What If? – Brock Lesnar Never Left The WWE

TheChairshot.com asks the question…What If? Chris King discusses what if Brock Lesnar never left the WWE in 2004!

In the spirit of “The Beast Incarnate” Brock Lesnar possibly heading into retirement after his loss to Oba Femi at WrestleMania 42, I felt it was necessary to give “The Beast” his flowers after his spectacular career. Lesnar has done it all in the business: he is a ten-time WWE Champion, two-time Royal Rumble winner, former King of the Ring, ended The Streak, and is a former UFC Champion. He’s had such an incredible career through sports entertainment, but what if he never left the WWE in 2004?

 In 2004, Lesnar left the WWE to go play professional football in the NFL. At WrestleMania XX, “The Beast Incarnate” faced off against Bill Goldberg in what was considered a dream match for the ages. What actually happened was extremely underwhelming, as both superstars were rumored to leave the company and the entire crowd would shit all over their match. Lesnar had one of the most impressive WWE careers in company history. He won the KOTR tournament and became the youngest WWE Champion within one year. Just a few months prior to his match with Goldberg, Lesnar was the WWE Champion, defeating the likes of Kurt Angle, The Undertaker, Big Show, and a plethora of other superstars.

Goldberg cost “The Beast” his title at No Way Out, allowing Eddie Guerrero to win his first and only WWE Championship before his tragic death. Lesnar and Goldberg were on a collision course for months, despite being on different brands. Lesnar had dominated the SmackDown roster, while his rival was on the Raw roster. With the departure of Lesnar on the horizon, WWE was forced to make John Cena their poster boy for the company. What if Lesnar never left the company in 2004? He would have defeated Goldberg in a decent powerhouse match.

Instead of “The Beast” remaining on SmackDown after Mania, I would have loved to see him move over to Monday Night Raw and mix it up with some fresh opponents. Lesnar could have been placed into a big-time feud with former OVW Wrestling superstar Randy Orton. Both superstars could fight over becoming number one contender to Triple H’s World Heavyweight Championship. Instead of Chris Benoit vs. Randy Orton for the world heavyweight championship, we could have gotten HHH vs. Lesnar for the title. After defeating HHH at SummerSlam to win the world championship, Lesnar would reign supreme over Raw for the months to come.

At WrestleMania 21, we would see Lesnar vs. Batista in a huge dream match for the World Championship. Batista would still win the title at Mania and begin his lengthy title reign, including a move over to SmackDown. In the years following this, Lesnar would begin a long rivalry with the WWE Champion John Cena, who was drafted on the Raw after Mania. After both superstars would engage in a series of great matches, Cena would keep his title and move on to other superstars. It wouldn’t be until WrestleMania 23, where Lesnar and Cena would renew their rivalry, with “The Beast” winning the WWE Championship.

For the next several years, Lesnar would become a constant top superstar in the WWE, dominating talent and truly shocking the world. I don’t believe that if “The Beast” stayed with the WWE, he would have ended The Undertaker’s undefeated Streak at WrestleMania. Nor do I think it should have happened in reality. That achievement should have gone to a young and upcoming superstar, like Roman Reigns or Bray Wyatt. If Lesnar stayed, I think he would be the one to break Ric Flair’s record with seventeen world title wins. I do think, though, that he would have grown tired with the rough travel schedule and most likely would have retired a lot sooner.

Lesnar is a beast, and whether you love him or hate him, he deserves our respect for all of his accomplishments. I don’t feel like we’ve seen the last of “The Beast Incarnate,” as Gunther still has a favor owed to him. I imagine ‘The Career Killer’ wants to take Lesnar out at SummerSlam in his hometown. Time will tell if and when we see “The Beast” inside of the squared circle again.