Wrestling Wrap Up: Brock Lesnar Returns!

Okay, so I technically wasn't going to do a Wrap Up this week, as I usually never do one the week after 'Mania, but given the big events that happened last night on RAW, I'm gonna squeak one out "silent gym fart"-style. Of course, I only think my gym farts are silent because I'm wearing big headphones and blasting Psychotica into my ear holes. But no one's called the manager on me yet so I take that as a good sign. To continue my unrelenting fart marathon.

So BROCK IS BACK! Look, I wasn't a giant Lesnar fan back in the day, but I thought he had some really amazing matches with "Big Evil" Undertaker and Kurt Angle. I definitely recognized him as an impressive, adept "specimen" though. So him walking out and F-5ing the "honor in defeat" out of Cena last night was pretty amazing. And proof to the WWE, I hope, that just because we know something's coming doesn't mean we don't still want to see it happen. I know they love to surprise us and hate it when we predict things, even changing entire storylines (for the worse) to thwart expectations, but this was a great example of the audience calling for something and then having it delivered into their laps. The news that Lesnar had re-signed with the WWE was all over the net on Saturday and then Sunday it was revealed that he was also in Miami. So the WrestleMania crowd of around 78,000 were already salivating for him during the Pay Per View, expecting him to run-in at some point during the show. The "We Want Lesnar" chants could be heard often during the event, with people wondering if he'd get involved in the Taker/Triple H match or the Rock/Cena match.

I'm sort of burying the co-lead here since I should mention, for those who might not know, that I was at 'Mania this weekend in Miami, getting to go to the Hall of Fame Ceremony (where Dusty got to pronounce Horsemen as "Hossmin" all night) and then 'Mania itself. Now, normally I just do a WrestleMania PPV recap (here it is, click!) and skip the Wrap Up, because honestly, as strange as this might sound, there's less to write about when you go see an event live. I don't hear all the audio in the backstage segments. I don't hear the awful commentary. I can't really see if, say, Chris Jericho has an embarrassing HD booger on his face. Going to a live event is a blast, but it's harder to convey the live fan experience. Or, at least, it's harder to be funny about it. I will say this though - and this also feeds into the RAW recap as well – the Miami crowd was the f***ing best crowd I've seen and heard in years. YEARS! I mean, they were the most audibly smart and appreciative group of a-holes ever. I wish I could bottle their essence. I wish I could grind them up, turn them into scented bath salt and soak in them nightly. They should all be hired to be the WWE's travelling audience.

I first noticed them at WrestleMania with, yes, the "YES!" chants. Which were extremely prominent even before 'Mania was on the air. This crowd, seemingly out of nowhere (given the TV crowds the past few months) loved the s*** out of Daniel Bryan. Again though, with the way crowd chants catch on, it could very well be that they all just love chanting "YES!" more than they actually love Bryan, but I take the fact that they booed the hell out of Sheamus at 'Mania and RAW as a sign that their heads are on straight. So now what? What does the WWE do with this? Have they been editing out "Yes!" chants on TV? Or did the iron just strike with Bryan this past weekend? Either way, the brief Brogue Kick win over Bryan was probably the worst booking they could have done given the crowd. The Big Show/Cody Rhodes match should have ended with a five second knock out, not the World Heavyweight Title match. So it seems like the WWE really didn't expect the Bryan supporters. Because after the fans got done chanting "This is Bulls***!" they chanted "Daniel Bryan!" all through the Kane/Orton match and the Show/Cody match. They took a break during the Hell in a Cell bout, but then brought it back for the Divas.

Check out Daniel Bryan addressing the crowd after RAW last night, and popping the place like a nerd-beast...


And so there the "YES!" chants were again last night on RAW. During the awesome Punk/Henry match – almost taking the place of the "What?" chants in a way. And one would think that, with this kind of support from the fans, the WWE would keep Bryan in the title picture, if not even have him win the title back. So when Alberto Del Rio came out (getting some righteous "Si!" chants), I don't think it's what anyone truly wanted. Of course, Del Rio is majorly over in Miami too, so it wasn't all bad. But I don't know if anyone wants Del Rio taking Bryan's spot. I mean, it's clear, after his shocking mid-card loss to Kane, that Orton's being kept out of the title scene for a while. That's usually what a Kane feud means, right? So I'm hopeful that they'll keep the Bryan fires burning bright, figuring Del Rio into the mix in some way that doesn't rob Bryan of a decent rematch feud.

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More from RAW, plus Cena's reaction and Jericho's Jack Daniel's attack, on page 2...