Brock Lesnar’s victory over Mark Hunt at UFC 200 made him a priceless commodity for Vince McMahon and WWE. But two years later, that same victory may be pushing Lesnar out of the company.
Back in 2016, WWE gave a blessing that allowed Lesnar to compete in UFC while still under contract. It was in their best interest to do so because if Lesnar were to win, he’d return to WWE as the most formidable WWE Superstar in history. That’s exactly what happened and since his UFC 200 win, Lesnar has been booked like Godzilla.
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However, Lesnar’s victory was too perfect. A few months after UFC 200, news broke that Brock failed a drug test. He was slapped with a suspension by UFC and WWE suddenly went from having the biggest blockbuster in combat sports to having a fraudulent monster.
And according to Wrestling Observer Radio, that bitter taste still lingers in 2018.
At the moment, Lesnar is trying to wiggle his way back to UFC while still negotiating a new contract with WWE. However, unlike last time, WWE is reportedly unwilling to allow him to make the jump as a semi-WWE employee.
So now, it appears that Lesnar is vying work exclusively in UFC. Yet even that isn’t simple. Lesnar still has about 5 months on his year-long suspensions thanks to his mutant urine sample in 2016. So if he does indeed leave WWE in the dust, he’ll have to sit on UFC’s shelf till the fall.
That may be just fine with Brock, though. He’d have nearly half a year not just to find a big money opponent, but to train like a maniac. As of last summer, it looked like Lesnar and Jon Jones were destined to meet in the octagon, but Jones earned a suspension of his own, one he appealed and lost.
So what’s going to happen?
Well, as irony has it, Lesnar has a reputation for being a savvy businessman. His current situation has been clouded by a swarm of conflicting reports—some saying he wants to stay in WWE, then ones like this declaring that he can’t leave soon enough.
WWE is said to be preparing for his ultimate departure, but like everything else in this story, that too is speculative.
The only thing that seems clear is that WWE is trying to alter Brock’s relationship with WWE fans. Lesnar has skipped RAW on two occasions after being heavily promoted to make an appearance. The no-shows have irked the fan based, but that’s exactly what WWE is trying to accomplish. It’s not so much they want to hurt Lesnar’s image as much as they want to improve Roman Reigns‘.
Any WWE fan will tell you that Reigns was hand picked by Vince McMahon as WWE’s next top star. However, fearing another decade of John Cena-esque dominance, fans have rejected Reigns. However, with each day Lesnar is cast as the villain, WWE converts a few more fans to the side of Reigns.
This is a complex situation that is destined to change. We’ll keep you updated as it develops.
