The roof just came off the MetLife Stadium on Summerslam Sunday night on August 3rd after Brock Lesnar’s music hit the arena. With alleged accusations in his name in a filed lawsuit, fans could barely believe his presence on WWE programming, this early. But Mr. Summerslam made his way back to television, and WWE didn’t possibly rush things, either, to get their marquee attraction back onboard.
Subsequent reports affirm that Brock Lesnar’s shocking return at SummerSlam 2025 wasn’t a creative decision alone and that it only occurred after WWE’s legal team decided to lift the ban on him. The move did raise tons of questions backstage and among fans as they questioned what led to that sudden change in stance after the ban had been in place since early 2024.
Marquee Roman Reigns’ Match Being Saved For Bigger WWE Premium Live Event
To answer those questions, Wrestling Observer Newsletter noted that the timing has a lot to do with WWE’s perception of the ongoing legal matters tied to Vince McMahon and also Brock Lesnar. Grant’s attorneys go with the stance that nothing is certain, and a judge has confirmed the investigation into McMahon is still active, while the belief within WWE is that no criminal case against McMahon exists.
WWE Royal Rumble 2025: Insane “Automatic Win” Canceled For Rumble Match
WWE to have minimal risk with Brock Lesnar being in the Janel Grant lawsuit
This belief reportedly generated earlier in the year, after the SEC concluded its separate investigation into McMahon in January, while the civil trial connected to Grant’s lawsuit is still moving. The Observer suggested in this context that WWE may now consider Brock Lesnar’s legal risk to be minimal. If the lawsuit ends up in arbitration, his name would become irrelevant in the proceedings. Elsewhere, if WWE expects the matter to be settled out of court, references to him in the case wouldn’t have a bigger impact on the company.
That being said, WWE’s legal department is now confident enough to have Brock Lesnar back into storylines as they believe whatever is stored in the future in the Janel Grant lawsuit won’t affect his standing in the WWE. Hence, he is being factored into a match against John Cena, possibly in a bigger WWE premium live event in the fall. This was the reason Cena also called him out on last night’s Smackdown.