Brock Lesnar's 'Go to Hell' Tour Should Be Used as a Model for Part-Time Stars

WWE has conquered the art of the part-time star.

During Thursday's earnings call, WWE announced that the WWE Network live special from Madison Square Garden—built around Brock Lesnar's return to the venue after over a decade—was the network's most watched program to date.

Lesnar's appearance was part of October's "Go to Hell" tour featuring the former WWE world heavyweight champion. With a freshly branded touring concept, WWE has found a way to get the most out of its biggest-drawing special attraction without compromising its world-title picture—one that desperately needs younger, full-time talent.

With WWE still struggling to create new stars, big-name part-time talent will be part of the promotion's business model for the foreseeable future.

And with the Go to Hell tour's success, WWE has incentive to continue to book part-time talents on mini-tours that create a sense of urgency to tune into the WWE Network.

WWE added 85 hours of original content to the WWE Network in the third quarter as part of its strategy to add more subscribers. The move worked, as the network saw big growth in subscribers and segment revenue.

WWE will continue this strategy with 90 hours of original content set to air in the fourth quarter. With so many part-time talents at their disposal, imagine the possibilities as WrestleMania season approaches.

A "Home Cookin'" tour could feature The Rock making various WWE-related appearances including a WWE: 24 special, a special-attraction tag team match alongside his cousin Roman Reigns and even an appearance on the Stone Cold Podcast where The Rock chats with his in-ring rival.

A "Last Ride" tour could feature Undertaker making his final round of wrestling-related appearances with WWE featuring singles and tag team matches at live events.

Undertaker was recently booked as part of WWE's tour of Mexico, and given his novelty at this stage of his career, no appearance should be taken for granted.

Whenever CM Punk decides to pick up his ball and return, a tour featuring him would mean big business to WWE whether he wrestles or not.

Simply appearing on the aforementioned Stone Cold Podcast or a live platform—face-to-face with Triple H?—to air his grievances would be the finest, most compelling piece of programming WWE can produce.

It's easy to understand the argument that part-time stars run the risk of halting the growth of WWE's future. But there's no doubt that WWE currently needs them to add a spark to the product, and strategically branded tours will maximize their impact.

Alfred Konuwa is a featured columnist and on-air host for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @ThisIsNasty and subscribe to his weekly wrestling podcast.