WWE Extreme Rules 2012 preview

Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena

Raw General Manager John Laurinaitis proclaimed Brock Lesnar is the new "face of WWE." Not if John Cena has something to say about it!
Lesnar will enter the squared circle for his first WWE match in eight years when he goes to war with Cena at Extreme Rules. (HOW TO WATCH)
Lesnar turned the WWE Universe upside down when he returned to WWE on the April 2 edition of Raw SuperShow and immediately targeted Cena with a devastating F-5. The Cenation leader didn't back down the following week on Raw and responded with an emphatic slap that triggered a near-uncontrollable brawl and left Cena with a busted lip. Little did Cena know he'd later be taking another ride in the whirlwind of the F-5, proving that Lesnar is not only intent on establishing himself as the most dominant WWE Superstar; he wants to dish out punishment every chance he gets, too.
Extreme Rules, one of the most ruthless WWE pay-per-views of the year, will provide the ultimate opportunity for these two to settle their differences in the most brutal of circumstances.
It will be the first WWE in-ring action for Brock since WrestleMania XX on March 14, 2004. In just two years with WWE, Brock tore through some of the biggest and baddest competitors like an oversized wrecking ball and racked up an impressive list of accomplishments, including three WWE Championships, a Royal Rumble victory, and being crowned King of the Ring.
Now, after achieving great success in the world of mixed martial arts, Brock has his wild eyes locked on the very man he tangled with nearly a decade ago. It was early in 2003 when Cena was a cocky, trash-talking performer looking to rise up the ranks of WWE by picking a fight with "The Next Big Thing." Armed with insult-laced raps that got under Brock's skin, Cena continued to antagonize Lesnar until a final showdown for his WWE Title at Backlash on April 27, 2003. (FULL STORY)
Even though the two rivals haven't squared off since, it's very clear that Brock still wants to inflict pain on the 10-Time WWE Champion after all these years. Well, there isn't a more suitable domain to unleash that hunger for pain than at Extreme Rules, which takes place live on pay-per-view April 29 from the Allstate Arena in Chicago.
Coming off a very close loss to The Rock at WrestleMania, Cena will surely be looking to make a powerful statement in what could be the most physically demanding battle of his career. And judging by Brock's recent unpredictable attacks, there's no telling what he's capable of doing on the one night of the year when the entire WWE throws out the rulebook.