Mark Henry on Why Brock Lesnar’s Part-Time Status Is Good for Everyone

By now, it’s been fully established that Brock Lesnar’s schedule is unpopular. No matter who is opponent has been, they’ve all targeted his highly sporadic appearances, and have underlined how toxic it is to WWE’s environment. The point has been well taken, but WWE Hall of Famer Mark Henry has a contrarian opinion on Lesnar’s hit and miss schedule

During an interview with Wrestling Inc., Henry defended Lesnar’s status, claiming that he’s a special attraction. With that being thaws, the less Lesnar is around the better, and per Henry, Andre The Giant was so successful because of similar treatment.

“Neither was Andre. Andre wasn’t around,” said Henry. “Brock is an attraction. You have somebody that garners a special level of attention and you need to let those people be those people.”

Henry took things a step further by that when Lesnar is actually present, it rarely is pleasant. So unless he’s there to defend a title, Henry says it’s best for Lesnar to stay at home.

“Brock is a bit of a butt hole too,” said Henry. “You don’t want him around all the time. He’s subject to hit somebody or cuss a little kid out. You need to keep him away from people. He’s a monster and I would rather the monster only be seen when he’s gonna fight for the title.”

Some of that may be kayfabe, but Lesnar has never been depicted as a warm personality. As Universal Champion he seems to have worn out his welcome, however, that’s all been by WWE’s design. He was re-installed as champ—under emergency circumstances—in November due to Roman Reigns’ vacating the big red belt. This audible forced WWE to rely on Lesnar once again for WrestleMania as he and Seth Rollins are now telling a near identical story as other recent feuds in Lesnar’s timeline.

Right now, Rollins is expected to leave WrestleMania 35 as Universal Champion, but so was Reigns last year. Given this wasn’t WWE’s original plan, they may be anxious to start Rollins’ term on top, freeing Lesnar to pursue his blockbuster UFC fight with Daniel Cormier. As of now, that bout is expected for August, but nothing can actually move forward until Lesnar is no longer WWE’s top Champion.

Regardless, it does appear that Lesnar’s time as one of WWE’s top attraction is nearing its end. While his reputation is polarizing, Lesnar is undoubtedly one of the most impactful Superstars in WWE history as he’d added an element of legitimacy that Vince McMahon could only dream.