Plus, lesnar then f5'ed the commissioner of the smackdown brand leaving raw to look far superior to the smackdown brand, which needs to appear strong. The question has to be asked is brock lesnar's shelf life coming to an end? If the answer is yes then wwe has to use lesnar's next big time challenge (wrestlemania) as a means to create a new major star. Lesnar had to be signed by wwe with the intention to build a new big time guy, lesnar has been booked starting at wrestlemania when broke the streak to build a new big time guy and a win over lesnar would certainly build a new big time guy. Everyone has a suggestion as to who should receive the big win and I am no different. Seth Rollins is an established top guy, Roman Reigns is an established top guy and with Kevin owens just winning the universal championship he will quickly become an established top guy. I believe the win should be given to someone who can gain the most; a guy who has the experience to handle the big win but is also unestablished to the wwe universe while also being believable and real so that the wwe universe will accept as a legitimate entity. Samoa joe is the best and most deserving challenger to defeat brock lesnar. A motivated joe can be credible, big enough and agile enough to match up with brock making it an epic battle. Samoa joe has the ability to handle the physicality of brock and believability to topple the conqueror. Samoa joe will step directly into the new monster role creating fresh match ups in the wwe with guys joe has already had high profile matches with on the independent and international level. Brock Lesnar does have a shelf life and I believe with his ped usage found in the ufc, the info of his special treatment being discovered as well as his act in wwe reaching a plateau the time to pull the trigger on a lesnar loss catapulting a challenger to the top of the card. Samoa joe is the guy, the time and venue is wrestlemania. The match would be a huge spectacle and the result would help change the landscape of the wwe for the future allowing samoa joe to end his career where he belongs: a top spot on the biggest professional wrestling promotion in the world; but, that's  just this mark's remarks.

Photo credit:
forbes
pinterest
wrestlingviewers.com
obsessedwithwrestling.com
mmaweekly.com
cardboard collections

NXT stays strong or how to run a promotion

Following the brand split and draft one thing became abundantly clear: the nxt roster will be changing drastically. Finn balor, American alpha, Mojo rawley (who cares), Alexa bliss, Carmela and Nia Jax all got drafter to raw or smackdown during the draft; bayley is only a matter of time. Samoa joe and nakamura have to counting down the days and I feel the revival is not far behind either. Not to mention sami zayn before and Apollo crews, Enzo and Cass, the vaudevillains and baron corbin were called up right after wrestlemania. That is 19 potential known commodities leaving nxt within four months. That would cripple just about any major television wrestling brand to its core; however, nxt just rolls along without missing a beat.

They are using samoa joe, shinsuke nakamura and bayley the best they can but, more importantly, what they are doing is bring in fresh faces behind all of the top talent. Austin aries arrived and is making no way jose seem legitimate, American alpha put of author's of pain very strong, Bobby roode was introduced seemingly being put at the top of the card, wrestlers like Johnny Gargano, Tommaso chiampa, ty dillinger, Andrade almas are being featured now. They have completely rolled over the entire women's division aside from bayley and Asuka successfully. Not to mention hideo itami has come back. Finally, with the success of the cruiserweight classic I'm sure some of the wrestlers will join nxt before starting on raw.  Nxt managed to refill almost their entire roster seamlessly and successfully. As a wrestling fan for a long time I have never seen a roster turn done so well. To have so much talent leave without a let down on the show speaks volumes of the strategy of focus on top guys while building the under card so that everyone is ready to step up as the top stars are elevated to the main roster. The amount of focus on featuring the mid card guys so they are constantly growing and progressing is remarkable. Why is this strategy not being used at the main roster level is beyond me. While Undertaker, Bret hart and Shawn Michaels carried the main events performers like Steve Austin,  triple h and The Rock honed their craft en route to being the next top stars. This worked with stars like Jericho, angle, edge, guerrero, batista, Randy Orton and John cena! Then it kind of stopped, unexplicably.

NXT has resurfaced this archaic strategy and it is working like a charm. The perfect mixture of building stars with established veterans and time to develop characters, grow as performers and hone their skills before they are rushed to main events before they are ready makes NXT easy must see television.
Could you imagine if raw was focusing on Seth rollins challenging Finn balor and Roman Reigns versus rusev while also allowing cesaro, owens and zayn to build legitimate credibility instead of lousy win some lose some meaningless stuff that gets no one over? So, when the main events inevitably become stale they can rotate guys in and out and the fan base actually believes it to be viable. What a wonderful wrestling world it would be. If cesaro finally got to challenge Seth rollins or Finn balor for the universal championship and it actually meant something the product would be so much more interesting and entertaining. Imagine if you didn't know for certain who was going to win a royal rumble because wwe was able to have multiple established bona-fide challengers involved in the match. It would be incredible! It's not impossible, nxt shows you how to do it every week. And, amazingly, nxt is a very good show most all the time. 

Are you not watching nxt, yet? You should be. It is easy to watch and a tremendous show. NXT is a great reminder of how good wrestling can be, how simple cohesive stories and quality in ring wrestling can produce great wrestling shows that are just so good. Summerslam will be the biggest wrestling event of the summer in North America but nxt takeover: Brooklyn will likely be the better performance of that weekend. It will have all the emotion, drama and athleticism of summerslam without the convoluted mish mash that pro wrestling has become.

That is just this marks remarks and if you like what I have to say or you would like to tell me what you think please subscribe to this blog, like the Facebook page at www.Facebook.com/amarkremarks and follow on twitter @amarkremarks thank you very much and please keep supporting.

SummerSlam is building to the future and well... it looks promising

If you are wrestling fan you have noticed a slight changing of the guard at the top level of WWE in the last several months. If you are a fan just coming back to pro wrestling then you have chosen a good time.  The future stars of Raw and Smackdown are being discussed recently and it is probably due to a huge influx on very talented young men and women being featured, or not so featured, on television every week.  Also, with the unveiling of the WWE Network fan are now able to have NXT at their viewership disposal, really getting a glimpse of the athletes as they are groomed for the big leagues.  I for one find the next wave of "superstars" as something to be very excited about.  But who really has a good shot at being the next top tier level stars in WWE?
Roman Reigns is clearly being groomed to be the next top superhero of WWE going into the future.  He was very protected by the shield as a performer being showcased in ways only to make him look strong.  He was seen as the power of the team and was has used his high level of athleticism to build a move set that is very popular with the crowd.  Reigns also has the look of a superstar, being big and muscular makes him stand out from the crowd.  It doesn't hurt either that his cousin is The Rock!  Samoan family genes can do wonders for a guy in WWE, unless you become a super hero in training.  However, Roman Reigns still has a lot of learning to do; his in ring timing sometimes leaves something to be desired and unless he is doing one of his "signature moves" it seems like he is lost at times.  Also, his work on the microphone is somewhat effective he always keeps in short and sweet, because he has to, he will need to start stepping out of his comfort zone to prepare for when he is the top guy and has to carry programs with his promos.  The foundation is there with Roman Reigns it is just a matter of how well they can fine tune him before they place him in a top position.  There is a big difference between Goldberg and Stone Cold; right now Reigns is Goldberg but that can change and hopefully will.
On the subject of The Shield breaking up SummerSlam, this Sunday, will do great things to propel Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose' names into the upper echelon of sports entertainment.  These two men are much more polished then Roman Reigns in every aspect of wrestling, be it in the ring, on the mic, or controlling a crowd; the two guys have "it" to be big time stars in WWE.  The only thing Rollins and Ambrose have going against them is that they are not Roman Reigns, who is WWE's pick, but as Daniel Bryan has show the wrestling universe you don't have to be WWE's pick to become the top guy.  I believe that Seth Rollins is settling into his heel character very nicely, he is so technically sound inside the ring and he has that look about him that you want to boo, that smarky jerk look, he has it and it works.  I see him very much in the same light as CM Punk, a natural heel, and if Rollins can emulate Punk's rise within the WWE that would be a major success; minus the leaving of course.  But, the true diamond is Dean Ambrose!  Ambrose has that "it factor" charisma pouring out of him and the fans are really rallying behind him.  His in ring style, his promo methods, his voice, his attitude it all makes him seem different from anyone else.  Different in a very very good way.  I could see Dean Ambrose stealing away the Daniel Bryan crowd reactions and adopting a Stone Cold type of following.  I AM NOT SAYING HE IS STONE COLD! Steve Austin was a once in a life time phenomenon, but Ambrose has all the characteristics to catch lightning in a bottle and I feel the only that could slow him down is the WWE machine but I really hope they give him the opportunity.

Ladies and gentlemen the future... It's here.  Bray Wyatt is the most unique character created since The Undertaker or Mankind and the man playing him has it all almost figured out.  There is not a misused minute of television time for Bray Wyatt and the Wyatt family, every movement, stare, laugh, gesture they are all perfectly executed.  Bray Wyatt turned 27 years old in May.  Did you read that?  What were you doing when you were 26 years old?  Were you in a headlining match with John Cena at Wrestlemania?  Bray Wyatt is 5 years away from his prime and he is this far ahead of the game and that is pretty unbelievable in my mind.  He has been able to more than hold up his end of the bargain in feuds with Daniel Bryan, The Shield, John Cena and Chris Jericho while also mesmerizing crowds with his promos and vignettes and wrestling history says the best is still yet to come.  This third generation star is in a league all by himself as far as potential is concerned and as a fan of wrestling for 30 years I am excited to see where he goes, if his current success is any indication then we are watching a legend in the making.  Just to put things into perspective to how ahead Bray Wyatt is; Roman Reigns is 29 and has a lot of learning to do.  Wyatt is the future.

See this guy doing the giant swing to an essentially immobile 450 pound man using no momentum and only his own strength?  That is Cesaro, he has been awesome on the independent wrestling circuit for the last almost 10 years; amazingly, coming into the wwe he is also awesome. Cesaro is such a technically sound grappler with the ability to be an effective heel or face that he demands any fans attention.  Not to mention he is probably the pound for pound strongest wrestler on the roster, a roster that includes Big Show, Mark Henry and Brock Lesnar.  Cesaro wrestles with such fluidity and grace that you almost forget how powerful he is and then he dead lifts a guy over the rope in a suplex or swings gigantic man for 30 rotations and you are reminded that Cesaro will be a major player in wwe as soon as they allow him.  The ability to do anything in the ring with any opponent is a skill that not many possess and that trait will be what separates Cesaro from every other superstar on the roster.  Cesaro is one of the few guys, as he is now, that would have been a star in any era of wrestling and will help lead wwe into it's next era for sure.

There are also a number of future stars just arriving from or about to break out from wwe's  developmental division NXT.  If you have the wwe network you should be tuning in Thursday nights to watch this show.  It is one hour long and easy watching and has featured the likes of Bo Dallas, Rusev, Wade Barrett, Sami Zayn, Big E, Aaron Neville, Tyler Breeze and so many more that are being molded to be on Raw and Smackdown very soon.  And, they deserve it because there are some excellent performers there honing their craft.  Wait, wait a minute, what is that smell?...

Oh that is the internet wrestling community collectively crapping itself with excitement.  This is Triple H officially signing Prince Devitt, Kenta and Kevin Steen and if this is a sign of things to come and how wwe is going to recruit talent then as far as the future of wwe is concerned we have nothing to worry about.  If you don't know them you will, and you will be very entertained.  But that is just this marks remarks.