Brock Lesnar Returns to WWE Programming During Monday Night Raw

WWE World Heavyweight champion Brock
Lesnar hadn't been seen since retaining his
title against John Cena at Night of Champions,
but The Beast is back.

Lesnar returned to WWE programming tonight
on the Dec. 15 edition of Monday Night
Raw, which likely signals the reintegration of the
company's top title into the main event scene. He is
scheduled to face John Cena at the Royal Rumble
next month.

Lesnar made his presence known by hitting tonight's
GM Chris Jericho with his patented F-5 before exiting
the ring.

WWE Broadcaster Kyle Edwards snapped a photo of
how shocked Jericho looked to be by Lesnar's
seemingly super-human ability:

After ending The Undertaker's incredible undefeated
streak at WrestleMania XXX, Lesnar once again
shocked the world at SummerSlam by decimating
Cena and becoming the new WWE World
Heavyweight champion.

Although The Conquerer lost to Cena by
disqualification at Night of Champions, he retained
the title. After that, he disappeared from WWE
television aside from some infrequent mentions.

Now that Lesnar is back in the fold, there is no
shortage of Superstars potentially gunning for him.

That is often the case for any world champion, but it
is even truer for Lesnar due to his lone-wolf nature.

The Beast Incarnate was lucky to escape with the title
in tow at Night of Champions, and Cena hasn't
forgotten what transpired. When it was announced
that Cena would face Randy Orton at Hell in a Cell
with the No. 1 contendership on the line, he made it
clear that Lesnar was in his sights:

Cena beat WWE's Apex Predator in that match, which
means he is next in line for a shot at the WWE World
Heavyweight Championship.

At the same time, Orton couldn't have endeared
himself to Lesnar during his absence. When
confronted by Paul Heyman during the go-home
episode of Raw prior to Hell in a Cell, The Viper hit
both Cena and Heyman with the RKO, as seen in this
photo courtesy of WWE Universe on Twitter:

In addition to Cena and Orton, Lesnar also has to
worry about the presence of Mr. Money in the Bank
Seth Rollins. The fast-rising Superstar attempted to
cash in his Money in the Bank contract at Night of
Champions by Curb Stomping Lesnar, although he
was ultimately foiled by Cena.

As dominant as Lesnar has been, perhaps it shouldn't
come as a big surprise that so many Superstars are
keeping an eye on him. Heyman was somewhat
prophetic prior to SummerSlam in predicting that his
client would face a bevy of potential challengers upon
winning the title, according to Ring Rust Radio:

Regardless of what the immediate future holds for
Lesnar, there is no question that the product is much
better when the world titleholder is present. There
seemed to be some resentment toward Lesnar from
a cross section of fans due to his status as a part-
time Superstar, but that should subside now that he
is back.

The fact remains that Lesnar won't be on television
every week and may not compete at every pay-per-
view between now and WrestleMania, either. The
popular assumption is that Lesnar will hold WWE's
top prize until the biggest show of the year at the very
least, and it will be interesting to see how WWE
reacts to that if it comes to fruition.

Whatever the case, Lesnar and the WWE World
Heavyweight Championship make the product feel
that much more exciting and important. Because of
that, there is now more hype surrounding WWE than
there has been in quite some time.