Part of the problem is that I’ve got to write about these shows every week and I’ve seen how the sausage is made. Stop training us to think only one story can matter at a time, and that only The Authority’s decisions matter. WWE’s insistance that there are only a few character types and you can switch anybody you want into and out of those roles on a whim is so damn frustrating. If Ambrose isn’t affecting Lesnar’s decisions and the whole thing’s moved forward by someone else, it takes away what makes Ambrose’s confrontation brave and cool. If Lesnar has no agency, his choices regarding Dean Ambrose don’t have the same impact. If Lesnar is only further feuds because Triple H told him to, it takes away Brock’s agency. Now you’ve got him getting beaten up by Erick Rowan and being all “aw shucks” about a Rumble elimination, chuckling through a Dean Ambrose sh*t-talking and getting ordered around by the boss? Really?
![wwe raw 2-1-16 wwe raw 2-1-16](https://savesforgames.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/images/wwe-raw.jpg)
He showed up and destroyed the two strongest characters of the modern era - WrestleMania Undertaker and Champion John Cena - like they were nothing. What worked so well during Brock’s title reign and even though the Undertaker matches is that Brock is external to WWE happenings and logic and overpowered as balls. I don’t want to see Brock Lesnar of all people getting puppet-mastered by an evil general manager. On this week’s Raw they manage to nerf Ambrose AND Lesnar (and, by proxy, Paul Heyman) by having Triple H be the one to “correct the mistake.” Here:ĭon’t get me wrong, this is all purposeful stuff they’re doing, but purely from a fan perspective I hate it. When the Wyatt Family beat down Brock and relegated him to a B-story in the Royal Rumble, it was disappointing. Instead of any of that, it becomes another example of WWE making Brock Lesnar just another guy. Maybe Lesnar let Ambrose get into his head for a second and was out to correct his mistake? Maybe he just wanted to wait until Ambrose had a moment of glory to shut him down? At the end of the show, Lesnar pops in again to F-5 Ambrose, and the “thou shalt not intentionally provoke the Beast” thing comes up. Lesnar didn’t immediately murder him, and there’s something there. He’s Brock Lesnar, why should he? That would work brilliantly, because you could have Lesnar go into the match with too much confidence and get caught off-guard by Ambrose’s wacky nonsense, or you could play up the thought that maybe Ambrose’s brashness has already taken Lesnar off his game. The impression you (read: me) get is that Lesnar thinks Ambrose is a precious adorable baby for standing up to him so brashly, but he doesn’t take the threats seriously.
![wwe raw 2-1-16 wwe raw 2-1-16](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rkogT9oBHqE/VrAZ01duL5I/AAAAAAAAOvA/BZI-fdYzW60/s1600/20160201215024.jpg)
Unfortunately, very few moments in WWE can be taken by themselves.Īmbrose has beef, but Lesnar doesn’t say word. It lets him look like a serious character, gets him out of Roman Reigns’ shadow for five seconds and justifies the “lunatic” thing they usually only express via sweaty rambling and sh*tty rebound clotheslines by having him compelled to stand in the ring with Brock Lesnar and talk sh*t. Taken by itself, it’s a nice moment of character development for Ambrose. Ambrose says he respects Brock but wanted to come out and look him in the eye and tell him he wants the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. This week’s show opens with Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman doing their thing, and getting interrupted by Dean Ambrose.
![wwe raw 2-1-16 wwe raw 2-1-16](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/47/10/64/471064ef3606a8061427cefcd34da734.jpg)
Let’s start at the beginning and jump to the end, shall we?