PWTorch Specialist Roundtable - Has WWE effectively promoted the Brock Lesnar-John Cena match at Extreme Rules with the "legitimacy" buzzword/UFC references and John Laurinaitis's involvement? Or, is there a better way to promote the "fight?"

Nathan Kyght, PPV review specialist

I think it's way too soon to have Brock Lesnar face John Cena at all. Upon hearing confirmation of Brock's re-signing with WWE, it made sense that if they were not doing another "one-year build," the match with Cena would at least be held off until Summerslam. Instead, it's a 28-day build-up. My concern is that rushing Brock into the main event position without having him run through some of the roster will result in what happened when they brought Goldberg in and put him against The Rock a few weeks later: Goldberg quickly become "just another wrestler," and his one-year run was fairly dismal. Still, no sense worrying about it as the proverbial trigger has been pulled and Lesnar vs. Cena is going to happen. Soon.

I absolutely think that WWE made the right call mentioning UFC by name, and I do like that they are using the "legitimacy" angle; it adds a certain sense of realism to the storyline. And, let's face it, the fans know where Brock's been. The pull-apart brawl on Raw and the return of (gasp!) blood was a great way to kick things into gear. Also, the Lesnar interview package (which I have to believe was intentionally made to look like a UFC countdown special) was one of the best things WWE has produced in years. As long as they stay this course, I think it's been a great (albeit brief) build thus far.

But, none of this will matter if the match at Extreme Rules doesn't work. And, what to do? If Cena wins clean, WWE is out of their minds. A non-finish is seemingly out of the question due to the stipulations. Lesnar over clean? This makes the most sense and builds up a Cena "losing streak angle" that might be interesting. If I were booking, I'd have Lesnar destroy Cena, to the point of ref stoppage - Lesnar looks like a monster, and Cena, having lost to Rock, Tensai, and now Brock, begins his path back to the top, while Lesnar continues to boast about how he is above the company. It could work. Regardless, I'm intrigued, and looking forward to Extreme Rules. (Read Kyght's PPV Evaluation column on each major wrestling PPV.)

Jon Mezzera, PWTorch Hits & Misses specialist

The real problem here is the idea of promoting Cena vs. Lesnar one month after WrestleMania. I would be in favor of shutting the entire company down in April after WrestleMania. Then, coming back in May and building to another PPV in June. But, that is a pipe dream. Given the current state of the business, if they absolutely had to have this match at Extreme Rules, taking into consideration that the angle would therefore have to be rushed like they are rushing it, then they are doing a pretty good job.

The first week was well done, though I still feel it could have been better. The second week was rushed, but well executed, from the great slap and brawl to start the show, to the solid follow-ups throughout the night. I enjoyed the pre-taped interview with Lesnar in Week Three, plus the in-ring promo from Cena.

I don't care for Laurinaitis being involved. He seems too mid-card and too goofy for Brock Lesnar. I don't like calling Lesnar "legitimate" as it makes everything else seem "fake," which is not a good idea on a "fake" pro wrestling show. They have done a good job of utilizing Lesnar's UFC background.

It is an interesting personal feud with Lesnar coming back to replace Cena as the face of WWE. They are giving Cena a losing streak type of story, which is different for him which is good. However, Lesnar's motivations could be made clearer. I agree with what Wade Keller said earlier in the week that Lesnar shouldn't care about legitimizing WWE. He should be trying to take Cena's spot to make the most money. To sum up, they shouldn't have this match at all so soon, it is being rushed, but given the choice to rush it, WWE is doing a pretty good job, though they could be doing a better one. (Read Mezzera's Hits & Misses column on each week's Raw & Smackdown.)

Mike Cupach, PWTorch contributor

With the turnaround from PPV to PPV that WWE forces, it can be difficult to make every main event match as special as the one before it. I think WWE is very fortunate to be given Brock Lesnar at a time when many were worried about who would be around after WrestleMania and how WWE could keep people interested until The Rock came back for his next match. I think this match hasn’t had a perfect build-up, but I think it had a pretty good build-up. From Lesnar’s surprise return (and I use the term "surprise" loosely) to the pull-apart brawl, the UFC style promo from Brock, and this Monday’s contract signing, I think this has been pretty standard hype for the match that has been well done by the participants involved.

The involvement of John Laurinaitis has been minimal; he was a device to explain why Brock was back, and I am fine with him being used scarcely where Brock is involved. I know they are trying to make Brock a monster heel, and by aligning him with Johnny, it's a good way to get heat on him, so I understand what they are doing.

Overall, I am looking forward to the match between these two. I have always been a big Lesnar fan and was disappointed when he left WWE. I followed only him in UFC, and I am glad that he is back. I’m curious to see whether he has ring rust or not, and I am wondering if he will use minimal wrestling moves and try to be a MMA guy in a wrestling world. (Read Cupach's weekly Smackdown alt. perspective review)

George Chiverton, PWTorch NXT specialist

Many people will disagree with involving Laurinaitis, and I do to an extent, but I think if you're turning Lesnar heel straight in, you need the top heel to sit next to him at all times. Michael Cole is slowly turning face, in my opinion, and there isn't another heel I can think of other than Laurinaitis whom would achieve the desired affect.

As for the rest of Lesnar's return, I think WWE has been spot-on every time. Cena's blood, Lesnar's eyes. Perfect. It just culminated in a sense of immediate brutality, which Cena-Rock lacked for better or worse. People who are bored of waiting a year during bad Twitter build-up needed this - someone returning and beating the hell out of someone without saying anything. That's an impact that, for me, is what great wrestling moments are made of. That's what I want to watch. Not trends and movie plugs. I want to see a fight. Keep going hard, WWE, as it's paying off. (Read Chiverton's weekly NXT Rankings & Evaluation column.)

Jimmy Eaton, PWTorch Retrospective of the Common Fan specialist

After catching up on Raw from Monday, I actually am pretty pleased with the build-up. The buzzwords I think have been done well, as originally I wasn't even sure if WWE would mention UFC at all, which would have been a massive mistake. I think Brock is handling himself well and is definitely a different opponent for Cena compared to The Rock. The sit-down video was something that was desperately needed for the younger fanbase or those not familiar with him.

Cena also cut a nice promo on how he's ready for a fight despite some hidden jabs at Rock in the process. I'd much rather see Cena focused on winning and fighting rather than "putting on a good show for the fans" that we've seen so much of in the past. Intense Cena is always the better way to go, in my opinion, especially as a Main Event talent over the campy comedy. Sometimes it's fine, but not in this case or with Lesnar waiting in the wings. Hopefully we'll learn more as the angle progresses, although WWE has been all too familiar with rushing things (example: Punk-Cena last year).

I personally can't think of a much better way to do this other than the few things I already mentioned. Pull-apart brawls have been good and there has been talk of a reason for Lesnar's animosity towards Cena, and a reason for Cena to feel threatened. Not to mention, Super Cena hasn't been seen very often, which is nice. However, I do wish that Lesnar gave a bit more of a reason as to why he waited this long to come back after UFC, or heck, even a reason for waiting until after the Rock was done with Cena.

I want to give Cena credit, though, because despite the fact that I dislike when he's not serious, he's a massive company man that may end up putting over two huge returning stars in a two-month span. As a fan, he has my utmost respect. I actually find myself still rooting for him here because if WWE really tried, stories like this don't need to be about one match, or just another Cena opponent. It can actually be about something meaningful and a reason to keep people tuned in over the summer. So far, I'm at least interested going into Extreme Rules, so that's a start. I have to be more than interested to buy a PPV, but it's still a start. (Read Eaton's regular Retrospective reviews and listen to Eaton on Sean Radican's weekend audio.)

[Torch art credit Travis Beaven (c) PWTorch.com]

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