'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Brock Lesnar will defend his WWE Championship against Ricochet at Super ShowDown on February 27th in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This week on Monday Night RAW, Ricochet defeated Seth Rollins and Bobby Lashley in a Triple Threat match, which earned him him the right to challenge The Beast for the WWE Title. Lesnar then unexpectedly showed up and delivered a devastating F5 to his next challenger. It’ll be Lesnar’s second WWE Championship defense in Saudi Arabia and it's most likely that he'll retain his gold once again. Yes, Ricochet is talented, but what are the odds of him winning at Super ShowDown? Will Vince McMahon allow the former NXT Superstar to defeat The Beast Incarnate for the WWE Championship? Here are 5 signs that indicate The Chairman won’t allow Ricochet to win the WWE Title in Saudi Arabia.
#5 Significant change to the current WrestleMania card
Drew McIntyre won this year’s 30-man Royal Rumble match to challenge Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship at the Show of Shows. Lesnar eliminated 13 Superstars from the match and was about to set a new record, until McIntyre poured water on that fire when he entered at #16 and eliminated Lesnar with a Claymore kick (thanks to a little help from Ricochet). The following day, McIntyre put out a challenge for the WWE Championship.
If Ricochet wins at Super ShowDown, however, this will change the current WrestleMania card. Lesnar vs. McIntyre has become a dream match for the WWE Universe and people will not be happy if the match is changed. While the match would surely be great, people want to see two behemoths tangle on April 5th. Ricochet vs. McIntyre is a match that has happened a number of times in 2019 and 2020, while Brock vs. Drew is a first-time encounter.
It seems apparent that the most exciting match for WrestleMania is Brock Lesnar vs. Drew McIntyre, and it doesn't seem likely that Vince McMahon would want to make a change of that nature.
#4 Ricochet vs. McIntyre doesn’t feel like a WrestleMania main event
Vince McMahon originally wanted Roman Reigns vs. The Fiend to main event WrestleMania 36. However, backstage officials were rooting for Brock Lesnar vs. Drew McIntyre to headline instead, because The Scottish Psychopath had won the Royal Rumble match and he deserves to main event ‘Mania. However if Ricochet were to somehow win his upcoming match with Lesnar, it’ll not only change the current WrestleMania card, but it’ll also put the show’s main event in jeopardy.
We agree that Drew McIntyre vs. Ricochet has been and would be a great match. Brock Lesnar is a massive name, however, and stripping the WWE Championship from him right before WrestleMania does not feel like a wise move. Any other time of the year, Ricochet might have a fighting chance, but right now is not the time for Lesnar to lose his title.
#3 The huge size differential
Even if we assume that Ricochet is going to defeat Brock Lesnar at WWE Super ShowDown, the fact that it could happen is hard to digest. Lesnar is a former UFC Heavyweight Champion and has broken so many records. He’s also a popular wrestling figure in WWE and it’ll take a lot of effort to sell the idea that Ricochet could pin or make him submit for the World Championship. While men like AJ Styles and Daniel Bryan gave Brock a run for his money, Ricochet is not on their level at this point in his career and is not likely to pose the type of challenge the former multiple time WWE Champions were able to at recent editions of the Survivor Series. On the most recent episode of WWE's The Bump, Ricochet said (h/t Sportzwiki.com):
“I’m ready for it. I know everyone’s picked him to win. Everyone is saying that it’s gonna end in less than 8 seconds and all that stuff. Everyone’s always doubted me my whole career, so this is no different.”
We wish Ricochet could prove to the world that he can beat Lesnar, but it’s unlikely to happen. If it were Lesnar vs Lashley or even Rollins, they would’ve had a better chance of beating The Conqueror -- specifically Rollins, who seems to have Brock's number.
#2 Ricochet might not be ready for this opportunity yet
When Brock Lesnar is in a match, it's almost been a given over the past 8 years that he is going to come out victorious. Even when he does lose, it happens with a great deal of build-up leading to the match. Vince McMahon makes sure that even when The Beast Incarnate loses, it doesn’t hurt his character. For instance, he protected Lesnar at WrestleMania 35 by booking Seth Rollins to use low-blows for the advantage. Seth Rollins had a gigantic amount of crowd support behind him, and the WWE Universe was just begging for him to defeat Lesnar.
However in Ricochet’s case, the incredibly athletic Superstar doesn’t have massive fan support that helped push Rollins toward his big victory. Moreover, he doesn’t have a very well-defined character as of yet. Those are two specific reasons as to why Ricochet, as good as he is, is not quite ready to defeat Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship.
A champion only loses his title when he or she takes a pinfall or submits, and there are occasional referee stoppages and TKOs. None of these, especially the last three, seem at all likely to happen in Ricochet’s case. This is why Vince McMahon will most likely book Brock Lesnar to win at Super ShowDown.
Perhaps, a few years later, when Ricochet will be a mainstream name, he’ll beat Lesnar in a singles match.
#1 WWE wants Brock Lesnar to be the most hated person in the company
The WWE Universe will cheer for Ricochet during his match with Brock Lesnar. WWE’s plan is to make him the most hated person as per Tom Colohue of Sportskeeda. It’s the reason why Bobby Lashley didn’t get his dream match against Lesnar in Saudi Arabia.
So you need Brock to be the most hateable man in company history. He needs to be more hated than Vince McMahon. He needs to be more hated than any man who has come through those doors, and in order to achieve that, we need to make sure we don’t confuse the narrative by going heel vs. heel, because who are you going to boo out of Brock Lesnar and Bobby Lashley?
To ensure Lesnar generates massive heat, he must beat Ricochet brutally. We know Ricochet’s a babyface and when a heel dismantles his opponent, he becomes more hated than before. Right now, WWE’s probable plan is to get Drew McIntyre over at WrestleMania. Having Lesnar brutally defeat Ricochet in Saudi Arabia lends itself to making Drew an even bigger fan favorite against hated heel Lesnar, thus making a victory for the Scotsman that much bigger.
