Possible WWE Title Plans Could Result In Huge Fan Backlash

Earlier this month, Brock Lesnar ended Kofi Kingston's six-month WWE Championship reign in just nine seconds, but he may not be holding onto that title for very long.

"The Beast" will put his WWE title on the line at Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia against his former UFC foe Cain Velasquez, who shocked the world when he made his WWE debut on the debut episode of SmackDown on FOX. Although WWE actually "pulled" its contract offer to Velasquez prior to his SmackDown appearance after word got out that he could be WWE-bound, WWE reportedly inked the former UFC Heavyweight Champion to a multi-year deal that will see him working with the company for the foreseeable future.

Now, with Velasquez locked down under an official WWE contract, he could win the WWE Championship in his first match for the world's No. 1 wrestling promotion. According to a report from Fightful Select (h/t Wrestling-Edge), many of WWE's own superstars don't expect Lesnar to retain his title at Crown Jewel:

"The wrestlers we spoke to aren't optimistic about any pro wrestler's chances in a match booked against incoming celebrities and athletes."

Wrestle Talk adds that the speculation is that Velasquez could defeat Lesnar at Crown Jewel:

"WWE is unlikely to book Velasquez, a legitimate fighter, to lose his first match in a WWE ring. Therefore, some have speculated that Cain might be walking out of Saudi Arabia with the WWE Championship."

WWE's decision to have Lesnar dismantle Kingston in less than 10 seconds resulted in a ton of fan backlash across social media, as the way WWE just tossed Kingston aside after a memorable title reign-one that started with an unforgettable moment at WrestleMania 35-was viewed as a terrible way to write the heart and soul of The New Day out of the title scene. It didn't help matters that Kingston lost in that fashion to Lesnar, who has taken his fair share of criticism over the years because of his dominating presence in the world title picture despite his status as a part-timer and indications that he isn't the draw that WWE thinks he is.

Lesnar had been a focal point of the Universal Championship picture since he first won that title at WrestleMania 33 in April 2017, and his move to SmackDown's WWE Championship picture-though expected due to Lesnar's tie-ins with FOX thanks to his time in UFC-hasn't been any less frustrating for fans who have grown tired of him always being the centerpiece of the world title scene. After Lesnar's feud with Seth Rollins on Raw ended, there was widespread hope that Lesnar would at least take a brief hiatus from the world title picture and that WWE might find something interesting for him to do without it involving a world title.

Instead, WWE is pulling out all the stops to increase interest in Raw and SmackDown-which have both been plagued by terrible TV viewership-by simultaneously bringing in more part-time names from the world of combat sports than at any point in recent memory, including Velasquez and boxing champion Tyson Fury. With Crown Jewel being overloaded with part-timers and WWE's relationship with Saudi Arabia already being a major point of controversy, the possibility of Velasquez making the crossover from UFC to WWE and instantly winning the WWE Championship is almost as upsetting for some fans as the thought of seeing Lesnar have another lengthy run with one of the company's top two titles.

Although Velasquez received rave reviews for his in-ring work in AAA, he's still viewed as an "outsider" of sorts in the pro wrestling world due to his limited experience in the ring and the fact that he became a household name in MMA rather than WWE. In pro wrestling, that matters to the most passionate fans who want nothing more than WWE to produce and push its homegrown talent to the top of the card. Instead, WWE typically relies heavily on stars who made a name for themselves elsewhere, as evidenced by a Crown Jewel show that is set to feature Velasquez and Fury in the two biggest matches on the card-and at a hefty price tag.

WWE can afford to do that because the company is getting blockbuster paydays for its Saudi Arabian shows, but as popular talents like Kingston continue to get cast aside in favor of non-wrestling stars who are likely making a ton of money for one-off matches or brief runs with the company, that will continue to be a point of contention between WWE, its fans and even its superstars as backstage morale continues to plummet. If WWE benefits from utilizing stars like Velasquez in terms of TV viewership, merchandise sales, the WWE Network subscriber count, etc., those decisions will ultimately make a lot more sense. But that hasn't happened so far, and even if that does happen, WWE's most fervent supporters will continue to be outraged by the idea that their favorite superstars are being booked poorly so perceived outsiders can be pushed.

Just imagine how enraged they'll be if and when Velasquez wins the WWE title-as many stars within WWE actually expect him to-on his first night with the company after it took Kingston a whopping 11 years just to get a singles match for that title while incredibly talented stars like Braun Strowman and Samoa Joe still haven't won one.

You would think WWE would have learned from history by now, but judging by the appearance of things, that simply isn't the case.