The rumor of Brock Lesnar’s return resurfaces frequently, but sources with an excellent track record confirmed the story this time. While not surprising, it’s still disappointing.
Lesnar was last seen getting ousted by Cody Rhodes, the company’s top star, fourteen months ago. Since then, WWE has thrived like never before, and to be blunt, the company has moved past the need for Lesnar.
While Lesnar wasn’t named in the Janel Grant lawsuit, the Wall Street Journal and the Mr. McMahon Netflix documentary identified him as the former UFC fighter referenced. The suit alleges Vince McMahon used Grant as a sexual bargaining chip while negotiating to re-sign Lesnar in 2021.
According to federal law, the purchaser and provider can be held criminally liable for their participation in sex trafficking. The purchaser is defined as someone who exchanges something of value in exchange for sexual exploitation.
Phone records show Lesnar requested lewd photos from Grant and had two planned encounters that never occurred. Is Brock Lesnar the purchaser? Was his services as a wrestler the currency for a sexual favor? That’s hard to argue and even harder to prove due to the nature of his contractual status with WWE.
Lesnar did nothing illegal. However, the optics are poor due to his prior intent to meet with Grant. Those same optics will reflect poorly upon WWE if they bring him back. By all accounts, WWE is distancing itself from the company run in Vince McMahon’s image.
I don’t know anything about Brock Lesnar’s WWE contract, so I’m just speculating.
Brock Lesnar may have a “pay or play” contract, meaning he gets paid whether he sits at home or wrestles on television. The company might be tired of paying him for doing nothing and want to get a return on their investment.
It is also possible that Lesnar doesn’t have a pay-or-play deal, which means he hasn’t been paid in fourteen months. Regardless of the optics, Lesnar did nothing illegal. That could be grounds for a lawsuit, which is a can of worms WWE would rather keep closed.
It seems that TKO lawyers have given WWE the legal green light to use Lesnar again. If that’s the case, Paul Levesque may have assessed the potential for a Lesnar return and decided that the juice is worth the squeeze.
Historically, WWE fans largely overlook scandals because they don’t want to boo their heroes. For instance, Hulk Hogan and Vince McMahon received enthusiastic applause (which is embarrassing) when they appeared after their respective controversies.
WWE’s current lineup is loaded with badass characters. Bron Breakker, Gunther, Jacob Fatu, Bronson Reed, and Oba Femi waiting in the wings in NXT, are dynamic performers who continue to increase their stock with every outing.
If any of the individuals above fell victim to “Suplex City,” it would convey to the audience to disregard these guys we’ve been promoting for a year because Brock is back! Unless he’s putting them over, those four names have pushed WWE past the need for Brock Lesnar.
RingsideLogic.com 