*Sign Brock Lesnar long-term, and for increased dates.
*Have him beat Roman Reigns at WrestleMania.
*Turn Lesnar babyface.
*Have him feud with Paul Heyman, and The Authority.
WWE seems to be thinking about doing exactly that.
They should be. Because if Roman Reigns beats Lesnar for the world championship at ‘Mania, the crowd is going to ***t all over it. By extension, the WWE Universe will ***t all over it.
That is not what’s best for business.
WWE did their best with Reigns, or at least think they did. It just didn’t work. When the most you can hope for is lukewarm, and when Reigns snipes at the crowd because he’s not getting the preferred reaction, you’ve got to cut your losses. WWE invested just as much in Lex Luger in ’93 and ’94, but bailed on him.
It’s a different age. Big-event audiences are filled with taster’s choice smart marks trying to live the on-line dream by dictating what happens. Sadly, it works. The customer is always right, and while these smart marks don’t represent the majority of the audience, their reaction too often dictates to that majority.
That notion has been reinforced by the presence and push of the WWE Network. You’re either all in, or you’re on the outside. Go big, or go home. Casual doesn’t cut it.
The audience doesn’t want Daniel Bryan anymore. It took years of minimizing, but WWE finally pushed him back down the card. WWE wants John Cena in the Bruno position. He’s got his Ivan Koloff. Who’s going to be Cena’s Larry Zbyszko? How about Triple H? He married into success, too.
