WWE: Is It Too Late for Brock Lesnar to Make Another Real Impact?

With WWE megastar Brock Lesnar absent from television programming for the past few weeks, it’s natural to be concerned that his most recent hiatus may hinder his ability to make another significant splash when he eventually comes back into the fold.

But it’s tough for even the most adamant Lesnar critic to declare that he won’t make another big impact before his current WWE run is history. Like Triple H said a few weeks ago, Brock Lesnar is a brand—and a very mainstream, popular one at that.

Whether it’s in business, entertainment or sports (sports entertainment?), a particular few brands are so popular and established that they’re always going to draw well with consumers and fans.

In business, entities like McDonald's and Walmart are still going strong after several decades in existence. In entertainment, established musical acts like Jay-Z, Bon Jovi and Billy Joel play to packed houses on a nightly basis. In that same aspect, movie stars like Tom Cruise and Angelina Jolie make tons of money for movie studios even to this day.

And in sports, it’s easy to see why athletes like Tiger Woods, LeBron James and David Beckham rake in the moolah from endorsement deals.

In wrestling, undeniably the most established brands in the industry today are (in no particular order) Lesnar, The Rock and John Cena. Through their accomplishments and passionate fanbases they’ve built up throughout their respective careers, this wrestling trio is at the point where they’re pretty much always going to have a significant impact on the WWE Universe.

When The Rock returned to feud with Cena last year, he was as popular as ever, despite an absence of over five years from the squared circle. And, like it or not, Cena continues to sell loads of merchandise and receive boisterous receptions (good and bad) from fans in arenas all around the world.

And let’s not forget about how the Miami crowd “marked out” and went ballistic when Lesnar returned to WWE the night after WrestleMania 28 on Monday Night Raw. It didn’t matter that his return was a badly kept secret. The crowd knew what was coming, and they ate it up with a spoon anyway.

That’s because Lesnar is the McDonald's of WWE, the Tom Cruise of the wrasslin’ industry.

So just because Lesnar has been absent since his Extreme Rules fight with Cena, it doesn’t mean that his popularity has cooled off.

When Lesnar returns again (possibly for a SummerSlam showdown with the aforementioned Triple H), expect another big impact from the Next Big Thing.