Why WWE SHOULDN’T Re-Sign Brock Lesnar
Eat. Sleep. Conquer. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.
On Sunday, 8 April, Brock Lesnar is set to defend the Universal Championship against Roman Reigns. In order to reach this point, the Lesnar effect has precipitated a deluge of destruction entraining many WWE performers in its wake.
The rise of Braun Strowman throughout 2017 created something of a plot hole. A performer of his immense aura and win/loss record logically dictated a “championship opportunity”- but the plan always dictated the rise of the Roman Empire in New Orleans. Consequently, Strowman had to lose to Lesnar at No Mercy. The result ultimately did little to dampen fan enthusiasm - but it did little for the Monster Among Men either. Were it not for the Conqueror, we may have witnessed an organic rise to the main event à la Batista circum late 2004. Temporary roadworks block that path. Strowman must wait - and the waiting game only serves to gradually erode his aura.
Ultimately, Lesnar vs. Strowman was an inconvenience. In order to reset the board, Kane was programmed with Strowman to re-heat the character - despite the fact that the past-it Demon couldn’t accomplish that, even if he were capable of summoning actual fire - which required a push in itself.
Enter Finn Bálor.
With something approaching a meta strategy in place - WWE knew a Kane-sized kicking would trigger the hardcore set - Bálor was sacrificed, and so, in turn, was his mooted Royal Rumble Universal Title shot. The anticipated jeers never did materialise; fans instead directed their loathing towards the office. It was impossible to feel anything but pure apathy at the prospect of another Kane push, 20 years after his debut. Kane is lauded for his longevity - but really, his scorched presence is as much of an indictment of the lack of mainstream competition. Everything about Kane is safe and, by extension, inconsequential.
Strowman continues to entertain. Bálor requires the Club, as a mirror of his New Japan currency, to elicit a real reaction. Lesnar, neither directly nor indirectly, has killed them off. But neither truly belong to the A+ megastar tier. It is an army of one. In order to build Lesnar as an unstoppable force, most everybody around him must be stopped. For Lesnar to exist in the fiction of WWE, the rest of it must exist in a holding pattern.
Lesnar holding the company’s top prize stymies the wider RAW product and talent alike. Without the consistent, primary narrative focal point a full-time Champion provides, there is no inherent reason for the performers to perform.
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