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SmackDown Live started with a fun 6-man tag team match that pitted The Revival and Randy Orton against The New Day in a match the latter comprehensively won. And then the music hit, and our jaws hit the floor collectively.
Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman would make their way up the ramp and issue a challenge to WWE Champion Kofi Kingston. Kingston would obviously accept and the match has been made official for the debut episode of SmackDown on FOX in October.
So why is Brock Lesnar Kofi Kingston's next opponent? There are a lot of simple and not-so-simple explanations for the same.
Feel free to leave a comment and let me know your thoughts.
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#5 The possibility of a title change on the first night
What WWE potentially needs on the first night of SmackDown on FOX is a major headline. For there to be a new face of the brand, a new man at the helm would truly kickstart a new era and establish the fact that SmackDown is not the B-brand.
SmackDown on FOX is a new property and because of the time, money, and effort that has been invested by WWE into making the show a success; they will want to put their best foot forward on the very first night.
It's a pilot in a sense, and we all know how important pilots are to the long-term sustenance of a television show. We all remember the setting of the inaugural episode of The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones, where the plot was set for the rest of the series to follow suit. Such will be the case for SmackDown on FOX as well, and the new WWE Champion could be the big draw that pulls new viewers in.
#4 Kingston has run out of credible heel opponents
I did a '5 Surprises for SmackDown Live' article for SmackDown Live before the show aired in which I speculated what was next for Kofi Kingston. The only challenger I could think of for Kofi Kingston was Andrade, after Randy Orton. Brock Lesnar came so 'out of nowhere' that I did not even assume that he would be a part of the mix at all.
Honestly, the same can be said for Lesnar as well, in a sense. I know that a draft is coming our way and the rosters will be mixed up, but I'm assuming that Rollins will still remain the face of the red brand, going forward. He will have a whole new pool of challengers and a reset in a sense on the blue brand.
It seems like Lesnar has only been feuding with Rollins since forever; so this is a mumuch-neededhange.
#3 Possibility of The Fiend vs. Lesnar
The Fiend is the hottest thing in WWE at the moment and he's going to face Seth Rollins for the Universal Championship at WWE Hell in a Cell. Because of the way he's been portrayed and the way that he's been pushed, it is very likely that he will become the next Universal Champion.
On the other brand, Brock Lesnar is very likely to become the next WWE Champion after defeating Kingston. So, this essentially means that Lesnar vs. The Fiend is a dream match that'll be on the cards for Survivor Series 2019.
This is a huge match in a lot of ways. You don't have matches like these, where two highly protected superstars face off against one another in a contest that is indeed impossible to predict.
This match could potentially be the main event at WrestleMania and nobody would bat an eyelid.
#2 KofiMania has run its course
KofiMania was a great story and it was amazing to see the man defy the odds and rise to the top, after being stuck in the mid-card since forever. But even the best story in the world must come to an end someday. It's been months since WrestleMania and it's time for a change in guard, in my opinion.
The viewership for RAW has good and bad weeks, but SmackDown has not fared well in terms of live viewership. Honestly, a change at the top may be what's necessary to bring viewers back to the fold once again. As great an athlete as Kingston is, I wonder if the representative of the company throwing pancakes into the crowd is the best look.
With other challengers before him, there was little chance of Kingston losing his prized crown. But with Brock Lesnar, chances are very high indeed.
#1 To enhance the value of the WWE Championship
Let's consider the Clash of Champions card for a minute, ladies and gentlemen. Roman Reigns vs. Erick Rowan should have been a match that should have preceded the WWE Championship match since no title was on the line but it was the co-main event of the whole pay-per-view.
And this has been a running theme from the start. Even when AJ Styles was the WWE Champion, his matches would precede the Universal Championship match and sometimes, even be smack dab in the middle of the card. But anything Brock Lesnar does is a big deal and he can elevate the value of the title quite significantly indeed.
This is much needed because the WWE Championship, by definition, should be the most important thing in the company. Brock Lesnar can make it happen, because of his appeal.
Do you want to see him as the WWE Champion?
