WrestleMania week is here, and the energy is absolutely electric. It's a time of chaos, monumental moments, and larger-than-life personalities colliding. I'm CJ Perry, and I'm thrilled to kick off this special series of columns as we barrel toward WrestleMania 42. For those who know me as Lana from my WWE days or from my work in AEW, you know I live for this drama. And as the wife of WWE powerhouse Rusev (Miroslav Barnyashev), I have a front-row seat to the passion and pressure that defines this season.
When I sat down to write my first column, I wondered where to even begin. Then I remembered: this is pro wrestling. Every week delivers breaking news, swirling rumors, and white-hot storylines. It's never dull. This year's Road to WrestleMania has been dominated by epic promos and verbal sparring, but one of my favorite builds has been almost entirely silent—and it's absolutely brilliant.
I'm talking, of course, about the colossal clash between Brock Lesnar and Oba Femi. Forgive the fan in me, but this is everything I love about big, meaty men slapping meat. (Yes, that's a weird sentence to everyone, wrestling fan or not!) It's raw, physical storytelling at its finest. Two absolute forces of nature who just want to dismantle each other. I cannot wait for that bell to ring on Sunday.
The surface-level drama is incredible—seeing Brock potentially overwhelmed for the first time, watching Oba step seamlessly into the main event spotlight. But what fascinates me most isn't just the booking; it's watching a master like Brock Lesnar take the script and elevate it into something truly special.
I got a firsthand lesson in Brock's genius back in 2016 at some live events in San Jose, where he was facing my husband, Rusev. We were still new to the game. Before the show, the legendary Paul Heyman was giving me notes on a promo. He then turned to Brock and asked for his thoughts.
Brock took a moment, considered it, and then offered a subtle but game-changing adjustment. He anticipated exactly how the audience would react and crafted a response to play off that energy. He didn't just follow the plan; he understood the live, unpredictable heartbeat of the business and adapted in real-time. We went out that night and executed it, and the difference was palpable. It was a masterclass in performance.