Brock Lesnar vs. Alberto Del Rio Not Airing on WWE Programming Is a Mistake

Brock Lesnar devoured his latest prey in the dark, his collision with Alberto Del Rio going unaired, unseen by the majority of WWE fans.

Inside The Forum, the Coliseum-esque arena in Inglewood, California, The Beast Incarnate returned to action over the weekend. The company's most compelling, most awe-inspiring force stormed into that historic building. But WWE chose not to broadcast the battle. 

And so WWE capped off 2015 with a major missed opportunity.

With as limited as Lesnar's schedule is and as special of a presence as he is, every effort should have been made to make sure that his match against Del Rio was on the WWE Network. Instead, Lesnar struck on Dec. 19 with fewer than 20,000 fans looking on.

This was Lesnar's first action since Hell in a Cell, nearly two months ago. This was the first time that Del Rio and Lesnar had ever wrestled.

With as much programming as WWE puts out each week, never-before-seen matches are rare. Thanks to that, Lesnar's megastar status and Del Rio being United States champ, Del Rio vs. The Beast Incarnate could have been momentous, not just house-show fare.

Lesnar sent Del Rio to Suplex City but didn't come away with the gold. Instead, per PWInsider, "Rusev ran in for the DQ. But Brock destroyed them both after the finish."

The Tag Rope provided a glimpse of the fight:

The bout didn't last long. CageMatch.net listed it as going just four minutes and 39 seconds. One has to assume that's partly because this was part of a live event. Had WWE's cameras been there, it would have made more sense to ask Lesnar to stretch things out.

Still, Justin LaBar, host of Chair Shot Reality, liked what he saw. He tweeted that the action had a shoot-like quality to it:

That's an element WWE could have exploited in a huge way had this been on the WWE Network. Showcasing Del Rio's MMA experience and playing up Lesnar's UFC exploits would have left the audience amped up to this go down.

And with Del Rio being one of the company's top in-ring performers, his showdown with Lesnar could have been stellar. As it stood, this was more a Lesnar cameo than a true display of his ability.

That's a surprising move considering how noteworthy every Lesnar appearance feels. No other current WWE performer creates more electricity each time he tears through the curtains.

As Paul Heyman told Jonathan Snowden of Bleacher Report, "Brock Lesnar is a once-in-a-lifetime athlete, a once-in-a-lifetime performer, a once-in-a-lifetime attraction."

The folks at Wrestle Zone echoed that statement:

To not make that attraction a way to boost WWE Network views is surprising. WWE has done that each of the last two times Lesnar turned up at a house show. The company booked him for live events at Madison Square Garden and Tokyo.

When he arrived, he transformed the stature of both cards. No longer were they run-of-the-mill house shows; they were special events. 

And they were great selling points for the WWE Network. They were exclusive to the streaming service, unique, exciting live content that felt like appointment viewing.

WWE chose not to do that in Inglewood. Lesnar vs. Del Rio ended up being his first non-televised WWE match of his career since February of 2004. Most fans consumed it by way of reading about it or seeing glimpses of it on Twitter.

That's a waste of what Lesnar is.

Ahead, the powerhouse is advertised for house shows in Seattle, Houston and San Jose, California, as noted by Nick Paglino of Wrestle Zone. To keep each of those a standard non-televised card would be the wrong move.

There are a trio of chances ahead to harness Lesnar's name and bolster the WWE calendar. Each of those matches can be ways to entice subscribers to the network. They can make sure WWE is getting its money's worth with Lesnar's restricted schedule.

WWE has to let the stage fit the star.