Brock Lesnar Shocks with Impactful Return at SummerSlam
The wrestling world was shaken on Sunday night at SummerSlam, when Brock Lesnar made an unexpected return to WWE. This event marked a milestone, especially considering the recent circumstances involving the wrestler. Lesnar’s return came after the main event of the second night of SummerSlam, held at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The main event saw Cody Rhodes regain the Undisputed WWE Championship in a “street fight” against John Cena. Cena, who has announced his retirement as an active wrestler after this year, remained in the center of the ring, receiving chants of gratitude from the fans. After kneeling and kissing his hand, Lesnar made his entrance, unleashing euphoria among the public. The show ended with an “F-5”, his final move, on Cena. Lesnar, known as “The Beast Incarnate”, has been a prominent champion in WWE, accumulating seven world titles. Before his professional wrestling career, Lesnar was a successful amateur wrestler at the University of Minnesota and also competed in the UFC between 2008 and 2011. Lesnar’s reappearance comes after his name was mentioned in a lawsuit filed against the company and former executive Vince McMahon, related to a complaint by a former WWE employee, Janel Grant. Grant officially identified Lesnar in a court filing on January 31. In the original lawsuit, a star wrestler was mentioned, but Lesnar’s name was not provided. 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. Furthermore, 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. Grant also 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 TKO Group board of directors, 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, 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 proposed amended claim is nothing more than the latest publicity stunt in an ongoing smear campaign. It is full of desperate falsehoods from a team that continues to ignore the law and the truth.
Jessica Rosenberg, McMahon’s lawyer
Levesque also discussed the accusations against McMahon on the UK-based podcast “The Sports Agents”, which launched on Friday.If there had been a roof in this place, I 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. Incredible to have him back.
Paul Levesque
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. 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 place right now and continues to grow.
Paul Levesque
