Brock Lesnar: Why WWE Must Save Lesnar's First Match Until SummerSlam

Brock Lesnar made a statement on Raw this past Monday, sending John Cena to hell with a vicious F-5. The question that fans were asking themselves upon seeing that was, will those two have a match at Extreme Rules?

For me, putting Lesnar on a B-show would be a big mistake. WWE might not think that, as The Next Big Thing is reportedly being advertised for the event on April 29 from Chicago. 

What a waste that would be, for Lesnar and WWE. 

No disrespect to Extreme Rules, but fans are not going to go out of their way to watch a show like that. 

Since WWE has hit a stalemate with its pay-per-view buying audience, it doesn't matter how good the angle is, or how much potential a match has, fans are not going to spend for any shows besides the Big Three—Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, SummerSlam. 

Even Survivor Series, which used to be in that group, has basically become a glorified B-show in recent years. 

By saving Lesnar's first official match for SummerSlam, WWE capitalizes on its maximum earning potential. 

Last year's best angle, involving CM Punk and John Cena at Money In the Bank, was a disappointment. That show did 195,000 total buys, which was a good number relative to what WWE usually does, but hardly groundbreaking. 

Fans have gotten so accustomed to WWE rolling out the red carpet at the big events, that using Lesnar on a lesser show for his first match does the company no favors. 

Not even The Rock's first match back at Survivor Series was enough to draw fans in. It did 281,000 buys, but his first time wrestling should have done huge business. Part of the problem was the booking leading up to that show, but it was still a very telling number. 

WWE can't afford to waste Lesnar's first match back—and to be fair, it just says Lesnar is advertised for Extreme Rules not necessarily wrestling. It needs to be at a big event, one that will pay the most dividends for Lesnar and WWE. 

Check back for more on the WWE as it comes, and check out Bleacher Report’s Wrestling Page to get your fill of the WWE. For more WWE talk, check out Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot topics you just can’t miss.

Follow @adamwells1985

Listen to internet radio with RingRustRadio on Blog Talk Radio