Cena vs. Lesnar: Really fun, and really bad for business

In wrestling, doing what fans want to see and doing what’s good for business are sometimes not one and the same. To that end, I can say I thoroughly enjoyed last night’s Extreme Rules pay per view, and thought the main event between John Cena and Brock Lesnar was one of the most entertaining spectacles I’ve seen in ages. That said, at the end of the night, I think WWE may have really screwed things up.

For several reasons, the decision for Cena and Lesnar to have the kind of match they did last night, and the decision to have Cena win it, may be calls that WWE will live to regret.

Firstly, as many others have done since last night, I have to question the decision to have Lesnar lose in his first WWE match, regardless of the circumstances behind his loss. The fact is that Lesnar, coming off his run in UFC, came into WWE with a kind of aura of legitimacy that may never be duplicated. A sound argument could have been made for having Lesnar go undefeated until WrestleMania next year. But at the very, very least, it makes sense for him to win his first match.

That said, I understand WWE’s desire to have Cena, who is the company’s most important commodity and just came off a huge loss to the Rock, win in this bout. So really, my issue is less that Cena won the match as much as it is that the match took place at all. If this exact same match took place, say, three to six months from now, after Lesnar has dominated several opponents, including Cena himself, I might have said it was great.

As it played out, I can’t help but think that WWE lost the opportunity to make a lot of money in the long run for the sake of popping a buy rate last night—a buy rate that I’m not convinced they’re going to get.

At the end of last night, I almost got the sense that Lesnar’s WWE return was one-and-done. It certainly looked like a blow off, with Cena getting the pin, Lesnar quietly retreating to the locker room, and a triumphant Cena bidding fans farewell before taking an extended break. Not exactly the ideal way to build up Lesnar as the most dominant force to come through WWE in years.

I’d like to give the WWE the benefit of the doubt that they have a long-term vision for Lesnar in which his loss last night makes sense. But, more realistically, I think it was WWE—as it is known to do—trying to “swerve” so-called Internet fans by going against the predictable, logical conclusion to the bout, even if it’s not what’s best for business.

It wouldn’t be the first time. Some might argue WWE did it just last month when they had Cena put over visiting movie star The Rock in the company’s most important match in ages. They certainly did it back in 2010 when they inexplicably had Team Cena beat the Nexus in the main event of SummerSlam. What began as WWE’s hottest storyline in years quickly fizzled after that.

It’s true that WWE could rehab Lesnar by having him mow over his next few opponents, and maybe even further pummel Cena on Raw tonight. But it won’t be the same. There’s no more asking, “Who can possibly beat Brock Lesnar?” because somebody already did, in his first match, no less. Lesnar’s gone from unstoppable to entirely vulnerable.

My other big beef with the match is probably a far less popular one: Quite simply, under the strict definition of what a professional wrestling match should be, Cena vs. Lesnar stunk.

Now, let me reiterate that I quite enjoyed the bout. But then, I’d also probably enjoy watching two drunks beat the hell out of each other in a bar fight at my neighborhood tavern. And that’s probably closer to what Lesnar and Cena did than “wrestling.”

At its best, pro wrestling should be masterfully executed, simulated combat. “Simulated” is the key word there. From the opening bell, there was little simulated about the Lesnar-Cena bout, and that’s a big problem.

It was particularly poignant that the match came after the two earlier co-main events, which I also really enjoyed. Daniel Bryan and Sheamus put on an exceptional, traditional wrestling match—complete with a two-out-of-three falls format. Later in the show, CM Punk and Chris Jericho tore the house down with an intense, exciting pro wrestling brawl. Collectively, fans saw four masters of their craft practice their artform at the highest levels. And, if all went well, none of them were seriously hurt.

And yet, at the end of the night, what most fans will remember will be the bloody, dangerously realistic trainwreck that was Lesnar vs. Cena. Out the window was any concern about making pulled punches look as real as possible, or how to get over a foreign object without the use of blood. It’s easy to steal the show when you’re not playing by the same rules.

As fun as it may have been to watch Lesnar and Cena stiff the heck out of each other with elbows, punches and steel chains, it created an uneven playing field that is unfair to the rest of the hardworking WWE roster. What’s more, it also provided a style of wrestling that is completely unsustainable, lest WWE decide to become a mixed martial arts promotion over night. Or a backyard wrestling fed on Youtube.

To sum it up, Cena vs. Lesnar may have been the most enjoyable mistake I’ve ever watched.