What’s the story?
Brock Lesnar has a unique WWE deal. He had the option to go and work for the UFC, he doesn’t fall under the wellness policy, he gets to re-negotiate the terms every six months to make sure that he’s happy with everything and the WWE do not own the name Brock Lesnar as an intellectual property.
However, as it stands, Brock Lesnar is set to leave the WWE in just 14 months time as per our sources, with his contract set to expire, despite the fact Vince McMahon plans to crown him as a Champion on the grandest stage of them all in six weeks time.
By the time Brock Lesnar’s WWE contract ends, he will no longer be suspended by USADA and he could make a sensatonal return to UFC.
In case you didn’t know...
Brock Lesnar won the WWE Universal Championship from Goldberg at WrestleMania 33. He recently defeated Samoa Joe at WWE Great Balls of Fire and looks set to defend his title in a Fatal-4-Way match at WWE SummerSlam.
Brock Lesnar left UFC following his knockout loss to Alistair Overeem at UFC 141 on December 30, 2011. He took some time off before quickly scooping a huge payday from the WWE to return to the scripted world of choreographed fighting.
He returned to the WWE, the company that first made him famous back in 2002, the night after WrestleMania 28. He initially signed for one year, to the tune of $5 million. He then extended his deal for two more years, taking him up to WrestleMania 31, but took a $2 million pay-cut, staying for $3.1m per year.
In 2015 he was torn between WWE and UFC, eventually committing to the WWE for 3 years and more dates, however, maintaining his $3.1 million per year salary.
At the time, the Associated Press published an article on Brock Lesnar’s decision to re-sign with WWE and turn down an offer to return to UFC/MMA. In the article, Brock Lesnar confirmed that he was offered a new WWE deal at the Raw just 6 days before WrestleMania 31, and it was one he could not refuse.
The heart of the matter
Brock Lesnar’s 2013-2015 deal required an additional PPV per year from Brock, however, this current 2015-2018 deal has required Brock to appear more than ever. Brock’s current WrestleMania schedule was touched on in one of my previous articles, where I also predicted Brock Lesnar’s upcoming WWE Universal Title win.
It’s interesting to note, that had Brock not agreed to this deal, the WWE would have simply had Roman Reigns beat him as planned at WrestleMania 31. One would have to speculate, that the fact Brock was offered a $9.3 million deal 6 days before WrestleMania 31, was a result of Roman Reigns failing to get over with the fans and WWE opting to keep Brock because of that.
It’s also interesting to note how much of a short-term gain Vince McMahon may have intended to get out of the breaking of The Undertaker’s streak if he simply wanted Brock to take it, win the WWE Title and feed Lesnar to Roman. In some ways, we may have to credit Roman Reigns’ failure to connect, as the reason why we still get to see Brock Lesnar.
If the WWE can find a suitable star to defeat Lesnar towards the end of his current deal, it’s possible that WWE will not renew with Brock again and save themselves $3.1 million per year. Although, if Lesnar does indeed move to UFC after his time in WWE, it will be a huge blow to WWE with one of their biggest draws joining one of their competitors.
What’s next?
Brock Lesnar will defend the WWE Universal Title at SummerSlam, possibly in a Fatall-4-Way match against Braun Strowman, Samoa Joe and Roman Reigns.
Sportskeeda’s take
As it stands, I don’t think anyone is worthy of carrying the company.
The WWE can certainly have someone go over Lesnar at SummerSlam and even a second person at WrestleMania 34 before he departs. However, I don’t feel that they should let Lesnar walk away next year. Lesnar is a big asset to the WWE who could easily do three more years on his part-time schedule.
At his age, a return to the UFC is almost completely out of the question. Therefore, him staying in the WWE works for both parties. Brock may end up working 40-50 dates for the WWE this year, looking at his current schedule and taking into consideration that sources say he will be far more active during his next title run than he was during his 2014/15 run.
I think this is a number of dates the WWE would be happy with, therefore, I would assume the future of Brock Lesnar simply lies in the hands of Brock Lesnar. He has said many times, wrestling is not something he loves and that it is simply a job. At this point in his life, Brock Lesnar has more money than he or his children could even spend.
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