The "Ask the Specialists" Roundtable is the latest spin-off from the "Ask the Torch" feature. CSI led to CSI: New York and CSI: Miami, which is where you'll find the Specialists tackling a daily topic submitted by PWTorch readers to askpwtorch@gmail.com.

Ask the Specialists Roundtable #58

- Question from Michael G., PWTorch reader:At Summerslam, John Cena pretty much got brutalized and dominated for 16 minutes before Brock Lesnar picked up the victory and won the WWE Title. My question: if Daniel Bryan were not injured and it was Daniel Bryan vs. Brock Lesnar at Summerslam instead, would they have had a similar match with Lesnar dominating the way he did vs. Cena? Or, would they have worked more of a match, with Bryan using his speed and submissions to his advantage to neutralize the strength of Lesnar? Or, would they have worked a similar match to get Lesnar's dominance above the rest of the roster over?

- "Instant Reaction" Ben Tucker (@BTuckerTorch) responds: I honestly think that the match would have been much more competitive, probably in the same vein of Punk vs. Brock from Summerslam 2013. WWE was hesitant to put Bryan at the top of the card, but they're not dumb enough to think that he could absorb a dominating loss like Cena can. If Cena loses like that, it's seen as a huge win. For Bryan, it would have felt like the company lost faith in him, not that they see a huge opportunity in Lesnar.

- "Mr. PPV" Nathan Kyght responds: I 100 percent believe that if Bryan were still around come Summerslam, we would have seen the exact same match (if not a bit worse). I still think Bryan will end up facing Brock early next year before WrestleMania, and I think it'll be booked very similar to the Summerslam main event.

- "Mr. TV" Justin James (@Justin_M_James) responds: That's a tough question. On the one hand, having Bryan take that beating does a ton of harm to him. And considering that he already plays the underdog role, it would not have made Lesnar look dominant (though it would have put lots of heat on him as a bully). On the other hand, having the underdog stay competitive with Lesnar brings Lesnar down a bit unless they told a story of Bryan outwitting The Beast at every turn, perhaps with a stipulation to let him do that (no duct tape involved please).

I think the best thing would have been to keep them apart like we saw and have Lesnar face Teflon John Cena. Second best would have seen Bryan get in early offense with a surprise attack, weapons in a no DQ scenario, etc. and then have Lesnar take over and maul him for ten minutes. And by "second best" I mean "least damaging option," which still isn't good.

- "Common Fan" Jimmy Eaton (@TheCommonFan) responds: Good question. I don't know if it would have been as brutal of a beat down, but it would have been close. The main purpose of that match and Lesnar's reign in general is to make him look like an unstoppable monster. That would have happened either way, regardless of the opponent. Thanks for the question!

- "Showstopper" Shawn Valentino responds: Thank you for your question MichaelI believe if Bryan were defending the World Championship against Brock Lesnar instead of John Cena, then it would have been a completely different match. What made the Cena match so fascinating is that he was similar size to Brock, and he had never been dominated in that fashion. It made Lesnar look like an indestructible monster. If he was fighting Bryan, then it would merely look like he was bullying a much smaller wrestler.

I believe that Bryan and Brock would have a David versus Goliath showdown with the smaller, faster champion trying to take down the indomitable beast. Lesnar would have likely still won, but I think that Bryan would have showcased his submission maneuvers and quickness and gotten in some resilient offense before finally succumbing to the overpowering challenger.

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[ FYI: The specialists consist of a mix of current PWTorch contributors providing their opinion on today's wrestling scene and modern wrestling history questions, including Shawn Valentino, Michael Moore, Ben Tucker, Jon Mezzera, Justin James, Brian Leahy, Jimmy Eaton, Nathan Kyght, Tony Donofrio, and Mike Roe. ]

[Torch art credit Joe Borzotta (c) PWTorch.com]

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