After conquering former MMA rival Cain Velasquez in mere minutes at WWE Crown Jewel, Brock Lesnar showed up on Friday Night Smackdown for maybe the last time, as his advocate Paul Heyman shocked the wrestling industry when he announced they were quitting Smackdown and returning to Monday Night RAW, taking the WWE Championship with him. This leaves ‘The Fiend’ Bray Wyatt on Smackdown as their top champion. This announcement was meant for the premiere of WWE Backstage on Fox, but was moved to Smackdown due to the travel issues that plagued the Smackdown roster when they got stuck in Saudi Arabia.
The Heyman Factor Of RAW
Paul Heyman, Brock Lesnars friend and advocate, has a backstage role as the executive director of Monday Night RAW, which puts him in control with the only person above him being Vince McMahon himself. His influence was seen in the WWE Draft, with him getting talents he had intent of building up as stars, and now he was able to get Brock Lesnar for his brand.
How Will Fox React, Smackdown Left Without A Major Star
Brock Lesnar was the big draw for Smackdown on Fox, even winning the WWE Championship from Kofi Kingston in the main event of their first show on the network in 17 seconds. It was looking like he would be the fixture of the entire brand, giving Fox a legitimate superstar to showcase for viewers, now he’s going back to RAW on USA. This leaves a major void in Smackdown when it comes to star power. The biggest star they’re left with is Roman Reigns, who despite WWE’s best efforts isn’t near as big of a star as they would have hoped for.
Other potential major stars like Becky Lynch & Randy Orton were also sent to Monday Night RAW in the draft. This will lead to Smackdown not really having a major star to work with, they’ll need to get creative and try to build an actual star to build their shows around; or just keep going with Roman Reigns and hope it works out.
They have ‘The Fiend’ Bray Wyatt, who is one of the hottest acts going, but is still rather unproven, but could potentially be this generations Undertaker, which would translate to a star. Another avenue Fox could go is convincing Ronda Rousey to return to WWE on their brand, who maintains the same legitimate aura as Brock Lesnar. She indefinitely left WWE to start a family with husband and UFC fighter Travis Browne after having surgery on a broken hand; so who knows if or when she’ll be back.
Anyone who’s been watching in recent years knows that Brock isn’t a frequent fixture on TV, but when he shows up, ratings go up. He’s got that aura of legitimacy about him that gets people watching and invested. He also comes with Paul Heyman, who still manages to cut the best promos in all of WWE on a weekly basis to sell his feuds.
What Is Next For The Beast Incarnate
Survivor Series will be headlined by a Triple Threat Match between the champions of Smackdown, RAW, and NXT; currently set to be Bray Wyatt vs. Brock Lesnar vs. Adam Cole. After that, during the feud with Cain Velasquez, another fixture of that feud has been lucha-libre legend Rey Mysterio, who has had his son Dominic Mysterio beaten by Lesnar, and his arm injured. With Brock going to the same brand as Mysterio, they will be on a collision course as Rey Mysterio will try to slay another giant and claim another world title along with revenge for his son, but The Beast Incarnate doesn’t go down easily. We can expect to see this match at TLC or the Royal Rumble.
