5 Reasons why Brock Lesnar should be the face of SmackDown Live on FOX
WWE SmackDown Live is headed to the FOX Network. Ahead of that transition, Brock Lesnar showed up on the blue brand to lay down a challenge to reigning WWE Champion Kofi Kingston. We don’t know yet how Lesnar vs. Kingston will turn out. However, given each man’s history and place in the WWE hierarchy, it is difficult to imagine Kingston prevailing.
Between his title match and the upcoming WWE Draft, many signs point to SmackDown becoming the new home of Suplex City. The change is in order, given that Lesnar has been focused on Raw for the duration of the new brand split. The brand switch offers Lesnar a different audience, a fresher slate of opponents, a different world title scene to get involved in.
Lesnar not only heading to SmackDown Live, but becoming the face of the brand as it moves to FOX is the right move. For business interests, creative purposes, and sparking new interest, it’s a very shrewd move for WWE. This article zeroes in on five specific reasons why The Beast should lead the blue brand.
#5 Marquee value
The move to FOX is putting WWE in front of a major network audience on a weekly basis. Granted, that placement may not mean what it once had, before streaming entertainment options affected the cable industry. Nonetheless, it’s a major deal for WWE given the money involved and the size of the audience that could choose to tune in, or even casually land on WWE programming Friday nights.
In this move, it’s vitally important for WWE to put its best foot forward. For purist, hardcore wrestling fans, that might mean wanting talents like Daniel Bryan and AJ Styles headlining the show. However, for an audience that’s less invested in the product and might get lured back after some time away, or potentially even drawn in for the first time, it will be key to feature big names who look larger than life.
Brock Lesnar originally rose to prominence in wrestling shortly after the Attitude Era, and will still ring familiar to fans from that explosive time period. Moreover, his success in UFC cemented his place as a household name. WWE needs that kind of draw heading the charge on Friday nights.