It happened. Somehow, Brock Lesnar returned to WWE, something that seemed impossible just last week when UFC commentator Daniel Cormier let it slip that Lesnar was on some sort of WWE/TKO banned list. But there was Lesnar, looking like he had just walked off the set of a C-movie western starring Kevin Sorbo, showing his face in WWE for the first time since the 2023 SummerSlam, coming out right after John Cena’s Undisputed WWE Championship loss to Cody Rhodes. Much like he did at the 2014 SummerSlam, Lesnar proceeded to lay into Cena, punctuating the attack with an F-5. In those few minutes, Lesnar overshadowed the rest of SummerSlam’s two night stay in the Tri-State area, in a return that promises to go down as one of the more shocking and, to put it as kindly as possible, polarizing moments wrestling has ever seen.
For the few wondering how that could be, it’s because of Janel Grant’s 2024 lawsuit accusing former WWE chairman Vince McMahon of sex trafficking and abuse. Try as some might, there’s no escaping the black cloud of that lawsuit, especially for Lesnar, who was mentioned (without being named) in Grant’s original complaint, before being named in her amended lawsuit. Among the many claims in the suit were that McMahon used Grant in order to convince Lesnar to sign a new contract with WWE, established a correspondence between them, and even attempted to traffic Grant to Lesnar for sexual encounters, though circumstances prevented Lesnar and Grant from ever meeting. All of that made it seem impossible that last night’s SummerSlam return could occur, and it’s the biggest reason why wrestling fans’ minds were “blown away” when he walked out from behind the curtain. And naturally, it’s the biggest thing informing the reactions to Lesnar’s return this morning.
Lesnar’s Return Drew Positive Responses At SummerSlam, Negative Reaction On Social Media
At first glance, one would expect the reactions to Lesnar’s return to entirely be negative, a theory that would be disproven by simply watching the end of SummerSlam. Whether it be the surprise of Lesnar’s return, indifference, star power overshadowing everything else, or some combination of all those factors (and others), Lesnar’s appearance was met with a thunderous pop, so notable that WWE chief content officer Triple H stated the roof would’ve come off MetLife Stadium, provided the building actually had a roof. Nevertheless, the reaction to Lesnar’s return on social media was far different, and far more negative, than the reaction in the building. In particular, users on the social media platform Bluesky were in an outrage over the decision, with some fans going as far to say they would no longer be watching WWE again.
But the reaction to Lesnar’s return can perhaps be best summed up by, what else, Cagematch. No sooner did the wrestling database site make SummerSlam 2025 available to review did reviewers pour in with polarizing responses, resulting in the show’s score bouncing all over the place before settling (as of this writing) at a score of 6.90. It’s a score that would seem lower than expected, given the positive response to matches such as Rhea Ripley vs. IYO Sky vs. Naomi, the six-team TLC match, and the aforementioned Cena vs. Rhodes main event. And it is largely due to Lesnar, as certain viewers have given the event a low score just for his appearance alone, while others have attempted to separate Lesnar’s return with the rest of the show, or praised it. Certainly, Cagematch, social media, and even a stadium full of wrestling fans is a small sample size. But given the nature of Lesnar’s return and the circumstances that will continue to follow him, one can expect this fan response, good and bad, to follow Lesnar throughout this entire run.
