After a year of trash talking The Rock finally wrestled his first singles match in a WWE ring in nearly a decade, defeating John Cena in the main event of Wrestlemania 28, in one of the most heavily promoted and highly anticipated wrestling matches of all time.

The following evening on Monday Night Raw, The Rock stated his return to the company was not over and publicly declared his desire to hold the WWE Championship once again. Up until the final two minutes of the broadcast that was the biggest news of the already memorable night.

But then Brock Lesnar showed up and delivered a thunderous F-5 to The Rock's Wrestlemania opponent, John Cena. In the process he turned the wrestling world upside down all over again, ten years after he debuted the day after Wrestlemania 18 and began a path of destruction that led him to the WWE Championship in just five months, one of the fastest rises to the top in the history of the company.

If the rumor mills are to be believed, Lesnar has signed a one-year deal with the company and will be appearing at least twice a month, with additional appearances negotiable. Seeking to mimic the way The Rock was booked into the Wrestlemania main event one year in advance to stimulate buy-rates from nostalgic and casual fans, it is believed Brock will be facing either John Cena or The Rock himself in the main event of Wrestlemania 29 next year.

Fittingly enough, it was The Rock who Lesnar defeated to win his first world championship and this loss was arguably the beginning of the end for 'The People's Champion' as a regular WWE competitor, and he would soon exit the industry in favour of Hollywood's greener pastures. Likewise, Lesnar would leave the WWE after only two years in pursuit of a career in the NFL, but when that failed Brock turned his hand to MMA and became one of the biggest draws in the history of the UFC, capturing their Heavyweight Championship and becoming a dominant and controversial force in the octagon.

Both men were criticised repeatedly for turning their backs on the WWE in favor of more lucrative careers and seemingly washing their hands of wrestling, and yet both men have since returned to the company for large sums of money in order to help boost buy-rates for the WWE's biggest annual extravaganza.

 

I for one was firmly in the camp of Rocky's detractors, cheering on John Cena because I respected his unparalleled dedication to the WWE and didn't appreciate the somewhat manipulative tactics of The Rock, praying on nostalgia with recycled catch-phrases, resorting to cheap gay jokes, and claiming he was back for good only to not appear again for weeks on end.

Several of my friends felt the same way, but one in particular is perhaps the world's biggest fan of Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, and like millions of others rejoiced in the chants of “Fruity Pebbles” and “Lady Parts.” And thus months of arguments between our group broke out with each side claiming their chosen wrestler had 'won' on any given week as they engaged in a war of words.

I was utterly convinced Cena was going to win the match because it was the right thing to do; because the icon of Hulk Hogan put over the young star that was The Rock ten years previously and thus it was time for The Rock to do the same for John Cena; because The Rock was a special attraction and John Cena was the franchise player, there every single week carrying the company on his back; because what kind of message does it send if a man that hasn't wrestled in almost a decade is able to walk in and defeat John Cena in his prime? I was ready to lord it over my friend and gloat at any given opportunity about how his beloved Rocky lost to the dreaded Super Cena. But that didn't happen. I'm man enough to admit when I'm wrong, and not only did The Rock win, but he looked very good doing it.

Twenty four hours later when Brock Lesnar made his triumphant return to the WWE, I, like everybody else, exploded with excitement, overjoyed that he was back. That same friend who I'd spent months arguing with over the integrity of The Rock then asked me a question I had some trouble answering:

“Why don't people hate on Brock for leaving? He genuinely left because he didn't like pro wrestling…”

A fair point. Brock Lesnar was equally if not guiltier of the exact same thing I had criticised The Rock for, only returning to wrestling after he failed to make it in the NFL and retired from the UFC after a string of medical issues and a big loss in his final fight. Say what you will about The Rock, he is kicking some serious tail in Hollywood, truly crossing over in a way that no other wrestler has or perhaps ever will again. His career is thriving but he has come back to wrestling anyway, fitting his WWE appearances in around his movie schedule. What's more, if he is to be believed he may just get another run with the WWE Championship, perhaps even competing at next year's Wrestlemania.

So why is that we're all so quick to forgive and forget when it comes to Brock Lesnar? I personally was never a huge fan of The Rock, much preferring Stone Cold Steve Austin, whereas I always found Brock to be entertaining as hell to watch. But does personal preference absolve Brock of his 'crimes'? Probably not.

I feel at this point I should point out that I was just as excited as anyone else when The Rock returned last year, writing an entire article about what it might mean for the future of the WWE. Reading it now it's clear I wasn't exactly on the money, but the point remains that I was thrilled to see him back in a wrestling ring, and I contributed to the record breaking number of followers his Twitter account received in its first twenty four hours. I have long since unfollowed him because the whole Team Bring It thing is a borderline religious cult, but that's besides the point. Nobody can deny the warm feeling they get inside when a beloved name from the past makes a surprise return to the WWE.

It's how The Rock acted and was portrayed after his initial return that irked me so much. From interfering in the main event of Wrestlemania to attack a babyface wrestler, to swearing he'd never leave us again, to appearing live via satellite, to resorting to that mocking baby-voice he does when making fun of other wrestlers' catch phrases, to the teleprompters and promo notes on his wrist, to the alleged backstage attitude, Johnson's behaviour just didn't sit right with me, especially when public perception of him was that he was a god of the microphone, back to save us all from monotony and bring back the good old days.

 

Brock Lesnar was never a god of the microphone, but rather an unstoppable force in the ring. Brock Lesnar was the man that destroyed Hulk Hogan and smeared his blood across his chest in one of the coolest visuals in the history of wrestling. Brock Lesnar was the man that walked into Hell in a Cell with the Undertaker and ripped him apart like nobody ever has (regardless of what Triple H will tell you in his promos.) Brock Lesnar is the man that F-5'd the Big Show, Rikishi and Mark Henry before John Cena was pulling off feats of strength. That reputation as an unadulterated bad-ass has only been enhanced by his UFC career, and I can't wait to see what he does to the current crop of WWE superstars.

Something tells me that rather than trying to ignore or distract people from the fact he left the WWE like the creative staff did with The Rock, Brock will openly acknowledge that he left to go dominate the UFC, claiming he's better than these wrestlers and daring any of them to prove him wrong, restoring the tweener persona he carried for much of his career, acting like a heel, but receiving positive reactions due to his feats of strength, intensity and violence.

If the reports of Lesnar's contract are true he should be appearing far more frequently than The Rock has in the last year (it's not like he will have too many scheduling conflicts) and will probably be wrestling several matches, but maybe The Rock is also to be believed and he will be entering into feuds with people other than John Cena on his quest for the WWE Championship, and if that's true then more power to him.

All we know for sure right now is that two of the biggest names of the last decade are finally back in the WWE and huge storylines may lie ahead of them. Only time will tell if Brock will be able to avoid some of the backlash The Rock received from a portion of the WWE universe, and if The Rock will be able to shake off said backlash and continue to entertain the millions… and millions.

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