Brock Lesnar’s return reveals WWE’s reliance on historical gravity

The shadow of the Beast looms over Clash in Italy

The May 25 episode of Monday Night Raw from the Schottenstein Center felt like a definitive pivot point for the product. While the card featured title defenses, including Penta defending his Intercontinental Championship against Je'Von Evans, the oxygen in the room was entirely consumed by Brock Lesnar. His decision to un-retire following a loss to Oba Femi at WrestleMania 42 presents a recurring narrative problem for WWE: the inability to move past the gravitational pull of established superstars.

Lesnar’s return, framed as a challenge to Femi for Clash in Italy, is framed as a desperate, pride-driven act. The rhetoric—'You’re gonna get your ass kicked by a humbled, retired beast'—is classic psychological warfare, yet it feels fundamentally disconnected from the current momentum Oba Femi has built as a rising force. By dragging the narrative back to a post-WrestleMania retirement gesture, we are essentially re-litigating a finished chapter rather than elevating the current champion.

The structural fatigue of the midcard

Beyond the heavyweight drama, Raw highlighted the persistent issue of midcard thinning. As discussed on recent PWTorch analysis, the sheer volume of championships and tournament cycles, such as the announced return of the King and Queen of the Ring, can result in a blurred sense of importance for the talent involved. The May 25 broadcast was packed with content, from Roman Reigns and Fatu’s Tribal Combat contract signing to tag team action with Bayley and Lyra Valkyria taking on Rodriguez and Perez, yet the pacing often felt like a series of disjointed segments rather than a cohesive three-hour structure.

Statistical reality vs. emotional booking

The attendance figures for the Schottenstein Center reflect a healthy interest, with 9,141 tickets distributed out of a 9,793 setup. Modern booking relies heavily on these hot-shot segments to maintain that engagement. However, when we look at the frequency of 'chair-laden attacks' noted in recent reporting, the diminishing returns on high-stakes violence become clear. Reliance on interference and after-the-bell beatings during contract signings is increasingly a crutch to bridge the gap between pay-per-view events.

The missed opportunity for stylistic evolution

The most glaring flaw in the current creative direction is the stagnation of undercard stakes. While wrestling media often praises the 'best Raw in ages' for having a high volume of activity, a closer look suggests that activity does not equal progress. We are seeing constant loops of veterans returning to cycle through younger talent, a pattern that keeps the immediate ceiling of the show high but limits the long-term growth of the locker room.

Oba Femi represents a legitimate powerhouse shift for WWE, but tethering his momentum to a 'humbled' Lesnar risks turning his title reign into nothing more than a vehicle for a glorified nostalgia pop in Europe. If Femi wins at Clash in Italy with the same reliance on outside interference or massive gimmick stipulations frequently used in Roman Reigns’ tribal segments, it will underscore the promotion’s struggle to find new ways to build credible main-event threats without the crutch of part-time legends.

The return of the King and Queen of the Ring tournaments provides an opportunity to test this premise. If these brackets are used to showcase the depth of the roster—pitting emerging stars against one another instead of relying on established names moving through the bracket—the product could find a rhythm that feels fresh. If they are instead used as filler while the focus remains solely on the Roman-Fatu-Lesnar-Femi orbit, the audience fatigue will eventually outpace the current box office success.