April 13 – Karl Ervin breaks down Brock Lesnar’s controversial legacy as a Legend of WrestleMania!

WrestleMania comes with many nicknames. When I think of Brock Lesnar’s history there, I think few of those nicknames are more fitting than “The Grandest Stage of Them All” and “The Showcase of the Immortals.” After all, Brock Lesnar was dubbed the future from the very start of his career and was destined to be at the top of the card from the moment he arrived. Very few have impacted professional wrestling in a way that will last forever like “The Beast Incarnate.”

Oddly enough, however, Lesnar is almost more synonymous with SummerSlam, despite having an identical record in both events at 6-6. Though one could argue at SummerSlam, Brock has had higher quality matches. And that’s what leads me to the real take when it comes to the Beast’s WrestleMania footprint. 

Brock has conquered WrestleMania controversy.

For some of us, WrestleMania is defined by moments. Sure, there have been tons of high-quality matches at the “Show of Shows.” You can go down the line of every event and find superb wrestling performances. Brock Lesnar has a few under his belt as well. Perhaps his best was his first. If you’re as old as I am or just a wrestling historian, you’ll remember WrestleMania XIX when Brock Lesnar and Kurt Angle put on a clinic for the WWE Championship. Which also means you’ll remember a little controversy. Storyline controversy? Not so much. 

Putting yourself in danger to pop the crowd? Very much. 

Brock attempts a shooting star press and immediately lands on his head and concusses himself. Now of course, he still won the match. He is “The Beast” after all. And to his credit, he had landed the move before. But this was just the first, albeit small controversial moment that happened with Lesnar over the course of his 12 match (going on 13) WrestleMania career.

A year later Brock would face Goldberg with Steve Austin as the referee. Now you’d think a match like this would be fantastic, especially considering the success both had garnered to that point in their careers. Throw in the Texas Rattlesnake and it’s a recipe for greatness. But you’d be wrong.

The match wasn’t good, and everyone knew both Lesnar and Goldberg were out the door. And the crowd let it be known. I’m not even sure the two stunners Austin delivered to them were enough to save it. And just like that, Lesnar was gone for eight years to pursue MMA (and he dominated there for a bit, too).

After he returned to “the Fed”, he had a No Holds Barred match with Triple H for his third WrestleMania match and it was mostly fine depending on your love for brawls, but the following year was when it became clear that WrestleMania, Brock Lesnar and controversy were a true ménage à trois.

What’s not controversial is to say the following – few wrestling fans will forget WrestleMania 30 and the end of The Streak. We can talk ad nauseum about this match and what it means to so many people, but the bottom line is Lesnar ending The Streak will always remain one of the more controversial decisions, not only in WrestleMania history, but perhaps wrestling history as well. Should the WWE have given that rub to someone else? Was giving that to Lesnar correct in building him up given his character at the time? Should anyone have broken The Streak? A myriad of fair questions have been asked about the result of this match, but the result remains.

A year later, Lesnar would be caught in the middle of the meteoric push of Roman Reigns, much to the chagrin of large swaths of the weekly crowds. Lesnar was protected, but once again he found himself in the center of a controversial match with a controversial figure and a controversial ending.

While most expected the coronation of Roman Reigns after months of build and a Royal Rumble endorsement by The Rock, WWE threw a curveball and installed Seth Rollins as their guy as he cashed in his MITB briefcase and shocked the world. Lesnar wasn’t pinned and he was kept strong, however, Lesnar was once again involved in a shocking ending that still gets spoken of to this day!

The next year, Lesnar would find himself in a street fight with Dean Ambrose. The match was just okay, but the real controversy came after the fact because rumor has it that Lesnar wasn’t really interested in doing some of the crazier spots that Ambrose was interested in. Whether that was solely out of self protection or a lack of desire to work with Ambrose, we may never know, but it also might have cost us a more entertaining match on a card that was ho-hum at best.

After what many saw as a redemption from their previous bout, Lesnar’s following year was straightforward after he and Goldberg had a 5-minute instant classic. However, the next year it was right back to what Lesnar knows best – head-scratching controversy.

Mardi Gras turned to Mardi Blah in New Orleans the following year when WWE treated us to another Brock Lesnar/Roman Reigns bloodbath. Personally, this may be the oddest decision when it comes to Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania, because after all this time and build of Roman Reigns as the next face of the company, surely, you’d think WWE would pull the trigger. But no! Once again, fans were sent home a bit unhappy (me included, I was in attendance!) when Roman failed to capture the Universal Championship. There also is the infamous clip of Brock tossing the belt at Vince in Gorilla after the match had ended. Work or shoot? You decide.

Since then, Lesnar’s WrestleMania matches have been less mired in controversy. Perhaps that is due to a willingness on the company’s part to just let Brock be the part-time megastar that he is, or maybe he’s just managed to avoid scenarios in which the crowd has been willing to dictate how good or bad something is based on their perceived notions of what should happen. 

But one thing remains true – when it comes to the biggest wrestling event of the year and one of the immortal names involved, Brock Lesnar has showed time and time again that while he may not be Mr. WrestleMania, there’s always a chance for some head-spinning decisions and a match you just can’t peel your eyes away from.