WWE Extreme Rules 2012 Results: Why Brock Lesnar's Loss Is Bad for WWE

At this stage of the game, it should be no surprise when WWE has John Cena win a match that he clearly should not.

That was the case at Extreme Rules in an Extreme Rules match against Brock Lesnar. 

Before we get into all the problems with the finish of the match, it must be said that what Cena and Lesnar did prior to the finish was amazing. 

When Lesnar was brought in, we were told that he was going to be something different. He was not a wrestler, rather he was here to be an a** kicker. WWE needed someone who could do things no one else could after the WrestleMania spectacle left the roster depleted. 

Given the style that Lesnar was using and the vicious brutality of the match that saw both men bleed, it's safe to say this was a match the likes of which you don't see in WWE anymore. It was built up as a fight instead of a wrestling match, which is exactly how it played out at the pay-per-view. 

It was compelling storytelling at its finest.

Then we got to the finish and everything fell apart. I won't say that it completely ruined the match, because it didn't. But it certainly was the worst possible decision WWE could have made. 

Lesnar was wrestling his first match on WWE television in eight years. He had to be presented as this monster who could go through anyone and everyone in the company, starting with Cena and working his way through the roster. 

Instead, Lesnar dominated a majority of the match and then Cena was able to fight back before hitting Lesnar with his chain following a springboard to score the pinfall. 

Now, instead of having this dominant monster who is invincible, WWE turned Lesnar into another guy who can't beat Cena.

It was baffling booking, to say the least. And the amount of money WWE lost as a result is going to be quite substantial. 

Who knows how much of a difference Lesnar would have made in the long run, but right now he was something different that people would pay to see.

Now, he's a guy who fights a different style who still lost to Cena. 

To make matters worse, Cena announced that he was taking time off after the match. Where is the logic in all of this? Why have Cena beat Lesnar if he isn't even going to be around right after?

How do you build momentum for anyone after that?

WWE put together one of its most compelling main events in a long, long time, but the wrong finish hangs over it like those annoying asterisks everyone wants to put over baseball players who have failed a performance enhancing drug test. 

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