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The first run of Brock Lesnar in WWE barely lasted 2 years. The company had invested a lot of time, effort, and resources into pushing Lesnar as the next big star but the former NCAA champion grew weary of the travel schedule and left, moving onto the football scene and then fighting it out in the UFC octagon.
After establishing himself as a big box-office attraction in UFC, Lesnar returned to professional wrestling in 2012 and he has been with the company ever since. Right off the bat, the former UFC champion was pitted against John Cena, the face of the company, and ever since then, Lesnar has always been featured in high-profile matches and feuds.
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Sadly, most of his feuds have left a lot to be desired. He works a limited amount of dates but Lesnar has feuded with dozens of superstars in his 10-year run with WWE, from John Cena to Goldberg to Roman Reigns but his very best program came against someone who is not even part of the promotion anymore, CM Punk. The genesis of this feud goes something like this…
Lesnar Has Been With WWE For Years
After failing to break the undefeated streak of the Deadman at WrestleMania 29, Punk went on a hiatus and returned a few months later, much less heelish than before and this new attitude brought some friction to his relationship with his advocate, Paul Heyman.
On one episode of RAW, CM Punk was left laying by Brock Lesnar this led to Punk questioning Paul Heyman as Lesnar was a known client of his manager. Punk then went on a mission to find out why Lesnar had attacked him and of course, his number one suspect was Paul Heyman
Paul Heyman pleaded innocence, stating that he had no idea that Lesnar was in the building. Most fans remember the promo from after the reveal, with Heyman and Punk spitting fire at each other but during the midway point of this feud, when Heyman was still pleading his innocence, a segment highlighted how once upon a time, Heyman stood up for Punk when everyone else was telling Heyman to get rid of Punk.
Heyman then said that now everyone else was telling Punk to get rid of Heyman and despite being on the cusp of a complete babyface turn, Punk was visibly rattled and emotional, and he went on to embrace his advocate/best friend, apologizing for ever doubting him.
Unfortunately, Heyman displayed his true colors at the worst possible time. His client was just seconds away from winning the MiTB contract but Heyman slammed a ladder to his body and then to his face, preventing Punk from winning the match. Heyman was indeed behind the attack and the feud moved quickly from there as Brock Lesnar was introduced, and in the lead-up to SummerSlam 2013, every segment of this feud was must-watch television.
The Best vs The Beast was slated for SummerSlam and the match had a definite big-fight feel to it as Punk and Heyman had built this up as the most compelling contest on the entire card. Lesnar and Punk went at it from the opening bell and the match was as good as advertised, with the classic David vs Goliath dynamic playing out to near perfection
RELATED: The Best Brock Lesnar Match Every Year For The Past 10 Years
Punk was barely able to contend with the power of Lesnar but he was craftier and resourceful and he made every shot count. In the end, after an F-5 onto the chair, Lesnar picked up the victory but the Beast himself was weary after the match. The fact that Twice in a Lifetime won the Match of the Year award over this masterpiece is a criminal.
The Feud Did Not Drag On
Lesnar and Punk did not have a rematch and that is what makes this feud so special. For once, a Lesnar program did not drag on for months or years and the program actually had an underlying storyline. Most of the time, Lesnar is presented as an antisocial individual and that is literally the basis of most of his feuds.
The other wrestler complains about his lack of respect for the business and this gets repeated over and over again. To be honest, the real feud was between Paul Heyman and CM Punk, and Lesnar was brought in as the muscle and unsurprisingly, Brock Lesnar was an apt fit for the role.
The company went even further and teased the idea of professional jealousy between the two competitors, without restoring to Punk calling out Lesnar for being a part-time wrestler. Instead of complaining about Lesnar’s limited schedule, Punk sold Lesnar as a genuine freak and said that fear was his greatest weapon. That is how you build someone up.
Everything from the promos to the interactions and to the match itself was done perfectly and to date, Punk is probably the best rival Lesnar ever had. Individual segments involving Lesnar are good to great and the man possesses a special type of charisma but the company continually botches up his programs by dragging them out over several months and years.
