[quote name='mykevermin']Not necessarily. The RR can be used to establish new threats, but it's not a zero sum gain game where 1 guy gets over and 29 are de-pushed. In the case of a Lesnar return, if he is eliminated (as he should be, he doesn't need to be thrust right into the title scene), it could work. WWE has pretty savvy ways of people being eliminated but also getting them over. The giant-sized dudes always need a ton of people to get eliminated, for example. Being eliminated by someone who was already tossed over, but then jumps in quickly and attacks from behind to get a 'vengeance' elimination is another. Someone above proposed that very idea. Getting eliminated cheaply puts heat on the person who threw them out and sympathy on the person who was thrown out.
I don't know that I have ever disagreed with you as much as I do here. This statement assumes that there is a surplus of top-card talent in WWE right now. There isn't. There's not a dearth, sure, but given ratings trends, WWE sees the need to boost their upper card.
Looking at their roster, here's the list of "upper card" guys (my opinion only):
Big Show
Chris Jericho
CM Punk
John Cena
Randy Orton
Rey Mysterio
Triple H
Undertaker
After that, you have a lot of people on the cusp (Dolph Ziggler, Daniel Bryan) and people who can fit into a main event role at any other given PPV, but not at WM (Kane, Mark Henry, Kevin Nash, Mick Foley maybe).
Say you go with the scenario of Lesnar returning and eliminating Orton then being eliminated by Orton. Feud right there. Lesnar-Orton is money (to my chagrin). Have Orton win the belt at EC because, let's face reality: Daniel Bryan will not be holding the Big Gold Belt™ come Wrestle Mania.
Cena's tied up with Rock (who is hilariously not on the WWE Sooperstars™ page). Mysterio is injured (right?) and won't be ready for WM (right again?). Undertaker gets his 20th win, likely in Undertaker-Triple H 3. That match doesn't inspire as much interest as an UT WM match should (since we've seen it twice now). CM Punk is likely to defend versus Jericho as we have predicted.
Which leaves the Big Gold Belt™ as both unoccupied and undefended. D. Brine gets demoted to MITB match where he doesn't win. Sorry, we're not playing by my rules, but double-double-ee's.
Now, don't mistake me. I truly doubt that Lesnar will show up tomorrow, let alone before WM, let alone this year. He'll be back when it's in his financial interest to do so.
But my money is on Orton winning the BGB™ at EC and going on to WM to fight...well, someone. Big Show? Ugh. But doesn't he have Shaquille O'Neal?
*jesus*.
tl;dr? Shaquille O'Neal has a match at WM. There's plenty of room for Lesnar.[/QUOTE]
In regards to the Rumble, I view surprise entrants such as Booker and Nash being able to take the tossing because they aren't being built for anything. I'm of the opinion that if Lesnar returns, he initially needs to be pushed *gigantically*, which getting tossed from the Rumble (regardless of the how) doesn't do. It just seems like a waste of a pop to me if he isn't going over. Surprises like Nash and Booker just don't have the upside of Lesnar, making him a special case.
We'll have to agree to disagree here. I think, though, my problem is that I'm looking at it from a business standpoint. Sure, it'd be great to add Lesnar/Orton to a fairly stacked card, but that's the problem... this card is already stacked. WM28 will be successful based almost solely on Rock/Cena. WWE's next marquee match-up will be HHH/Taker (w/HBK involvement). Third tier is the returning Jericho vs. Punk (which, as an aside, I'm curious to how involved Johnny Ace is. Jericho/Punk simply doesn't need him.). Even disregarding Punk/Jericho as more of the IWC money-match, Lesnar/Orton is the third tier match on the card. Since it's the WHC, it's pretty much fourth by default, no matter what. Lesnar, money-wise, is worth much more than that.
Random points... One, I guarantee that if Lesnar returned, he'd been on Raw. No question. Two, with the media exposure Lesnar's return will get, there's a huge case to be made for holding him back for a more 'showcase' PPV. Three, think about card placement for those four matches listed above... one of them is curtain-jerking. Go ahead, pick one and tell me any of that would make sense.
So, I completely agree that there's a dearth of top-tier talent in WWE right now, but this is not the time to bring Lesnar back. WM28 simply doesn't need him, and they could easily milk a ton of money out of a smaller PPV for his first appearance. Ultimately, the Lesnar interest group so overlaps with ones that are ordering WM for those first three matches that it makes no sense not to hold off. Again, I'm not arguing in any fashion that I wouldn't love to have an Orton/Lesnar mach on the card... but just like that fateful Nitro in Atlanta, it's leaving a
-ton of money on the table.
As a fan, I agree with you completely. Objectively thinking, I can make zero argument as to why Lesnar should be brought back now.