Pro wrestling — especially WWE — has always thrived on shocking swerves to keep fans tuning in week after week. It's part Dragon Ball Z, part soap opera, and all spectacle. But based on the backlash erupting across social media, it seems there’s one swerve that isn’t sitting right with fans: the surprise return of Brock Lesnar.
Known to casual fans as the Beast Incarnate, Lesnar has spent the past year as persona non grata in the internet wrestling community. In Jan. 2024, just weeks before the Royal Rumble, former WWE employee Janel Grant filed a lawsuit alleging that then-CEO Vince McMahon coerced her into a sexual relationship and trafficked her to another executive and an "unnamed WWE wrestler." That wrestler was later identified as Lesnar. The lawsuit alleges McMahon offered sexual favors from Grant to Lesnar as a bargaining chip in ongoing contract negotiations.
In response, WWE quickly removed Lesnar from the Royal Rumble and scrapped plans for his WrestleMania XL match. He was also removed from the WWE 2K24 special edition cover and edited out of TV intro packages — effectively erased from the spotlight. It should be noted that at the time of this writing, although Lesnar was named 44 times in the suit, he is not a defendant in the case, nor has he been charged with any crime.
But now, it seems WWE is ready to move past the controversy — even if fans aren’t. At WWE's SummerSlam night two event, in what was billed as John Cena’s final SummerSlam match before retirement, Lesnar made a surprise return to confront him. While the pop from the crowd in attendance was thunderous, both fans and wrestlers online voiced frustration.
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Brock Lesnar’s return to WWE programming follows a string of controversial decisions by the company over the past week. The biggest of which was WWE abruptly announcing that press conferences with independent media would no longer take place. The timing raised eyebrows, as the announcement came shortly after top WWE executive Paul “Triple H” Levesque appeared at the White House alongside President Trump for the signing of a new executive order to expand the Presidential Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition.
Per Wrestling Observer Radio, journalist Dave Meltzer notes that WWE canceled the press conferences to avoid having to answer questions about Lesnar.
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Topics Social Media Sports
Chance Townsend is the General Assignments Editor at Mashable, covering tech, video games, dating apps, digital culture, and whatever else comes his way. He has a Master's in Journalism from the University of North Texas and is a proud orange cat father. His writing has also appeared in PC Mag and Mother Jones.
In his free time, he cooks, loves to sleep, and greatly enjoys Detroit sports. If you have any tips or want to talk shop about the Lions, you can reach out to him on Bluesky @offbrandchance.bsky.social or by email at [email protected].
