10 Reasons WWE Champion Brock Lesnar Is Worth $5 Million A Year
2. Moving The Needle
There are very few stars with any actual drawing power anymore; its just the nature of the business. Vince McMahon and company have done their best to ensure that WWE is the selling point, not the talent who work for them. They have worked to build a machine that will run with the same level of efficiency regardless of who is at the top of the card. Thats not to say that theyve been entirely successful. This isnt ECW, where wrestlers could be cycled in and out of the main event and the fanbase was still onboard due to their rabid dedication. The names on the marquee still very much matter in WWE. However, very few of those names truly have an impact on ratings, merchandise and live event ticket sales. John Cena is at the top of that heap, and despite the hardcore demographic booing him out of buildings hes still the top merch seller by a mile. Brock Lesnar has emerged as a boost to television ratings as well as pay-per-view buys. While his impact on the less important B-level events has been as pronounced, hes added considerable buys to the large shows hes been a part of. And his segments on the Raws he does appear on remain some of the highest rated. With WWE so desperate to bring back past stars like The Rock and Hulk Hogan to pop ratings, its a huge asset to have a guy under contract whos able to do so himself. The key is keeping him booked strongly to where that trend continues.
Brad Hamilton is a writer, musician and marketer/social media manager from Atlanta, Georgia. He's an undefeated freestyle rap battle champion, spends too little time being productive and defines himself as the literary version of Brock Lesnar.
