Brock Lesnar made his return to the professional wrestling ring for the first time in two years at Summerslam on Sunday night.
The shocking and controversial moment took place after the Premium Live Event’s second night of action was completed as John Cena stood in the ring. It came just weeks after Daniel Cormier claimed he was ‘banned’ from the TKO Group, which encompasses both UFC and WWE.
Lesnar is one of the most decorated WWE superstars in history, but also has a massive history in the octagon. He won UFC heavyweight gold in just his fourth MMA fight by knocking out the legendary Randy Couture, and proceeded to defend that belt twice before retiring with less than ten fights.
Brock Lesnar makes WWE return at Summerslam after main event
Fans were stunned both at Metlife Stadium and watching on Netflix as Brock Lesnar returned for his first WWE appearance since August of 2023 this Sunday. Following a match between John Cena and Cody Rhodes which the former won, ‘The Beast Incarnate’s music hit and he emerged to the ring.
He quickly headed into the ring where he hit his F5 move on Cena, much to the delight of the New Jersey crowd. He proceeded to quickly leave the ring, reclaim his cowboy hat and head backstage as the show went off the air.
The last time Lesnar was seen on WWE programming was the same event in 2023 when he had a match with Cody Rhodes. He was expected to have a number of matches in 2024, but none came to fruition amid controversy outside of the ring.
WWE did not have a post-show press conference following the event, as has become customary in recent years. However, Chief Content Officer and the company’s public face Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque tweeted: “The Beast is back.”
Daniel Cormier claimed Brock Lesnar was on WWE and UFC ‘banned list’
During a recent interview with fellow UFC legend Demetrious Johnson, Daniel Cormier was asked about the possibility of a WWE match between he and Lesnar. He laughed off the idea, joking that the wrestling star was on the TKO Group’s ‘banned list’ and that he likely would never even be mentioned again.
“I mean, Brock is on the banned list right now,” Cormier told Johnson, who appeared legitimately confused by what had happened. “Oh dude, Brock got into so much trouble,” Cormier laughed. “I ain’t telling you on air what Brock did. Brock is in so much trouble.”
Indeed, the details of Lesnar’s absence from WWE programming are unclear. The former UFC champion was officially named in a lawsuit against former WWE boss Vince McMahon, although whether or not that was the reason for his disappearance was never officially stated by the WWE, UFC or TKO Group.