WWE's situation with Brock Lesnar is getting more uncertain as the WWE superstar nears the end of his current contract. The Wrestling Observer reports that there has been a lot of talk that Lesnar's price tag might not justify using him for shows other than Royal Rumble and WrestleMania. The Observer goes on to cast doubt over Lesnar's ability to be financially viable for WWE. The company is in a period of cost cutting as they look to handle the expense of the WWE Network. Lesnar is a very expensive talent to use and he hasn't impacted on the product as much as WWE would hope. For example, WWE Battleground (without Lesnar) did 31,000 US PPV buys in July. In comparison, Night Of Champions (with Lesnar) did 30,000 US PPV buys in September. Granted there is the Network, but that doesn't cover for it, as subscription numbers were barely up over the summer period. Also, in worldwide PPV buys, shows without Lesnar actually sold better than shows with him. With six months of his contract left, WWE are perhaps looking at Lesnar and asking if he's worth it. The star reportedly gets $5 million a year for limited dates. Meanwhile, the UFC is looking at Lesnar and seeing potential. Dana White's MMA group has suffered a horrible 2014 and they are in desperate need of a proven main event draw. Lesnar back in MMA would be a wise investment for the UFC, unlike the WWE who are increasingly seeing him as a mediocre performing investment. It isn't just Lesnar's commercial WWE performance, it is also his critical performance. He had one superb match with CM Punk and two brilliant battles with John Cena in the last three years (Extreme Rules 2012 and SummerSlam 2014). Beyond that he's been fairly average. Blame for that should rest on the WWE, who needlessly booked him in for three matches with Triple H. His feud with The Undertaker also failed to catch fire and the match itself at WrestleMania was mediocre. The big problem for WWE right now is the way they have positioned Lesnar. He's the WWE Champion and plans are firm that he'll defeat John Cena at Royal Rumble and then drop the belt to Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 31. That's a good star making process, but WWE are now perhaps reconsidering it. There's a worry that if everyone knows Lesnar is leaving in April, then the Reigns victory won't be as meaningful. It would be simply too predictable. Vince McMahon got burned in a situation like this before - when Lesnar was taking off after WrestleMania 20 and fans ended up turning on what should have been an intense Brock vs Goldberg match. The alternative that WWE might be considering is John Cena to defeat Brock Lesnar for the Championship at Royal Rumble. That would set up Cena vs Reigns for WrestleMania with the younger star winning and taking Cena's spot. In many ways, that would be way more symbolic. Fans are also more likely to get behind Reigns, as they've been waiting for someone to usurp Cena for years. There's also an outside chance that they'd put the title on Seth Rollins and go with Reigns vs Rollins. However, that's not considered anywhere near as main event worthy as Cena or Lesnar doing the honours. On analysis, WWE probably should let Lesnar go. Money has to be the ultimate decider. The company needs to operate within its means and ensure that every performer is financially viable. It would have been cool to see Lesnar for a further year, in a likely babyface role, but the cost of this limits what WWE could actually achieve with him. A change in plans and going with Cena Vs Reigns at WrestleMania 31 is a much better idea. As for Brock, he should absolutely sign with the UFC. He could command big money and the company are almost certain to want him. A final MMA run is unlikely to bring too much success in his fighting record, but from a commercial standpoint it makes sense for both UFC and Lesnar.
