SummerSlam gave fans plenty to talk about and the world saw a huge title change when Cody Rhodes defeated John Cena to win the WWE Championship in the night 2 main event. After the main event Brock Lesnar returned and hit John Cena with the F5 as the show went off the air.
Brock Lesnar’s return at SummerSlam was The Beast’s first appearance on WWE programming since he was defeated by Cody Rhodes at SummerSlam in 2023. Originally it was reported that WWE had plans for Brock to be part of WrestleMania season in 2024, but he was pulled from creative plans due to the Janel Grant lawsuit.
The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that Brock Lesnar was still fully paid during his absence from WWE even though he wasn’t being used. According to the report The Beast Incarnate was still among the top paid wrestlers in the company, and he was never suspended while he was kept under contract.
It was noted that if what Brock Lesnar did was going to end WWE’s relationship with them then he would have been let go. Lesnar was always going to return when WWE legal cleared him, and legal cleared him about one month prior to SummerSlam, which was kept secret.