The Real Reason Brock Lesnar Returned On Last Night’s WWE SmackDown

Kofi Kingston Brock Lesnar
WWE.com

Of course, the titular "Real Reason" Brock Lesnar returned on last night's SmackDown wasn't just because he wanted to relive his mutilation of Kofi Kingston on 2015's "Beast In The East" WWE Network special from Tokyo, Japan, though the company could well book this match the exact same way.

No, Brock Lesnar came back was because he was paid enough to do so after some careful planning and he's still considered ratings gold, but is that received wisdom becoming the industry's unspoken pyrite?

Lesnar could and probably should squash Kingston on the show if only to let new viewers know that this monster could be part of proceedings more often than not, in spite of his prior efforts with top straps. Not that that's ever on him - it's up to WWE to have been cleverer with their negotiations of his usage this time around - but an ever-present 'Beast' on Friday Nights offers Fox a proven megastar on top, and this could be the key to Lesnar being good for the numbers again.

If they've had this in the works for a while, a little sophistication with the booking shouldn't be out of the questions.

CONT'D...

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Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 30 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz", Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 50,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett