Brock Lesnar Surprises with WWE Return at SummerSlam
The wrestling world was shaken on Sunday night at SummerSlam, when Brock Lesnar made a shocking return to WWE. This return comes six months after being mentioned in a lawsuit filed against the company and former executive Vince McMahon. Lesnar, known as “The Beast Incarnate”, made his last appearance at SummerSlam 2023, where he was defeated by Cody Rhodes at Ford Field in Detroit. His return on this occasion took place at the end of the main event of the second night of SummerSlam, held at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Cody Rhodes was crowned undisputed WWE champion in a “street fight” against John Cena, who has announced his retirement as an active wrestler after this year. Cena, in the middle of the ring, received chants of gratitude from the fans. Then, Lesnar made his entrance, generating great excitement among the public. Finally, Lesnar executed his final move, the “F-5”, on Cena, marking the end of the event. Lesnar, with an impressive record, was an amateur wrestling champion at the University of Minnesota and also fought in the UFC between 2008 and 2011. However, his fame is mainly due to his multiple stints in the WWE, where he held the world title on seven occasions. Former WWE employee Janel Grant officially identified Lesnar in a January 31 filing in U.S. District Court, in connection with a lawsuit filed against WWE and McMahon in January 2024. Lesnar is not listed as a defendant in the lawsuit. In a statement issued at the time by McMahon’s attorney, the amended complaint was called a “publicity stunt.”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 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. In addition, she alleges that McMahon sent 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, after Grant’s lawsuit was filed. 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. WWE’s Chief Content Officer, Paul Levesque, was not consulted about the lawsuit on Sunday night, but he did address Lesnar’s return.As expected, the proposed 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 discussed the accusations against McMahon on the UK-based podcast “The Sports Agents”, which was released on Friday. “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 something totally legal that is totally separate and apart from what we do,” said Levesque, known as Triple H during his days in the ring. “My job is to present the best creative product that WWE can make. Fortunately and with joy, it has been successful. The business is in a good moment right now and continues to grow.”If there had been a roof on this place, it wouldn’t be here anymore. The dynamic in the room changes when the Beast is here. Anything you thought was happening, it all goes out the window. The Brock factor changes everything incredibly and makes it unpredictable. It’s incredible to have him back.
Paul Levesque
