CJ Perry: What I learned from Brock Lesnar — and what the fans don’t see

CJ Perry joins Uncrowned for a special series of guest columns as WrestleMania 42 nears. A WWE Legend who rose to in-ring fame as “Lana” and later wrestled in AEW, Perry is also the wife of WWE superstar Rusev (Miroslav Barnyashev). For more from her, check out her podcast “Identity Crisis,” and her work on TMZ’s “Inside the Ring.”

What a week to start my very first column for Yahoo Sports! When I agreed to do this, I was wondering what I’d even put into a column like this — and then I remembered I’m writing about professional wrestling, and every week is a massive week of news, rumors and piping-hot storytelling decisions.

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It’s been a road to WrestleMania where talking has gotten the most headlines, but one of my favorite ‘Mania builds in a long time has had little to no talking whatsoever.

Brock vs. Oba.

King Kong vs. Godzilla.

Holy s*** this build is everything I love about big, meaty men slapping meat. (What a weird sentence to anyone who isn’t a wrestling fan.) (Actually, it’s still a weird sentence if you are.)

Two massive dudes looking to beat the s*** out of each other, and I cannot wait for that bell to ring Sunday and see it happen.

The obvious stuff is amazing to watch, like Brock being overwhelmed for the first time, and Oba looking right at home in that main-event scene. But the more fascinating angle for me to watch out for isn’t how it’s been booked. It’s seeing how Brock is taking what’s been “written” and making it so much better.

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Back in 2016 in San Jose, I got to see up close how smart Brock is to this business. It was Brock vs. Rusev on some WWE live events, and my husband and I were just starting out. Before the show, Paul Heyman gave me pointers on part of my promo and then asked Brock what he thought about it?

Brock took a second and thought, and then gave me notes on how I could say it. He took what Paul and I had come up with, and spun it in a completely different direction by anticipating the audience’s reaction, and then having a plan to deal with that reaction.

We went out there that night and did our promo, and the match with Brock vs. Rusev was incredible. When we came back, Brock pulled me aside and gave me notes on my execution. He told me I was “stepping on my on pop by not allowing them to boo longer” and to “wait a bit longer for the crowd to start chanting.” It was incredible advice I got from Brock, and the whole experience really helped Miro and I grow as performers and on the mic.

But I was more blown away by how wise Brock was to this business. I guess I bought into what he wants us all to see, which is the viking destroyer character, but backstage there’s few smarter than him in knowing how to pull the most from a beat, or a movement or a moment.

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And that’s all coming into focus with the work he’s doing with Oba right now. Brock is making a future WrestleMania main-event guy with his eyes, his reaction and his selling.

Just masterful physical storytelling.

And speaking of masterful physical things, my husband is going to WrestleMania!

Rusev, the Bulgarian lion, is going to show the world that he’s always been a secret lucha bro. I know people wonder how a tank like my husband is going to fare in a ladder match, but I’ve seen him do a 960-splash. He’s honestly one of the most buoyant men I’ve ever met, and he usually gets into our bed by moonsaulting off the wardrobe.

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But I suspect he’s just going to run the ground game in this match and pick everyone else out of the sky.

I think the main question for me is how he’ll do with the actual ladder. I’ve had a bulb that needs replacing in our kitchen for about three years, and trying to get my husband on a ladder at home is like trying to get a cat in a bath.

But I suspect that once there’s a nice gold title belt in the air waiting for him, we’ll find out why he’s known as the “Super Athlete.”

And I know Miro is treating this match as a turning point in his career because he’s gone home to Bulgaria to train for it. Every night I get the Rocky montage videos of my husband lifting rocks and running the streets, and I can see in his eyes and hear in his voice that he’s ready for this.

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MACKA CRUSH, RUSEV!!

(Also bring me home something nice.)

(And a new bulb.)

How about that recent Cody Rhodes vs. Stephanie McMahon promo on “Smackdown”?

What an amazing promo that felt big for a match that feels big.

Stephanie might be the best women’s promo ever in our business, and to see her come out again after all these years and not miss a beat was exhilarating!

Both their performances and deliveries were amazing, but the verbiage itself — I don’t think they needed to bring up their fathers. We know Vince’s name causes outrage, but from Cody’s storyline point of view, he doesn’t need to address his father’s decisions and his father’s path anymore. He literally fought to “finish the story” and did so in a way that celebrated — and remembered — the great Dusty Rhodes’ career and legacy while cementing his own.

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Cody having to measure his career and his “bad guy” decisions to his father’s is holding back Cody’s momentum. We don’t know who is he or what he’s capable of when he’s not trying to do “The Dream” proud. So from that standpoint, I would have loved to see Stephanie say he doesn’t need to be like Dusty anymore. And he doesn’t need to act like his father anymore. He needs to finally dig deep in his own soul and let whatever is hiding in there loose on Randy Orton.

Other than my husband, of course, Randy Orton is my current favorite WWE performer —and looking at the reactions he’s getting every week, I’m not alone in that assessment.

I remember when I first started in WWE, I found myself in catering with Randy being the only other person in there. It was like that high-school movie scene where I didn’t know whether I should go and sit in the corner alone like a nerd, or go say “hi” to the prom king/quarterback. I almost scraped the skin off my face walking along the wall trying to avoid him, but “The Viper” called me over and gave me advice on wrestling, storytelling and WWE in general.

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“Wrestling friction gets resolved in the ring,” he told me. “So even though you’re a manager now, it won’t always be like that, so get in there before every show and practice.”

And the friction Randy brings to “Smackdown” has been enriched by none other than Pat McAfee!

What a nice man Pat is for introducing himself to Cody. Or introducing his foot to Cody’s nuts, I should say.

I never thought the big reveal in this storyline was going to be the guys who everyone online was speculating about — Shane McMahon, Bob Orton, or even Vince McMahon — but I wasn’t expecting Pat McAfee either.

Let me tell you from a talent’s point of view what something like this feels like. Most talent know whether something is going to work or not work before they go out there. And sometimes you know you’re going to get hated for something that has nothing to do with you. You didn’t pitch it, you didn’t write it, and you didn’t direct it. But you’re sure going to killed for it! So that’s nice.

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So somebody as seasoned as Pat would have known the initial reaction to his reveal wasn’t going to go his way, but that’s when the pro comes out in us all, and it becomes our job to pull the fans in as best we can.

And boy has Pat “Attitude Era” McAfee pull me in with his promos! His delivery has felt emotional, raw and real to me, and his words were stomped home with conviction.

It doesn’t matter to me why he was there — was it the plan all along or was it because TKO whispered in someone’s ear? All that matters in my mind is: Was it executed well, and am I excited to see where it goes from here?

Absolutely!

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And I’ll be thinking of Randy’s words to me that all friction eventually ends in the ring, and wondering how that figures into the plan for Pat, Randy and Cody.

And I’ll also be looking to see if Stephanie’s promo and cutting words to Cody will figure into where this all goes next.

Speaking of a bright new thing, Danhausen is awesome.

And as well as being awesome, he’s also a pale and evil manifestation of where WWE is as a company right now. You want a mascot of sorts, who can interact with all your talent, while setting up storylines (you’re cursed!) and sell a ton of merch.

But Randy’s advice rings through. What does Danhausen’s next phase look like when he gets more into the ring?

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He works a particular style, that’s totally in keeping with his character — as we saw with his in-ring debut Friday — so it will be interesting to see how that translates to a mass audience over time.

Personally, I think he’s superb in that role, and that he will figure it all out because he comes across as such a quick-thinking pro who understands his character just about as well as anyone working in the company today.

He’s just a living reminder to everyone in the business (and those trying to get in) that a strong look, a consistent character, and a ton of personality trumps everything else when it comes to WWE in particular.

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WWE is like Marvel, where the scope and spectacle come first, and the amazing performances comes next.

AEW is like A24, where the performance is the movie.

Not to say that both companies can’t do both brilliantly when they want to, but generally speaking, WWE makes product for the masses, and AEW makes it for the hardcores.

And Danhausen, having worked in both places, proves there’s nothing wrong with either of those philosophies, and there’s more than enough room for both to thrive and prosper.

Having also worked in both companies, I can see that there’s a ton of talent who would move from one company to the other, and from one philosophy to the other, and be mega-stars, because there’s so much amazing, versatile talent that could command an arena with a look like Brock, or enthrall the masses with a classic like Kenny Omega.

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And that makes me happihausen. Eh … excitihausen?

Speaking of CM Punk. (I couldn’t think of a transition, OK?)

I guess it’s just the time of the year that brings out something different in people. Some run the mountains of Bulgaria, some get tapped in by TKO, and some burn the building down with a microphone.

Yes, CM Punk, on his march to his first closing-night, headlining match at WrestleMania, has decided to let Roman Reigns have it, while also setting his sights on everyone else along the way.

Here’s the thing about worked-shoot promos and wrestlers going off-script and all that stuff: I don’t care. Knowing whether someone put in their own words or their own sentences, or even their own grievances, just makes it all still real to me, damnit!

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There’s always going to be two ways of looking at these burn-the-world promos: One being that they’re car-crash entertaining, and the other they’re damaging one side of the feud and elevating the other. But my thing is if WWE or TKO, or anybody in between, felt that WrestleMania 42’s main event needed some sauce, then I’m delighted to see them swing for the fences like this.

Too much is always better than too little, I’ve been thoroughly sports-entertained!

So roll on this week and we can see where this all goes.

CRUUUUUUUUSH!

I’ve relaunched my YouTube channel and will be uploading a ton of great content over the coming weeks including, interviewing JoJo Offerman, doing comedy shows with Mark Henry and the Nemeth brothers, and signings during WrestleMania week. Please follow me on all social media accounts to get all the WrestleMania week updates!