What if Brock Lesnar hadn’t returned to WWE in 2012?

Brock Lesnar
Brock Lesnar made a surprise return in 2012 and changed the trajectory of WWE history.

Wrestling fans are, in many ways, getting ready for life without Brock Lesnar, given the pervasive rumors he’ll be done with WWE for at least the time being after SummerSlam. It’s hard to imagine the last six years of WWE programming without him, and so it’s also interesting to think that just six and a half years ago, it seemed like a pipedream that Lesnar would ever work a match for WWE again.

Lesnar’s success in UFC and the poor terms under which he left WWE in 2004 made a huge deal when he did come back in 2012. Understandably, WWE booked him directly into high profile situations to make the most of his unique identity—pairing him off against John Cena, then Triple H, then CM Punk. From there, we’d enter the Suplex City, dominant monster era that saw lesser theatrics, more straightforward smashing, while Lesnar has as often as not held a world championship, despite his part-time status.

But what if Lesnar hadn’t come back in 2012 at all? His absence, perhaps more than that of any part-timer, would result in huge shifts in the WWE landscape. This article looks at five potential outcomes


#5 Lord Tensai Main Events

Tensai Vs Cena
Without Lesnar's shadow, might Tensai have been a headliner?

One of the biggest casualties of Brock Lesnar’s return was that monster push that had been underway for Lord Tensai. After a successful tour of Japan, Tensai returned—rebranded from his previous A-Train run, and was treated like an immediate threat to the top of the card.

Between WWE fans remembering from his less serious days, and the shadow of Lesnar as a real deal, undeniable monster returning at the same time, it was impossible for Tensai to get over. He settled back into the mid-card en route to a comedic face run teaming with Brodus Clay, before transitioning fully to his role as a trainer rather than an active wrestler.

Without Lesnar in the mix, WWE almost certainly would have had more patience and focus in getting Tensai over, and he would have stood a much better chance without the most credibly dominant big man in the business looming.

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#4 The Undertaker’s Streak Lives On

Undertaker
If Brock Lesnar hadn't ended the streak, would anyone have?

At WrestleMania 30, Vince McMahon made the call for Brock Lesnar to pin The Undertaker, thus ending his twenty-one-year undefeated streak at the Showcase of the Immortals. It’s easy to say that if Lesnar hadn’t ended the streak, someone else would have. However, when push comes to shove, who else would WWE have bestowed that unique honor onto?

The most likely answer is Roman Reigns, who would become the second man to pin The Phenom at ‘Mania three years later. WWE had to know that whoever ended the streak would get an overwhelming heel reaction, though. While fans heeled on Reigns when he beat the Dead Man, too, it’s unclear they would have had the Big Dog actually be the one to make history against him.

No, for someone to beat The Undertaker, he needed to be both over, and have major things in store, like Lesnar’s monster year to follow that would include squashing John Cena and spending months as WWE Champion. No one else was situated like Lesnar for that spot, and so it stands to reason that no one else would have ended the streak.

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#3 No Goldberg Comeback

Goldberg
If Lesnar hadn't returned, it's doubtful Goldberg would have either.

Goldberg’s comeback from 2016 to 2017 was a feel-good nostalgia story that saw a legend of a previous era make amends with WWE and the fans, and have one last major push as Universal Champion and Brock Lesnar’s foil.

Would Goldberg have come back without Lesnar? It’s not impossible, but it’s hard to imagine whom WWE would have programmed him against, much less anyone ultimately delivering as satisfying of a four-minute sprint with Goldberg at WrestleMania 33. Maybe if Ryback hadn’t imploded in his WWE standing, he could have worked a similar spot, given his superficial similarities to the old WCW standard bearer.

Otherwise, there’s the very real possibility that Goldberg might have returned in a similar timeframe just for a Hall of Fame induction and not another go-round in the ring. We’ll never know for sure, but it’s not unreasonable to think that without Lesnar, we’d have no Goldberg comeback.

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#2 Mark Henry vs Triple H At WrestleMania

Mark Henry
Without Brock Lesnar, the whole WrestleMania 29 card may have been shuffled.

WrestleMania 29 saw Triple H and Brock Lesnar work a rematch from the preceding SummerSlam. While some fans questioned The Game getting his win back over Lesnar, and the match didn’t arrive as n unforgettable classic in either man’s career catalog, it was nonetheless a respectable enough high profile showdown for ‘Mania.

But what if Brock Lesnar hadn’t been in the picture at all?

It’s possible that Triple H would have sat out WrestleMania. Another scenario, however, could have seen him work Mark Henry instead.

Chris Jericho claims that he originally returned for that WWE stint to work a ‘Mania program with Ryback. Preserve that plan, and free up the Cerebral Assassin, and a showdown between him and the World’s Strongest Man would make good sense. That’s especially true given WWE was setting up Henry for one last world title program, challenging John Cena. Triple H would have been a more than worthy stepping stone in that story.

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#1 Roman Reigns Has A Long Universal Championship Run

Roman Reigns
With Lesnar out of the mix, Roman Reigns would have held the Universal Championship by now.

Despite the volume of fans who say they’re sick of Roman Reigns getting pushed and working main events, there’s an intriguing irony that he actually hasn’t held a world championship in over two years. Moreover, The Big Dog has yet to ever get his hands on the Universal Championship, despite chasing the title with varying degrees of focus and intensity for as long as it has existed.

To track the title’s movement, it went from inaugural champ Finn Balor, straight to Kevin Owens, before Goldberg got it for his program with Brock Lesnar, who has had the belt ever since. Remove Lesnar from the equation and you’re freeing up not only nearly the year and a half he’s held the title but probably Goldberg’s couple months on top, too.

Rumor has it that Owens was originally going to drop the title to Chris Jericho at WrestleMania 33. Regardless, it’s hard to imagine that in the year and a half to follow Reigns wouldn’t have won it, and likely as not held the championship for a sustained run.

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