WWE: The Brock Lesnar Problem

The future of the WWE shouldn’t revolve around one part-time wrestler.

I’ve never been the biggest Brock Lesnar fan and I’m not ashamed to admit this. There are plenty of fans who mark out for his limited appearances and marvel at his gorilla-like strength when he throws around other men like they were sacks of flour. Yes, I can appreciate all of those things and still think he’s more of a burden to the WWE than anything else. So when Paul Heyman threatened to take his ball and go home on the most recent episode of RAW if Lesnar loses at SummerSlam later this month, my response was, “adios”.

I have no issues with a wrestler having a lot of power when it comes to the day-to-day workings of their contract since it doesn’t happen very often. Few wrestlers rise to such a level but men like John Cena undoubtedly have an incredible amount of influence over their storylines and match types and this can be a good thing when said wrestler is selflessly committed to making the overall product better. Brock Lesnar only cares about Brock Lesnar and the way he is billed implies that the WWE will be worse off if he departs. This ignores up and coming star like Braun Strowman and Samoa Joe who would easily fill any void left by the Beast Incarnate and would be available to compete every week.

The challenge to Lesnar put out by UFC fighter Jon “Bones” Jones after his victory this past weekend adds an interesting real-world layer of intrigue into the kayfabe universe of professional wrestling. Ever since Lesnar won the Universal Title at WrestleMania 33, rumors swirled that Vince intended for him to keep the belt until WrestleMania 34 for a possible one-on-one match against Roman Reigns. The Jones challenge puts that into question, especially considering Lesnar’s response:

"“Be careful what you wish for, young man.”"

This was an easy choice for Jones because Lesnar isn’t the most dominant fighter in the UFC (his professional record stands at 5-3) but he draws crowds. If Jones wanted a legitimate challenge, he would be looking to face a worthy competitor in his division like Alexander Gustafsson or even face a heavyweight like Stipe Miocic or Alistair Overeem. Instead, Jones is looking to cash in on what Lesnar brings with him; a circus. Therein lies my problem with Lesnar. The circus inevitably becomes all about Lesnar and less about the WWE or any storylines in which he is involved. He has had a flippant attitude towards pro wrestling ever since his return in 2015 which isn’t entirely his fault, but more the fault of Vince McMahon who felt the need to meet every demand Lesnar wanted just to bring him back.

A meeting between Jones and Lesnar in the UFC isn’t unlikely, even when we consider the fact that Jones competes as a light heavyweight and Lesnar is a heavyweight. The difference between the two divisions is literally 1 pound for Jones (who is currently billed at 205 lbs), and it would be much more realistic for him to gain some muscle and fight as a heavyweight as opposed to Lesnar having to lose 80 lbs (based on his billed weight of 285 lbs) and fight as a light heavyweight. The latter simply isn’t going to happen.

The WWE and UFC have a history of cross-promoting each other’s stars. Ronda Rousey famously appeared at WrestleMania 31 and stood tall with The Rock after her assault on Stephanie McMahon. Brock Lesnar was permitted to fight Mark Hunt at UFC 200 in July of last year while still under contract with WWE. It won’t surprise me if Jones appears at SummerSlam to escalate the possibility of a match with Lesnar, and if Lesnar loses the belt it’s a guarantee.

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