Brock Lesnar Surprises at SummerSlam with a Shocking Return
The wrestling world was shaken on Sunday night at SummerSlam, when Brock Lesnar, known as “The Beast Incarnate”, made an unexpected return to WWE. This event marked his reappearance after a six-month period, coinciding with a federal lawsuit for sexual trafficking involving the company and former executive Vince McMahon.
Lesnar, who had last fought at SummerSlam 2023, where he was defeated by Cody Rhodes, stormed the main event of the second night of SummerSlam at MetLife Stadium. The surprise came after Rhodes regained the Undisputed WWE Championship in a “street fight” against John Cena. Cena, who has announced his retirement as an active wrestler, remained in the center of the ring while the fans chanted his name. After kneeling and kissing his hand, Lesnar made his entrance, unleashing the euphoria of the public. Lesnar ended the event with an “F-5”, his finishing move, on Cena. Lesnar, with an impressive record as an amateur wrestler and in the UFC, is recognized for his multiple championships in WWE, where he has been a seven-time world champion. Lesnar’s reappearance comes after Janel Grant, a former WWE employee, identified him in a court filing on January 31, related to a federal lawsuit filed against WWE and Vince McMahon in January 2024. The original lawsuit mentioned a star wrestler in the allegations, but did not provide Lesnar’s name.Grant, who worked in the company’s legal and talent departments, alleges that McMahon forced her to have a sexual relationship to keep her job. In addition, she claims that McMahon demanded that she create “personalized sexual content” for Lesnar in July 2021, at a time when McMahon was trying to keep Lesnar under contract with WWE. Grant also alleges that McMahon took Lesnar to Connecticut in 2021 for a sexual encounter, which ultimately did not happen. McMahon resigned in January 2024 as executive chairman of the board of directors of TKO Group, WWE’s parent company, following the filing of Grant’s lawsuit. WWE has avoided commenting on the ongoing litigation. There were no press conferences after SummerSlam, and the company opted for its wrestlers to speak exclusively on the post-event show instead of answering questions from journalists. Paul Levesque, WWE’s Chief Content Officer, was not questioned about the lawsuit on Sunday night, but he did address Lesnar’s return.In a statement issued by his lawyer, McMahon called the amended lawsuit a “publicity stunt.”
Jessica Rosenberg, McMahon’s lawyer
Levesque discussed the accusations against McMahon on the UK-based podcast The Sports Agents, which launched on Friday.If there had been a roof on this place, I wouldn’t be here anymore. The dynamic in the room changes when the Beast is here,” he said. “Anything you thought was going to happen, somehow, goes out the window. The Brock factor changes everything incredibly and makes it unpredictable. It’s incredible to have him back.
Paul Levesque
He continued saying: “My job is to present the best creative product that WWE can make. Fortunately and happily, it has been successful. The business is in a good moment right now and continues to grow.”All we can do is move forward, for us as a company and creatively,” said Levesque, who was known as Triple H during his days in the ring. “The accusations are accusations, right? It’s a complicated relationship for anyone in life. Nobody’s perfect. But accusations are made and that’s a complete legal matter that is totally separate and apart from what we do.”
Paul Levesque
