RETRO EXPRESS: THE RETURN OF BROCK LESNAR #3 – BROCK LESNAR VS. TRIPLE H II (WRESTLEMANIA 29)

Welcome to the Retro Express. This is where we’re taking a stroll down memory lane at wrestling history. This post is part of a new ongoing series where we’re reviewing every Brock Lesnar match since his return to WWE in 2012. We hope you enjoy.

We’ve approaching the end of Brock Lesnar’s first full year back with WWE. He returned on the RAW after WrestleMania 28 and here we are at WrestleMania 29 with Brock Lesnar booked for a rematch with Triple H as somewhat of a culmination to a near year-long rivalry between the two. After Brock Lesnar convincingly beat Triple H at SummerSlam, the No Holds Barred rematch included the added stipulation that Triple H’s career would be over if he lost to Brock.

Did this match surpass the original or was it a disappointing sequel to the “Perfect Storm” of their SummerSlam encounter? Well let’s get into it and see if WWE got it right:

Background: Brock Lesnar defeated Triple H at SummerSlam after no-selling the Pedigree and breaking Triple H’s arm for a second time. Triple H teased retirement at the end of the night as well as an episode of RAW a few weeks later. Both men disappeared from WWE television, with Brock Lesnar “quitting” WWE again while Triple H recovered from his “injured” broken arm. We wouldn’t pick up with this story again until after the Royal Rumble. Paul Heyman was about to be fired by Mr McMahon, due to Paul hiring The Shield to help CM Punk in his WWE title match with The Rock. As McMahon was ready to fire Paul, Brock Lesnar made his return. Brock F5’d the chairman of WWE as it was revealed that Vickie Guerrero had re-signed Brock to a contract. This attacked gave Triple H a reason to return as he beat up Brock on RAW and gave Brock 18 stitches by busting him open. Triple H challenged Brock to a rematch which Paul Heyman would agree to as long as Triple H agreed to two stipulations that he would find out after he signed the contract. After beating up Paul, Triple H found out that the match would be a No Holds Barred match and that his career would be on the line. This was must-win for Triple H.

Date: April 7th, 2013

Brand: WWE

City: East Rutherford, New Jersey

Commentators (First Hour): Michael Cole, Jerry “The King Lawler and John Bradshaw Layfield

Brock Lesnar w/Paul Heyman vs.Triple H w/Shawn Michaels in a No Holds Barred match. Triple H’s career was on the line

I’ll try to cover a few of the pre-match details as quickly as I can since I want to get into the match itself. The first thing is that the video package showed the angle where Paul Heyman revealed this would be a No Holds Barred match. I love how Paul menacingly revealed it was “No Holds Barred” like we didn’t just see what was basically a no disqualification match last time and Brock’s first match back was an Extreme Rules match. I loved the delivery of the line but in continuity, it’s not that big of a deal that we’re having the same style of match for a third time in Brock Lesnar’s case.

Shawn Michaels got his whole entrance as he came down to manage Triple H. It was to be expected given that he was literally introduced as “Mr WrestleMania” by Justin Roberts, so that part was fine. The more interesting aspect of Shawn was his outfit for this match. Shawn is an anomaly where he can either pull off an outfit really well or he looks ridiculous in an outfit. For every great WrestleMania attire he had, there was a Shawn Michaels referee outfit in shorts to counter this! For every yin, there was a yang and that was true with Shawn’s outfits. Shawn’s outfit here stood out big time. He had bright brown cowboy boots which fit Shawn himself and his lifestyle but just not the rest of his outfit! He had a trucker hat, skinny jeans and a black tank top to accompany his cowboy boots and it just didn’t fit at all. I could take my eyes of the cowboy boots. Trying to pull off cowboy boots in a casual outfit is a hard sell and it just didn’t work for old HBK!

Triple H’s WrestleMania entrances where also interesting at this time. He had a Motorhead-like structure surrounding him and he had white powder across his stomach. I didn’t know what the deal was with this when I watched it but when putting this review together, I did find a few interviews which explained it. Triple H revealed on Twitter that dry ice stuck too him and gave him 2^nd degree burns on the torso and arms. Kudos to Triple H for wrestling threw THIS MATCH IN PATRICULAR with burns on his body.

The match started with Brock and Triple H trading knees and punches. Triple H whipped Brock into the barricade which sounded ridiculously padded! I can’t really be upset that they added extra protection for the superstars! He bounced Brock off the announce table and punched away at Brock. Brock responded by pushing Triple H into the apron. Brock was about to climb over the barricade but Triple H clotheslined Brock and this big monster damn near landed right on his head. I can only assume that was Brock’s idea but it was nasty looking as he came crashing down onto the floor. This match is on YouTube and there’s a comment which mentioned: “At around 2:00 he legit landed on his neck and it’s not in the ring either. For guy who is close to 300lbs that was scary. Incredibly physical match from both sides, one of the best match.”

They were absolutely spot on. For a big dude to fly like that, he took a risk with that spot. It appeared Brock was fine though as started whooping Triple H’s arse. Brock tried a chair shot but Triple H threw a knee and Brock fell down in an awkward spot. Brock got thrown to the outside and one kid front in the row popped up and shouted: “you suck”… I laughed. Brock hit a belly to belly suplex on the floor. The hard bumps continued on from the first match and they pretty much picked up right where they left of. Brock beat on Triple H some more. Brock then transitioned a suplex into just a throw to send Triple H crashing through the announce table.

Then we got a legendary all-time Brock Lesnar moment. The camera man then zoomed right into Brock Lesnar’s face. Brock flexes, unleashes a gorilla like pose and then screamed in an extremely high pitched voice while beat red. It was one of the funniest scream ever, as even fans started laughing at this as Brock was fired up. His eyes popped out and everything. He sounded like a wolf trapped in an eagle’s body!

This didn’t stop Brock screaming though. He just kept doing it as he did a belly to belly on the remnants of the announce table. Credit to Triple H, he took a beating on this night as this spot was ugly. Brock continued to scream, at least a little bit more manically and animalistic like throughout the match. What I love about Brock is that even with this scream becoming a meme, Brock would continue to scream in this high-pitched fashion. Instead of never doing it again, he just kept it going and at least worked on it over the years. It created some unintentionally hilarious moments but at least Brock didn’t give it up on it!

Brock taunted as Triple H told him to bring it, so Brock just stomped him out in the corner. Triple H fired back but Brock knocked him back down with a clothesline. Much more co-ordination here then the clotheslines from the first match. They seemed to be a bit more on the same page with some spots.  Brock did another bely to bell suplex in the ring, followed up with a German suplex.  I think they learned their lesson with the continued working on the arm. Instead of just constant Kimura locks, Brock just dominated and threw Triple H around which made the match seem more dangerous. With more dangerous it was, the more suspense it had which added to the drama.

Triple H fired back with punches but got Irish Whipped over the top turnbuckle. Brock would stalk Shawn on the outside but Triple H did take advantage one time with a clothesline. Triple H followed up with a second clothesline over to the time-keeper’s area. Triple H grabbed a chair and whacked Brock on the back with it.

Brock hit a German suplex with somewhat of a snap suplex. Brock, at least nowadays, does a lot more of a throw than a snap suplex. This was more reminiscent to a Kenny Omega snap suplex than a Brock suplex!  Brock eventually got his hands on Shawn by clotheslining him off the apron. Triple H got a spinebuster in. Shawn tried a Sweet Chin Music on Brock but Brock caught it and hit the F5 on Shawn. Triple H took advantage and hit a pedigree. It appeared Brock wasn’t ready at first but they recovered fine and hit the pedigree anyway.

Triple H grabbed the sledgehammer and tried to use it, but Brock ducked and hit an F5 for a two count.  What bothers me about this is that Brock’s not won the match yet in his return WWE run (at this point) with an F5 in his first three matches. Every time he’s hit the move, Cena and Triple H both kicked out. I know at this time WWE had a lot of finisher kickout spots for big matches but this was ridiculous. At least try to protect Brock’s big moves.

Brock grabbed a chair of his own and hit Triple H. He then threw Triple H into the steel steps. Brock seemed way better at getting the heat as he just beat on Triple H and stalked him after each move. He seemed far more threatening. He hit Triple H with the steel steps and then threw them into the ring. It was the bottom half of the steps and this was somewhat a callback to Brock’s first match back in the company when the steps where important to that match. Lighting stuck twice with these steel steps which we’ll get to later.

Brock used these steps and hit Triple H with them, which got a 2 count.  Brock yelled at Triple H to retire and Triple H slapped him in defiance. Brock countered a pedigree into a Kimura Lock for the first time in the match. I swear some fans chanted “break his arm”. It wasn’t very loud but it appeared that’s what it was as soon as Brock locked on the move. Then some others you could hear chant it. Some fans really hated Triple H at this time period, and I didn’t realise how much until now. They booed him during his big retirement tease at SummerSlam and they booed him during a potential career-ending match.

Brock sat on the top turnbuckle and locked on the hold but Triple H lifted him up and transitioned it into a spinebuster of some kind. Triple H did the “suck it” pose and suckered Brock in for a low blow. At least this was a callback to the first match where Brock did a low blow, so it was somewhat justified Triple H returning the favour.

Triple H hit Brock with the chair in the arm as Michael Cole even mentioned he was “returning the favour” as Brock basically worked on Triple H’s arm for the whole feud! Triple H did his own Kimura lock on the former UFC Heavyweight Champion as the fans actually got into this as Brock teased the tap. Paul Heyman got in with the chair to try and save him but Shawn Michaels was ready to deliver Sweet Chin Music to Paul.

The fans chanted tap and I think a lot of fans thought Brock was going to tap and Brock teased this extremely well. Brock was awesome with these teases but he then powered up like the Terminator and then carried Triple H over to the steel steps while locked in the move and slammed him. Triple H however woke up and locked on the hold again (again a callback to the first match) but Brock slammed him one more time . Triple H tried a third time and Brock again, teased tapping out but didn’t. Brock got him up but this time, Triple H counted it into a DDT and slammed him into the steel steps. This was an awesome exchange where a part of you really believed that Triple H was going to tap out Brock in the ultimate irony.

Triple H grabbed the sledgehammer and hit Brock. Triple H hit the pedigree on the steel steps to score the win and Triple H’s career remained intact.

Match Rating: ***1/2

I will say, despite Brock being beaten a second time, this was a very poetic match. Call backs to previous matches, Brock losing in the same way he lost to Cena on the steel steps and just a natural conclusion for the feud (at least we thought it was the conclusion). It was very chaotic, there was a lot of action and a sense of danger. I thought this was a huge improvement to their first match and it felt like the finish to a story so I felt this match was a success. Nowhere near the level of the likes of Punk vs Taker on this show but this was a good match.

With that being said, while this was a very good story being told, this had nothing to do with Brock Lesnar. This was essentially a Triple H story. The COO of WWE had his arm broken by an uncontrollable monster. He had to fight when things became personal but ultimately got humbled in their first match. The monster returned and after he made it personal with his father-in-law, Triple H had a reason to comeback and be “the ass kicker” again to get revenge. Even with his career on the line, he beat the monster at his own game and slayed him to keep his career alive.

They even told a very similar story for WrestleMania 35 where Batista attacked Ric Flair to make things personal with Triple H heading into a match where Triple H’s career was over if he lost. It’s very similar but the big difference is that Batista, as big of a star as he is, was not the same as Brock Lesnar.

Brock Lesnar was the UFC Heavyweight Champion. He came in and he battered John Cena in the first match. He lost a match where Cena was the one that had to dig down deep to beat this monster. Then his next feud was against Triple H but he was just the big monster that Triple H had to beat to essentially re-vitalise his career. That was the story. The story was about Triple H, not about Brock.

Therefore, Brock had just became like every other big heel monster that WWE had. He’d be in there with two of WWE’s most protected guys and he lost to both of them clean. For a guy who is a one-of-a-kind freak of nature, he should never be in this role. As guys like Edge would say publicly, Brock shouldn’t have lost to John Cena and Triple H. He should have beaten everybody en route to a big match where the “next big thing” or the next big babyface beats him and becomes the new guy. Instead, he’s basically there to give notches to the belts of already-established stars like Triple H and John Cena.

Even in his feud with CM Punk (which we’ll get to later in the series), the storyline was about CM Punk and Paul Heyman. Brock was just a guy in a heel monster position and this likely the reason why Brock ended the WrestleMania streak of Undertaker. Without that big win to show that Brock was not like any other star, he was reduced to just being another main-event heel. He should be completely different to everyone else and this match didn’t do him any favours.

Also, Triple H’s career really didn’t need to continue after this point. Yeah, Triple H would win the title again, main-event WrestleMania and win a Royal Rumble match in 2016 but he was in that position because they didn’t have anyone else. It wasn’t essential for his career to continue and it even ended in 2019 shortly after the Batista match. There was no good reason for his career, at least from a business standpoint, to continue other than WWE felt the need to keep him around. Maybe it was a Triple H call but they booked themselves into a corner by having Triple H’s career being on the line. Brock had to lose so Triple H’s career to continue, even though Brock was the more valuable asset.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

However, hindsight is also 2020 and Brock’s career ended up being fine so Triple H gets a pass for now. This match was better than their first match. I’ve read reviews saying it was worse than the first match but this felt more dynamic, it felt like there was more of a story and you were rewarded if you paid attention to previous matches. It didn’t have the ring psychology of the first match but it made up for it with a much heightened sense of danger that the first match like.

Coming up next is the third match in this trilogy between Brock Lesnar and Triple H where we finally end the feud for good with the score being 1-1 heading into the rubber match inside of a steel cage…

Brock Lesnar Match Reading Order

• #1 – Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena (Extreme Rules 2012)
• #2 – Brock Lesnar vs. Triple H (SummerSlam 2012)

RETRO EXPRESS: THE RETURN OF BROCK LESNAR #2 – BROCK LESNAR VS. TRIPLE H (SUMMERSLAM 2012)

Welcome to the Retro Express. This is where we’re taking a stroll down memory lane at wrestling history. This post is part of an new ongoing series where we’re reviewing every Brock Lesnar match since his return to WWE in 2012. We hope you enjoy.

We’ve covered the first match of his return to WWE in 2012. Now we’re about to cover his second match where it was structured completely differently from the bloody beatdown of John Cena at Extreme Rules. It was a hard-hitting affair but it also successfully transitioned Brock Lesnar from the unstoppable badass in his first match to just another profesional wrestler in the second match. It was night and day as this time, Brock Lesnar had a SummerSlam main-event with The Game… Triple H.

Brock’s program with Triple H was very entertaining at times but there was a number of fundamental flaws with Brock’s next opponent being Triple H:

1. Triple H was a part-time wrestler now, so there would be months where neither Brock or Triple H would be on television promoting the feud. Whether it was to sell a kayfabe injury or a kayfabe walkout, it felt very isolated to the rest of the stories in WWE and couldn’t really develop the intensity after their first match.
2. Brock Lesnar was supposed to be presented as a spoiled bully that Triple H was trying to stand up to. However, Brock Lesnar himself was also standing up to an authority figure so him getting heat wasn’t as easy.
3. Triple H was also someone with a reported history of booking himself favourably in big main-event storylines. Any CM Punk fan will testify that a Triple H loss can stop momentum dead in its tracks.

In WWE’s mind though, Triple H was the way forward. However, the three matches they had never really stood out as some of Brock’s best work really because it was structured in the formulaic way of long heat spots which really wasn’t engaging enough to warrant that amount of time. Give Bryan Danielson time to get heat, he keeps you engaged in the match. Give Brock Lesnar, in his second match in 8 years, time to get heat, the heat dies down. Brock just wasn’t experienced enough to work this type of match with Triple H and make it look compelling.

However, everything else about this first match was sound. The psychology was sound, Brock did hit Triple H with some big moves which made it seem semi-dangerous, the fans got into Triple H’s comeback and the finish was excellent in execution and set up the rest of the feud perfectly.

Let’s get into this one and see what worked and what didn’t work.

Background: Previously in WWE, Brock Lesnar lost to John Cena in his first match back in WWE. However, as mentioned in the last post, Brock had bullied general manager John Lauriniatis into a more lucrative deal including Vince’s private jet and renaming Monday Night Raw after him. COO Triple H revealed that John didn’t have the authority to authorise changes to Brock’s contract so Brock wouldn’t get what John agreed to. As Triple H was distracted with John, Brock ambushed Triple H and a fight broke out which saw Brock break Triple H’s arm. Paul Heyman appeared on RAW acting on Brock’s behalf to announce Brock had quit and would subsequently file a lawsuit against WWE for not getting what was agreed. A few back-and-forths later, as well as Paul Heyman’s own lawsuit for Triple H assaulting him, Triple H decided to challenge Brock for a match at SummerSlam instead of settling this in court. At RAW 1000, Paul Heyman rejected Triple H’s match and tried to goad Triple H into hitting him when Stephanie McMahon appeared to slap him. Heyman eventually agreed to the match. Shawn Michaels got involved in the program as well, initally declaring himself to be in Triple H’s corner. In response, Heyman and Lesnar trapped Shawn in order to ambush him and Brock eventually broke Shawn’s arm as well.

Date: August 19th, 2012

Brand: WWE

City: Los Angeles, California

Commentators (First Hour): Michael Cole and Jerry “The King Lawler

Brock Lesnar w/Paul Heyman vs. Triple H in a No Disqualification match… kind of

NOTE: I believe this match was technically just a regular match and the referee appeared to be able to call for the bell. However, the storyline going in was that Triple H apparently told the referee that this was supposed to be a fight to the finish. In other words, use his discretion and not call for a disqualification so Triple H can fight Brock to the finish. It was essentially a no disqualification match although the referee did consider calling for the bell during it.

Before we had the match, earlier on in the show, Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman were backstage for an interview. Interviewer Matt Striker literally said: “Ladies and gentlemen, Brock Lesnar” and then Paul Heyman took over with the rest of the segment. Paul called Brock the most destructive, dominant and decorated athlete in WWE history. Brock said he would break the spirit of WWE and Brock grabbed the mic to say this was fight Triple H could not win. Paul Heyman said if you’re not down with that they had two words for you: “tap out”. Brock snarled and smiled at the camera creepily like he was going to eat Triple H. This was quite great and Paul was in usual form with his hyping up Brock.

Maybe I was crazy but Brock came out for his entrance and looked way bigger here than he was during the Cena match. In Brock’s defense for that match, I think Brock was coming off of the diverticulitis that basically ended his UFC career so maybe he looked a little thinner during his Extreme Rules match because of that illness. However, with the months away to build himself up again, he just got super jacked. He was MASSIVE as he came out and just looked like a legitimate monster.

Fun fact: I actually think this was Triple H’s last match in WWE with long hair. He cut it while he was away from television after this.

I loved the shot of Triple H’s close up titantron side. The camera turned around as if it’s Triple H looking around. It showed Brock lurching over Triple H in the ring looking down and Triple H staring him down from the outside in the green lighting. It looked super cool and with Triple H’s music playing, you couldn’t help but be amped up for a fight which was the point. You wanted to see two big dudes slugging it out and that was the story.

Brock immediately charged at Triple H in the corner as Triple H tried to punch his way out. This was reminiscent to the initial brawl that started the feud in the first place. Triple H fought out of an early Kimura attempt. Brock wrapped his legs around the waist of Triple H as he locked it on but Triple H fought out of it again. Triple H clotheslined Brock out of the ring and Brock did his crazy “leap out of the ring” clothesline spot which I always enjoyed. There was some kind of miscommunication it appeared as Brock tried to pop up with a clothesline but Triple H just bungled into him with his high knee and then he just clotheslined Brock out of the ring again.

Paul screamed at Brock that it was “his fight” as he made his way back into the ring. He took off the gloves and smiled with his mouthpiece. They traded punches on the outside until Brock grabbed Triple H’s arm and just slammed Triple H on the announce table. Referee Scott Armstrong was told “not to count out anyone” but after hesitation, he just started counting out both men.

Brock worked on the arm and stomped away at Triple H. Brock tried the Kimura again but just threw Triple H again into the corner. Brock was BRIGHT RED with patches of white as he appeared gassed early on. Brock hit an absolutely solid German suplex with Brock grinning as he had blood on his face. Maybe Triple H clocked him for real, at least that’s what the announcers implied. Either way, both men took a few ugly shots during this.

Brock went to twerk the arm again and at this point, it just became tiresome. It was the same move that Brock just kept trying. If the story is Triple H’s broken arm is in trouble with this Kimura, he shouldn’t keep trying the move. The first time, sure it was an attempt to win the match early on. Multiple times though, the suspense just dissipated and it does take away from the danger of the move. In my mind, he should have worked on and at least tried it once early on to tease the spot and heighten the danger of it, then he should have broke this arm with it in the finish. Brock going for the move repeatedly just got old quickly.

Brock threw Triple H into the steps and then speared him into the announce table before just knocking the announce table over himself. Then Brock had an idea to jump onto the corner of the announce table and then jump as HIGH AS HE COULD to come crashing down with possibly the only double axe handle Brock Lesnar has ever done in his life! It looked really cool too. I love how Brock, even being the monster that he is, can’t help but fly around all over the place for stuff like this. Whether it’s taking the clothesline in a over-the-top fashion or throwing himself at John Cena like a cannonball, Brock just couldn’t help but show signs of agility to remind the audience that Brock can still move despite being a big dude. I loved it. This was a period where Brock could still move so he was feeling ambitious on this night for spots!

Brock actually did try a small package of sorts during this match. Brock and Triple H’s chemistry was off on another clothesline and a handful of fans started to boo. Triple H eventually got back into it with a suplex. Triple H tried a pedigree but Brock got out of it and Irish whipped him to the outside.

Triple H actually winded Brock by throwing him gut first into the second announce table which is actually key to this match. Brock actually coughed up flehm and complained about his stomach as even Paul asked: “are you alright?”. Cole did mention the “history of stomach issues” so the diverticulitis actually was a factor in this match. Brock tried another Kimura and Triple H just kneed him in the gut to get out of it. He did repeated knees to the gut which the fans ate up.

I did like the ring psychology of this match, with Triple H going after Brock’s stomach while Brock went after the arm of Triple H. The fans started to wake up for this as well so it did turn the match around and brought life to it. Triple H hit the spinebuster. Triple H and Brock both attempted their finishers until Triple H won this little battle and hit the pedigree for a 2 count. Brock hit a low blow and Paul Heyman immediately screamed at the referee that “he told you he wanted a fight” as Scott contemplated calling for the bell. Brock hit the F5 for the 2 count which actually got a lot of boos. This appeared to be a very anti-Triple H crowd which is actually hilarious given the post-match segment.

Brock eventually locked on a Kimura lock and brought Triple H down to the ground to tighten the grip I guess. Triple H grabbed the ropes but Scott wouldn’t call for a rope break. Triple H fought out. Triple H hit a second pedigree but Brock immediately popped up, locked on a Kimura lock and caused Triple H to tap out in what was a hell of a finish. Brock literally no-sold a pedigree to break this dude’s arm and it was something that Brock really needed to really create this superhuman nature about him. He took the best that Triple H dished out, didn’t care about the pedigree and tapped him out. It was a dominating, convincing win which Brock needed to recover from John Cena and it humbled Triple H which was crucial to the overall story.

An excellent finish to an otherwise really bland main-event with at least a semblance of psychology

Match Rating: ***

I can’t go higher than 3 stars. The story was there, the psychology was there, it had a hell of a finish but the chemistry was very off a number of times and the match felt very slow. The heat spots were just too much from Brock and it took away from what was sound psychology and structure on paper. In execution, everything but the finish was just “OK” but it doesn’t really make me look forward to the rematch.

The fans chanted “you tapped out” to the babyface Triple H with a broken arm. I laughed. This was Triple H’s big “retirement” tease which also made me laugh as the fans did not think highly of Triple H on this night. He got his arm broken and the fans mocked him for tapping out, like they would for a heel tapping out.

Eventually, the fans started to half applaud and half boo like crazy. Triple H stood up in the middle of the ring as he shook his head. He played this up like it was his big retirement. He said “I’m sorry” as he leaned against the rope looking very solemn. Triple H even shook hands with some front row fans as he walked to the back. Clearly Triple H was really looking for like a hugely applauding crowd as he had his big moment here and it just never happened. Michael Cole even asked if this was the end of Triple H as Triple H just walked to the back a beaten man.

If 2022 is anything to go by, this is only the beginning for Triple H!

⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 3 out of 5.

This match was good… but it could have been better. Both of these men had been in Match of the Year candidates in 2012. Brock had done excellent work with Cena and Triple H had his big Hell in a Cell match with Undertaker. Those matches will always be remembered by wrestling fans as all-time classics for each man respectively. This match will not be remembered as fondly but the finish will be. Brock Lesnar no-selling a Pedigree and then breaking Triple H’s arm was the perfect end to what was promoted as a “Perfect Storm” with SummerSlam 2012. It was crucial to the story and set things up nicely for a rematch at WrestleMania 29 where Triple H could go one more round with Brock Lesnar.

Brock Lesnar Match Reading Order

• #1 – Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena (Extreme Rules 2012)

RETRO EXPRESS: The Return of Brock Lesnar #1 – Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena (Extreme Rules 2012)

Welcome to the Retro Express. This is where we’re taking a stroll down memory lane at wrestling history. This post is part of an new ongoing series where we’re reviewing every Brock Lesnar match since his return to WWE in 2012. We hope you enjoy.

It’s been about two years since the Armbar Express has posted on WordPress. A lot has happened in the world of wrestling in the past two years as we’ve wrestled through a global pandemic, wrestling TV wars and changes in the WWE hierarchy. However, it’s always nice to take a trip back in time and review some of the highlights from the past. We were doing this with our WCW Nitro series, which I do intend on resuming at some point on this blog.

However, I wanted to do a retrospective dive into the return and continued run of one of my favourite wrestlers of all time. This was a man who was pushed to the moon when he first arrived, dominated the SmackDown! main-event scene and then left for other pastures such as the NFL and UFC. In 2012, he returned to professional wrestling and he still wrestles for WWE as of December 2022. This man’s name… was Brock Lesnar.

With this run of ten years since his return, his new spell with WWE has far surpassed his original with the amount of time. From OVW to when he left in 2004, he was only in the wrestling business for about five years and even with adding his New Japan Pro Wrestling run it’s still not as consistent and as long as his run since 2012.

Now obviously he is not wrestling on a full-time basis and he did fight in the UFC again during this run in WWE. However, it does say a lot about a man who still continues to work his socks of in the wrestling world and even put on Match of the Year candidates ten years after coming back from conquering UFC. Brock does have a passion for wrestling in his own way… he’s just got incredible negotiation skills with his contract!

I looked up how many matches he’s had since he’s returned and I set myself a little bit of a challenge to review each of these matches, rekindle memories from the past ten years of a wrestler that has been an all-time favourite of mine since I first started watching wrestling in 2003.

Let’s get started with a bloody, brutal return to the WWE as Brock Lesnar wrestled John Cena in the main-event of Extreme Rules 2012.

NOTE: I did consider going all the way from the start of his career but I found a hard time gathering OVW matches in order for Brock. If anyone has a playlist of Brock Lesnar’s matches from OVW from YouTube for example they can provide, please leave a comment as it would very much be appreciated. The WWE Network appears to only have one Brock Lesnar match from OVW.

Background: John Cena had just lost a match one year in the making to The Rock at WrestleMania 28. Such a loss to a guy he’d been trash-talking for a year was a bitter pill to swallow for Cena. However, Cena did want to congratulate The Rock on the night after WrestleMania. However, he was instead met with the former UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar making an unannounced return. Brock faked a handshake and pulled Cena in for an F5. Cena retaliated the next week by slapping Brock in the face, which led to a pull apart brawl where Cena was bloody at the mouth. It was revealed that General Manager John Laurinaitis had signed Brock to bring legitimacy back to the WWE, with Brock doing interviews about what he was going to do to Cena. Cena vs Lesnar was signed for an Extreme Rules match at the PPV. Cena even lost to Lord Tensai en route to Extreme Rules so Cena’s confidence was rocked. Edge tried to motivate John on his last contracted night with the company, telling Cena to wake up and beat Brock Lesnar. Brock himself had held Laurinaitis up for more additions to his contract and wanted things such as the show to be renamed to “Monday Night RAW Starting Brock Lesnar”. Cena interrupted but was clearly still shaken as he went face to face with Brock one more time

Date: April 29th, 2012

Brand: WWE

City: Rosemont, Illionis

Commentators (First Hour): Michael Cole, Jerry “The King Lawler and Booker T

Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena in an extreme rules match

They showed the video package before the match and the intensity was superbly captured with the grittier, darker tone of this story. This was right after John Cena lost to The Rock at WrestleMania 28 and he was thrown in a serious fight with a former UFC Heavyweight Champion and the stakes were high. This was not your typical John Cena feud (at least on the surface) and the fans had to come to terms with a new side of John Cena in the sense that he was petrified going in. They did their best to prepare the fans for what would be a lamb going to be slaughtered and the fans had no idea what they were in for here. It’s a superb video package.

I will say that I hard a weird irritable nostalgia moment right before the match started. Fans chanted “Let’s go Cena, Cena sucks”. I heard this every week in this time period. Every RAW segment, every PPV match, it was exactly the same. Yet in 2022, 10 years later, Cena’s barely around enough for me to even hear the chant again. I don’t even think he gets the chant now whenever he’s in WWE. However, ten years ago, it’s all you heard whenever Cena came out. I’m sure when I review Cena vs Brock in 2014, it’ll be the same thing. It took until Roman Reigns being pushed for the chant to slowly die away.

Brock came out in MMA shorts, MMA gloves, fighting gear for the first time in a WWE ring. It was unique for wrestling at the time, it fit Brock and it evolved Brock into a completely different character that he needed at the time. He was a fighter now and he looked like a fighter with his gear, which told the fans that Brock had evolved into something different for this new run in WWE.

Fans were surprisingly quiet for Brock coming out. There was way more reaction to Cena given that this was Brock’s first match in eight years. Cena himself came out wearing a chain around his neck in homage to his “thuganomics” days and it was so obscure seeing it over his PG look if you will. Cena himself was just clearly angling for a huge character change with how he was presenting himself differently. Cena himself has stated in interviews that he tried to turn himself heel at around this time and supposedly had music and merch produced in order to spearhead this planned heel turn but it was not to be.

Listening to this crowd though, Cena was doing absolutely fine in terms of keeping himself as the talk of the town. Fans went nuts for him, whether they hated him or they booed him and that was clear in how this match was put together. This was not a match about Brock’s big return to WWE. This was Cena having to dig down deep against impossible odds which just so happened to be former UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar.

Brock was bouncing in the corner and Cena glared at him ready to strike as the referee called for the bell to start the match. Cena charged at Brock but Brock easily scored a takedown and smeared Cena’s face with elbow strikes which busted Cena open hard way. Cena gets up but Brock flattens him with a clothesline. The ref even grabs the rubber gloves like a minute into the match to tell the viewers basically that Cena was in serious jeopardy and this was not like any usual WWE match at this time.

Cena scored a take down when he popped back up and even applied a front face lock but Brock quickly turned this around as he just pummelled Cena. He punched Cena and punched Cena, with Brock snarling whenever he and Cena were separated. They had towels and they stopped the match entirely multiple times as Brock just stalked Cena. In 2012, it was insane with how much blood there was here.

This was a match where Brock basically dominated and Cena would spring back up but Brock took him back down again. Brock took him down with ground and pound and mounted him from the back as Cena just couldn’t defend himself. Brock even gets in a cheeky knee as Cena rolls out of the ring. The replays even emphasises the big knees to the gut as to the beating Brock was putting onto Cena.

Brock was definitely looking tired and was dripping with sweat by the end of the match. Cena got back up and went for the Attitude Adjustment but Brock countered this into two rolling German suplexes. This was pre SUPlEX CITY so these were pretty much the only suplexes Brock dished out in this match.

Fans started chanting “Brock’s gonna kill you”. Cena was fighting back and scored a shoulder tackle which knocked Brock into the referee Charles Robinson who took a bump. Cena tried a second one but Brock bounced Cena off of him with his own shoulder tackle and sent Cena crashing into the mat.

From this point, there was rarely an official in the ring. Brock just beat on Cena with no referee willing to get in and check on either man during this battle. Cena just had blood smeared on his face as Brock locked on a standing kimura but then just threw Cena arm first into the corner. What was great about this match was Brock wrestled completely different to how he was trained to wrestled years ago. He re-invented his style to the point where he invited his own style of match despite not wrestling in about six years by this point. It was astounding to see.

Credit to the announcers, they called it like a serious fight. It wasn’t a joke commentary team or gimmick. They all paid attention as Cole just added the heightened drama as Brock beat on Cena like Cena’s life was in danger. Brock grabbed Cena’s chain but then put it down but then changed his mind to do spots with it.

There was been no referee for like 5 minutes but Brock didn’t care. Brock got the idea to wrap the chains around Cena’s legs. Brock was gushing with sweat as he dared Cena to stand up so he could just clothesline him down again. Even fans in the front row, women and children in the front row had their hands to their face in disbelief. I can only imagine what kids in the front row were thinking watching their beloved hero Cena get turned into red paste by this monster.

Brock tied up Cena in the corner as he beat on Cena draping in the corner in the tree of woe. Brock turned his attention to the referee laid out on the floor but this gave Cena a chance to fire back. This ended up being futile as Brock simply Irish whipped Cena into the steel steps.

Brock literally grabbed referee Charles Robinson by one arm and threw him into the ring… almost effortlessly. The fans weren’t even like laughing massively like it was a comedy spot. It was just a momentary “woah” that Brock was able to do it so easily. It just added to the monster, King Kong vibe of Brock as he was a literally a monster among men carrying men around!

The ref eventually gets his bearings as Cena went for the Attitude Adjustment but Brock countered this into the F5. However, the F5 wiped out Charles again. Brock had Cena down as a new referee ran down but Cena kicked out at two. Brock then clotheslined the second referee, who I think was John Cone, after Cena somehow kicked out. I think this F5 kick out would have been a lot more justified if Brock would have won this match but in hindsight, this was a clear sign that Brock was losing. Even Cena kicking out would have been easier to justify as a last wind for Cena who was going down with a fight. Cena kicking out took away from effectiveness of the F5 for a man who just returned in Brock Lesnar.

Brock grabbed the steel steps as multiple referees came down on standby. Brock grabbed the lower part of it, placed it in the middle of the ring as he taunted. Cena was defiant though with the “you can’t see me” pose. Brock locked the kimura lock on the steps. Again, these MMA moves were so rare in this WWE environment that it added to the drama of the match. Cena though continued to fight as Brock had this hold locked in for about a minute or so but Cena was able lift Brock up and slam him on the steel steps to get out of it. Cena finally did something of value to Brock in this match!

Cena tried a diving leg drop to Brock on the steps but Brock moved. This was a fascinating story of John Cena refusing to give up against all odds. Cena was never not “in character” as Brock beat the crap out of him. He never gave up and even with this dangerous move, he refused to quit.

Brock then got a great idea where he bounced off the rope and did a huge flying knee or something to Cena on the apron! I don’t even think I can call it a knee attack. He just launched himself at Cena like a cannon as they both crashed to the floor. Brock is an absolute mad man and this match showed it off in full display. He had no reason to do this crazy spot but he did it anyway and, to his credit, it added more danger in the sense that now Brock could end up hurting himself to destroy John Cena.

Brock no-sold it though and taunted in the ring. Brock tried to get Cena up but Cena was prepared with the steel chain wrapped around his fist. CENA FIRED BACK, shaking, revving up as the fans went absolutely nuts one way or the other for this guy. Cena had blood pouring, he screamed and yelled for a bleeding Brock to stand up. Brock bled like crazy from the chain attack. Cena got Lesnar up and hit an Attitude Adjustment on the steel steps as John Cena won via pinfall against ALL ODDS against Brock Lesnar.

Match Rating: ****1/2

How you look at this match, ten years after it happened, will hugely impact your opinion on it. If you looked at this match as if it was Brock Lesnar’s return match in WWE, this was an exceptional, one-of-a-kind classic bloodfest ruined by a horrible finish. If you looked at this match as a John Cena match where he had to overcome his own fear and self-doubt against impossible odds, this match was exceptional with a somewhat flat but crowd-pleasing finish.

Either way, the finish took away from the drama of the match. Obviously, Brock Lesnar was not buried or ruined by the finish. He ended up breaking Undertaker’s WrestleMania streak and main-evented multiple WrestleMania’s in the past ten years. However, Brock had been hit with like three substantial moves before the match ended. He had beaten up Cena continuously for 17 minutes. Despite this, Brock was still defeated after three big moves by Cena? These weren’t even the “Five Moves of Doom”. Cena hit him with a steel chain and slammed Brock twice on the steel steps to win. That seemed pretty week given what Cena went through.

However, if the story was just that Cena was in a seemingly unwinnable fight that he had to find a way to win then I guess it would be better. However, Cena winning this match isn’t the best ending to this story. There’s been many wrestlers over the years who have gotten more over in defeat than winning. If Cena took this beating and the ref called for the bell or he passed out or something like that, then that would be way more effective in preserving both men and putting both of them over.

Instead, both men lost heat because of this. You took heat off of Brock Lesnar, who lost his first match in eight years. You took heat off of John Cena, who was destroyed for 17 minutes. Also, it took heat off of Triple H as he was Brock’s next opponent. The next on RAW, Brock broke Triple H’s arm with a kimura lock that Cena survived for a minute straight. This finish was more damaging to everyone involved than it should have been.

NOTE: I am also aware of reports that Vince McMahon didn’t know if Brock was gonna come back after Extreme Rules which is why Cena won but that doesn’t excuse the finish.

Cena had five different people attend to him in the ring after the match where as Brock lurched to the back. I felt Brock lurching to the back without assistance somewhat no-sold the finish. After everything Cena got hit with, he won with an Attitude Adjustment on the steps but yet Cena still needed help after the match. Brock in comparison should have been like stretched out if the move was so devastating that Cena won with it.

Cena stood on top of the steel steps in victory. Cena even said to the camera that his arm was messed up but he was still in one piece. This post-match was very weird. I know there was a lot of backstage shenanigans but the whole ending seemed to uncut what was an intense situation with Brock and Cena.

Cena cut a promo saying he thought he was gonna be sent home for speaking when he wasn’t supposed to, but he was likely going home anyway. He said this Chicago crowd was Punk town but this was a wrestling town. He had blood in his mouth, he couldn’t feel his arm but he was honoured to do this match in Chicago. Cena said if he’s going away for a while, he wanted to thank everyone for a hell of a ride. Cena told the fans to get home safe.

I will say if I was Brock Lesnar, I would have been pissed off about this promo as well! For starters, Cena didn’t go away and just feuded with John Laurinaitis for the next PPV. Also, it undercut the beating that Cena took where he’s just his usual self. Cena shouldn’t have even cut a promo. After a beating like this, he should left on a stretcher or even lurched to the back like Brock. Instead, he goes a house show like promo where he’s thanking the fans for being here after a bloody war. It just didn’t belong at the end of the PPV.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

As a whole, I felt this match was a one of a kind war. Even when they did the rematch, it was mostly suplexes. It wasn’t Brock busting people up, punching them, blooding them up in this fashion. This was dangerous, it was captivating and it had a tension where you really thought someone might get hurt for real and the chances are both of them were banged up a little from this. Up until Cena’s steel chain attack, this was a five star match to me. Up until that point, it was a perfect match with how it was presented. Two moves later and it just changed back to a regular John Cena PPV finish and the original mystique of Brock Lesnar was gone. Brock was just another monster for Cena to slay.

If they would have had Brock win, this could have done serious business. Brock could have then went through everyone, like he did anyway, to do the story of who could beat Brock Lesnar. It could have led to WrestleMania 30 where the unbeatable Brock Lesnar took on the Undertaker’s undefeated streak where only one of them could win and move on with their legacy. Instead, he just had to lose.

….well at least he got is revenge in 2014.