Brock Lesnar's Success in 2014 Proves Effectiveness of Part-Time Stars

One of the the most common misconceptions in the current pro wrestling landscape is that the part-time stars of the past serve only one purpose: to come back to television for a few weeks in order to pop a pay-per-view buyrate and take the spotlight away from the younger, hungrier stars on the roster.

That could not be further from the truth, something the current WWE World Heavyweight champion is proving with every passing week.

There was a great deal of criticism surrounding The Rock's return and the fact that his championship run in 2013 not only ended CM Punk's historic reign but also overshadowed several of the programs involving full-time performers who would be with the company long after The Great One left to make his latest Hollywood blockbuster.

Some of that criticism was valid.

After all, how was he bettering the company in the long term by coming back, winning the title and dropping it to John Cena two months later? He did not even appear on television for a good portion of his reign, and he lost the gold to someone already established as the franchise of WWE. There was absolutely no benefit to the future of the product in that scenario.

Flash forward a year to Brock Lesnar's defeat of The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXX. The Undertaker, himself a part-time star, sacrificed his historic undefeated streak to put Lesnar over as the most dominant force in professional wrestling. Lesnar then carried the momentum from that victory into SummerSlam, where he demolished Cena and captured the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.

The first chapter of the story had been written, and suddenly, fans were beginning to understand the effect a part-time star can have on the product. Not only has WWE added value and importance to its heavyweight championship thanks to the fact that Lesnar only appears on special occasions, but it has also built an unstoppable beast who could be used to make the company's next major star.

With Roman Reigns rapidly climbing the ranks, Dean Ambrose experiencing a surge in popularity and Seth Rollins ready to ascend to the top of the industry courtesy of his Money in the Bank briefcase, the company is full of young performers who could benefit immensely from conquering the otherwise unconquerable, from rescuing the WWE title from the oppressive and destructive champion.

Of course, WWE Creative could make a major mistake in the coming weeks by having Lesnar drop the title to Cena in another attempt to establish the leader of the Cenation as the top star in the industry. Should it do that, it will lend credibility to those who complain about the use of part-time stars to put over the guy already established as the top star in the industry.

But if the company manages to make the rise of the Beast Incarnate pay off as it should, with a conquering hero in the form of Reigns, or even Ambrose, it will have demonstrated that there is not only a place in the current wrestling landscape for a part-time star such as Lesnar, or even The Rock, but also that those industry icons can be key in establishing the future of sports entertainment. 

Lesnar is the big, bad, hulking supervillain the old guard has been unable to topple. Anyone who steps up and finally knocks him off the proverbial mountaintop will be made forever. It is that type of storytelling that makes champions, Superstars and legends. 

It is that type of storytelling that only major part-time stars can accentuate.