By Bruce Mitchell, PWTorch columnist

What struck me about the return of Brock Lesnar on Raw Monday night wasn't with whom he was programmed (although you would think that John Cena was the bright new star fans were rallying behind instead of the multi-year aging mainstay), or how quickly both WWE and Lesnar pulled the trigger on his return. What struck me was what wasn't said or done.

What made Lesnar such a huge gate attraction in UFC was the attraction (and nerve) of a fake pro wrestler climbing into the Octagon with the real bad asses. Sure, Lesnar looked tough and he had learned exactly how to market that look, but he didn't deserve UFC main events, he sure didn't deserve a heavyweight title shot, and goddam it, he doesn't deserve that heavyweight championship I don't care who he beats, but damn the show is jumping when he steps in.

One of the great money-making propositions in the game is what if? Brock Lesnar kicked the octagon door down in response, a force of nature that electrified the entire MMA world.

Then he got sick and quit.

Another great money-making proposition is what happens when a proven tough guy joins the circus? Will he tear the circus strong man apart? Can he? Sure, inevitably, the two end up juggling bowling pins, but there's usually some money to be had in the beginning.

On Raw, Lesnar reappears in a WWE ring and neither lead announcer Michael Cole nor anyone else brings up his big box office run to the Ultimate Fighting Heavyweight Championship. What we saw and heard about wasn't the force of nature legit Baddest Man on the Planet Brock Lesnar, it was Brock Lesnar, WWE Universe Superstar. The big bastard didn't rush John Cena like he once did Frank Mir, he just dropped him on his side with a phony-baloney F-5. Those fans who went ballistic when Lesnar walked out went that way for the force-of-nature UFC fighter, not the semi-successful but very athletic mean-looking WWE entertainer.

That the 2012 version of Brock Lesnar, Sports Entertainer, might be fatter, flusher, and less motivated to moonsault off the top rope than the one who got booed out of the building at his last WWE appearance hasn't seemed to occur yet to a WWE that is desperate to go to any creative length except pick a new guy and shoot him to the very top. If and when it does, this could get ugly fast.

It's always been Vince McMahon's policy that no matter how big an act might be with his competition, from Dusty Rhodes to Ric Flair to Ken Shamrock to Bill Goldberg, once they hit the WWE doors, McMahon is taking them down a peg, the theory being the brand has to be protected and the die-hards taught again that the Universe is primary, no matter what their friends all say.

Amazingly, Michael Cole exaggerated Lord Tensai's relative success in the modern reduced New Japan Pro Wrestling to help the Lord get over with the Raw audience, but never mentioned the obvious with Lesnar.

Even Vince McMahon rules are made to be broken, or at least promotional considerations are paid for by the following. WWE is paying for the Brock Lesnar who crushed them in the pay-per-view universe eighteen months ago, the one who has a chance to fill that Rock-sized gap, and that Brock Lesnar was nowhere in sight Monday night.

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Bruce Mitchell has been a PWTorch columnist since 1990. He is the senior staff columnist and most of his contributions are exclusively part of the PWTorch VIP Membership including new weekly newsletter columns, VIP blog entries, and the weekly two hour Bruce Mitchell Audio Show hosted by Wade Keller looking at current wrestling events, putting history in perspective, and answering VIP member questions.

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