Brock Lesnar Surprises with His WWE Return at SummerSlam
Brock Lesnar made a shocking return to WWE last Sunday at SummerSlam, marking his appearance six months after being mentioned in a lawsuit against the company and former executive Vince McMahon. Lesnar’s return came after the main event of the second night of SummerSlam, held at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. In the stellar event, Cody Rhodes regained the Undisputed WWE Championship 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 and then, Lesnar burst in to execute his finishing move, an “F-5”, on Cena, ending the event. Lesnar, recognized for his career in amateur wrestling and the UFC, is best known for his multiple appearances in the WWE, where he was crowned seven-time world champion, nicknamed “The Beast Incarnate”. Former WWE employee Janel Grant officially identified Lesnar in a January 31 filing in U.S. District Court, related to her lawsuit filed against WWE and McMahon in January 2024. 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 alleges 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 flew 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 reporters. WWE’s Chief Content Officer, Paul Levesque, was not questioned about the lawsuit on Sunday night, but he did address Lesnar’s return.In a statement issued at the time by McMahon’s attorney, the amended lawsuit was called a “publicity stunt.”
Jessica Rosenberg, McMahon’s attorney
Levesque also addressed 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,” said Levesque. “Anything you thought was happening 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 with joy, 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, 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 is perfect. But accusations are made and that is something totally legal that is totally separate and apart from what we do.”
Paul Levesque
