Brock Lesnar remained among 'the highest paid wrestlers' in WWE despite absence: Report

The Beast Incarnate made his return during SummerSlam 2025!

‘The Beast Incarnate’ Brock Lesnar was absent from WWE programming since his loss to Cody Rhodes at the 2023 edition of SummerSlam. However, it all changed after the main event of Night 2 of SummerSlam 2025, where he made his earth-shattering return. 

The former WWE and UFC Champion was first indirectly mentioned, and later explicitly named, in the lawsuit filed by a former WWE employee, Janel Grant, against Vince McMahon and WWE, a development that triggered significant consequences, and his subsequent plans for him were scrapped until now, when he was cleared by WWE’s legal team.

Brock Lesnar attacked John Cena in his return

Lesnar returned after the main event, where Cody Rhodes defeated John Cena to regain the Undisputed WWE title in a street fight. Cody and Cena embraced after the hard-fought match, and the crowd erupted in thanking Cena.

After Cody left, Cena acknowledged the crowd, and just then, Brock Lesnar’s music hit and the Beast Incarnate made his earth-shattering return to everyone’s surprise. The Beast Incarnate stepped into the ring, and Cena tried to attack but failed as Lesnar laid out Cena with a vicious F5, similar to the way he did at SummerSlam 2021.

Also Read: Brock Lesnar’s diet: What does WWE’s beast incarnate do to stay fit?

Brock Lesnar was cleared by the legal team a month prior to SummerSlam

Dave Meltzer in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reported that despite his absence, Brock Lesnar “was among the highest paid wrestlers in the company.” 

The report points out that Lesnar was never suspended by WWE, and the decision not to release him signaled the company’s intentions despite the lawsuit. Metlzer also adds that Brock was cleared about a month before SummerSlam, but the news was kept under wraps until then.

“Lesnar was still, even though not used, fully paid during that time period and was among the highest paid wrestlers in the company. He was never suspended, and obviously kept under contract.

If what he did was going to end their relationship with him, he’d have been let go. That’s the reality. He was always going to return when legal cleared him. Legal cleared him about one month prior to the show, which was kept secret, and allowed for the return.”

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