The Rock, Brock Lesnar and the Evolution of WWE's Part-Time Superstar

On almost every day of the calendar year, the likes of John Cena, CM Punk and Randy Orton are the WWE's torchbearers. They are the faces of the company who everyone comes to see, but over the past year, the company has looked to outside sources in order to increase interest.

It all started more than a year ago when The Rock returned from a seven-year hiatus to host WrestleMania XXVII. His time on the sidelines didn't last long, though, as he almost immediately entered into a rivalry with John Cena and cost Cena the WWE Championship match vs. The Miz at the event.

The next night on Monday Night RAW, it was announced that the two would do battle at WrestleMania XXVIII a year later. Although The Rock would appear infrequently on WWE programming during that time frame, enough was done to keep people interested.

The Rock ultimately came out on top in the match and it was widely regarded as one of the best WrestleMania main events in recent memory, as it was well wrestled and had an incredible atmosphere.

The Rock's presence helped make WrestleMania XXVIII one of the biggest events in wrestling over the past several years; bringing him back proved to be well worth it for Vince McMahon. WWE.com reported that WrestleMania XXVIII did over 1.3 million pay-per-view buys, making it the most lucrative such event in the company's history.

Simply having The Rock as a host the previous year allowed the WWE to break one million buys as well, so there appears to be some steam behind the notion of the part-time superstar. With The Rock's return having been chalked up as a success, the company didn't waste any time in bringing back another familiar face, as Brock Lesnar returned the night after WrestleMania and attacked Cena.

Pretty much every year, there is an inevitable drop off in intensity and importance in the weeks and months following WrestleMania, but Lesnar's return assured that wouldn't happen. Not only did he pique the interest of long-time wrestling fans as he hadn't been seen in a WWE ring since 2004, but the company gained mainstream attention as well thanks to Lesnar's previous foray with UFC.

It won't be known for quite some time how helpful Lesnar's return was economically, but I have to believe that his match with Cena at Extreme Rules led to a large increase in pay-per-view buys from the previous year. The match itself was one of the most realistic the WWE has put on in a long time, and even though Lesnar lost, he looked like a legitimate tough guy.

Lesnar was seemingly written off television for a while on RAW, as he attacked Triple H and "broke" his arm when The Game attempted to change the terms of his contract, but that is to be expected of a part-time performer.

Lesnar is likely to lay low for a couple months before returning to build a match with Triple H at either Money in the Bank or SummerSlam.

Savvy wrestling fans understand the agreements that guys like Lesnar and The Rock have. They each are dealing with other endeavors outside of wrestling, so it isn't pertinent for them to be full-time performers, but they have contracts that require them to work a certain amount of dates. That allows the WWE to use them when they need a boost.

Not everyone is fine with what Lesnar and The Rock are doing, though. There is a school of thought that they shouldn't get main-event spots over the stars who appear night in and night out. While that certainly has some validity, the fact of the matter is that guys like Lesnar and The Rock draw money and that is truly the bottom line in the wrestling business.

We can only see some combination of feuds between Cena, Punk, Orton, Sheamus, The Miz and others so many times before they get old. Not only do Lesnar and The Rock appeal to fans of years past, but they are interesting to newer fans as well, because they present so many options for potential dream matches and rivalries.

You can even throw Chris Jericho into the same category as Lesnar and The Rock. While Jericho has been a full-time performer and has appeared at house shows since his return, it is well known that he'll be leaving at some point during the summer to tour with his band, Fozzy.

Despite the fact that he isn't in it for the long haul, Jericho was also given a prime spot on the WrestleMania card, as he faced Punk for the WWE Championship. That feud appears to have ended, but there is no shortage of younger stars that he can feud with at this point and perhaps put over.

Having Jericho in the picture simply opens up tons of doors and avenues to fresh storylines.

Also, don't forget about The Undertaker. He isn't the same as The Rock or Jericho in that he didn't leave the company to pursue other interests, but he hadn't wrestled in a year, yet he was in one of the featured matches at WrestleMania against another part-time performer in Triple H.

Taker has accomplished everything possible in the WWE, so there is little reason for him to appear on a regular basis at his age, but he obviously still loves the business and the WWE loves having him and his streak in their back pocket.

Regardless of who Undertaker faces, if it happens at WrestleMania, then it's bound to be a spectacle.

Whether we like it or not, the part-time superstar appears as though it is here to stay in the WWE. Had The Rock and Lesnar flopped in their returns, then it would be a different story, but both created an incredible amount of buzz and interest for the company and they both proved that they can still go in the ring as well.

There is no doubt that we will see Lesnar periodically over the next year, with a WrestleMania match being likely. The same can be said of The Rock, as he has already announced his intention to appear at next year's WrestleMania, as well as his dream to one day become WWE Champion again.

Cena, Punk and Orton will continue to carry the load for much of the year, and they largely do a good job of it, but when push comes to shove, the WWE will look to outside sources in order to appeal to a wide range of fans.

It could be said that this is a Band-aid to cover up the fact that the company can't effectively push new talent, and while that may be true in some respects, it doesn't tell the whole story. Pretty much every wrestling fan would love to see guys like Cody Rhodes, Dolph Ziggler and Wade Barrett pushed to new heights, but at what cost?

The WWE is charged with the task of appealing to an audience of diehard current fans, fringe fans who watch infrequently and everything in between. I wouldn't mind seeing CM Punk face one of the aforementioned young stars at WrestleMania, but if McMahon has a chance to pit him against someone like "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, it's really a no-brainer.

The part-time superstar is a new staple in the WWE and it will continue to be utilized for the foreseeable future until the fans stop responding to them, and that doesn't seem like it's going to happen.