WWE Expertly Shifting Brock Lesnar Toward Babyface Status

WWE has its fans now rooting for a monster as Brock Lesnar transitions from snarling beast to snarling babyface.

In just moments, Lesnar became a sympathetic character rather than an unfeeling destroyer of men. The successful formula for that transformation has been to pit him against a corrupt group and to construct a revenge narrative.

WWE is not asking The Beast Incarnate to start playing to the crowd or wear colorful wristbands with inspirational phrases on them. It's not rearranging Lesnar's character, but instead using a simple, yet effective tweak of how he's presented.

Subtle signs of that change emerged as Monday's Raw opened.

Paul Heyman recounted the tale of Seth Rollins winning the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. The way he told it painted Rollins as a lawless scavenger who robbed Lesnar of that title. Ranting about Rollins, Lesnar's advocate fired off a series of negative descriptors: slimy, disreputable, rotten, etc.  

This was the beginnings of shifting how fans view Lesnar. Rather than be the demon who had his treasure stolen from under him, he was presented as a victim here.

Lesnar helped build his babyface reputation moments later when he delivered a forced apology to both John "Bradshaw" Layfield and Michael Cole. Here he was restrained, but still fearsome. He forcefully grabbed hold of Cole and gave him a noogie.

There is something equally unnerving and hilarious about that image.

It's a sign that even as Lesnar becomes a full-fledged babyface, he won't lose his edge. He won't be stripped of what makes him so compelling in the first place.

Monday's Raw closed with more examples of that. Lesnar would take the kind of unfair, outnumbered beatdown from a group of thugs that is typical of a wrestling babyface, but he was also allowed to do great damage.

Rollins had gathered up his cronies from The Authority once more. He convinced them to stick by his side despite the fact that he had treated them so poorly, despite the fact that standing alongside the world champ meant facing a wrecking machine in Lesnar.

In order to create some pathos for Lesnar, having him face this reunited group was the best bet.

The Authority is the kind of faction one wants to see torn down. Rollins has excelled as the cocky, slippery rat of a champ. Kane and J&J Security, meanwhile, have made a living churning up a feeling of injustice in the ring with constant interference.

That same feeling came rising up in Raw's final segment. Lesnar tried to go after Rollins, but he soon found himself swarmed by The Authority.

Kane attacked him from behind. Joey Mercury and Jamie Noble landed their share of cheap shots. And while Lesnar caused havoc aplenty, he eventually went down.

Rollins and Kane zeroed in on his leg. The corporate faction piled atop him, showing a monster's vulnerability in the process. This attack was unfair, uncalled for and a smart way to force the audience to adjust how they viewed Lesnar.

Pro wrestling writer Kevin Berge commented on how quickly WWE was able to stir up sympathy for Lesnar: 

A part of that is surely that some fans are tired of The Authority's dominance on WWE programming. Kane has had more airtime than Cesaro, Jack Swagger and Bo Dallas combined in recent weeks. His group has been responsible for a good number of the interrupted matches and anti-climactic endings that fans have seen as of late.

And here, that annoying, ever-present faction may have found the man who will tear it down.

After the beating that Lesnar took, there's no doubt that vengeance is coming. Lesnar is suddenly the rebel set to be in position to take down a corrupt empire. The prospect of that is thrilling. 

The attack sets up a must-watch counterattack.

Former member of WWE Creative, Alex Greenfield had issues with parts of the final segment, but did write that he anticipates what comes next:

Therein lies the heart of Lesnar's babyface turn. We want to see him win. We want to see him leave rubble in his wake.

After watching Lesnar tear apart WWE's good guys, he is now poised to use his destructive powers for the other team. It's like Apocalypse deciding to join the X-Men.

He's been wronged and now sets off on the kind of quest for revenge that so many babyfaces have embarked on in the past. 

The excitement of watching that unfold will have The Beast Incarnate's move away from the dark side be WWE's marquee story, a captivating work of theater stretching out over the summer.