This year has certainly been busy for the WWE. Jerry Jarrett, Dusty Rhodes, Bret Hart, and a number of other notable moments. But one story that stood out in recent months to me was the never ending saga of Brock Lesnar's "return" with WWE. As the news from WWE.com said, and I quote: "After verbally agreeing to terms with WWE, Brock Lesnar has decided to withdraw from any involvement with the company." And while many fans read the short blurb as a shock, others saw this coming as clearly as a run-in chair shot. Even Jim Ross, after weeks of waiting for a yes from Lesnar, made note in his column that he's making a big mistake. This constant back and forth between the company and the performer has become tedious and nerve-racking for many fans over the past year, and it begs a major question to the heads at Titan Tower. "Is Brock Lesnar really worth the time, trouble and money it would take to bring him back""

This 6'3", 295 pound, buzz cut Minneapolis native single-handedly drove a number of fans away from the WWE faster than the return of the nWo. The company had to release several wrestlers just to meet the price tag on this second rate wrestler (and third rate football player) only for him to now back out, probably due to disputes over not getting enough money and him not wanting to do house shows. Still, the WWE seems to have an interest in him.

But why" Why should the fans or management expect anything to be better than it was before" What special things did Lesnar do for the company before he decided to go be a Vikings reject" Let's take another trip down Memory Lane and see the dead end Brock drove the company to.

Brock first showed up in March of 2002 with Paul Heymen on his shoulder. For two weeks straight he just beat up people at random until Ric Flair (the (then) GM for RAW) drafted him to be on RAW. After a series of squash matches with no meaning (and an airplane fight with Curt Henning along the way), Lesnar is suddenly entered into and wins the King Of The Ring tournament. The youngest wrestler to win it, and quite notably the last. While there were many reasons to garbage the PPV, a number of people felt Lesnar's win was the final nail in the coffin as it was quite obvious he was being pushed harder than any performer in the past decade to be a star immediately. And therefore, the entire storyline purpose behind the event became predictable and lost. Two months later with very little story behind the decision, The Rock drops the Undisputed Championship to Lesnar in what was considered one of the worst matches in SummerSlam history, and a cheap attempt to get Lesnar over as the ultimate heel.

Lesnar then signs onto SmackDown to be exclusive to the show, meaning the championship (which at the time moved between shows) was now stuck on a specific show. After a month of squash matches, Lesnar moves into a feud with The Undertaker that VERY quickly leads to a Hell In A Cell match that wasn't even up to par. From one slow giant with a gut, we went to an even slower one as a lackluster feud goes on between Lesnar and The Big Show. Eventually the decision was made to have Lesnar drop the title to Show, who would later drop it to Kurt Angle and set up the future of WrestleMania 19. A few more months of a useless feud with Show, and finally we reach the Royal Rumble.

In predictable fashion, a match between these two is set so one can enter the Rumble. Of course, Lesnar wins. And of course, he's given a low number. In fact he's given #29. A short three minutes later, and we're going to see Lesnar and Angle at WrestleMania. Two months worth of bad promos and even worse buildup, we get to WrestleMania 19 and see Lesnar fight the first good match of his career. And just when you think it's going to end on a high note... he botches the ending. This man, who we were told for months in interviews and promos (even a promising credit from Dr. Tom Prichard on Byte This) was not just a hard hitter but could do high flying maneuvers as well, landed a shooting-star-press... on his head. A move the could have broken his neck or paralyzed him for life. And what happens" Instead of letting Kurt keep it and continue to the next PPV, Kurt is told to carry Lesnar and let him win. What"!" This company allowed a man who messed up royally in the main event of the biggest PPV of the year and put his own health at risk become champion" Unfortunately... yes.

The majority of 2003 went on like this. Matches between Angle and Lesnar (with a heel switch halfway through) swapping the titles at least once. Most of the matches were billed as "wrestling clinics," when in the end it just turned out to be "more of the same." The only big moment during 2003 was the famous "Super-Superplex" involving Big Show, which lead to the ring collapsing. The company looked toward having a major match at WrestleMania 20, so come 2004 they started getting Lesnar involved with Bill Goldberg. Now Goldberg (a wrestling diva in his own right) makes very few appearances to begin with, which forces the WWE to have Lesnar feud with Steve Austin (who at one point refused to job to Lesnar to put him over) who is named the referee for their match. Almost two months of bad promos and squash matches later, and we finally get to WrestleMania 20. And what do we get" Another slow match where Goldberg beats Lesnar, Austin beats both of them up at the end, and all three leave quietly the company at once.

Now they want Lesnar back. After two years of predictable and pointless matches with less than memorable moments. After his poor attitude with many wrestlers, and his constant arguments with management behind the scenes (before he left, he bought a private plane for $400,000 because he "couldn't deal with WWE's flight schedule"). After all the turmoil this man has brought to the table, WWE wants this guy to come back. This man did nothing special for any programming and was never really a top draw for PPV numbers.

In every right and respect, Lesnar is a shining example of everything that has been wrong with the WWE for the past 5 years. A big man who was given a push at a faster rate than fans could keep up with or appreciate, had the heavyweight title handed to him within six months of being there, feuded with several stars that either had better things they could be doing or wrestlers past their prime, and in the end quit because he couldn't get what he wanted.

Brock Lesnar burned his bridges with the WWE, and now he wants to rebuild them because he can't make money while they have his name under contract. But he wants those bridges built his way with no strings attached. It's time Brock started listening to a very old saying. "Beggars Can't Be Choosers." This man took off to pursue a career in football without thinking twice of the consequences or what the future may hold. Things didn't go his way, so now he's stuck between unemployment and coming back to the people he walked out on. Does he really expect to come back on his own terms for the amount of cash he wants with absolutely no guidelines to prevent what happened the first time around from happening again" From a fan's standpoint, I say good riddance. Brock Lesnar is to Pro Wrestling, what KFC is to Chicken. The company has been better off since he left, and there is no reason to bring him back into the fold, or waste the effort and cash it would take to get him back.

And as far as Brock's career is concerned... I hear Jiffy Lube is hiring.

by Ian Hunter ..