The Easy Solution to Revive Stale Brock Lesnar Upon Return to WWE

It was only a matter of time.

Brock Lesnar hasn't been seen since his quick loss to Seth Rollins at the start of WrestleMania 35, with the general consensus being he would head back to the world of MMA for the foreseeable future.

But WWE fans knew better.

Lesnar is undoubtedly on his way back to WWE, especially given the following development:

He has done this before, announcing a retirement, only to come back and fight the likes of Mark Hunt. But he's 41, and WWE has announced he will be one of the legends on the card in Saudi Arabia on June 7.

But here's the overarching problem with Lesnar: He's stale.

Here is the easiest way to solve that problem: Move Lesnar to SmackDown.

Easy, right? Fans might recoil at the idea. It seems silly, as Raw is the top program, and if CEO Vince McMahon is backing up the Brinks truck to keep Lesnar away from MMA, not to mention other wrestling promotions, he's going to be in the universal title scene with his limited appearances, not anywhere else.

However.

Things are changing in WWE quickly. Ratings continue to plummet. The roster is too deep, yet the shows are too long. There is an oversaturation of the product in general, with WWE asking fans to commit five hours a week to its top two television shows, not to mention NXT and the rest—and that's all before a Netflix-style streaming service and the endless onslaught of social media.

There's also the Fox thing.

SmackDown is moving to Fox near the end of 2019, and WWE fans better get used to the idea that Fox won't be happy if WWE ratings continue to float where they are at. In prime NFL season, it won't be tolerated.

So call this a two birds, one stone sort of thing. Presumably, Fox will want a more sports-esque feel to the show, with megastars taking the top slots on the program. There's a reason Roman Reigns was moved over there. Lesnar in the title scene on the blue brand would move some ratings needles, to say the least.

Lesnar on SmackDown would feel fresh too. It leaves him out of the universal title picture, which means Rollins and A.J. Styles can go at it in their sure-to-be excellent feud for a long time. It allows those two to start building up legitimate stars around them too instead of having everyone hardly keep their heads above water in silly televised tag team matches because the promotion's top belt was missing in action.

Naturally, this would lead to questions about whether Lesnar should win the blue brand's top title and keep it off television. But he doesn't have to win anything—if he's done with MMA, there aren't any potential UFC crossovers to promote WWE, and if the checks keep hitting the bank account, Lesnar simply might not care whether he's holding a belt.

And that, right there, is part of the equation. Lesnar's brilliant character work over the years has convinced the vast majority of fans he's some mercenary for hire who doesn't care. He doesn't "care" yet happens to put on incredible matches almost every time he hits the ring. Think, Samoa Joe, Styles, Daniel Bryan, Finn Balor. He gives it all when he's invested. The Dean Ambrose match...not so much. He doesn't "care" but was willing to eat a pin and lose to a 49-year-old Goldberg in a 90-second squash match, right?

A move to SmackDown could mean a character revision. Maybe Lesnar just comes back as a prizefighter and has some interesting feuds. He's obviously going to be up against a legend like Goldberg or The Undertaker in Saudi Arabia. Maybe a rematch with Rollins for the sake of appearances too.

But on the blue brand? Letting underdogs like Ali and Kofi Kingston at him would be refreshing. Getting him in the ring with Balor or Bryan again would mean everyone wins. More bouts with Reigns, especially if a title isn't involved, wouldn't be a bad thing. Even a feud with Randy Orton or a clash with Lars Sullivan—clearly the options are interesting, and at the same time, they would be a driving force for ratings for Fox.

Keep in mind some of these programs could extend all the way to the next WrestleMania. Maybe the desperation to please Fox means a blue brand-promoted Lesnar encounter with someone like the returning Rock.

Who knows? That's the fun part. Fans have seen Lesnar on Raw for a long time, and it's stale. Getting him out of there and back to SmackDown, where many of the grown fans have fond memories of Lesnar in the first place, could revitalize multiple things for WWE.

Lesnar in the fold in any capacity is a good thing for everyone. Throwing him on SmackDown with the Fox switchover looming would be a brilliant move that is beginning to seem like the clear-cut choice.