The pro wrestling rumor mill will keep bringing up Lesnar’s name for years, especially on an annual basis around the time the calendar starts moving closer to major events that get things on the path to WrestleMania.
Case in point, as rounded up by Randall Ortman of Cageside Seats last week, conflicting reports of Lesnar’s return happening soon.
But fans can feel free to dismiss those, because here’s the thing—this version of WWE doesn’t need Lesnar, and frankly, there’s a bit of Vince McMahon-stink on him at this point.
McMahon-stink, meaning the thankfully-bygone era in which WWE constantly shoved part-time Superstars into major roles at the detriment to the best wrestling roster on the planet.
Fans might still love the idea of Lesnar getting into the speculated feud with Gunther. But what does anyone really have to gain from that? Gunther already has the World Heavyweight title around his waist and looking at Raw alone, there are plenty of amazing feuds to be had with the likes of CM Punk and Drew McIntyre. That’s before even considering someone like Bron Breakker makes his way into the title scene come ‘Mania season.
Getting the Lesnar bump isn’t all it’s cracked up to be anymore. Some of it is sheer fan exhaustion over part-timers. But recent history hasn’t been kind, either. The last time we saw Lesnar, there was that ill-explained feud with Cody Rhodes, which oddly ended in Lesnar raising his hand. Rhodes didn’t need the bump by any means and it was pretty clear it was merely time-filler on the road to the next ‘Mania.
There was also the forgettable stuff with Omos before that. And while fun, there are only so many iterations on the character (Boom Box Lesnar, Cowboy Lesnar, etc.) available.
If there’s ever going to be a Lesnar bump again, it would be better served on someone like the aforementioned Breakker. But does anyone really need to see him getting the best of Lesnar to take pro wrestling’s next big thing even more seriously?
We also happen to be in the era of fewer PLEs each year and fewer matches on the card—with heightened importance on long-term storytelling and character development.
Meaning, there are only so many spots to go around for veterans like Lesnar in feuds and on cards. Randy Orton already dominates this space and we can all agree he’ll feud with Rhodes soon enough in a prominent spot. WWE also continues to tease at least a one-off, potentially retirement appearance from Goldberg to do right by him.
Don’t forget, too, the upcoming John Cena retirement tour in 2025, which will rightfully command top billing wherever it happens to go.
Even if that changes, little about the strictly pro wrestling context will.
The inevitable Father Time plays a role, too. Lesnar is now 47 years old and the last thing WWE wants is to risk another Undertaker-Goldberg-in-Saudia-Arabia disaster. It’s hard to imagine a slimmed-down Lesnar partaking in, say, tag matches like Cena has done in recent years.
This might come off as very anti-Lesnar. That’s not the point, though. He’s very obviously perhaps the greatest of all time and apparently will never get the full credit he deserves for being an amazing seller, which fueled modern classic matches he had against the likes of even Punk, Daniel Bryan and Finn Bálor, to name a few.
But this is bigger than that. There’s a pro wrestling stink on Lesnar. He might get a major pop and generate big interest from non-hardcore fans. But the sport, for the most part, has moved on in many ways and isn’t reliant on those things anymore. Things are more meta and blurred lines than ever, which would make his return all the more messy and, frankly, unnecessary.
In some ways, this is a shame. But a new era of pro wrestling has arrived and the longer his absence stretches, the more likely it becomes that Lesnar has already stepped into the WWE ring for the last time.
