Brock Lesnar Surprises at SummerSlam: An Unexpected Return
In a shocking turn of events that shook the wrestling world, Brock Lesnar made his return to WWE at SummerSlam, just six months after being mentioned in a lawsuit against the company and former executive Vince McMahon. The expected return of Lesnar took place in the main event of the second night of SummerSlam, held at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The stellar event saw Cody Rhodes regain the Undisputed WWE Championship in a “street fight” against John Cena, who has announced his retirement as an active wrestler after this year. Cena, after being cheered by the audience, remained alone in the center of the ring. It was then that Lesnar’s entrance music resonated in the stadium, unleashing euphoria among the fans. Lesnar entered the ring and applied his characteristic “F-5” to Cena, marking the end of the event. Known as “The Beast Incarnate”, Lesnar is a seven-time world champion in WWE, as well as having been a prominent amateur wrestler at the University of Minnesota and a UFC competitor between 2008 and 2011. Lesnar’s reappearance comes after being officially identified in a January 31 presentation at the U.S. District Court by Janel Grant, a former WWE employee, in connection with her lawsuit filed in January 2024 against WWE and McMahon. The original lawsuit mentioned a star wrestler in the accusation, but did not provide Lesnar’s name. Lesnar is not a defendant in the lawsuit.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. She claims that McMahon demanded she create “personalized sexual content” for Lesnar in July 2021, at a time when McMahon was trying to keep Lesnar under contract with WWE. In addition, she 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, the parent company of WWE, following the filing of Grant’s lawsuit. WWE has avoided commenting on the ongoing litigation. There were no press conferences after SummerSlam, as WWE 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.“As expected, the amended complaint is nothing more than the latest publicity stunt in an ongoing smear campaign. It is filled with desperate falsehoods from a team that continues to ignore the law and the truth.”
Jessica Rosenberg, McMahon’s lawyer
Levesque also spoke about 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. Anything you thought was happening, suddenly goes out the window. The Brock factor changes everything incredibly and makes it unpredictable. It’s incredible to have him back.”
Paul Levesque
“My job is to present the best creative product that WWE can make. Fortunately and happily, it has been successful. Business is in a good place right now and continues to grow.”“All we can do is move forward, for us as a company and creatively. Accusations are accusations, right? It’s a complicated relationship for anyone in life. Nobody’s perfect. But accusations are made and that’s a totally legal thing that is totally separate and apart from what we do.”
Paul Levesque
