Brock Lesnar Needs to Return to WWE

“The Next Big Thing” Brock Lesnar is a free agent and has recently become a topic of discussion for those associated with the International Wrestling Cartel (IWC). Brock Lesnar has never struggled to find work, jumping from wrestler to football player to UFC star, then back to being a WWE wrestler once again. He’s a talented individual there’s no doubt about it. But, with reports of his current deal ending with WWE and the company pulling his merch from their website, it begs the question – what will Brock do next?

While many speculate about a return to the UFC, it’s seemingly unlikely given his age and the fact he’s really been there and done that. However, let’s not write off a return to MMA entirely. There were recent reports of Bellator President Steve Coker inquiring about the possibility of him stepping into the Oval, with a potential fight lined up against Russian MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko. Although this may seem a little far fetched, it’s something he may consider if the money is right. But, to be honest, who really wants to see that fight? Two aging pros going two-to-two for 5 rounds; Tyson vs Jones Jr. anyone?

It wasn’t too long ago that Dana White scheduled Brock Lesnar for a title fight against the then reigning heavyweight champion Daniel “DC” Cormier, but the event never went ahead and it wasn’t revisited by the UFC president. Another option would be to create a bout between Lesnar and the newly announced heavyweight UFC fighter Jon Jones. Jones has a controversial history and many speculate whether he’ll even fight at heavyweight, having just retired his light heavyweight title. Anyway, the UFC superfight we all want to see is Jones vs Adesanya, isn’t it?

Regardless of what people think of Lesnar as a wrestler or MMA fighter, his record speaks for itself. He is the only person to have ever held the WWE Championship, UFC Heavyweight Belt, and the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. Everytime Lesnar steps into the ring or Octagon he attracts record numbers in pay-per-view – he still holds record viewing figures in the UFC. With so much prestige comes big wages. Anyone looking to get the attention of The Beast, knows they need to come with deep pockets. This is evidenced by the fact Brock Lesnar has made sporadic appearances in the WWE for the past couple of years, yet he remains the highest-paid pro wrestler around.

As such, it’s unlikely any smaller organization is going to be able to afford his services, especially during these uncertain times. This probably includes the likes of Bellator, which incidentally is just about to put on their first event for over 6 months. But, at 43, is it worth going through a grueling training camp just to have a fight for 3 rounds? Probably not. The physical demands of MMA are unmatched. Unlike pro wrestling, which Lesnar could do without too much trouble, given the specimen of man that he is. Given that, what else is there left to do?

This leads us to the point, Brock Lesnar needs to return to the WWE if he wants to continue the career he’s been pursuing for the vast majority of his life. Many speculate about what he’ll do, but it doesn’t take too much investigating to see that he only really has one option. As we see with transfers between teams in major sports leagues, athletes often use their agents and the media to force the hand of organizations to cough up ever higher paying contracts. This is something we’ve seen before with Lesnar and Vince McMahon. Vince McMahon recently burnt millions in an attempt to relaunch the XFL, which was unsuccessful largely due to the pandemic.

So, if Vince McMahon can come up with the cash to get Lesnar back on the WWE books, we can see that being the move. However, McMahon knows Lesnar options are limited and may look to take advantage of that. All will become clear before 2021, as Lesnar continues to ponder over his next move.