Brock Lesnar: Use of Real Force on John Cena Adds Intrigue to WWE Extreme Rules

Whether it was scripted or not, whether John Lauranaitis wanted it or not, Brock Lesnar's punch (and the bloody lip it precipitated) helped to instill the WWE's newest feud—between Lesnar, the former UFC star, and John Cena—with some real, actual drama.

As far as anyone could tell, Lesnar didn't have a packet of ketchup or any other blood substitute in his hand when his clenched fist actually glanced Cena's mug.

So, for now, it seems safe to assume that the damage done by Lesnar was real and that his first meaningful WWE match since 2004—against The Prototype at Extreme Rules on April 29—will mark a rather entertaining return to action for the former three-time WWE champion.

His sojourn into the NFL didn't go nearly as well as he'd hoped, and while Lesnar was able to achieve stardom as a heavyweight in the UFC, his struggles with diverticulitis ultimately prevented him from carving out a more permanent niche atop the world of mixed martial arts.

But while illness may have harmed Lesnar's body, it's hardly hindered his natural abilities as a showman, particularly one who so readily plays the heel. He's made that much clear since he stepped back into the ring on Monday Night Raw two weeks ago, one night after Cena was finally felled by The Rock at WrestleMania XXVIII.

First, by attacking Cena at the end of that week's show, and then by meeting Cena's retaliation the following week with the much-discussed fist to the face.

Where many feuds are given plenty of time and space to develop (i.e. the year leading up to Cena vs. The Rock at WrestleMania), Lesnar and Cena have been granted all of 27 days to build up a score to settle at Extreme Rules. In that sense, then, Cena's busted lip would seem to be a nifty bit of written-in reality.

Either way, it wasn't a bad way to up the ante between two of the most polarizing figures in sports entertainment.

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