I’ve just read Mark Madden’s very interesting column regarding the possibility of Lesnar returning to the WWE to face Undertaker at Wrestlemania. As much as I agree that there is always a possibility that Brock could come back to the WWE, even if it is just due to this suspension period of his UFC contract, I honestly just don’t see him doing it.
I think the comments from Undertaker at UFC 121 show a quick business sense and was designed to create options as Mark said.
Brock Lesnar has made himself a household name with the UFC and this latest fight came to great shock when Lesnar was put down in the fashion that he was.
All fighters lose sometime in their UFC career, look at some of the legends of the octagon and there are not many who haven’t got a loss to their name. It’s the way a competitor reacts to these loses that makes them a true champion.
Brock is no stranger to losing in the UFC and look at how he reacted to that fight. He learnt from his mistakes and came back better than ever. Brock’s reaction within the interview was honourable and spoken of someone who has self belief.
Brock didn’t show signs of dejection; he acted respectful of his opponent and gave the impression that he wanted to correct the mistakes he had made. Brock will learn from this fight and become a better overall competitor.
When you look at what Brock has achieved within his small time at UFC it’s hardly surprising that he had a loss like this. To be a Champion with so much hype around him within 2 years is a large feat, maybe it came too soon and too quick.
If Brock was to lose his next fight in a similar manner then I would suggest the possibility of looking at WWE in the long term but until then I think this entire situation is a clever tactic to get people to buy tickets for Wrestlemania, after all tickets go on sale in a couple of weeks and what better time to have all this speculation?
Even if Brock decided to face Undertaker, would he agree to lose? There has been controversy in this area previously between these two and has anything changed? Would a fighter looking to get back into the Ultimate Fighting Championship Heavyweight Championship picture really want to have his name in lights at Wrestlemania and lose to a 45 year old man on the verge of calling it a day? Would Undertaker want his streak ended by a man who just shows up and goes back to the UFC?
I think it would affect Brock in the UFC if he agreed to do it either way. Brock is not Bobby Lashley, when Lashley signed for TNA nobody really batted an eyelid that a wrestler has decided to do wrestling and MMA, this is because they knew Lashley was not at Brock’s level and he was nowhere near UFC standards at that time. If Batista ever made it to MMA then I think he would be in the same boat as Lashley, Lesnar is a different animal because everyone expects something from him.
Brock sustained comments from many MMA fan as he signed with UFC due to his contrbutions to the wrestling industry. Brock in my mind only shook of the fake wrestling moniker when he became the Heavyweight Champion. Should he step back into WWE now only confirms any doubter beliefs, Brock won’t want that to happen, Brock will want to prove his worth again in the UFC. Going back to wrestling only shows weakness to the challenges demonstrated by MMA and makes him look like a money grabber that is still distracted by the wrestling world.
Yes fans will argue that he owes WWE because if he didn’t make his name in the wrestling industry would he have ever made it into the UFC in the same way?
Of course money is always going to be a deciding factor but I think Brock will look at his long term future. If he can impress in his next fight and prove that he is not still showing any signs of weakness from his illness last year then I believe he has a long future with UFC and won’t want to consider his wrestling options until he becomes older and more concerned about long term injuries.
Brock has tried wrestling, he’s tried football and now MMA. I think Brock has found his home with MMA and don’t believe he’ll leave it for anything, not even the pay day with Undertaker. As much as I would like to see it…
At the end of the day WWE has already succeeded because they want people to talk about Wrestlemania and for that to happen around a UFC event brings in the possibility of new fans and gets everyone talking. The fact that we are all talking and writing about this means that WWE has already achieved it’s main goal and that’s create hype and interest. Now we have to see if they can pay it off…
You can contact me on beansontoastuk@msn.com and get in touch with me through Twitter at www.twitter.com/beansontoastuk
Martyn.
