WWE Armchair Booking: How to Maximize Brock Lesnar vs. Undertaker Buildup

The renewed feud between Brock Lesnar and Undertaker began so explosively that WWE has to wait to truly light the next fuse or risk diluting the buildup to their marquee match at SummerSlam.

Keep the two titans apart. Make fans wait until the pay-per-view to see them tear at each other once again. That's the best route to maximize anticipation, but that certainly doesn't mean WWE's job is over in building this major clash.

You're not going to top that pull-apart brawl they had on Raw right after Battleground unless Lesnar and The Deadman start fighting outside and throw each other through skyscrapers like something out of The Avengers.

The focus going forward should instead be on reminding us how unstable and dangerous The Beast Incarnate is. The audience should see him seething, promising to do great harm to his foe. As for Undertaker, the smart move is to play up his otherworldliness, painting him as a mythical figure.

That helps create the belief he can beat a monster like Lesnar. That helps fans think less often about Undertaker's age and creakiness.

Make Undertaker untouchable while Lesnar puts his hands on other unfortunate souls.

A Destructive Response 

Next Monday's Raw should start with Cesaro calling out Kevin Owens. Animosity has grown between the two bruisers as of late; every indication is that they will be locking horns at SummerSlam. 

With that in mind, WWE can stir up some more tension between them and use those two enemies as a means to showcase Lesnar's wrecking-ball ways.

Owens comes out to the ring and stares down Cesaro. They trade verbal barbs. 

They agree to an impromptu match that quickly morphs into a slugfest outside the ring. They trade haymakers briefly before Lesnar's music hits. Paul Heyman grabs a microphone and explains that his client is angry and looking for a fight and how that emotion only increased when he heard that Undertaker was not in the arena.

"That means you gentlemen, I'm afraid, have to serve as his proxy," Heyman says. 

Lesnar throws Cesaro into the guardrail and pounds on Owens. The cocky Canadian actually holds his own for a short while, but The Beast Incarnate soon lays him out. Lesnar goes on to attack Cesaro more before throwing steel chairs everywhere.

Enraged, Lesnar promises to do this all night. 

He shows up soon after. Another pair of Superstars await the opening bell for their match, but they stare fearfully at Lesnar charging at them. Ready to dismantle both, he steps onto the ring apron. Stephanie McMahon comes out pleading with him to stop. "You're destroying our show," she says.

She says that unless he leaves the building now, his match with Undertaker is off. Heyman reasons with Lesnar enough to convince the beast to walk away. 

The bonus of this narrative is that it plants possible seeds for two potential Lesnar matches. Should WWE want to go with either Lesnar vs. Cesaro or Lesnar vs. Owens down the road, this attack serves as the starting point to that story.

Venturing Inside Undertaker's Mind

On the night after Battleground, Undertaker laid out the reasons why he attacked Lesnar. It was only partially fulfilling. It focused on just one angle, missing out chances to deepen the story.

To better the build, WWE should give Undertaker another chance to speak but also explain why The Beast Incarnate isn't running into the ring to put his hands around his enemy's throat.

Show Lesnar training at the gym. Heath Slater comes up to ask him something innocuous, perhaps if he needs a spotter or something. A red-faced Lesnar takes this as an excuse to clothesline Slater to the floor.

The former WWE champ pounds on the hapless midcarder.

The Authority releases that footage on Raw, explaining that they are looking into the situation. And until the investigation is over, Lesnar is suspended.

That gives the audience one more destructive image of Lesnar. It speaks to how much this rivalry with Undertaker is affecting the former UFC fighter. Meanwhile, Undertaker can speak freely.

After interrupting Heyman, who is griping about the unfair treatment of his client, The Phenom reveals there is more to his attack on Lesnar than just him losing at WrestleMania 30. He talks about Lesnar breaking Kane's ankle.

Undertaker describes Lesnar as a cancer on the roster, a heartless monster out of control. "You need to be put down," The Deadman says.

He further explains that he was beat down and lost after his defeat to Lesnar last year. It wasn't until Bray Wyatt started calling him out before this year's WrestleMania that he felt awakened, that he felt like the powerful force everyone knows him to be.

This interview adds some depth to the story and gives WWE a chance to pump up Wyatt a bit. Undertaker can sell his fight with Wyatt as a battle that pushed him and renewed him.

The Phantom Phenom

One of the best things about Undertaker's character is all the directions writers can take with it. Randy Orton doesn't summon lightning. Sheamus doesn't get led to the ring by masked druids.

The Lesnar feud is a perfect time to take advantage of that.

When Lesnar returns to Raw after The Authority reinstates him, have him storm toward the ring. Once again, he's on the hunt for revenge. Once again, he looks ready to unravel and start claiming victims.

Lesnar roars for Undertaker to come out and face him. At first, there is no response. Heyman wonders if cowardice is keeping The Deadman away.

Then Undertaker's music begins and a dark figure begins walking toward the ring in blue-lit fog. Lesnar grins. He cracks his knuckles. His expression soon changes, though.

Another figure in a wide-brimmed hat and long coat emerges. Then another one walks out. Soon a whole battery of fake Undertakers fill the entrance way.

Baron Corbin, Colin Cassady and some tall, local indy wrestlers play these parts.

Lesnar, despite being visibly shaken, heads down to fight these men. He starts tagging them with right hands in a brawl that soon has him taking blows from all sides. The arena suddenly goes dark. A bell tolls.

When the lights come back on, all of the Undertakers are gone. Only fog and a bewildered Lesnar remain.

The announcers talk about how Undertaker is not merely a man, hinting at supernatural powers, unsure of how Lesnar will overcome all of this at SummerSlam.

As this buildup closes, Lesnar's destructive power is clear. He is filled with fury. Undertaker, meanwhile, is made to look like just the force to overcome all of that.