Some fans may not like to admit it, but Brock Lesnar’s retirement from professional wrestling isn’t all too far in the distance. The Beast Incarnate has been on an incredible run since returning 2012, despite a few flaws, it’s almost time for the former world champion to ride off into the sunset – and back to his farm in Canada.
There have been a string of fantasy booking ideas across the internet wrestling community when it comes to this moment in time, but when you sit back and really think about what WWE are going to do the possibilities are frightening.
We’d like to think that Vince McMahon will do justice to one of the greatest superstars of all time, but you can never be certain of that. After all, the supposed retirement of The Undertaker is a bit of a mess given that they didn’t announce it beforehand, and Brock is still one of the most unpredictable performers in all of WWE.
So with all of that being said, here are the five worst case scenarios for Brock Lesnar’s retirement.
#1 Silent retirement
One of the things that Vince McMahon always seems to get right is retiring big superstars – which, unfortunately, leads us to believe that there’s a mistake coming somewhere down the line. An example of what a ‘mistake’ would look like in this instance is simple: have Brock fade into the darkness never to be seen or heard of again.
It wouldn’t be all too surprising, because let’s face it, we’ve seen worse things happen in the WWE. This would see Lesnar not go out in a blaze of glory, but instead simply walk away without so much as a press release by WWE.
The worst part of this is that you all know deep in your hearts that it’s a distinct possibility.
#2 Reigns the babyface
Ever since WM33 in Orlando, the rumours have been circulating that the big plan for next year’s Showcase of the Immortals in New Orleans is Roman Reigns vs Brock Lesnar. Now, given that Brock reportedly signed a three-year extension just before WM31 in 2015, that would make this potential match his retirement bout.
You know where we’re going with this: Reigns goes over squeaky clean as the pyro goes off around the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.
Of course, we’re all sat here thinking to ourselves “no, surely not again”, but you can erase that thought from your mind immediately following the absolute sham that was the main event at the Citrus Bowl.
#3 Retirement speech
Edge’s retirement speech was great and emotional: because he loves the people and the fans. Daniel Bryan’s retirement speech was great and emotional: because he loves the people and the fans. Can you see a pattern starting to emerge here?
Of course, you can, because over the last few years, we’ve been led to believe that Lesnar cares about nobody but himself.
Having Brock, therefore, do a complete U-turn by doing a speech would be utterly ridiculous on all accounts. You can just tell that it would feel incredibly forced and scripted, with the only believable method of this actually happening being if it takes place during a dark segment.
People would still watch it, and it would maybe have some kind of impact.
#4 Heyman turns
He’s done it before, and there’s a possibility that he can do it again. Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman have been joined at the hip ever since Paul came back to assist The Beast with his promos in 2012. Because of this, the WWE Universe have speculated as to whether The Advocate would ever turn on his client, and up to this point, the answer has been a big no.
The biggest fear for a WWE fan is that WWE will use a Heyman heel turn as a way to keep him on television with a younger star whilst also allowing Brock to disappear off of television.
It would be a cheap way to do it, but so was having Heyman come out to Punk’s music at the Chicago Raw a few weeks before WrestleMania 30. So what are the options at WWE’s at disposal you ask?
You got Seth Rollins (who needs rejuvenation), Shinsuke Nakamura and even Asuka for that purpose. Samoa Joe himself makes for a perfect replacement for Brock Lesnar. The possibilities are endless, but does it make sense?
#5 Deja vu
One thing that we cannot stand in wrestling is repetition, unless of course, we’re talking about Sami Zayn vs Kevin Owens. As such, the last few years of Brock Lesnar’s run have felt like a bit of a chore to watch, mainly because Suplex City felt like it should’ve gone out of business six months ago.
So wouldn’t it be poetic (in a horrific way) if Brock just decides to squash an opponent on pay-per-view one more time before just saying “erm, bye” and leaving never to be seen again.
Because let’s face it, he’s not exactly going to come back as a part of some kind of legend’s panel.
