Brock Lesnar says he is done, but WWE officials apparently aren’t buying this as the final chapter. Days after Lesnar announced his retirement following his Hell in a Cell loss to Oba Femi at SummerSlam, high-ranking people inside WWE still expect The Beast to be involved at WrestleMania 43 in Saudi Arabia.
WrestleVotes Radio on Fightful Select followed up with a source after Lesnar confirmed his retirement during a FaceTime appearance on The Pat McAfee Show. While another match has not been locked in, WWE still has two major options on the table: bring Lesnar back to wrestle or make him the headline attraction for the WWE Hall of Fame.
“Despite Lesnar stating he is finished in the ring, we’re told there are high-ranking officials still within WWE who believe he’ll be involved in WrestleMania 43 in some capacity. One source noted that if another match isn’t in the cards, the idea of Lesnar headlining the WWE Hall of Fame in Saudi Arabia would certainly be on the table.”
The belief backstage is that Saudi Arabia’s massive financial offer could be enough to pull Lesnar out of retirement one more time. One source made it clear they do not expect him to walk away before collecting one final major payday.
“That same source went a step further, telling us they can’t envision Lesnar walking away before one final payday in Saudi Arabia. With the right set of circumstances and the right dollar figure, we can probably get Brock back for one more.”
Lesnar sounded serious when he announced that SummerSlam was the end. He thanked the fans who followed his career and said the loss to Oba Femi emptied whatever fuel he still had left in the tank.
“I’m here today to let the world know that I am retired, and I wanted to say a big thank you to everybody. Saturday was a very emotional day for me. The business—and I still had some fuel in the tank. But Saturday, that’s it for me in the squared circle and for everything else too.”
WWE also moved Lesnar back to the alumni section of its website and aired another career retrospective on RAW. Even so, the internal expectation remains that he will appear at WrestleMania 43 in some form. During the discussion, TC put Lesnar’s chances of appearing in Saudi Arabia at 50-50. He leaned toward the Hall of Fame but admitted he would rather see one final match.
“My head says Hall of Fame. My heart says wrestling. I absolutely, 100 percent agree with the source here that he somehow, some way will be involved at WrestleMania 43.”
GUNTHER, Bron Breakker and Oba Femi were mentioned as possible opponents, although none were presented as confirmed WWE plans. TC believed GUNTHER would make the most sense if Lesnar returns for one final fight.
“There are money matches available, and I think, gun to my head, GUNTHER makes the most sense. We’ve talked about that match for a long time.”
Lesnar may genuinely consider himself retired right now, but WWE clearly believes the right offer could change that before WrestleMania 43. As Joey Votes explained, retirement only lasts until the phone rings with a number too big to ignore.
“It feels like he’s being genuine in saying he’s retired. And you can be both. You can be retired until the phone rings with money you can’t refuse. That’s okay.”
Nothing has been finalized, but WWE officials still expect Brock Lesnar to be part of WrestleMania 43. The only real question is whether he enters the Hall of Fame, steps back into the ring or does both.
Do you think Brock Lesnar will wrestle at WrestleMania 43, or will his Saudi Arabia appearance be limited to the WWE Hall of Fame? Let us know what you think in the comments.
Please credit Ringside News if you use the above transcript in your publication.
