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Welcome to The Grevas Report! For those who don’t know me, I’ve written this column for many years now and am very excited to be bringing it to its new home, here on PWInsider Xtra! While this column will touch upon many topics, the focus will always be on breaking down and analyzing topics in wrestling.
If the title of this column and my intro paragraph haven’t scared you off yet, let’s get into it. Yes, I think Brock Lesnar vs Omos is the right call for WrestleMania 39. I know this is likely to be an incredibly unpopular opinion but hear me out.
The Mania card isn’t even fully announced but it already looks stacked. There’s going to be great wrestling (Bianca & Asuka). There’s going to be powerful storytelling (Roman and Cody, KO/Sami vs The Usos). Seth Rollins and Logan Paul are going to turn heads. Rhea and Charlotte will be hard hitting, Rey and Dom brings the soap opera like dynamics pro wrestling can do so well. There’s a lot of variety already. What we need is spectacle. Something to live on in the highlight reels, the ESPN monent. Enter Brock Lesnar bodyslamming the giant Omos.
Sure, it’s a WrestleMania clique but it doesn’t matter. Brock Lesnar doesn’t have to work a 25 minute classic with Omos. They couldn’t even if they tried. But Lesnar, in front of a Hollywood crowd and Hollywood stars, can lift the giant in the air and hold him just long enough for every camera in the building to flash and then slam him into immortality. Let me be clear: Omos is more Giant Gonzales than Andre the Giant but he’s huge and he’s been protected for the most part. He’s believable to the average fan. Sure, smart fans are wincing at this matchup but let’s be honest, who do you want to see Lesnar face on the “grandest stage of them all”? There’s no Time Machine sending Kurt Angle from 2002 out there. Lesnar is the modern day Andre the Giant in the sense that he’s a draw, an attraction, who doesn’t need the title but what he does matters. So make it matter at WrestleMania. Give the former UFC champion the Sportscenter moment. Let him slam the giant and live on in highlight reels forever.
Would I have rather seen Lesnar and Lashley in a 20 minute hoss fight where they finally shook the stench of their poorly booked first two matches (from the Vince regime) off them and went all out? Of course. Lesnar and Lashley can go. And given how their match last month ended, I’m sure they’ll get their chance to have the match they’re capable of having soon. But Mania doesn’t need that match. Pro wrestling cards require balance- you need the steak, the potato, the salad, the dessert and a few other vegetables to boot. If Gunther and Drew (and maybe Sheamus too) are going to beat the living hell out of each other at Mania, you don’t need Lashley and Lesnar doing the same. You need Lashley in a gimmick match and Lesnar booked as a superhuman.
Lesnar and Omos should only be a few minutes. Let the big man get in his shots, Brock go for an F5 but be unable to lift him. Let Brock fight back some more and BAM, lift the big man and slam him into a vital moment. (Just no shooting star presses, ok?) Short, sweet and it can be sandwiched between two longer matches on the card. You can even use this as storyline motivation down the road, as Lashley or someone else managed by MVP at SummerSlam wants revenge on “The Beast”.
In closing, my reaction last week to this match possibly happening at WrestleMania was the same as many of yours. It shouldn’t happen. It’s a waste of Lesnar. But it’s not. It’s a great example of Triple H taking one of his top acts and getting the most out of him when all of the other suitable dance partners are taken. Initial reactions aside, I will now go as far as to say that this is the right call for the biggest show of the year.
Would love to hear your thoughts and feedback! I can be found on Twitter (@AndrewGrevas) or by email (Andrew@25YLMedia.com). Thanks for reading and thanks for your support of PWInsider.
