How And Why Brock Lesnar Was Brought Back At WWE SummerSlam 2025 (Report)

Brock Lesnar is back after one of the most shocking conclusions to a SummerSlam in WWE history.

The Beast's music hit Sunday night just moments after Cody Rhodes regained the WWE Championship from John Cena. The American Nightmare had already vacated the area, but Cena was in the midst of soaking in a round of applause for what was a sensational main event performance.

Lesnar marched down to the ring and delivered an F-5 to the Never Seen 17-Time World Champion to close the show. The angle was a stunning turn of events for a myriad of reasons, beyond any on-going legal cases.

Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select reported that there was absolutely zero indication from anyone within the company that a Brock Lesnar return was imminent.

BROCK. LESNAR. IS. BACK.
HERE COMES THE PAIN! 👊 pic.twitter.com/uR2z9RVoZu
— WWE (@WWE) August 4, 2025

"The John Cena vs. Cody Rhodes main event was being kept very quiet, even from writers, producers, staff, and production crew," Ross Sapp 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."

The former WWE Champion has not competed for the company since he lost to Cody Rhodes at SummerSlam 2023 and he's been persona non grata ever since he was named in the Janel Grant lawsuit against WWE and Vince McMahon the following January.

It's important to note that Lesnar is not a defendant in the civil suit. He has not been charged with any crime either, but WWE pulled him from both the 2024 Royal Rumble Match and his planned WrestleMania XL match with Gunther after the case went public.

So... What changed regarding Brock Lesnar over the last 18 months?

“Four weeks ago, WWE Legal cleared him (Brock Lesnar). As far as why, I don’t know," Dave Meltzer said on the latest 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."

It was not possible for any of the media outlets in attendance, including The Takedown on SI, to get answers to those burning questions surrounding Brock Lesnar's return or any questions regarding SummerSlam weekend.

WWE PR informed us all that there would be no post show press conference upon our arrival to the stadium on Saturday for night one of SummerSlam. WWE Chief Content Officer Paul 'Triple H' Levesque instead joined the post show panel to discuss the weekend's events.

Dave Meltzer has since confirmed what many people suspected, not just in the media but fans on social media as well, the moment that Brock Lesnar's music hit on Sunday.

"I can tell you also factually, that the reason they didn't do the press conferences was because of this angle.”

It's not currently known how long Brock Lesnar will be sticking around. The Beast is clearly back to begin one last program with John Cena before he retires in December. Beyond that is anyone's guess.

We'll continue to provide as much information as possible regarding his return as it becomes available.

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