Vince then came up with arguably some of the most questionable booking in WWE history, as it required both being completely out of touch with the fans and assuming things that logically were extremely unlikely to happen. First, Brock Lesnar was going to end The Undertaker’s undefeated streak at WrestleMania, then he was going to beat Daniel Bryan for the WWE Title at SummerSlam. Vince believed that this would make Lesnar the biggest heel in the business. In the meantime, he would build up Reigns as the babyface to beat Lesnar for the title at next year’s WrestleMania. He thought that the fans would get behind Reigns because they would be so angry at Lesnar. You don’t need to have a high IQ to see the many obvious holes in this plan.
First of all, how did he know that the fans would boo Lesnar and not the booking? The “Summer of Punk” and the debacle with Bryan showed that the fans booed the booking, not just the characters. Logically, the fans would be angry at a polarizing part-timer like Lesnar being chosen to end The Streak and Bryan’s title reign. However, due to his legitimate UFC background it was also possible that they wouldn’t boo him as much as they would the booking.
How did he know that the fans would support Reigns at all? Again, judging by what had already happened with Batista, it wasn’t hard to assume that they could have had someone else in mind that they wanted to beat Lesnar. If you think that Lesnar might still have been booed in the original plan, then Vince made sure that he definitely wouldn’t be in the new one. Daniel Bryan got injured shortly after WrestleMania and was forced to forfeit the title, there would be no Lesnar vs Bryan. Instead, John Cena won the vacant title and was going to drop it to Lesnar at SummerSlam. Yes, John Cena, the same John Cena who was booed for years as a top babyface and who many fans were tired of seeing on top. Was it really a surprise that Lesnar was heavily cheered for dominating Cena the whole match and then finally pinning him after another F-5?
If Vince was in-touch with the fans and wanted Lesnar to be booed for dominating and beating an underdog babyface, he would’ve put the WWE Title on Dolph Ziggler or Dean Ambrose instead. Both were red-hot and beloved at the time. He didn’t want to put the title on either one? He could then have Lesnar win the vacant title and defend it against one of them at SummerSlam instead. Bottom line is, there was no way that Cena would receive the same reaction for losing as Bryan. In the meantime, Reigns failed to get over as a babyface and instead was booed more than even Cena was during the prime of the fans’ backlash against him. With Lesnar nowhere near the hated heel that he wanted him to be and with Reigns not working out, Vince was given a gift…
Next Page: “McMahon’s Missteps Part 1: Refusal To Accept That He’s Out Of Touch” by Neil Raymond (cont.)
