My thoughts on WWE bringing back Brock Lesnar

So it is around 7 o’clock in the morning after SummerSlam night 2, I’m on my way to work and I have a lot of thoughts and feelings in my head.

I got up pretty early this morning to watch through the show. And it was overall a pretty solid two shows over the weekend. Some stuff was… meh… some stuff was out of this world.  The TLC match was incredible. Punk and Gunther and that match and the execution of the afters was fantastic, in fact it was pretty much spot on. And the main event of night two was an absolute classic. It was probably John Cena’s best match in a decade nearly. First one that comes to mind is the Royal Rumble match against AJ Styles, that’s the last time I can remember John Cena having a match which I thought was as good as his match at SummerSlam 2025 with Cody Rhodes.

The match as I said, was really good. John Cena came out as THE John Cena; TitanTron, clothes, full entrance, this was THE John Cena that we all know, and love. And as I said, the match was fantastic. I thought they we’re going to lean more into going to the dark side of Cody than they did, and of course, now we know why.

Cody Rhodes, the new Undisputed WWE Champion, left the ring to John Cena, to take in the adulation of the crowd, and to seemingly close SummerSlam. I thought something was going to happen because they stopped Cena’s music and when things go quiet in WWE, it means something’s going to happen. And I in fact sent a picture to my uncle of my reaction of what happened next, it is probably the most shocked I have been watching wrestling in years. It’s probably the most shocked I have been in wrestling since Goldberg beat somebody called Brock Lesnar.

The reason for my shock right now, is because Brock Lesnar is back in WWE.

Brock Lesnar with big facial hair, with longer hair, came out to a fucking giant reaction. He came to the ring, gave an F5 to John Cena, and it looks very much like on his retirement tour, we are going to get John Cena versus Brock Lesnar. Now, I will say, and I will admit, this is a huge surprise. This is a huge deal. This will get a lot of attraction. Brock Lesnar is one of the biggest names in recent WWE history, probably of all time. Brock Lesnar, I have had nothing but praise for him as a performer and an athlete, as an attraction, I think he is about as unique as you can get. He has had some of my favourite matches in WWE, and he is truly a once in a lifetime being.

But, and I know the moral compass of a company who’s CCO is a man who has recently appointed to the government staff of Donald Trump, MAYBE isn’t the most morally sound of all… And yes, I believe people can hold any political beliefs they want, however, I also can have mine. I believe that some things simply CANNOT be glossed over. Yes, people can repent, people can change. However, Brock’s name was in the Janel Grant lawsuit, and it was alleged, it was stated, that Brock Lesnar was complicit in the actions of Vince McMahon and company towards Janel Grant. It was stated, not only in the Netflix documentary, but publicly, it is out there, it is on the record that Vince McMahon essentially offered Janel Grant to Brock Lesnar as part of a renegotiation of a WWE contract. That’s human trafficking, that is incredibly wrong. That is disgusting. That is vile. I feel sick and I am disgusted. I haven’t been this disgusted in WWE since Stephanie McMahon came out and told the crowd to say “thank you Vince”. Not long after when Vince himself came out on tv, laughed in all our faces and essentially said “FUCK ‘EM”…

Recently I had to sit through a number of tributes to publicly known racist Hulk Hogan across WWE TV. Again, something that simply cannot be denied. There are videos out there of Hulk Hogan being very much racist. And I’m sure people will say ‘allegations this, allegations that’ regarding Brock Lesnar in this lawsuit of Janel Grant. However, I believe whilst an investigation is ongoing, you should not presume someone to be innocent OR guilty. By bringing Brock Lesnar back to TV, I believe you are presuming and presenting him to the world as innocent.

Now, I am sure, as has been stated by Triple H already that Brock was someone named by John Cena that he wanted to work with before he calls it a day. And I’m all for giving people the send-off that they want and they deserve. However, I think some things are simply a no-go. I do not believe that putting Brock Lesnar on a public platform, a platform that’s so big, and a spot so enormous that nobody that’s a wrestling fan will ever forget (one of the final opponents of John Cena). As they say on TV, John is one of the greatest of all time. He’s certainly one of the most famous wrestlers in recent times. And so his retirement, the ending of his wrestling career, will be talked about, replayed, for generations. Brock Lesnar’s name will be alongside that now. And EVEN IF these allegations are disproven, Brock Lesnar totally exonerated of any wrongdoing, these allegations are still going to exist and be out there. EVEN IF it’s found totally and without doubt, that what is alleged of Brock Lesnar isn’t true, then it could be fair to say maybe it isn’t wise to have one of their greatest of all time, have one of his final matches alongside someone even close to anything like a sex trafficking lawsuit. This is going to be a tough one to erase from history for WWE. Some things simply shouldn’t be glossed over. For me, this is one of those things.

As a fan, I kind of want to escape from the world when I watch WWE, and it has helped me more times than I can even think of to escape from life and the wider world when I’ve truly needed to. Certainly it helped me during the pandemic when WWE was one of the only things which was running at a regular schedule. But I am grossly uncomfortable with them giving such a big platform to somebody who’s alleged with being complicit or directly involved with a SEX TRAFFICKING CASE. This is a huge deal. Like I said, this is the most shocked I’ve been watching a wrestling show for years. And I am sure that John Cena versus Brock Lesnar whenever it happens will be a huge deal. I am actually going to Monday Night Raw in a few weeks, and if John Cena and/or Brock Lesnar is there, that is a huge deal. But I am very uncomfortable with Brock Lesnar being given such a huge spot, given the allegations regarding his involvement, in the abhorrent, to say the least, behaviour of those in WWE, particularly by Vince McMahon and John Laurinaitis towards Janel Grant. I have no doubt that there will be some form of statement from Janel Grant’s attorney, or her team regarding this, but by them doing this, I don’t think it puts WWE as a company in a good light at all. This is the week in which WWE has championed known racist, Hulk Hogan, which they have promoted the fact that Triple H has been appointed by Donald Trump, who, let’s not get into the allegations and talk around him because we will be here until SummerSlam 2026!.  Maybe I should have saw this coming. Maybe I shouldn’t have been surprised.

I knew that those who ran WWE where Trump supporters. I knew that Brock coming back ONE DAY was a possibility. But I absolutely thought that there was NO WAY in this day and age that WWE would put someone on TV who had been mentioned as complicit in a SEX TRAFFICIKING lawsuit against them. Especially given they had previously pulled said individual from TV before…

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/wwe/article-13014105/Brock-Lesnar-withdrawn-WWE-return-Royal-Rumble.html

WWE pulled Brock Lesnar from the Royal Rumble once his alleged involvement in the allegations surfaced.  And WWE after that pretty much gave Brock the ‘Benoit’ treatment, he was off tv, no name on tv, removed from the intro, removed from the video game.And then gradually over time, his name peeped back up on tv, and now here we are and he’s back….

I was once a huge Brock Lesnar fan. I would regularly watch his matches back. I think he’s an incredible performer. However, Chris Benoit was a great wrestler. He’s also a murderer.  There have been many other people who have done terrible things. And do I want to watch their stuff? Absolutely not.  Do I want to see them in a huge spot like this? No. Do I think this sends out a great message?  No, not at all. Do I think it makes them almost complicit in his behaviour? Well if it’s not them being complicit, it’s certainly not them condoning anything! Of course, innocent until proven guilty. But as I have said, I think if you present someone on a public platform, then you are promoting them as if innocent. I just think it’s wrong.

And this is hard for me to write as a fan of WWE. Someone who was a fan of Brock Lesnar. Someone who wants to enjoy the ride, and enjoy the run of John Cena’s retirement tour. Someone who would love to be able to fully enjoy the fact that we’re going to see Brock Lesnar versus John Cena in 2025. And as someone who, in a few weeks, there’s a possibility, I might see Brock and/or John Cena in the flesh myself. But yet, I am uncomfortable, and I do not think I am the only one. As I said, this is only a few hours removed from SummerSlam. I no longer have Twitter, so maybe I’m not going to be able to see the full reaction, but I can’t imagine it is largely positive. I am sure there will be many people who are excited.  There will be many people who are happy. Can I understand that? Yes. Am I happy? Am I excited? No. And I do not think I am the only one. My thoughts and my heart are with Janel Grant this morning, with the eyes of the world already on this woman, now she has another reminder of what has happened to her. And I think it goes without saying, if a company puts something on TV or does something which makes their fans question the company, that’s not a good thing. Like I said, I am just me. But I do not believe I am the only one who is upset, who is appalled, and who is disgusted by the fact that WWE has given a huge spot, or any spot for that matter, on their television show to Brock Lesnar given the circumstances and allegations surrounding him.

I should also mention two recent developments, firstly how it’s convenient that on a weekend where it was notable that WWE no longer had a post show press conference, where media asked various wrestlers and also Triple H questions, that this return of Lesnar happens… and in a week where Triple H is anointed by Donald Trump… And also the quotes from Triple H after SummerSlam, where he essentially just said that Brock coming back was what Cena wanted… So lets just pretend it’s all fine, take no responsibility whatsoever, and hope people think it’s OK because its what John Cena wants… well… what about what JANEL GRANT wanted??? What about your female staff and talent that Triple H himself said that WWE do all they can to protect? Doesn’t add up to me… I adore the talent in WWE, but my god I am beginning to detest this company. The sole reason I will still be going to Monday Night Raw on the 25th, is because it was paid for as a present by my loved ones for my Birthday for me and a good friend. I will support the talent on the show, and do my best to enjoy my time, anything that isn’t promoting anything involving Brock Lesnar that is.

I am sure there will be plenty of fallout to this. I absolutely think WWE have made a serious mistake and a huge lapse of judgment here. I do not believe that this will happen, but I hope and I pray that at some point in the next few hours, they come to their senses, and on Monday Night Raw later tonight, they retcon the whole angle with Lesnar and Cena, and try and forget it ever happened. That they just say ‘Look, we fucked up. This is bad, we’re very sorry’, and on Raw Lesnar gets hit with an AA from Cena, and that’s your lot. But sadly, I don’t think they’ll do that. I think we’re going to hear all about Brock Lesnar and John Cena until they do the match, and I have no doubt they will make a HUGE deal out of it all. And the idea of that, for me, is uncomfortable. And if I feel uncomfortable, and you’re reading this and you’re left feeling uncomfortable, just imagine how Janel Grant feels. 