Views From The Turnbuckle: Brock VS Punk Preview, Does Punk Stand A Chance?
The views expressed in this column do not necessarily reflect those of WrestlingINC.com or its staff.
Brock Lesnar has been back in the WWE for well over a year right now, yet he has only wrestled two opponents: Triple H and John Cena. Although it may be disputable, it could be said that Brock has yet to wrestle anybody that can get the best possible match out of him. His matches against Triple H and John Cena, while entertaining, were mostly based around foreign objects and slow submission moves. From a purist perspective, the matches were not all that spectacular, which is important because Brock Lesnar is one of the greatest pure wrestlers of the past 30 years.
CM Punk is really at the top of his game when it comes to putting on quality matches, and out of anybody in the WWE, he is probably the most capable of delivering a top match with Brock Lesnar. Lesnar, with the exception of Kurt Angle, is the most accomplished mat wrestler in the history of the WWE, and Punk has shown the ability to get a good match out of just about anybody. A matchup between these two is like a dream match to those of us who prefer grappling to chair swinging.
The build-up to the match has been in the works for nearly a year. Ever since Paul Heyman aligned himself with CM Punk, it was evident that there was eventually going to be a falling out, and that Heyman would recruit Lesnar to teach Punk a lesson. In the past month, the feud build-up has been simple but effective. Outside of one extended promo session where Heyman officially "dropped" Punk, it has mostly been Lesnar and Punk not uttering words to each other, but really just letting their fists do the talking. Although it has not been the most creative of builds, the crowd seems to love it as they are always their most vocal when Brock and Punk are out there trading blows.
Just like the Daniel Bryan/John Cena match, the matchup between Punk and Lesnar really has no predictable winner. Some fans think that Punk needs to win, as he has already lost to the Rock twice and the Undertaker once on ppv this year, and another loss to a part-time wrestler would demoralize his momentum. Others seem to think that Brock Lesnar needs the win more, and that it would be an insult to the fans to have someone as small as Punk defeat someone as beastly as Brock Lesnar.
It is that last point that I would really like to address. Some fans seem to think that booking Punk to defeat Lesnar would make zero sense in that in a "real" fight, Lesnar would kick the crap out of Punk. Of course, this is pro wrestling, and reality is something that shouldn't really be worried about. Since Brock is a former NCAA Amateur Wrestling Champion, and a UFC Champion, he could kick the crap out of 99.9999% of the Earth's population in a real fight. Using that logic, it would make no sense to have Brock lose to John Cena or Triple H, but because they both have 30lbs of muscle on Punk, it is more believable I guess.
In pro wrestling, the job of the audience is to suspend disbelief. Even if Brock is bigger than Punk, we can still believe that Punk can win because of his desire for victory and his never-say-die attitude. It is called being a babyface in pro wrestling. It made no sense for John Cena to defeat Mark Henry at Money in the Bank if you just compared sizes, but Cena won because he was the babyface who never gave up. I know in today's super-smart fanbase that kayfabe is more or less dead, but if you do not believe that guy who is smaller can defeat a bigger guy, then you should just stop watching wrestling because your ability to suspend your disbelief has been shattered.
The match can go two ways, both of which would eventually lead to the same conclusion. I think that Heyman can try to interfere, but accidently hurt Brock, allowing Punk to escape with the victory. The other option would be for Heyman to interfere successfully, allowing Brock to win. Either way, I do not think the finish will be clean and it will definitely lead to a bigger match later down the road. This is a feud that is screaming for the Cell, and it would be big-time money to have it main event that ppv in October.
Personally, I think Punk wins at Summerslam. If Brock goes out and destroys Punk and picks up the victory, it would mean nothing for their feud to continue. But if Punk wins, either if Heyman interferes or maybe because Brock didn't take him seriously enough, that would get Brock's full attention and lead to a bigger, more dramatic match. Heyman being on the outside, either as being a successful interfere or a terrible one, really opens up the match to a lot of different possibilities, making this one of the most unpredictable matches of the year.