The world of WWE is a confusing one where rules change to suit their interests all the time and this is another example of that and is perhaps one of the strangest. It has been reported by TMZ that a Brock Lesnar will not be punished in any form by the WWE despite failing two drugs tests during his legitimate UFC 200 fight, one that the company thought would work in their benefit.
The reasoning
According to the report, the WWE spokesman claimed that only full-time workers are subject to WWE's wellness policy and that part-time athletes, such as Lesnar, do not have to be tested. Because of that, the company does not care that he failed his USADA tests as he isn't going to be tested by the WWE itself, so in their line of thinking, he hasn't failed anything.
It was also noted that the spokesmen claimed the WWE is 'show business' and not a regulated athletic competition, such as UFC, therefore the tests done outside of WWE don't reflect on the company as it doesn't class itself as a full sport. It was said that the tests are done to ensure safety for the full-time workers who compete in an average of 200 matches every year compared to Lesnar's 19 in three years.
The issues
There are several major issues with WWE's decision to not punish the Beast and even though it makes sense from a business perspective as the company will always make more money with him around, the decision could bring several of these issues into question.
With WWE recently suspending one of the company's top stars in Roman Reigns, it is sure to bring locker room problems to a head. There has been an issue between full-time wrestlers and part-time stars coming in and stealing the headlines for some time now in WWE (Just ask CM Punk) and this doesn't make the situation any better. Guys who are working day after day putting their body's on the line are being punished for breaking the WWE's wellness policy, yet someone who only comes in for main event matches, stealing the spots from those guys isn't subject to testing?
It also brings into question the legitimacy of the wellness policy in general. How can the company claim to be clean and drug-free, punishing any stars that break those rules, yet they are happy to allow main event stars such as Lesnar and The Rock to not be tested? When WrestleMania main event stars are not being tested for drug violations it brings the whole company into question.
Lesnar's future
It is clear that the WWE are trying to protect Lesnar as much as possible as he is one of the WWE's biggest assets, but this whole situation has damaged his reputation and respect amongst the fanbase. The WWE fans rallied behind his UFC career and backed him when the MMA world turned their nose up at him and they did the same for his UFC 200 fight.
Then when it became clear he broke the rules and tested positive for two drugs tests it made the wrestling world look weak and that is something fans don't take lightly so it will now be interesting to see what reactions he gains.
It is also worth mentioning that Dave Meltzer reported Lesnar was set to be the number one draft pick until the announcement of his drug tests, which shows the company did lose faith in him to a degree and have punished him slightly. However, he is still in a main event match for SummerSlam whilst Roman Reigns has been pushed down the card for failing a wellness test.
It is an interesting situation and one that the WWE has never had to deal with before, ultimately the fans will still want to see Lesnar and he will continue to be a huge star in the WWE but these decisions could bring more questions on the company than they want.