4 Reasons Why Brock Lesnar is Bad For The WWE

At WWE's Crown Jewel PPV, WWE's creative team made several missteps. Perhaps none as big as placing RAW's Universal Championship, vacated by an ailing Roman Reigns, around the waist of Brock Lesnar yet again. The backlash was swift and it was furious.

Never anything less than a controversial and often polarizing figure, Lesnar has frequently found himself on the losing side of the fan's ire, yet the winning side of Vince McMahon's chequebook.

So let's take a look at 4 reasons why Brock Lesnar is a bad idea for WWE.

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#1 Fans falling out of love with him

Not Even Paul Heyman Can Save Brock From Some Fans!

In 2002 there were few who hadn't jumped onto the Brock Lesnar bandwagon. Billed as "The Next Best Thing", Lesnar was riding high and standing tall atop the humongous pedestal WWE and Vince McMahon had placed him on. And he rode that momentum, with the fans behind him even when he was heel, all the way up to his departure in 2004, where he (and opponent Goldberg) were unceremoniously booed out of Madison Square Garden during his final match at Wrestlemania XX.

He had decided to pursue his NFL dreams at that point in time and the WWE Universe didn't take too kindly to being cast aside by one of the company's top stars.

However, his 2012 return to the company was met with extreme enthusiasm from the fans, and Lesnar was once again back in their good graces. It remained this way for a while. Despite his multiple ship-jumping moments, the fans welcomed him back with open arms.

But the tide has begun to turn. It started with having Lesnar break The Undertaker's undefeated streak at Wrestlemania XXX. Whether or not this was a good idea in the grand scheme of things will be debated by wrestling fans and historians for many years to come.

But it did kick off a sort of shift in the attitude the fans greeted Lesnar with. While heel heat and polarizing figures can and are still huge draws for WWE, it's not exactly the best look to have the top star of your flagship show be such a heat magnet both in and outside of the ring.

#2 He's a part-timer

A Disappearing Champion

Eat. Sleep. Disappear. Repeat. By now we're all too familiar with Brock Lesnar's way of life when it comes to working for WWE. It is, in fact, this very pattern that has turned a good majority of fans against him. For 504 days, Brock Lesnar was WWE's Universal Champion.

And for more than 400 of those days we never saw him. Lesnar didn't work most house shows, he didn't do things like fan meet and greets, and it was a rare occasion to see him even bother to show up on Monday Night RAW.

This meant not only was the brand's top championship not being defended, but it also wasn't even being SEEN. When comparing Lesnar's first Universal Title Reign to the 434-day record reign of CM Punk, that he would eventually break, the differences are stunning.

During his reign, Punk defended his title 141 times against 13 men. This included Pay-Per-Views, RAW, SmackDown, and house shows. Punk was a constant presence both in and out of the ring. He made all the appearances, all the meet and greets, all the shows, even when injured Punk was still there. By stark contrast, in 504 days Brock Lesnar defended his title 10 times against 4 men.

The top champion of each brand should be present every week, and not just at TV tapings. He should be present at house shows, charity events, fan meet and greets, and wherever else WWE needs him to be. It's part of the job - a part that every other champion has fulfilled, some to the point of severe injury.

If you want the bigger paycheck that comes with being the champion, you have to be prepared to fill a bigger role, it's just that simple. Unless you're Brock Lesnar and you, as Vince McMahon himself said, "have certain privileges" that you've "earned".

#3 Popularity with his peers?

Braun vs Brock

If the WWE were a high school, Brock Lesnar would not be nominated for Prom King or the superlative of "Most Popular" any time soon. His part-time work for full-time pay status hasn't earned him any friends backstage, and it's easy to understand why.

While the rest of the roster is on the road 300+ days a year, busting their humps, working through injuries, being away from family & friends and generally devoting their entire lives to the business, Brock Lesnar spends a good majority of time holed up in his Minnesota home with his family and making appearances with other rival organizations like UFC.

While popularity isn't necessary in order to be a good champion or even a good WWE worker in general, being the root cause of a decrease in locker room morale isn't exactly helping one's cause.

When you have a roster full of capable, present, hungry guys who could fulfill the role of Universal Champion with far more enthusiasm and investment sitting in a locker room while Lesnar sits in his own private locker room not even having to go over any promos, seeing as Paul Heyman handles the verbal heavy lifting for him, it's only natural for some resentment to build up.

From a morale standpoint alone, this cannot be good for a company like WWE. After all, they've lost multiple top names such as Neville, Austin Aries and most famously CM Punk, due to backstage politics and bad company morale.

#4 He isn't the draw he once was

Still The Beast?

The ultimate thing Lesnar always had going for him, physical prowess aside, was his ability to be a massive box office draw. His name on a card meant far higher sales, and as has been said many times over the years, putting butts in seats is a major attribute in a WWE Superstar. In recent years, however, his star has fallen greatly.

His name being advertised for one of his few & drastically far between appearances hasn't been enough to bring up RAW's fledgeling ratings. He hasn't had any effect on the number of empty seats in the arenas, and he certainly hasn't caused any upticks in WWE Network subscriptions.

His matches have become repetitive, monotonous bouts that are enough to put anyone to sleep. Gone are the flash and gravitas he once carried throughout his matches. Now, a few German Suplexes, a couple of F5's and a false finish or two and you've got yourself every Brock Lesnar match, save for triple threats where the other guys do 98% of the work, since about 2013.

His investment in a return to UFC has also meant less investment from WWE fans in him. This simply isn't the Brock Lesnar of old, it's merely the Brock Lesnar routine that's getting old.