Brock Lesnar’s Absence Proves Too Costly for Triple H & WWE Ahead of Payback

As is the rule of nature, the old vacates its place for the new to thrive. While change is the only constant, some things cannot be replaced. Like Brock Lesnar’s star power in the WWE. The 46-year-old is unlikely to appear in the WWE in the near future. And his absence is hurting the promotion.

According to reports, WWE has felt the jolt of Lesnar’s sabbatical from the promotion. This has taken a hit on the ratings.

WWE’s numbers take a hit sans Brock Lesnar

For the last few months, Brock Lesnar’s feud with Cody Rhodes was the top draw on Monday Night RAW. That came to an end at SummerSlam. On August 5, Rhodes beat Lesnar to win the three-match encounter 2-1 and put an end to their feud. With the rivalry done and dusted, Lesnar has taken a leave.

While he usually fights in selected PLEs, Lesnar had made multiple appearances on RAW since attacking The American Nightmare on April 3, which initiated the rivalry and kept the WWE Universe hooked.

Without his presence, the August 14 episode averaged 1.757 million viewers, according to Wrestlenomics. This number was lesser than what the promotion had the week prior. The August 7 episode averaged 1.888 million.

The rating in the 18 to 49 demographic was also down to 0.55 from 0.61 a week ago. In fact, the viewership number was the lowest that RAW recorded in the last two months. The company has had better numbers between 12 June and 14 August.

Read More: What’s Next for Brock Lesnar? Is The Beast Leaving WWE After Losing to Cody Rhodes at SummerSlam?

Clearly, The Beast Incarnate’s absence has proved to be too costly for Triple H and his men. Meanwhile, the WWE has an uphill task ahead of them at the upcoming PLE – Payback.

Will Triple H’s big gamble pay off at Payback?

Throughout this year, the WWE premium live events (PLEs) were dominated by The Bloodline and Brock Lesnar. But now, it’s a double whammy for the Stamford-based company. Apart from Lesnar, the stable is also expected to have a cooling period, after an extended run, that saw them break and make records.

This was also indicated by the WWE with the release of the Payback poster. The event is scheduled for September 2 and will emanate from the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Interestingly, the poster features the four members of The Judgment Day- Finn Balor, Rhea Ripley, Dominik Mysterio, and Damian Priest. This shows that the company is trusting the stable to take things forward.

Will they be able to emulate the success Roman Reigns and his group had in the recent past? While that’s one for the future to unlock, there was a glimpse of it on the August 14 episode. Finn Balor and Cody Rhodes squared off for the main event of the night and it had all the members of the faction joining in to brutalize The Prince of Pro Wrestling and his aide, Sami Zayn.

Going strictly by the numbers, WWE and their aces will need to pull their socks up. That said, what’s your take on the situation? Do you think the WWE will have the same success without Lesnar? Let us know in the comments.

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