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What if Brock had never left?

Hey Scott,
When Brock Lesnar made his debut in the WWE, he was billed as "The Next Big Thing".  He was young and ready to dominate the company for years to come.  What do you think the state of the company would be if he'd been content to stick around?  His departure was right around the time that John Cena was ready to break through as a megastar, which was going to happen whether or not he left.  But would it have just been a Cena-centric focus for all those years, or would the spotlight have been shared?  The move to PG was inevitable, but would having Brock on top throughout the 2000's have kept the product edgier than what we otherwise saw?  What else do you think would be different, if anything.
Thanks,
Dan

Not much, I don't think.  Brock was losing his "specialness" by the day at the end, and most of his aura now comes from his UFC association and rare appearances on TV.  I think if he had stuck it out past 2004 he would have ended up just another guy or jumped to TNA for the easier schedule ala Kurt Angle.  

Comments

  1. I wouldn't have stopped watching. 

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  2. I don't think Lesnar would have become just another guy.

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  3. THREADJACK~

    Daniel Bryan is no longer a vegan.

    http://www.prowrestling.net/artman/publish/WWE/article10027543.shtml

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  4. Impact thread? Come on, guys. 

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  5. Impact thread?



    Im pumped for tn.. I kinda want aries to go heel n b leader of aces n 8s with joe as #2... Aries champ... Joe tv champ! Start them strong

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  6.  he was kinda on the verge of it at the time. I remember him getting on his knees and crying on an episode of SD in order to get his WM match with Goldberg

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  7. A TNA with Angle AND Lesnar could have been interesting back then

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  8. I wish Lesnar had stuck around a bit longer back then, if only because the Benoit-Lesnar matches could have been special and may have, ideally, erased the first Orton title reign. I always felt they could have had a full year of main events with Benoit & Guerrero on top, rather than JBL and Orton/HHH on the respective brands.  A shame  

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  9. Impact thread is up.

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  10. Did you hear Demolition won the tag titles?

    Not to shit on your point, but I think this is at least a week old... which feels like a year on the puter webz.  

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  11. The reaction for the match with Goldberg would have been off the charts if Brock wasn't leaving.  It was supposed to be a moment for the fans, where the true future of THIS BUSINESS disposed of the guy just along for the ride to collect a paycheck.  No 50/50 crowd reaction... this was going to be 100/0 Brock.

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  12. Lesnar staying would have been a good thing, as they probably wouldn't have rushed Orton to the main event. I don't care what anyone says, the only reason Orton got that win over Benoit was because they wanted to erase the stink of "youngest world champion Brock Lesnar" off the books. Which hilariously enough, Lesnar's still the youngest WWE Champion if I'm not mistaken, whereas Orton being the youngest World Champion at 24 doesn't mean shit since that title is pretty worthless today.

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  13. Agreed.  That match should have been something special, but it's just a footnote

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  14. I also thought Brock leaving was kind of the catalyst for WWE changing their whole philosophy and n

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  15.  Agreed with the Orton reason.  I'm just glad they didn't push Grenier or Dupree or whoever the 19-year old La Resistance tag team member was any harder than they did.  Ugh. No one gives a crap about the guy's age, anyway.  A wrestler's prime is normally between ages 30-38, historically speaking (and I'm not pulling age 38 outta my butt, either).

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  16. I think it was more Rock jumping to Hollywood that led to that kind of thinking, but I agree with the rest of the post.

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  17. I've always thought Brock had a lot to do with the start and stop pushes,  because they went so far with Brock and got burned.

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  18. Sure, that was a big factor, but Brock had only been around for a couple years at that point and most non-fans had never heard of him. Rock (and Austin) leaving is what really started that ball rolling, I think. Brock was just the straw that broke the camel's back, so to speak.

    What's funny is that that style of booking has left them worse off than they were before. Think about it, who would they go with if Cena pulled a Magnum TA or just quit tomorrow? Punk? Daniel Bryan, whose just about the only other guy they haven't ruined yet? Maybe bring back HHH? Those are really the only 3 options. No one gives a shit about Sheamus or Del Rio, Ziggler and Miz have been jobbed to death (and Miz sucks), and Orton (also sucks) is a dirty piss test away from joining TNA. I don't see how anyone else could be considered. What they should have been trying to do is make more stars, not no stars. 

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  19. Much as I agree that the departures of Rock and Austin played a significant part in the WWE's introduction of the stop-start push, and generally making people prove they were in for the long haul, the departure of Lesnar, and latterly Lashley, absolutely terrified the WWE. Both men were given rocket pushes (Brock moreso) - brought in out of nowhere, squashed established stars, obliterated great swathes of the rosters they were assigned to, competed in main events frequently, and won world titles, and were gone within two years. The WWE invested in them massively, and got their fingers burnt. The notion that top guys could defect to UFC at any point, and anyone they potentially push could tire of the business and retire makes them reticent to really push someone to the moon. 

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  20. Well, the Brock push would have really never happened if not for Rock and Austin leaving, IMO, but that's not really my point. Vince had been through that situation before, he elevated Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels (eventually) when Hogan and Savage left, and when HBK and Bret left he realized that banking everything on 2 guys was a bad idea. So we not only got Rock & Austin, but also Triple H, Mick Foley's main event push, Jericho, Benoit, Eddy, Brock, Angle, Edge, and so on. Forget about who caused Vince to think this way. Rock... Brock... it doesn't really matter. What does matter is that he used to want to create new stars at a rate of 1 every year, or even quicker. He hasn't made a new one since Cena, because he hasn't tried. And it's going to bite him in the ass pretty soon.

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  21. Brock would have had to serve some hard time in BikerTaker's yard. 

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  22. Really good point, really well made. 

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  23. Great point.  They have totally put all their eggs in one basket with Cena.  Not that he's gonna jump to UFC or TNA, but just in the sense that if he got seriously injured or something else unforeseen, they would be smoked.  

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  24. Totally agree.  It's an interesting distinction (age) for them to focus on, since they've never spent any time or energy on a top guy's age before.  I mean, THEY control the flow of information and the kayfabe elements of a character, so unless they disclose a dude's age, what difference does it make?  It seemed a really ridiculous reason to force an Orton push, especially when Benoit and Guerrero had a lot left in the tank as champions.  JBL & Orton instead?  Bleh.  

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  25. I really don't think Brock would have caused another boom period or crossed over into the mainstream, he's certainly not Hogan/Austin in terms of charisma and mic-skills, but I do think he would have been one of those "really good hands" that would have just spent years compiling an amazing resume' of matches.

    He'd be like a Ric Flair or Shawn MIchaels, where he wouldn't really be known outside of pro-wrestling, but would have been treated like a God by those within this little niche product.

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