Brock Lesnar vs. Randy Orton

At UFC 200, the biggest event in the history of the promotion, Brock Lesnar returned to the octagon after a five year absence and defeated veteran Mark Hunt. The fight itself wasn't exactly spectacular and many are wondering why Hunt, primarily a kick boxer, didn't throw more punches, but Lensar used take downs to get the win. Despite the lack of major action, the victory for the former UFC Heavyweight champion has already started speculation that Brock could fight again in the future. When asked about the possibility of an another MMA bout at the post-fight press conference, he said that Brock Lesnar does what Brock Lesnar wants to do. However, all that would depend on if the WWE would be willing to allow Lesnar, who is still until contract, to compete in the cage again.

As I wrote a few weeks ago, the WWE took all the risk in this deal, and if Lesnar would've been defeated or was injured, it could've damaged the selling point of Summer Slam. Considering the experiment went relatively well, it seems possible that Vince McMahon would allow Brock to fight again, but the risk/reward aspect of the deal won't be determined until Summer Slam next month. In theory, Lesnar winning in the octagon and an ad for WWE airing on the UFC biggest show will boost viewers for pay-per-view next month, but will it actually translate to more network subscriptions?

As a part of the promotional ads for WWE, it was announced that Randy Orton, who was on the sidelines for several months, will be Lesnar's opponent at Summer Slam. When you take into account that neither Brock nor Orton have appeared on WWE TV in several months, you can bet that management will look to build the feud during the next month and a half, but logistically, will it translate to a bigger draw?

The diehard and many causal MMA fans tuned into UFC 200, as well as many pro wrestling fans that might not usually watch UFC events to see if Lesnar could win in the octagon again. They saw Brock use ground and pound punches to cut his opponent. While Mark Hunt wasn't necessarily in major danger of the fight being stopped because he continued to attempt to defend the strikes, Lesnar dominated the bout to win via unanimous decision. After watching Brock punch his opponent in the head for the majority of the third round, is a match with Randy Orton really going to be believable? Sure, it's common knowledge that pro wrestling is a work, but if Brock's MMA win is going to be used to promote Summer Slam, wouldn't it be somewhat of a letdown if the match with Orton looks blatantly staged in comparison to UFC 200? From a booking stand point, the WWE is somewhat in a corner because if Lesnar is pushed as the MMA fighter, would it be believable if he's selling for Randy Orton? That's not a jab at Orton either, just an observation that after the UFC bout, would it be believable if Brock was running the ropes during the match?

Along with that, Randy Orton might not be the ideal opponent for Brock at this point because his in ring style might not translate with a worked-shoot match. Orton has a specific formula and pace to his matches, and he doesn't usually take major bumps so that isn't exactly comparable with Lesnar's stiff style. For example, one of the reasons that the Lesnar/John Cena series worked was because Cena didn't mind Brock's stiff style, and he was bleeding on more than once occasion during the Lesnar feud. If you're reading this, you've probably heard the story about Ken Anderson getting fired when Orton complained after a suplex on Raw. You can bet that Orton doesn't want to take any stiff suplex or elbows. Again, that's not a jab at Orton, just an observation that he might not be the best opponent for Lesnar.

Seth Rollins made Brock look like a monster, and made himself a star during their triple threat match with John Cena at the Royal Rumble in 2015 so he might've been a better selection. Even Nakamura, who actually had a match with Lesnar in NJPW in 2006, would be a good choice for a match at Summer Slam. In fact, a Nakamura match could be promoted similar to a UFC contest with training vignettes aired on WWE TV instead of multiple in ring appearances. Plus, Paul Heyman has cut the best promos on WWE TV in the past few years and he could sell the bout on the mic prior to the PPV. There could be an in ring confrontation between Lesnar and Nakamura the week of the show and the match is set up. Lesnar's MMA training and Nakamura using strong style offense could be an intriguing selling point for the show.

Regardless, Randy Orton is booked for the spot and if nothing else, it's an indication that Lesnar will win another match at a major show, but at least the part-timer isn't defeating the younger stars that aren't fully established this time. The WWE is paying Brock an amount of money that makes him one of the highest paid performers on the roster and while he always delivers quality matches, it seems counter productive to get a return on their investment if they don't use his appearances to help make new stars. For example, wouldn't Dean Ambrose have more steam as the WWE champion if he defeated Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania? Orton plateaued in terms of how over he is with the audience and a loss at Summer Slam won't damage his value to the company. Obviously, Orton has name value, but his run as a top tier main event star mostly concluded after the lackluster main event at Wrestlemania 25. This scenario allows Lesnar, the bigger star in the contest, to get the win and stay strong on WWE programming without hindering the progress of any of the younger stars on the roster.

How the match goes and if the presentation is believable remains to be seen, but more important than that is if more fans are willing to pay to see Brock Lesnar compete for the sports entertainment environment. If the WWE/UFC deal translates to more money for both companies then not only is it a success, but it also proves the type of commodity that he is for sports. For Lesnar, it's a win-win situation because he was the highest paid fighter on the UFC card and he continues to be one of the highest paid performers on the WWE roster.