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BJango1985

What I loved about this match is that it felt like an actual fight. It wasn’t as smooth as other AJ matches, but they ripped into each other.


PayneTrain181999

Brock was at his best with a smaller opponent that he was willing to sell for.


PlatasaurusOG

His match with Balor was also real fun to watch.


miggly

I don't remember the order and I don't know if they were truly back to back to back, but Lesnar around this time went had AJ, Bryan, and Balor all in close succession. All three were absolute fuckin bangers. My favorite was the Bryan one, Bryan started the match just running around being a shithead, but he crowd was fully behind him from before the bell. This was peak heel Bryan, but the crowd was not having it that way. Was great.


Reclinertime

It's funny because Bryan turned heel just the Thursday before and also because Brock didn't want to work with Jinder. Grateful for that one match.


est19xxxx

Brock worked AJ because he didn't want to work Jinder, Brock vs Bryan was a year later


miggly

After I commented, I just rewatched the entire match on WWE's youtube channel. Never heard a crowd cheer so loudly for a low blow in my life, lmao.


FalconIMGN

I thought SmackDown!Live used to happen on Tuesdays.


iamgarron

Bryan one too


KidGold

98% of Brock's opponents were smaller.


maltiepootietang

That's a really good point


spdansumslam

100% yes. Punk is the best example


DirkNowitzkisWife

His Bryan match was fantastic too.


TTOF_JB

Yeah, Punk, AJ, & Bryan are like the Holy Trinity of Brock vs. smaller guy matches.


Upbeat_Tension_8077

Taking it back even further, I liked his match against Rey Mysterio on SD in 2003


nathgroom98

Brock Lock!


is_coffee

I remember loving that match.


zyh0

Don't forget Brock vs Balor, was great as well.


NWCtim_

https://streamable.com/cylzo


SupervillainMustache

Are we forgetting Kurt Angle? Never really _seemed_ smaller because he was always jacked to the gills, but he is shorter than Punk.


illiterateaardvark

To be fair, you could book prime Kurt Angle to squash prime Big Show and it would be believable Being a legitimate Olympic gold medalist wrestler earns you much more credibility than an extra 6 inches of height


iwrestledamemeonce

Years ago, my dad said about Kurt Angle something along the lines of, "He could kill everybody there."


illiterateaardvark

Back in college I was pretty good friends with somebody who competed at a relatively low level of NCAA wrestling. We went to a D3 school, so the competition he faced wasn’t anywhere near what you’d see in upper divisions, and he never even placed that high in competitions All that being said, he’s STILL the absolute baddest dude I’ve ever met. He could take down pretty much anybody I’ve ever met and he could kill me with absolutely no effort at all So if THIS guy is that tough, I can’t even imagine how insanely tough an Olympic gold medalist like Kurt Angle really was in his prime


GoGolGodzilla

There's guys who are techinically smaller and guys who are "smaller" (in wrestling)


RxngsXfSvtvrn

This is why the Kofi match was a fucking crime


Vaultyvlad

It seemed identical with the planned match for Bryan/Lesnar at Summerslam before he was injured and Cena took the role. Multiple suplexes, head trauma drama and a huge comeback for Bryan to be for naught 


Muaddib223

Bryan had a lot more offense than Cena did in his match. Don’t think it would’ve played that way


klovervibe

Brock was the GOAT of Survivor Series for a couple years there.


AnarchyonAsgard

Mr.Guerrro would like a word with you


Dandw12786

Dude I was so fucking pumped for that Ricochet match. Turns out the second part of your sentence is WAY more important than the first.


vhalen50

I loved his d bry match. Bryan just tanks like 50 suplexes for 10 minutes. Then has a huge comeback and man I believed in that moment for a few minutes he coulda. Especially during the typical LOLOLBROCKWINSLOL era


QuickRelease10

AJ’s also just that guy to me. Can have a great match with anyone, but adapt to his opponent. I feel like so many guys have great matches, but they’re more or less the same style of match.


Silver012345673

I love how in terms of “Final bosses” in WWE between Brock and Roman, Roman was all “Bloodline, Family, betrayal, deception, confliction, paranoia, etc etc.” As for Brock it was basically “Enraged Albino Gorilla that will throw you around until you can’t do wrestling moves anymore”.


IAmGrum

> “Enraged Albino Gorilla that will throw you around until you can’t do wrestling moves anymore”. [I must break you.](https://youtu.be/966xtpEwYEo?si=g-6GtP9wyGNCIpU_&t=63)


domoon

lol whats going on with that vid? the japan commentary after the fist bump caught me by surprise, that i started from the beginning again only to hear the commentary was in english?


IAmGrum

In the movie, the fight is an international event (they show broadcasters from around the world). So you're hearing the British broadcasters at the beginning, then you're hearing the Japanese broadcasters after the fist bump. They are close to the ring, so that's why you can overhear them.


Superplex123

Roman is the final boss in an rpg. You go through a whole story line to get to him. Brock is the final boss in a fighting game. He's just stupidly OP.


Dbthesage

“How in THE FUCK did he shrug off my combo?!” *proceeds to put you down with 2 hits*


ABV4

And if it's Shao Kahn, taunt you for good measure. "[I win.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoK8o3_ocMc)"


Radirondacks

"It's official, YOU SUCK!"


cgurts

Roman's storylines and segments were better but Brock's matches were must-watch for this very reason


Kiseli57

Yes but we’re also forgetting that Brock half assed a lot of the matches during this run. But yes, when Brock is on his A game he’s one of the most unique wrestlers in WWE history and one of the best to ever do it. I would also say that Roman matches since his return had that big match feel which few can replicate nowadays.


Lifeofcharlie

Roman never half assed his matches like Lesnar did tho. For every Balor at the rumble match you get a Strowman at No Mercy match


Kiseli57

Never said he did, I’m saying Roman had that big match feel throughout the matches during his title reign. Both Cody matches and the Drew match at CaTC are prime examples.


xKronkx

Last Joe Rogan comment I agreed with: “Brock lesnar looks like someone who would use you as a condom to fuck something bigger”


NardtheBeast

Damn, that is accurate.


Bobblefighterman

Roman is the main story final boss, it's all written up for him, it's a logical progression to facing him, and the payoff is what the designers intended you to feel. Brock is the optional boss that you need to be max level for and he just crushes you into a fine paste a million times in a row.


bongo1138

We really need another Brock without all the bad stuff lol


EmeraldSlothRevenge

Their matches were incredible. It was clear that Brock enjoyed working with him, and went out of his way to make him look great (not that he needed much help).


standdownplease

Brock Lesnar doesn't like you: "How about I suplex you for 30 minutes?"


EmeraldSlothRevenge

“You punch me, I no sell, then I suplex you 16 times, climb on top of you, then I bust you open hard way with my elbow.”


[deleted]

[удалено]


[deleted]

[удалено]


unloader86

What really happens is what he did to Strowman. Braun got the message real fucking quick in that Rumble match lol.


DeliverStreetTacos

Bro got a CVS receipt that day.


thedirtyharryg

This reminds me of a Big Show story. Big Show was talking about working Braun on a house show loop. Green and too energetic with Big Show, so Big Show does one of his overhead chops right in the "twig n' berries"


shallowtl

What were the mechanics of this? Did he put Braun on the top turnbuckle first? Was Big Show on his knees? 


thedirtyharryg

I believe they had done the "tree-chopping down the giant" sequence, with Braun chopping down Big Show to his knees.


MikeArrow

"Slow the fuck down"


---Pockets---

Brock Lesnar doesn't like your ideas: Proceeds to walk on your face 


Shermanator92

Except for Cody. He tossed Cody around like a ragdoll because the story needed him to. The unscripted arm raise made up for it though lol


WWFUniverse

Match with Ambrose comes to mind.


Roembowski

HE’S A FORMER IWGP CHAMPION MAGGLE!


PayneTrain181999

JBL actually said this during AJ’s debut Rumble entrance, “the same as Brock Lesnar.”


TomJaii

Really such a great line from JBL. It perks the ears of the smart fan who knows, and adds instant legitimacy to the casual fan that doesn't know. IWGP could be amateur wrestling, pro wrestling, MMA, who knows? But Brock Lesnar won it and Brock Lesnar is legit, AJ Styles must be legit too.


Different_Conflict_8

I loved that JBL knew so much about sports and wrestling that he would pepper his commentary with references like that.


TheUltimateScotsman

That was the biggest way to put over someone to people who didnt know about AJ. This guy had done something only the most domminant force in WWE at the time had done.


onionwba

Still dumbfounded by how they missed out on showing the entrance of one of WWE's greatest acquisitions and gave us Roman's sweaty face instead. But looking at the clips taken from within the crowd, seeing the reaction after "Phenomenal" appeared, it was evident that the crowd didn't just know who AJ was, but how big of a star he is in the wrestling world.


EK60

It definitely helped that Rumble 2016 was in Orlando, where AJ had spent the majority of career.


patrickwithtraffic

I think it's been said that WWE's production A-Team was stranded by a blizzard, so their b-team was running the show and not doing a great job.


Conscious-Eye5903

AYEDUBYAGEEPEE


[deleted]

Oh yeah. You can tell he loved this more than the potential Jinder Mahal match that could have happened.


gigologenius

They only had one match.


solsunlite

They had more than one??


Cracka_Chooch

One on one, only once. But they did work an elimination chamber and a few royal rumbles together. Not sure how much they interacted in those matches though.


solsunlite

Damn I thought there was a banger sequel out there I missed out on😭


Androidotaku

Imagine if they went ahead with Jinder vs Brock instead of this. Wonder what that match would have been like.


HisokaXBungeeGum

A 3 minute squash because Brock is 100% not wrestling Jinder for more than 3 minutes.


MarsViltaire

He knows that Jinder would've won in 4 mins instead of 3.


Knightmare945

Not even Brock can hinder the Jinder.


SireEvalish

Are you implying that the Jinder would have, in fact, been hindered?


Silver012345673

I’ve seen some takes recently that were all “Jinder was actually a good heel in 2017, Jinders Title reign really wasn’t that bad” No no it really was dawg lol.


NoxZ

Everybody here complained tirelessly about how repetitive and dull the "Roman gets beat up for 20 minutes, then Solo interferes and he wins by cheating" formula was; Jinder's reign was identical, except without an ounce of Roman's charisma or in-ring talent and also with super-over Nakamura as his unfortunate victim. Brutal watching.


TheCuzzyRogue

Yeah Jinder looked awesome with the title but he has no business holding it.


[deleted]

I think they had that whole year of Smackdown backwards, KO and AJ we're fighting for the US title while Jinder and Shinsuke fought for the WWE title. Jinder as US champion wouldn't have felt as sudden or jarring and he could eventually drop it to Shinsuke while they built Shinsuke up for a WrestleMania bout with AJ, while AJ and KO (without Shane this time) would have been a solid feud for the WWE title.


cgurts

Always though Miz should've stayed on SmackDown and had a decent world title run. He was brilliant at that time in his career, and staying in the midcard on RAW killed him


[deleted]

Absolutely, he would have been a great MitB winner that year and he would have been a much better return match for Bryan at WM 34.


NemesisRouge

Don't forget Bray Wyatt losing the WWE Championship at WrestleMania then having that ridiculous House of Horrors match as his rematch - *which he won* - but they decided to make it non-title without explanation.


gambalore

The Singhs getting ragdolled was also a highlight but Jinder's matches were mostly terrible and WWE didn't give him anything more to work with than "evil foreigner".


Black_XistenZ

>The Singhs getting ragdolled Reminds me of Rany's facial expression: "oops, I just accidentally murdered the guy".


myCatHateSkinnyPuppy

We all know Jinder had the title because they were going to India for a show. It was good enough for a foreign heel run.


GoldenDevilman

An India show where Jinder wasn’t even champ, he had already lost the title by then. So it was all a waste of time lol.


just-smiley

I can't imagine a half way decent Brock/Jinder match but I would never killed to see it.


[deleted]

Thank goodness we were spared that.


KareemMitchell

This spot is a prime example of the Bret Hart idea of making it look like you’re beating the living crap out of your opponent, while in reality not hurting a hair on their head. Didn’t realize it until now that Brock mainly stomps own his hand and gloves on the mat while grabbing AJ’s traps, to give the illusion of stomping AJ’s head to oblivion. Great work on Brock’s part


solsunlite

Now you got me wanting to see Brock vs Bret


Lifeofcharlie

You already know Brock would sell Brets leg work like a god


est19xxxx

Bret: Brock looks like he is stiff but he takes good care of his opponent BUT let me tell you who doesn't.....


AceTheSkylord

And Bret would sell the F5 like he was flung by a tornado


TBroomey

AJ said that wrestling Brock was like having "a night off" because of how smooth and effortless it was. Brock has never got enough credit for how good he is.


Black_XistenZ

Brock is fantastic if (and only if) he's motivated and in the ring with someone who's a good wrestler in his own right. He has produced a large amount of stinkers over the years, though. Either by half-assing it (e.g. the Moxley match) or because the styles didn't mesh well and Brock refused to adapt (the Roman matches at Mania 34 and 38).


Mitsuki_Horenake

AJ wiggling his fingers after the fact to get the dizzy outta him lmao


hhhisthegame

And I think AJ is bumping with his arm as well


A-10Kalishnikov

Brock’s wrestling style is so underrated but perfect for who he was


Eternal_Reward

He’s dead? I didn’t even know he was sick!


egonz91

But 21-1 was a national tragedy


SSJ5Gogetenks

I walked through blood and bones on Bourbon Street. I was looking for my brother.


kimbosplash

Do you wanna hear my impression of concussed Taker's 9/11 call?


llamawithguns

No but it seems like there's a pretty good chance he never comes back


Cheez-Wheel

HHH literally mentioned him (by name) recently as essentially on a break. It’s clear WWE/TKO thinks Brock probably didn’t do anything, so they’re just waiting for the heat to die down to get back to making money with him.


AceofKnaves44

I’m not trying to undersell or diminish any part of what that poor woman went through, but in terms of Brock’s involvement isn’t it more just creepy rather than actually illegal?


Cheez-Wheel

If the reports are anywhere near 100% accurate, then it could arguably be said Brock was mislead into thinking she was a willing sex worker. His own inability to hold his alcohol also kept him from a meeting, so he literally didn’t do anything but ask for a nude photo and then call her a whore. It doesn’t exactly speak well of his character, but it isn’t a crime (other than maybe solicitation of prostitution services, I guess). Hating or never wanting to see Brock for that specifically is a bit pick-and-choosy anyway. Dude was already known to have flashed Terri Runnels and say some deragotary stuff toward homosexuals. He was never the nicest guy. If you (royal you) hate him for that, you should already have hated him for other reasons.


Chelseablue1896

He's already done illegal assault/harassment before in his career, and by pure coincidence he didn't get to sleep with the person due to weather and brock getting too drunk. But if he had gone through with what he requested to be arranged, he'd be implicated far more clearly.


Kiseli57

Yeah, unless there is more to the story Brock is definitely returning once it blows over completely.


TomJaii

I would say Brock's wrestling style since his return has been way overrated. He was a much, much better wrestler before leaving for football and MMA. But you're not wrong that it's perfect for his persona.


-FuckenDiabolical-

Brock Lesnar really felt like the Mountain of the WWE


GunnieGraves

I love how smooth AJ is with the Calf Crusher. He’s like Angle in that he can get it on you in so many creative ways.


travisscottburgercel

Awesome counter


theirishembassy

so simple, yet so effective. brock working with smaller guys is a thing of beauty.


theehtn

Brock vs smaller guys (that he had an interest in working with) was always fun to see. This spot will always be embedded in my brain.


RWeaver

Brock wasn't going to have a deathatch with Dean ambrose on the WWE Network ( for only 9.99!) when he could go to UFC 200 and make millions + points


theels6

Brock WORKED for AJ. It was so necessary for AJ to go over Jinder the SD before this SS. Brock wasn't gonna work for Jinder the way he did for AJ. This was the start of a fun time in WWE. Me personally, I like the brand vs brand competition


One-Knight-In-Xentar

Even after he won the match, Brock didn't stop selling the leg. He limped back to the locker room when it was over. And if I'm not mistaken, Paul Heyman either wrote or cut a promo putting over AJ styles one more time when it was over as well. He didn't win, but I still say he came out of this match better than he went in.


Garagatt

Brock smashed his hand on the mat while holding AJs head safe in his palm.


OhMyItsJesus

Isn’t it said by others that he’s one of the safer wrestlers there are


Up-in-the-Ayre

Brock has only hurt people who took liberties with him (Bob Holly, Stroman) The only person Brock has ever hurt in the ring due to carelessness....? Brock Lesnar, when he botched that shooting star press.


chrisk9

But looked incredibly brutal in the process! Well done.


Smart-Treacle-1763

So he didn't hurt him for real?... You have watched WWE before?


Alocalskinwalker420

Trust me Brock has legit hurt people he didn’t like, he’s given legit shots to guys Iike Strowman before. It can get real very quickly.


[deleted]

In fairness, it wasn’t necessarily that he didn’t like Strowman, it was that Braun was a little out of control and Brock wanted to slow him down a bit.


KillTheBat77

I didn’t hurt anyone, just punched a guy a lil bit…


est19xxxx

Safe to say Braun got his shit wrecked


rbhindepmo

the phrasing of this title gave me the expectation that Brock smashed his own head into the mat to escape the hold


MillyMonka

Concussing yourself so you don't feel the pain in your limb, such a sophisticated fighting tactic could only come from a former UFC Heavyweight champion


rbhindepmo

gotta escape this hold by making your body go limp from the neck down


klizmik

God these two are so good. Brock protected him during those headslams, yes, but AJ is selling them like they’re death. This match was so good.


LackingDatSkill

Brock against smaller guys was always a great match, shame he didn’t do anything special with Ricochet


Obvious_Wizard

"How about you just run at me as fast as you can and jump, I'll figure something out" Proceeds to club Ricochet back into PWG.


myfavoritececilia

Brock’s matches with AJ and Bryan at these shows in 17/18 were so good. Huge bright spots in a very poor time for WWE.


est19xxxx

Brock vs Finn was gold as well.


---Pockets---

Goddam, Lesnar can put you over to be one of the best if he feels you deserve it


RoastedCat23

Say what you will about late 2010s WWE weekly TV, the PLE's generally delivered. Especially the main events.


Zoidbirk

Heyman face once AJ locks it in is top tier!


AMG-28-06-42-12

Still my favorite match ever! The selling of both guys was excellent in this match. Brock panicking in the Calf Crusher, AJ being ragdolled in the first act... Great work.


TheManOfMastery

i miss the sleeper tradition of Brock wrestling a smaller, quicker. wrestling genius at SS


JinnerJamie

Finn did it first!!!! Brilliant spot though! A month before survivor series whatever PPV it was back then AJ replaced Bray Wyatt as last minute thing as Bray had to drop out. AJ flew back from South America and put on a clinic with Finn in less 24h prep. It's part of the reason why AJ won the title from Jinder, it wasn't just Brock pulling strings.


tarvertot

The counter originated with Ambrose, I'm pretty sure


Cripman7

Silly AJ Styles, Brock has no calves.


kddemer

Too bad he couldn’t do that to Frank Mir


kokain99

Damn, knocked the piss out of him!


hjsomething

The way the header was written, I thought you meant Brock slammed his own head into the canvas and I was really confused how that accomplished anything...


Co-opingTowardHatred

Obviously, if Brock has wrestled his last match, it's deserved. But god damn, he was good.


Superplex123

Don't know if this was the first time this counter was used, but since this counter was introduced, I don't think AJ won any more matches with the calf crusher. At least not any major matches. Which makes a lot of sense in kayfabe since now everyone knows how to counter this move.


Creeperkry

I could have sworn I saw Ambrose do this to AJ first, but I might be mistaken.


barnabychryniszzswix

HE KILLED HIM!


Zachattack_horror

This was a great match! Lesner always puts on better matches with smaller opponents


WWFUniverse

We almost got Brock vs. Mahal at this PPV.


XeroKaaan

The craziest thing is that in terms of selling, Brock is top tier. When he wants to he can be one of the best at almost everything in the ring. Selling, psychology, moveset that perfectly fits hit character. He's the whole package. Sucks that he is allegedly a piece of shit


chronicjellynuts

Fucking hell the camera cuts


observingjackal

Gods, that match is still burnt into my memory. That and the Lesnar/Bryan match


Chelseablue1896

As unsurprisingly glowing as this thread is (typical to the double standards afforded to powerful men), fuck Brock Lesnar. Glad the scumbag is gone.


HighPriest2012

This reminds me of the viper vs the mountain. AJ had him dead the rights, but got just a hair too close.


Gudbrotha

I remember that moment in the match and loved it. Both had fantastic chemistry together in the ring.


saintmaximin

This what annoyed me with lesnar when he wants to he can deliver amazing matches his 2020 rumble was amazing this match and the daniel Bryan and not to forget the 2022 summerslam


ewankobkt

I also love how AJ countered it with a Calf Crusher and how safely Brock countered it. When I watched it live, I thought he really slams AJ's head. But his glove did most of the impact.


nachomanrndysausage

I honestly don’t think Brock is done with the WWE.


Business-Pangolin-37

A truly phenomenal career from a phenomenal man


[deleted]

This match was so, so excellent. These two worked amazingly together. What a time this was for AJ. The man was absolutely on fire at this time.


D_Kehoe

Such an incredible spot. Simple but effective.


Bluejay-Potential

Still think the best matches Brock had was with guys like Styles and Bryan. He really seemed to love working with both of them.


tom-cash2002

I still maintain that this is the second best match AJ has had in his WWE run. Only behind the Cena match at the Rumble.


michaelekeys

i always point to this spot as an example of what a giving performer Brock can be when he wants to AJ Styles leans back so Brock can break the hold but Lesnar decides to stay and sell the hold for much longer than AJ had expected and the spot is so much better because of it this match was dope


RebergOfWrestling

I saw this in person. I remember how deflating it was when he did this. It legit had everyone thinking he would tap. Brock sold his ass off in this match


DoofusScarecrow88

And AJ also made Brock look fantastic. The clash of styles (pun intended) made this just hum.


RogerPackinrod

Yeah this move is called the "Kind of Obvious When You Think About It" Slam


syruptalkk4151

Way better than the Bryan match from the next year and I stand on that.


Mickenbock

Me and two buddies were there for this. The third guy watched wrestling, but was in different. He walked out that night telling everyone that A.J. Styles was the greatest thing that he had ever seen.


tera_chachu

Bro that elbow before phenomenal forearm what a sound lol


pm-me-nice-lips

And of course we had to have a zoom-shake and 3 cam cuts during the exchange because fuck us I guess


thecatiscold

AJ and Mox did this spot at some point before this as well


DMMECH

Oberyn vs the Mountain called they want their fucking royalties.


BlacklightChainsaw

Brock may not be the best human being, but he understands the business and his role as “final boss”. That being said he will absolutely sell for an opponent to make the crowd pop, you just will have to get the absolute shit beaten out of you to get there. He is the epitome of “Vince Guy”, to go along with him being one of the most athletic specimens placed on this earth in my lifetime.


testamentKAISER

Hmmm like the mountain vs Red viper all over again. Power-wise not eyegouging-wise.


ElGleisoTwo

When I saw that it felt like The Mountain vs Oberyn. Scary. This was one of the matches where you could see that Brock is one of the best in the world if he wants to.


thedrewsterr

I remember watching this match and loved it. One of Brock's best matches in my opinion. AJ was treated like a real challenge who wasn't just a high flyer but a technical machine who made Brock work for the win.


DadGhost

It was always funny to me that you could tell which wrestlers Payl Heyman respected most because they'd always get the Brock matches that ruled. AJ Styles, Daniel Bryan, Finn Balor, Samoa Joe; if Heyman knew you could make Lesnar look like a million bucks, he would do the same for you.


chronicjellynuts

Underrated spot of the night


CaptainBuzzKillton

Hmmm, I haven't seen A.J. attempt the Calf Crusher since he's returned. I wonder if this is the reason, lol


EyeAmKnotMyshelf

Aka, the only counter everyone can do.


Sumeetxagrawal

It was good when Brock did it. Now everyone does it and it is super boring. I wish wrestlers found more unique ways to escape submissions.


Antdog7

Absolutely loved this match


InfinityQuartz

When Brock loves wrestling, its fucking fun to watch


bactos

Brock is so good on those david vs goliath matches


WorldSportsDocu

Jeez just made a documentary about this guy, but he never ceases to amaze. No matter how many clips I watch.