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One of the reasons why the WWE Universe seems eager to watch Brock Lesnar take on Braun Strowman at No Mercy stems from the fact that for the first time ever, an opponent has consistently bested the Beast at his own game.
Usually, it's Brock Lesnar that is handing out the beatdowns, that is victimising and conquering everyone that is put before him. This time, however, the tables have been well and truly turned.
And everyone is curious to see what comes of it.
We at Sportskeeda thought this would be good opportunity to examine just why Braun Strowman's dominance over the Beast plays out as such a novelty, by bringing to you a few instances from the past when the shoe was on the other foot.
Brock Lesnar has made a career out of breaking people in the ring and before he transformed into a 'lazy' suplex-machine in his second WWE coming, he used to quite enjoy dishing out vicious punishment to his victims.
On that note, here are 6 of Brock Lesnar's most sadistic beatdowns.
Trust us, it was a hard list to keep down to just six.
#1 Spanky (Brian Kendrick)
Vince McMahon proceeded to book Spanky (Brian Kendrick), who'd unwittingly stained his jacket with chocolate sauce, in a match against Brock Lesnar as punishment.
And Brock Lesnar, who'd chummed up with Vince McMahon at the time, was only too eager to oblige.
What made this segment particularly hard to watch, apart from the considerable size and strength difference between the men, was the fact that Lesnar went out of the way to maim the former WWE Cruiserweight Champion.
Not only did he repeatedly powerbomb him, he also took a chair to his cranium and, to top it all off, laid him out with a painful-looking F5 to the ring post.
It was a blatant display of bully mentality from the Beast, egged on by an equally sadistic Vince McMahon.
Little did we know then that it would only get worse in the following weeks...
#2 Zach Gowen
In the week following the decimation of Spanky, Vince McMahon sought to one-better himself by unleashing Brock Lesnar on the hometown hero, Zach Gowen.
Now, if the fact that a puny kid with one leg was stepping into the ring against a jacked-up heavyweight wasn't bad enough, Lesnar took it upon himself to ensure that much of the feral beatdown transpired right in front of Gowen's mother at ringside.
There were stiff chair shots, brutal powerbombs and two, incredibly deliberate F5s of Gowen's one good leg against the ring post.
The whole segment was done in utterly poor taste and Lesnar came across as a heartless, vindictive bully.
Perhaps that was Vince McMahon's point but the sight of a battered kid, covered in blood, being stretchered away from the ring with his wailing mother in tow, was a heart-rending sight.
#3 Stephanie McMahon
It's no surprise that this entry in our list also originates from the timeline of Brock Lesnar's unholy alliance with Vince McMahon.
This time, however, it was the boss' very own daughter who felt the brunt of their association.
Brock Lesnar proposed that he face Stephanie McMahon in a match and Vince McMahon, who wasn't on storyline good terms with her then, was only too eager to stamp his approval on the idea.
Backed into a corner by her father's failure to protect her, Stephanie McMahon had to fend for herself but barring a couple of desperation low blows, could do little as she was manhandled by Brock Lesnar.
It wasn't as bad a mauling as the ones suffered by Zach Gowen and Spanky, but it could well have been had Kurt Angle not interceded just as she was about to be sent careening against the ring post.
#4 Shawn Michaels
This unsavoury incident places itself in the thick of Brock Lesnar's feud with Triple H. It was after his UFC run and his whole pro wrestling shtick had changed considerably by then.
The Next Big Thing had morphed into the Beast Incarnate and the over-the-top moves were replaced by a more technical variety...of which the Kimura Lock was put to particularly devastating use in that storyline.
After kayfabe breaking Triple H's arm with it a couple of months earlier, the Game returned looking to avenge himself on Lesnar...only for the Beast to collude with his wily advocate and use Shawn Michaels as insurance against it.
Paul Heyman's car would head off Michaels from leaving the arena and Lesnar would blindside him and drag him to the ring.
When Triple H came out, Lesnar would break Michaels' arm with a Kimura lock...right in front of his best friend and leave the Heart Break Kid writhing about and screaming in pain.
Ugh.
#5 Michael Cole
Michael Cole was the unsuspecting victim of Brock Lesnar's rage after Seth Rollins weaselled out of giving him a WWE Championship rematch following the WrestleMania 31 MITB cash-in.
Lesnar had every right to be incensed, as he'd been promised a Title shot that night, but the way he took it out on the announcers when Rollins hightailed was a shocking sight to behold.
He capsized the announcers' desk and when Michael Cole attempted to scurry away, latched onto him and punished him with an F5.
He didn't stop there, however, as he then proceeded to haul a cameraman into the ring next and hit an F5 on him too.
It was classic, unhinged Brock Lesnar and anything moving in the vicinity, with the exception of Paul Heyman, felt the brunt of his frustration that day.
But while the crowd did cheer on the novelty of watching Michael Cole get an a**-whooping, we can probably agree that the beatdown, on the whole, was in pretty poor taste.
#6 Randy Orton
Although Randy Orton and Brock Lesnar began their WWE careers at approximately the same time, they'd never faced off in singles competition in pay-per-view.
Until SummerSlam 2015 swung by, that is.
As expected, Lesnar took Orton to Suplex City, dominating most of the match with heavy knees to the midsection, shoulder tackles against the turnbuckle and German Suplexes aplenty.
Never one to be counted out, however, Orton struck back momentarily with an RKO on the table before lining Lesnar up for the infamous punt to the head.
Realising that he was this close to having his lights shut out, Lesnar came unhinged, taking Orton down before mounting him and unleashing a barrage of elbows that cut him open.
As Orton lay in a pool of his own blood, with a collection of WWE officials huddled over him in concern, Lesnar strode to the back with his reputation cemented as a legitimate fighter - and not just a sports entertainer.
Sh*t had just gotten real in the WWE.
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