How and Why Brock Lesnar Returned To WWE At SummerSlam 2025: Insider Report

Brock Lesnar shocked the wrestling world by making an unannounced return at WWE SummerSlam 2025. His entrance came moments after Cody Rhodes reclaimed the WWE Championship from John Cena in the show’s main event. While Cody had exited the ring, Cena remained to soak in the crowd’s applause.

Lesnar Returns to WWE with a Shocking Statement

Lesnar made his presence felt in true Beast fashion, storming to the ring and hitting Cena with an F-5. The sudden attack stunned the live audience, especially since there were no prior hints of Lesnar being part of the event.

Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select said that nobody in WWE expected the return. “The John Cena vs. Cody Rhodes main event was being kept very quiet, even from writers, producers, staff, and production crew,” he said. “As of [Sunday] evening, a number of those same people still hadn’t heard anything about Brock Lesnar, and wondered if The Rock was making an appearance.”

Lesnar hasn’t wrestled in WWE since losing to Cody Rhodes at SummerSlam 2023. His name came up in early 2024 in the Janel Grant lawsuit involving WWE and Vince McMahon. Since then, he had been completely off WWE programming.

WWE Legal Clears Lesnar Before SummerSlam Appearance

Though Lesnar was never named as a defendant and hasn’t faced any criminal charges, WWE quietly pulled him from both the 2024 Royal Rumble and his planned WrestleMania XL match with Gunther once the lawsuit became public.

His surprise re-entry into the storyline seems to have been legally cleared just recently. “Four weeks ago, WWE Legal cleared him (Brock Lesnar). As far as why, I don’t know,” said Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio. “Obviously everything relates to the Janel Grant lawsuit, and WWE Legal is either confident that their thing goes to arbitration and Lesnar’s not a factor at that point. Or they’re close to a settlement, and at that point, Lesnar’s not a factor.”

Lesnar vs John Cena Could Be The Final Chapter

Media outlets were unable to get any official responses about Lesnar’s surprise return or any SummerSlam-related queries. WWE did not hold the usual post-show press conference and instead had Chief Content Officer Triple H join the post-show panel to discuss the event.

Dave Meltzer later addressed the situation by stating, “I can tell you also factually, that the reason they didn’t do the press conferences was because of this angle.”

At this time, it’s unclear how long Lesnar will stick around. Reports suggest this could lead to one last major feud between Brock Lesnar and John Cena before Lesnar retires in December.

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