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Welcome back to the EXCELLENCE IN COLUMN WRITING exclusively here at LordsofPain.net / WrestlingHeadlines.com. CONGRATS to the BEAST and Mayor of SUPLEX CITY Brock Lesnar on winning his Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) match at Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) #200. Last night, Brock won his UFC 200 match against Mark Hunt by decision (29-27 on all cards, unanimous) and that was his first UFC match since December 30th, 2011 at UFC 141. Winning this match is HUGE financially for Brock Lesnar as UFC knows that he "still got it" and this could mean leverage in the WWE form him (or maybe leverage against him, WWE's contracts are tight). Heading into this match, I Tweeted that Brock Lesnar DID NOT have to win this match to seem more credible in the WWE. Why? Well, can you tell me how much UFC fighting experience that the entire WWE locker room has? Better yet, can you point me to any of them who used to be UFC Heavyweight Champion like Lesnar? If Mark Hunt won, so what? Lesnar is still the most dangerous human being in that WWE locker room by a mile. That's NO OFFENSE to the rest of them but Lesnar fought in mixed martial arts before. It takes incredible guts to return to UFC after 4 years of no MMA fights for him and he STILL won. Holy cow... WWE gambled by announcing Lesnar's WWE SummerSlam 2016 match-up against Randy Orton ahead of time. HUGE gamble because Lesnar could have been badly injured from this UFC fight and would have been unable to perform at WWE's 2nd biggest show of the year (arguably). Even if he won, a broken hand would have potentially kept him out of the match. What the WWE did took balls and worse yet for Brock Lesnar, it put additional pressure on him. Sure, his camp probably knew about and approved the Randy Orton match-up ahead of time, but Smackdown's announcement probably caused more questions to go his way: "Are you really serious about your UFC 200 match?", etc. Turns out, Brock Lesnar didn't buckle under pressure. If anything, Dana White and UFC are wondering... Why didn't we throw more money at this guy during 2015? After all - It is a FACT that UFC events with Brock Lesnar broke the 1,000,000 buys 3 times while consistently holding at or above 600,000 buys for the other events (still above the average buys per event). Whether UFC fans like him or not, he's a STAR that draws in casual fans to buy and watch UFC events when they normally wouldn't. Why do you think Dana White was so quick to sign CM Punk to a deal with UFC? Whatever brings in the casual fans while still remaining credible (Lesnar is very credible as a fighter) is big business for UFC. Lesnar signed a 3 year, $9 million guaranteed extension just before Wrestlemania 31 during 2015. We're still not sure if an "occasional MMA match" was baked into the contract or if this was a special deal between Vince McMahon and Dana White. I'm guessing the latter because WWE wants Ronda Rousey BADLY for an appearance at Wrestlemania. Lesnar joining UFC 200 and winning just made Dana White/UFC many new viewers for their future events. However, we'll just have to wait and see if WWE struck a deal with UFC or if Brock Lesnar's WWE contract allows him some flexibility to fight MMA events. I don't know, but damn, it gives you something to look forward to! It would be great business to see the Rock/Ronda Rousey vs. Triple H/Stephanie McMahon as hinted at from Wrestlemania 31. HUGE... If Shane McMahon potentially falling off of a Cage can push AT&T Stadium in Dallas to draw near 100,000 fans for Wrestlemania 32, think of what that tag match could do??!? And Rousey would barely have to do anything but briefly manhandle Stephanie, per the rules of mixed tags. GREAT night for both UFC and WWE last night, no doubt about it. In my opinion, a better one for UFC because now Lesnar knows that he "still has it" and might attempt to return to UFC soon. Remember - 3 year contract with WWE from 2015 through 2018. And "those who do not remember history are condemned to repeat it" (quoting George Santayana). Brock Lesnar left the WWE during 2004 and when he attempted to wrestle for New Japan and join the UFC, WWE's lawyers swarmed him and he had an intense legal battle ahead of him. There could be a good chance that we'll see a contract buyout. And I would say that a buyout could be likely UNLESS Brock Lesnar was simply getting whatever MMA fighter stuff he had left "in his basement" out. Why? Because as I already discussed in another column recently, the Lesnar gravy train in the WWE peaked on the RAW following Wrestlemania 31 and thanks to idiotic booking, he was "suspended indefinitely" and returned to do the bidding of the Authority instead of being against them. Complete disaster from the writing... But as I further argued, the list of "DREAM FIGHTS" is wearing thin. Sure, there's the Rock fight that has been discussed and almost reportedly happened for Wrestlemania 30 (Rock got injured from Wrestlemania 29), but as we've seen from the Rock between 2011 through 2013, he's not the wrestler he once was... He's a Hollywood actor who doesn't have the cardio to hold his own in matches any longer. There was some interest for a match with Steve Austin as the 2 joked about during Austin's Podcast. But Austin is now recovering from shoulder surgery and I'm sure Austin watched what happened to Sting. What else is left? Bray Wyatt? Maybe... Wyatt does checkbox much of the WWE's usual list... Big HOSS, yes. Family bloodlines, yes. Embraces a character that we invented, yes. Good in-ring wrestler, yes. Good on the microphone? Yes. Can he stay healthy for a long period of time? NO, NO, NO... There's your potential star and legitimate replacement for the Undertaker... But the durability isn't there. I've always said that WWE had 2 big match-ups left in Batista or Randy Orton. Said that for years after Brock Lesnar signed his 2012 WWE contract offer. Because Lesnar was on the Smackdown Brand from 2002-2004 and Randy Orton/Batista were on the RAW brand, Lesnar never wrestled them. Lesnar actually wrestled Cena several times during 2003 on the Smackdown brand, even a Pay Per View, because both guys were on the same roster. Batista/Orton were still midcarders for 2003 and wouldn't get their serious pushes until later during 2004. Their paths NEVER crossed. And yes, they are members of the Ohio Valley Wrestling "Class of 2002" that I keep preaching about. Gee, why do I keep preaching about that? Is it because Cena, Orton, and Lesnar are still top stars in the WWE? After all of those years? 14 years later? Jim Ross is a developmental GOD for finding those talents and developing them into long-term stars. Then when Batista returns, it further validates who truly made the WWE Attitude Era (signed Austin, Foley, and many other big stars during that time too). Randy Orton has been the wrestler, for years, that I've argued matches up best with Brock Lesnar. Go ahead and give me your crap about Randy Orton's star power. Yes, go preach to the choir. Go read my columns from late 2013 when I'm hammering WWE's decision to push Orton over Daniel Bryan. Hell, I was the only one recognizing what a failure he was as a Main Eventer on Smackdown during 2011. Ratings dropped hard when he was champion between May 2011 through July 2011. I'm sure there is some validity to those being the Summer months, but a draw is a draw is a draw... He's not. He has historically been the bride's maid behind John Cena and often overpushed. Since Summerslam 2004, his first World Title, he is a 12-time World Champion in the WWE. We're just under 1 World Title reign PER YEAR on average. That's ridiculous! And he's been out of action for a while recently. So yeah, don't bother me with the star power. I'm talking MATCH-UP... If you're going to boldly wrestle Brock Lesnar following his UFC run, you need to appear to be credible to actually HURT him. I my opinion, Randy Orton has the moveset that could make him look somewhat legit against Lesnar: (a) RKO - Sold as if it could be hit from anywhere, anytime. At the start of SummerSlam 2016, RKO is immediately hit on Lesnar. (b) DDT through the ropes. That move looks dangerous and I'm surprised WWE Corporate hasn't banned it yet. Then again, who has wrestling rings in their backyard anymore to try that? (c) Running kick. Isn't that the move that has been sold in the past as being too dangerous and even has been used in feuds? Yep. That moveset along with Randy Orton being advertised as a top WWE star (he's a name, like him or not) makes him the perfect wrestler to headline SummerSlam 2016 with Brock Lesnar. The match will work as long as BOTH wrestlers know and understand each other. And they do. From what I've read, they were close in Ohio Valley Wrestling and I think Randy Orton NEEDS this match to succeed to jumpstart his WWE career. Fans are still pissed off about his 2013 push and forever hold that against him (though it was not his fault, he's not on Creative). On the heels of a UFC victory, though, Randy Orton is in a BAD spot. He almost has to lose now because WWE could experience a rebirth in Lesnar's momentum. Maybe... But with Lesnar, who can he wrestle? Just a LACK of dream opponents and the current roster of upper-midcarders just don't seem credible enough in terms of STAR POWER. Rusev? Sheamus? I like Bray Wyatt, but stay healthy dude... We've already seen Lesnar wrestle Seth Rollins, John Cena, Undertaker, Big Show, and Roman Reigns multiple times. I wasn't overwhelmed with his match with Dean Ambrose, sorry. Maybe a 2nd chance with the WWE Title on the line could work? At the very least, we're NOT getting Roman Reigns defeating Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam 2016 which was Vince McMahon's early plans, reportedly. Funny how the results of a Wellness Policy test can send ripples through your wrestling organization. Randy Orton should be able to step up and make the most of the opportunity... He has the MOVESET to make this match interesting... But can he fill out the rest of the match? SO JUST CHILL... 'TIL THE NEXT EPISODE! Comments and feedback are welcome. Follow and Tweet me @titowrestling or login in below to post comments. Like Super Mario Maker for the Nintendo Wii U? 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