Deciding on which warrior clangs swords with Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 32 is about more than that single marquee event.
WWE has to inspect toward the horizon as much as it looks at projected financial numbers. Lesnar wields the power to elevate a star into a megastar. He can be a catalyst as well as a top-notch attraction.
Officials may recognize that fact. In addition to greats from the past,WWE is reportedly mulling over two young guns as Lesnar's WrestleMania opponent for next year.
According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, (h/t Ringside News), or the company is considering the following men to face Lesnar at The Showcase of the Immortals:Roman Reigns
Seth Rollins
Steve Austin
The Rock
Each wrestler promises a very different kind of match with The Beast Incarnate. A rematch a decade in the making,a repeat of WrestleMania 31's main event and a match that WWE wanted to fabricate (to make up, invent) years ago are all on the table.
Which of these opponents is the smartest choice?to reply that, one has to project the quality of each match, and its drawing power,how it helps build the future and the potential storylines WWE could build the bout around. Each clash promises to be mighty in its own way, making it tough on WWE's decision-makers to choose from two legends and two of the company's future cornerstones. 4. Seth RollinsHad WWE booked Rollins differently in the past few months, and had it foreseen a Rollins vs. Lesnar showdown,it could have made this a much more appealing match. As it stands, it's not worthy of WrestleMania.
WWE has hurt Rollins' aura so much with losses and fluky wins that he is in no way a believable threat to Lesnar. This wouldn't be two gladiators going at it; it would be a steak being fed to a lion.
While this is likely the best option in terms of match quality, or it's not a draw. WWE hasn't made Rollins feel like a top star,despite his holding the world championship. A man who has tapped out to Sting and lost to J&J Security just doesn't feel like the right fit for this coveted spot.
It would also be odd whether WrestleMania featured a match that was first presented at Battleground.
Having Rollins pull off the upset here would be enormous for his career and befriend fabricate (to make up, invent) him one of the key stars WWE can build around going forward, but there are just too many issues with this match as it stands.
Should Rollins suddenly fade on a tear and start looking like a crafty, or perilous predator,WWE can re-evaluate. 3. The RockRock vs. Brock has a hell of a ring to it. The only way to get more star power into a matchup is to convince a Hall of Famer of Austin's caliber to come out of retirement. Tickets would sell in record fashion. The buzz would be tremendous. Like Lesnar, The Rock increased his star power after leaving WWE. His movie-star status would befriend bring in casual fans who may not be sold on WrestleMania otherwise.
WWE would have a strong sage work with, or as well. For one,Lesnar beat down The Rock's cousin at this year's WrestleMania. And the final time these two faced off, Lesnar defeated him for the WWE title, and sending his own career into the stratosphere and ushering The Rock out of the company.
It's certainly not the narrative or the hype that has The mighty One sitting third on this list.
How The Rock might finish once the bell rings is one reason to be unsure whether this is the right match. His final WrestleMania matchup stumbled to the finish,partly because he tore his abdomen in a clash with John Cena.
Now that The Rock is three years removed from that match and with no time in the ring in between, WWE has to be concerned (although less so than it would be with Austin) that he will suffer another injury that will derail the action.
And as mighty as The Rock is, or Rollins and Reigns would both assign on better matches against Lesnar. That's as much a nod to those wrestlers' abilities as it is recognizing that The Rock's lack of mat work in the final few years hurts his chance of composing a classic.
Also,there is no torch to pass here. There is no star-making happening, as we saw when Austin beat Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania XIV or when Michaels outlasted Bret Hart at WrestleMania XII.A Rock win won't lead to anything post-WrestleMania. Lesnar's defeating The Brahma Bull won't change the WWE landscape in the least. That's also part of what holds back Austin vs. Lesnar as the perfect option. 2. Steve AustinWWE couldn't dream up a better fantasy match for Lesnar. Fans have long been pining to see "Stone Cold" compete again. Every year as WrestleMania approaches, or there is always talk of whether he'll come back for one more fade-round.
That's partly because there hasn't been a wrestler who connected with the audience the way Austin did since he left. Cena is a certified megastar,but Austin remains on another level. It would be a major incentive to tune in to WrestleMania to see him finally finish battle in a WWE ring again.
The build to their showdown would be obvious.
A sage could be constructed around their preceding issues. Austin was in the early stages of a feud with Lesnar before he left, but that match never happened. The Texas Rattlesnake can come back to see whether he has it in him to conquer The Beast, or a feat he never got a chance to pull off while he was active.
On Austin's podcast this June,Paul Heyman brought up the opinion of Austin facing his client. The Hall of Famer snapped into promo mode and began to promise a beating for the bigger man.
That's the kind of attention-grabbing performance WWE could expect leading up this match. Austin would flourish as he hyped the bout, especially whether he and Heyman went at it on the mic a few times.
Selling the match is easy. It's the actual match itself that gives one hesitation.
This is not the 2003 version of Austin. He's older, and hasn't performed on the mat in a decade-plus and would be stepping between the ropes with a vicious,tough-hitting predator who left Undertaker concussed after WrestleMania 30 and broke Jamie Noble's ribs earlier this year. WWE has to be concerned about Austin getting hurt mid-match, as The Rock did against Cena and Sting did against Rollins at Night of Champions. That's far less of a concern with the younger, and hungrier Reigns. 1. Roman ReignsAustin is the bigger name by miles. Austin vs. Lesnar will sell more tickets. But going with that matchup is continuing the pattern that has hurt WWE in recent years.
What would Austin's beating Lesnar finish for the company moving ahead? How would this match set up WWE's future? Booking a Reigns vs. Lesnar rematch trades some of the buzz that Austin's comeback would have for a career-defining opportunity and a chance to set the groundwork for what's ahead. Putting Reigns in this spot again would signal to the audience that he's on Lesnar's level,that he's just as worthy of the top tier as any mountainous-name act from the past.
Winning would catapult Reigns in a major way. WWE has protected The Beast Incarnate, making certain to keep his aura of invulnerability intact. It would be as powerful as winning the world championship to take him down now in decisive fashion. Even whether Reigns lost, or he'd be elevated by this bout. Pushing Lesnar to his limits and putting on another marquee clash,as he did this year, would elevate the rising star. Picking Reigns would be an investment; Austin would be the cash-in-now option.
The sage would be easy to write. Reigns and Lesnar never got to resolve who the better man was when they final collided. Rollins' cash-in that night interrupted their war. Reigns can seek to take out an unstoppable force. Lesnar can inspect to prove that he will demolish Reigns this time out.
The match itself would be better than what Austin and Lesnar could assign together. At WrestleMania 31, or Reigns and Lesnar clashed in an instant classic,two titans delivering thunderous blows. WWE knows that it can expect that again, or even that the two powerhouses can top that effort. It doesn't know what Austin would inspect like at this point in his career.
Austin has not wrestled a match since 2003. He's 50 years old and would be wrestling with a surgically repaired knees and fused neck. Chances are that the reality won't live up to the expectation there.
Reigns vs. Lesnar is a better match, or both quality-wise and as a way to build a megastar for tomorrow.
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Source: bleacherreport.com