With Brock Lesner being the Universal champion, the WWE has brought a heap of contention onto themselves by the fans.
Why?
Well, mainly because Lesner, despite his off the charts athletic abilities, is considered a part timer. In short, he has other interests he pursues and as a result, he doesn’t always make appearances on Raw.
To many, this is a bad thing, and that’s understandable.
Many of us had grown accustomed to seeing Austin, the Rock, Undertaker, Orton, Triple H, Cena, and others appear on a regular basis when they were champions to further the storyline or take part in weekly matches.
There’s one all-time great champion missing from that list. Anyone guess who it is?
It’s another part timer: Hulk Hogan.
That’s right. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Hulk Hogan was absent as he worked on various movies or guest appearances on shows. Why? Visibility. Let’s face it, seeing the champion on various shows and movies doesn’t just help them add to their portfolio, but it helps get them out in front of people that don’t watch wrestling. The result is it draws in new viewers and soon-to-be fans.
Lesner, while not a movie star, is also the type of persona that loses his luster and dangerous feel if he’s around regularly. Seriously, how many of us cheered, had goosebumps break out, or were simply taken by surprise when he came out to his music to maul Rollins on Raw?
With Heyman as his mouthpiece, it allows him to enjoy other endeavors or simply relax until he’s needed to push a storyline forward.
It’s also reminiscent to Vince McMahon’s handling of Andre the Giant. Growing up during the 1980s, he was one of the awesome attractions for us to witness. McMahon understood this and often “loaned him out” to other promotions. His reasoning was that we’d become too accustomed to seeing hm, he wouldn’t be as big a draw.
It’s a simple concept that’s as true now as it was then,
Lenser’s a bigger draw than Rollins. That’s a fact.
He’s also better used in intervals, and that’s a fact.
In the end, it comes down to marketability and love him or hate him, Lesner is the biggest attraction the WWE has, and he’s in some pretty good company with other part timers.
Besides, as a heel, he’s expected to drive us insane and dislike him. What better way to do that than by not showing up regularly? He’s got the heel part in spades.
