Backstage News On Brock Lesnar’s WWE Status, Why He Didn’t Appear On Raw After SummerSlam

Brock Lesnar’s widely expected Universal Championship loss to Roman Reigns finally played out on Sunday at SummerSlam and “The Beast Incarnate” is now transitioning back to training for a return to the UFC’s Octagon. Most expect that return match to happen in early 2019 against UFC Heavyweight Champion Daniel Cormier.

As one would expect, the door remains open for Lesnar to return to WWE in the future. PWInsider.com’s Mike Johnson confirmed this in a report after SummerSlam and noted that WWE officials would welcome him back once he’s done fighting.

There were also several rumors circulating over the last couple of days that appear to be false. One centered on SummerSlam and the length of Lesnar vs. Reigns, while the other concerned the script for Raw.

The report that Lesnar vs. Reigns had several minutes shaved off of it is false, according to Johnson. The match went down exactly how it was planned by the producers, Lesnar, and Reigns ahead of time. WWE creative had Braun Strowman appear ringside to try to take away any negativity from fans at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, but they did not order Lesnar and Reigns to shorten the match in case they drew a bad reaction.

The rumor that Lesnar and Heyman were slated cut a promo the following night on Raw in Brooklyn is also false. While Lesnar was advertised for the show by the Barclays Center, he flew back home on a private plane following SummerSlam. He didn’t walk out or anything of the sort.

F4WOnline.com’s Dave Meltzer noted on Twitter that WWE officials could have had Lesnar appear on Raw on Monday due to the terms of their contract, but simply chose not to. Now, however, Lesnar is no longer contractually obligated to appear for WWE.

His last show on his contract was to be Monday although they decided not to use him. https://t.co/8GLvGQNEtu

— Dave Meltzer (@davemeltzerWON) August 22, 2018

It was also noted that if WWE creative needed a Brock-related promo inside the ring, they could have simply had Paul Heyman cut the promo in front of the live crowd. WWE creative instead chose to tape a backstage segment between Heyman and Raw General Manager Kurt Angle.

It’s easy to imagine Lesnar returning to WWE in time for WrestleMania 35 next spring, though this will obviously be contingent on how his UFC return match goes. Lesnar remains undoubtedly one of the biggest stars in wrestling and WWE will always see him as an asset to their roster.