Brock Lesnar returned to WWE for the first time in two years after being named in the bombshell civil sexual lawsuit against Vince McMahon.
Lesnar’s music hit for his stunning return after Cody Rhodes defeated John Cena to win the Undisputed WWE championship in the main event of Night 2 at SummerSlam at MetLife Stadium on Sunday night.
Lesnar, whose last appearance was at SummerSlam in 2023, delivered his F5 finisher to a stunned Cena to set up a match later this year during the “Peacemaker” star’s retirement run.
It’s the former UFC heavyweight champion’s first time on the company’s programming since his name came up in allegations made against the former WWE boss, McMahon, made by ex-employee Janel Grant. She accuses him of sexual assault and sex trafficking.
Grant filed the suit in January 2024. The original complaint did not include Lesnar’s name, only referencing a “world-famous athlete and former UFC Heavyweight Champion” whom McMahon was trying to sign at the time. Lesnar, who is not a defendant in the case, was officially named by Grant in federal court in an amended complaint in February.
Grant accused McMahon of asking her to create “personalized sexual content” for Lesnar in July 2021 during his contract negotiations. She also alleges McMahon flew Lesnar to Connecticut in 2021 for a sexual encounter that ended up not happening.
McMahon’s attorney, Jessica Rosenberg, called Grant naming Lesnar in the suit, a “publicity stunt” in February.
“As expected, the proposed amended complaint is nothing more than the latest publicity stunt in an ongoing smear campaign,” McMahon attorney Jessica Rosenberg said in a statement to ESPN at the time. “It is filled with desperate falsehoods from a team that continues to disregard the law and the truth.”
Lesnar has been persona non grata around WWE since then, with his merchandise being taken down from WWE Shop and his playable character, along with McMahon’s, being removed from the WWE 2K24 video game. Lesnar was rumored to be returning at the 2024 Royal Rumble, but the appearance was scrapped after the news of the lawsuit broke
The lawsuit accuses McMahon of causing her physical harm with his fists and other objects, including sex toys, along with locking her in a WWE office before he and another WWE executive took turns sexually assaulting her. She also accused McMahon in the lawsuit of forcing her into sexual relationships to keep her job.
McMahon has denied the allegations against him,
At the time, his legal team called the lawsuit “replete with lies, obscene made-up instances that never occurred, and a vindictive distortion of the truth.”