Brock Lesnar is back in WWE, but when did he get cleared to return to TV?
Lesnar made a shocking appearance at SummerSlam on Sunday night, attacking John Cena after he lost the WWE Championship to Cody Rhodes. Lesnar walked to the ringside area and took off his entrance attire before hitting Cena with an F5.
Brock Lesnar’s return was something that no one expected or guessed would happen. This is mostly due to being named in Janel Grant’s ongoing lawsuit against Vince McMahon and WWE. According to a new report from Dave Meltzer of F4WOnline.com, WWE’s legal department cleared Brock Lesnar to return four weeks ago.
“The short version of this is that four weeks ago, WWE legal cleared him,” Meltzer said. “As far as why, I don’t know. Obviously, everything relates to the Janel Grant lawsuit.”
Meltzer speculated that WWE is confident that Lesnar is not a factor in the Grant lawsuit, or they are close to a settlement. In addition, Meltzer also claims that Lesnar’s return is the reason for WWE not doing a “traditional” post-show press conference after SummerSlam. Co-host Bryan Alvarez also speculated that Triple H’s involvement with the White House’s Presidential Fitness revival was another possible factor.
Where has Brock Lesnar been?
Brock Lesnar hasn’t wrestled since losing to Cody Rhodes at WWE’s SummerSlam 2023 in Detroit. Lesnar was reportedly planned for an appearance at the 2024 Royal Rumble. However, he was pulled from the event due to being implicated in Grant’s lawsuit against WWE and McMahon.
Lesnar was referenced, but not explicitly named, in the lawsuit, which claimed McMahon used proposing sexual encounters with Grant as a way to talk Lesnar into signing a new WWE contract. Lesnar was also pulled from the WWE 2K24 video game. In July 2024, Triple H was asked by the Daily Mail (UK) about Lesnar’s WWE return. Triple H implied the decision was Lesnar’s to make, and that WWE would “be open to the conversation” if and when Lesnar decided that he would like to return.
In February 2025, Grant filed a revised complaint in her federal lawsuit. This specifically identified Lesnar as an individual whom she claims McMahon offered her to for sexual encounters in 2021. Despite identifying him in the amended complaint, Grant’s own admission said Lesnar did nothing illegal. While Lesnar was named, the alleged sexual encounters never happened, and he isn’t a defendant in the lawsuit. According to court documents, Lesnar and Grant did communicate with each other. Lesnar did express interest in the arranged encounter, but a snowstorm reportedly changed his travel plans and prevented the meet-up from taking place.
Read more about how WWE kept Brock Lesnar’s appearance a surprise here.
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