Brock Lesnar Must Go over John Cena in Convincing Fashion at WWE Extreme Rules

It's no secret that the WWE hasn't always done the best job on capitalizing on momentum in the past. Based on the reactions Brock Lesnar has received over the past two weeks since returning to the company, it is integral that he defeats John Cena with relative ease during their match at Extreme Rules.

It was somewhat surprising on Monday to learn that Lesnar and Cena would do battle at the next pay-per-view. The popular school of thought was that Lesnar might not wrestle until SummerSlam at the earliest. The WWE hasn't wasted any time in utilizing its new toy, though, which is smart since he's only on a one-year contract.

The crowd absolutely exploded when Lesnar made his official return on RAW the night after WrestleMania. There was an expectation that he would make an appearance since he was seen flying into Miami that weekend, but it didn't stop the WWE from going wild due to the fact that "The Next Big Thing" had returned to his roots.

Lesnar made an immediate impact as he interrupted a Cena promo and delivered a thunderous F5 to the leader of the Cenation. Things didn't slow down from there—Lesnar and Cena engaged in a huge brawl on Monday after Cena slapped Lesnar across the face in retaliation for what had happened the previous week.

Not only is Lesnar immensely popular among the WWE audience because of his previous stint with the company when won the WWE Championship, but he also has mainstream appeal as well. His time in the UFC, although it was up and down, really put him in the public eye.

So, it was a no-brainer for Vince McMahon to bring him back in. His diehard fans love Lesnar, but non-WWE fans are taking notice of the product as well.

Lesnar may not be the best talker in the business, but he could do some amazing things in the ring for a man his size. He figures to be a major player for the next year at least. With that in mind, Lesnar should be a big-time cash cow for the company, and that means that he has to be made to look strong in the early going.

The creative team has done a good job of that so far; he has closed the show in consecutive weeks by giving Cena an F5, and he also busted Cena's lip open on Monday during their fight. That won't be enough to keep his momentum going, however. The only thing that can ensure he remains hot with the crowd is a dominant victory over Cena at Extreme Rules.

As much as it may seem like bad business for the WWE to have its top star lose to a virtual outsider in Lesnar after he already lost to The Rock at WrestleMania, that isn't the case. Cena has been so over for so long and has vanquished so many opponents along the way that it is essentially impossible to ruin his credibility at this point.

If anything, these losses add to Cena's character.

People are so used to seeing Cena dominate, and most observers are tired of it. Having him lose and face some adversity for once is a good thing. People will be interested to see how he goes about snapping out of his funk.

Lesnar appears to be getting built up as an unstoppable monster just as he was during his previous run with the company, and in order to buoy that, he has to destroy Cena. It is unclear whether his match with Cena at Extreme Rules will have any type of stipulation, but if weapon usage is allowed, then Lesnar needs to hit Cena with everything he has and Cena can't be allowed to get much effective offense in.

If this happens, then Lesnar will continue to look legitimate. For the first time in close to a decade, there will be some question as to whether Cena is the top guy. This will either lead to an interesting storyline where Cena conquers his demons and fights his way back to the top, or it could lead to a situation where frustration overcomes Cena and it leads to a heel turn.

There are so many interesting things that could come out of a Cena vs. Lesnar feud, but in order for any of them to come to fruition, Lesnar needs the win at Extreme Rules. If that doesn't happen, then it will be fair to say that the WWE has jumped the shark once again.