Brock Lesnar's Presence Makes WWE Battleground 2015 a Marquee Event

Brock Lesnar stepping into the ring at WWE Battleground 2015 turns an uncelebrated pay-per-view event into a must-see production.

The Beast Incarnate is WWE's easy fix, an instant boost to ratings, intrigue and appeal. Him competing at Battleground, on a show many assumed he would skip, changes the dynamic of the show like so few could.

It was late March when fans last saw Lesnar. Angered by Seth Rollins' refusal to fight him, the powerhouse went on a rampage, attacking a cameraman and laying out Michael Cole.

Stephanie McMahon fined and suspended Lesnar. The audience knew, though, that this was just the storyline explanation for the megastar heading back home to his farm to await his next appearance. Many assumed that wouldn't come until the buildup to SummerSlam. 

Credit: WWE.com

After all, Lesnar's unique arrangement has him serve as WWE's mercenary, a special attraction the company calls upon at the peak points of its calendar. And Battleground is anything but that.

On Monday's Raw, he returned ahead of schedule. Triple H told Rollins that he wanted to test him, that he wanted to see if he was the quality investment he believed him to be.

Enter Lesnar.

The beast stomped his way down the entrance ramp, circled around the champ and then locked eyes with him. Rollins trembled that close to a monster. 

With that, Battleground's main event was set.

The young, rising star will take on a star who sits on a tier all his own. Rollins will have to face the man who he swiped the world title from at WrestleMania. It's a matchup fit for the top of the SummerSlam card, yet here it is on a C-level pay-per-view.

That elevates Battleground's prominence in a major way.

Last year's event featured John Cena taking on Kane, Randy Orton and Roman Reigns for the world title. The inaugural edition of Battleground offered a rematch from Night of Champions: Orton vs. Daniel Bryan. None of those clashes felt as can't-miss as this one.

The Beast Incarnate, per CageMatch.net, has wrestled just 11 times since rejoining WWE in 2012. Dolph Ziggler reached that match total in just the last month.

And the majority of those bouts have been on WWE's biggest shows. Lesnar has been to three WrestleManias, two Royal Rumbles and two SummerSlams in that span. Each time out, WWE used Lesnar as a centerpiece to those shows' promotion.

He's also twice competed at Extreme Rules, a pay-per-view one could argue has supplanted Survivor Series as one of the "Big Four."

The only time Lesnar strayed from these gems of the calendar was to take on Cena at Night of Champions last year. Battleground has even less prestige than that show, just now set to deliver the third event in its short history.

It's a pay-per-view that lacks identity, that has a shortage of lasting images. That is due to change. Lesnar is on his way, a megastar showing up to a minor league affair. 

As Paul Heyman told Steve Austin on his podcast on the WWE Network, "Anytime he appears, it's special."

Lesnar bringing that element to a normally non-special pay-per-view is a welcome surprise. There are still storylines to build, a midcard to fill out and a hype to create, but Battleground already has its big draw in Lesnar.