Brock Lesnar MITB return shows just how clueless the WWE is

If the WWE believes pushing Brock Lesnar is the proper way to combat the emergence of AEW, it’s time for Vince McMahon to cede control of the company.

WWE officials won’t come out and admit they’re concerned about the recent emergence of AEW (Stephanie McMahon finally acknowledged it as “competition” in a talent meeting on Sunday), but the way they’re booking storylines makes it painfully obvious they are. Unfortunately, pushing Brock Lesnar as a main event star again is the exact wrong thing for the company to do if they want to curry favor with fans.

The decision to insert Lesnar as a surprise entrant, and subsequent winner at Sunday night’s Money in the Bank pay-per-view has plenty of hardcore fans irate with the company. Seven Superstars put forth a really great match only to see it ruined by Lesnar’s shocking return. The Beast barely broke a sweat before climbing a ladder in the middle of the ring to capture the Money in the Bank briefcase for himself. Of course, that lines Lesnar up for a title match against either Kofi Kingston (the WWE Champion) or Seth Rollins (the Universal Champion) in the near future.

In fairness, WWE officials had several reasons for bringing Lesnar back to the forefront. His presence in the company’s upcoming Super ShowDown in June will likely equal a massive payday for both Lesnar and the company. Bringing Lesnar back into the forefront of the championship picture was likely a requirement placed on the WWE by Saudis paying big money for the event.

That reasoning won’t pacify angry WWE fans, but it at least might make some sense for the company if it was the only motivation behind the decision. The scary thing about the choice to install Lesnar as the Money in the Bank winner is that Vince McMahon and company actually believe the move will help boost the WWE’s struggling ratings. On that note, they couldn’t be more wrong.

Lesnar’s return might capture the attention of some mainstream fans who have tuned out since WrestleMania, but it will turn off a large portion of the company’s hardcore wrestling fans. The timing for alienating that fan base could hardly be worse for WWE.

Just last week, Turner Broadcasting and AEW announced their partnership that will put the promotion on network television. Details about the deal are still few and far between, but it’s an obvious threat to WWE’s status as the hegemon of the industry. This will be the biggest threat WWE has faced since the famed Monday Night Wars with WCW.

One need only look to the reaction of AEW superstar Chris Jericho to see just how pleased they are to see WWE revert to their Brock Lesnar safety blanket. The former WWE star put out a sarcasm-laden tweet about Lesnar’s involvement in Money in the Bank. He facetiously referred to the creative choice as “a perfect example of genius booking” by the WWE.

If the WWE wants to stay on top of the wrestling business for the next several decades, it needs to learn from its past mistakes. That means they need to stay the course of pushing young talents as opposed to going back to old, tired Superstars like Lesnar. A trip to Suplex City is not what the company needs right now.