'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
This past week was dubbed 'premiere week' in the world of pro wrestling, with the season premiere of Raw kicking off the week, NXT broadcasting its first two hour episode on USA Network, AEW debuting Dynamite, and SmackDown premiering on FOX Sports.
The week capped off with the main event featuring Brock Lesnar defeating Kofi Kingston to win the WWE title, and The Beast captured the title in not-so-dramatic fashion when he defeated Kingston in mere seconds with an F5, the only move in the match.
The match win for Brock Lesnar returns the WWE part-timer to the Championship picture, and the move by WWE has of course drawn the eye of a select group of fans.
Given the above, let's take a look at five reasons why Brock Lesnar won the WWE title on the FOX Sports premiere of Friday Night SmackDown this week.
#5 Kofi Kingston's time as Champion was coming to a natural end
When Kofi Kingston won the WWE title back at WrestleMania 35, defeating Daniel Bryan in a career-defining match, many fans thought Kingston would be an interim Champion so to speak and would reign as Champion for only a short time.
But Kingston proved the naysayers wrong and enjoyed a six-month title reign which saw The New Day member successfully defend his title against some of the best talents WWE has to offer, and his reign as WWE Champion will go down in the record books as successful.
In the past couple months, however, Kofi Kingston's momentum as Champion began to wind down, and it felt like a good time to take the title off the man who captured gold when many fans thought it would never happen for the popular New Day star. Kingston went out having concluded a very memorable WWE title run.
#4 WWE wants to keep Cain Velasquez away from AEW
WWE fans might have been surprised by Brock Lesnar's quick squashing of Kofi Kingston on SmackDown this week, but they were likely more surprised by the aftermath of the main event match, which saw the WWE debut of former UFC Champion Cain Velasquez alongside WWE star Rey Mysterio.
It was reported last week that WWE was in talks with Cain Velasquez about a possible appearance in the company, and when Paul Heyman referenced MMA fighters during his promo on Raw last week, it seemed clear that WWE might have landed a deal with Velasquez.
When it was reported that WWE had made an offer to the former UFC Champion, it was also reported that AEW was in talks with Velasquez as well, making it likely that WWE rushed an offer to Velasquez in order to keep him agreeing to a deal with AEW.
With Cain Velasquez now looking to be facing Brock Lesnar in WWE, a natural storyline exists which can see The Beast face-off against the man who defeated him for the UFC Championship when the two were at the height of their MMA careers.
#3 Brock Lesnar represents SmackDown's sports-centric future
One thing WWE made clear this week is that both RAW and Friday Night SmackDown will have very unique feels, in addition to having separate rosters.
Given this week's premieres, it seems as if RAW will be presented as more of a Sports Entertainment product going forward, while SmackDown will be presented as more of a sports product, given the show is being packaged along with FOX's weekend sports programming.
FOX NFL personalities such as Michael Strahan and Terry Bradshaw made appearances on the SmackDown kickoff show this week, and it looks like the cross-promotion of WWE and other sports programs on FOX will continue.
Brock Lesnar as the WWE Champion on SmackDown makes sense from a sports-centric standpoint, as The Beast has a competitive sports background that might be more familiar to sports fans and FOX sports personalities.
With Lesnar as WWE Champion, the potential exists for WWE and FOX to try and rope in more crossover wrestling and MMA fans, and present a brand Champion who is successful in both sports entertainment and the worlds of competitive fighting and amateur wrestling.
With the WWE draft on the horizon, it will be interesting to see which talents make SmackDown their permanent home to help establish the brand's identity.
#2 Kofi Kingston might be moving to RAW
This week's episodes of RAW and SmackDown, and even NXT for that matter were 'all hands on deck' shows, with the stars of both RAW and SmackDown appearing on both shows this week, and Finn Balor made a surprise return on NXT.
However, on October 11th, WWE will be holding another roster draft, which will cement the rosters of RAW, SmackDown and NXT going forward. Following the draft, the Wildcard Rule will no longer exist in WWE, meaning both RAW and SmackDown will feature distinct and separate rosters.
The New Day have been staples of WWE SmackDown for quite some time now, and perhaps the company is eyeing a move to RAW for Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods and Big E.
The New Day's personas certainly fit more of the sports entertainment mold than in-ring wrestling mold, and their comedic antics lend themselves more to RAW than a show like SmackDown, which might be heading towards a more sports-oriented show.
Should Kingston move to RAW in the draft next week, the idea of taking the WWE title off him on SmackDown this week was a good plan, to free New Day up from SmackDown gold so they can move to RAW.
#1 Brock Lesnar is a bigger mainstream star
One of the reasons why WWE created the Wildcard Rule was to try and stop the bleeding coming from decreasing ratings for both RAW and SmackDown Live.
But with WWE officially kicking off its multi-billion dollar deal with FOX this week, the pressure is on for the company to pull in higher ratings for SmackDown, and there is no doubt that FOX executives are keeping a keen eye on the moves being made by WWE, and likely offering their input as to what they would like to see on the show.
As popular of a figure as Kofi Kingston is, he does not have the mainstream appeal and star power of someone like Brock Lesnar, who is likely the closest thing to a 'household name' that WWE has at the moment.
Brock Lesnar brings with him not only a crossover fight background but drawing power and mainstream popularity which could help bring new and old eyes to Friday Night SmackDown.
The big downside to WWE moving SmackDown to FOX is that the show no inhabits Friday nights at 8 pm EST, which is usually a very poor night and time slot for viewership.
Why do you think Brock Lesnar won the WWE title? Let us know in the comment section and be sure to follow SK on Twitter and Facebook!
