Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns Losing Momentum Due to Lazy WWE Storytelling

The heat radiating off Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns as they both charge into the WWE Royal Rumble is more space heater than wildfire right now.

Missed opportunities and paint-by-numbers booking made their collision on Monday's Raw underwhelming. WWE Creative isn't taking full advantage of The Beast Incarnate's greatness. With Reigns, it has him continuing an anti-authority angle that is quickly losing steam.

Lesnar returned on Monday night, starring in an easy-to-see-coming ending. Reigns' story of overcoming the odds dragged. 

Monday marked the first time in months that Paul Heyman's frothing predator would be on WWE TV. 

On his blog, Jim Ross suggested that Lesnar became a big part of Raw early. "Pull the trigger and engage the Beast Incarnate in NOLA. Do it early before the national championship college football game between Clemson and Alabama kicks off," he wrote.

WWE didn't follow that advice.

Instead, Lesnar's role came as Raw was just about to wrap up. Before that, Heyman spoke for his client, trying to have Lesnar weasel out of having to compete in the Royal Rumble. He claimed that Lesnar should be allowed to go straight into the WrestleMania event and wait on whoever won the WWE world title at the Rumble.

The mindset makes sense to a point, but why have such an overwhelming destructive force try to back out of any kind of battle?

If anyone should be salivating at the thought of entering that 30-man fray and laying waste to anyone within striking range, it's Lesnar. That's especially true considering his history with Reigns. Shouldn't he want to win back the title that he lost last year in a bloody, brutal clash with The Big Dog with everyone else being collateral damage?

Reigns, meanwhile, had a Royal Rumble preview awaiting him during Raw's main event.

Credit: WWE.com

Vince McMahon booked a whole mess of heels against him in a massive handicap match. Oddly enough, that horde of villainy that lurked at ringside barely played a role in the bout. Kevin Owens and Reigns battled on for a long stretch with the other opponents mostly serving as spectators.

It was unclear what WWE was trying to do here. It made little sense to tease so many participants only to have it boil down to a one-on-one contest with a dash of handicap match.

Pro Wrestling Torch columnist James Caldwell was not the only one confused about the rules:

"

I mean, does this thing end if Reigns wins? Who knows.

— James Caldwell (@jctorch) January 12, 2016"

The one-versus-all match limped long. The audience expected Lesnar to storm in at some point, so the 20-plus minutes of action felt like a prolonged precursor.

ProWrestling.net's Jason Powell rightly trashed the bout. He wrote, "That match was painful. Reigns vs. Owens would have been fine, but the idea that it was Reigns vs. All was heel authority figure garbage."

What a way to cool off Reigns after his white-hot end to 2015. WWE failed to create pathos here. Reigns didn't seem to be in grave danger despite the number of enemies surrounding him.

A part of that is that WWE was so heavy-handed with its foreshadowing. Fans couldn't help but see Lesnar's run-in coming. Pro wrestling writer Kevin Berge pointed out how predictable that outcome became:

As a result, it was hard to invest in Reigns' struggles and the climactic moment—where Lesnar steamrolled a whole host of foes—didn't have much firepower. As Kyle Fowle of A.V. Club pointed out, "When Brock comes out and destroys everyone, including Roman Reigns, it doesn't pack the punch it should."

That kind of disappointment is inevitable when WWE offers a narrative that doesn't stray from the box.

The company left a number of avenues unexplored that would have deepened the story. No one has explained where Lesnar has been since Hell in a Cell, for one. Has he been seething in his lair, thinking of his next conquest? Did the battles with Undertaker leave him spent?

There was too little mention of him in the past few weeks, with no updates of his training or the destruction he was causing elsewhere. The promo announcing his return offered no answers.

It essentially said, "Hey look! Brock Lesnar is coming back!"

And after Reigns leveled Triple H at TLC, WWE has mostly neglected that part of the tale. Is The Game in physical therapy recovering? Is there a reason he hasn't sought revenge against Reigns, letting his wife and father-in-law be his proxies instead?

Inserting Triple H would add welcome layers to Reigns' story. It would complicate things depending on how he and Lesnar interacted. Triple H could either try to use Lesnar as an attack dog or see him as an obstacle in the way of his revenge quest.

Not addressing his role in all this is lazy.

The same goes for not having other Rumble participants provide a subplot to Reigns and Lesnar's part in the event. Rather than showcase how dangerous the roster is, WWE chose to focus on Reigns and Lesnar on Monday night, two superheroes bowling over the mere mortals.

There was a missed opportunity to have someone provide more of a challenge during Lesnar's onslaught.

WWE had a shot there to jettison Owens toward Lesnar. Having those two brawl more evenly would have had the audience question whether Owens could actually pose a threat to The Beast and The Big Dog. Instead, he was pushed aside with little effort.

The Wyatt Family could have made things messier and more intriguing by being more involved in Monday's closing segment. Even a brief Bray Wyatt-Lesnar faceoff would have created some good post-Raw discussion.

Of course, though, Lesnar's rampage was still a highlight. Every one of his appearances is. That's part of why WWE seems to throw him into the mix.

Credit: WWE.com

Why come up with an ingenious game plan when you have a monster talent who will do the work for you?

That attitude leaves opportunities on the table, leaving Raw and the Royal Rumble not as thrilling as it could be. Reigns is seeing that firsthand. His one-dimensional drama is doing him a disservice.

That needs to change as the Rumble nears and the march to WrestleMania continues. This is when everyone in the company, from the Superstars to the writers, most need to pour every drop of themselves into the product.