Pro Wrestling Sheet reports that they have confirmed with multiple sources that Brock Lesnar and Vince McMahongot into a real-life verbal altercation after WrestleMania 34.
Details are still scarce, but we’re told Lesnar was livid when he returned to the backstage gorilla position and went off on the WWE Chairman … who was not happy about it.
Sources tell Pro Wrestling Sheet the brief, but heated incident ended with Brock throwing the Universal Title belt — some say at Vince, some say at a wall — then walking away. No word yet on what set him off.
Pro Wrestling Sheet was told there’s a belief that Brock may have gone off script a little bit near the end of the match, but they have not been unable to confirm if this is true.
Brock Lesnar is returning to UFC … at least according to Dana White.
White was a guest this evening on UFC Tonight and when asked if Lesnar would be returning said, “Yeah, Brock Lesnar’s coming back. I don’t know when, but yes he is.”
As we reported back in July, Brock made it clear to WWE officials that he did not plan to sign a new contract and would be leaving the company when his contract expires after WrestleMania 34.
It’s unclear if they’ve since come to a new agreement that would allow him to do both, but MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani reports that a new UFC deal is already in place and Dana is confident that Lesnar’s WWE duties will be wrapped up soon.
Brock has not competed in UFC since 2016 when he fought Mark Hunt. After the bout, Brock failed a pair of drug tests and the decision was reversed to a no-contest. He was fined $250,000 and suspended for a year, but subsequently announced his retirement (which froze the suspension).
WWE universal champion Brock Lesnar did not get his week started off right as it pertains to advertised appearances. Scheduled to show up Monday night on Raw to confront WrestleMania 34 challenger Roman Reigns, Lesnar and his advocate Paul Heyman were conspicuous by their absence, which of course led to one of the best promos that Reigns has ever cut in his career where he ran down Lesnar’s lack of loyalty to the company and his cushy schedule.
Saturday night, Lesnar was set for his second scheduled appearance of the week at a live event in Chicago where he would take on Kane. The champion actually showed up for this one — as promised earlier this week in a tweet by Heyman — but there was a catch.
That catch? Well, Lesnar showed up to work in Chicago and defeated the “Big Red Machine” in a whopping 35 seconds, reportedly leaving the crowd understandably a little perturbed for not getting their money’s worth.
It wasn’t just the paying fans in Chicago that had an opinion, however. Lesnar’s part-time schedule is widely criticized by fans, so when Twitter caught wind of the 35-second bout there were some takes there as well.
I can't wait for Brock Lesnar's time in WWE to be only a funny memory.
— fat kid posing in front of Mick Foley (@DoubleChin1999) March 4, 2018
Between the “no-show” of Raw, which appears to have been a purposeful part of a storyline, the ensuing Reigns worked-shoot promo and what took place in Chicago on Saturday, it seems pretty clear now what WWE’s plan is ahead of WrestleMania 34.
In their best effort to get the polarizing Reigns cheered in New Orleans on April 8, WWE is aiming to get all the heat it can on the former UFC heavyweight champion by presenting him as the most selfish worker in the company.
It is well known that Lesnar’s contract is rumored to contain a provision that his so-called “house show” matches last under five minutes each, and the champion — despite holding the title for a calendar year — has not wrestled on television in 2017-18 and barely been in the ring a full hour on pay-per-views.
We won’t know for certain until we hear the crowd reactions at WrestleMania whether this plan will work, but I must admit they’re off to a pretty solid start thus far in making Lesnar the insufferable heel you just want to see eat the 1-2-3 on April 8.
Brock Lesnar met up with UFC President Dana White over the weekend while in Las Vegas. Rumors on a potential UFC return for Lesnar have been ramping up as of late because Lesnar’s current WWE contract expires after WrestleMania 34, where he will defend the WWE Universal Championship against Roman Reigns. White posted a photo of the two together, but has yet to elaborate on what they discussed.
Yesterday, Dana White appeared on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio and at one point was asked about the chances of Lesnar returning to the UFC. White kept his answer positive, but brief.
— SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Ch. 90) (@SiriusXMNASCAR) February 28, 2018
Lesnar’s last UFC fight was at UFC 200 back in July of 2016 where Lesnar defeated Mark Hunt by unanimous decision, which was later overturned. Failing a post-fight drug test for clomiphene, Lesnar was suspended for a year and fined $250k. In February of last year, Lesnar said he would be retiring from MMA. If he did decide to return, there’s still just over six months of his suspension that he would still have to fulfill.
Lesnar was scheduled to be at Monday’s Raw for a face-off with Roman Reigns, but that segment didn’t take place. He was featured in multiple Raw scripts that were done and his absence was acknowledged by Reigns during a segment he did by himself.
Lesnar is scheduled to defend against Kane at Saturday’s WWE live event in Chicago and is scheduled to return to WWE TV on the March 12 Raw from Detroit.
As noted, WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar was scheduled to face off with Roman Reigns on Monday’s RAW from Anaheim but that segment never happened. Lesnar, who was in Las Vegas on Sunday to meet with UFC President Dana White but not to attend the WWE Elimination Chamberpay-per-view, was listed in multiple RAW scripts on Monday and was still being advertised by WWE after RAW hit the air.
It’s still not completely clear why Lesnar and Heyman didn’t appear but F4Wonline.com reports that their absence is believed to be due to an 11th hour creative change. The goal of the build to Reigns vs. Lesnar at WrestleMania 34 is to get Reigns cheered by fans, leading to a positive reaction when he wins the title in New Orleans. WWE officials also want the build to Reigns vs. Lesnar to come across like a shoot as much as possible, and the RAW segment helped with that goal.
We also noted before that the RAW segment with Reigns, Lesnar and Paul Heyman was scheduled to be lengthy and would air in the second hour. PWInsider adds that the segment was scripted to have Lesnar call Reigns a “b—h” at one point. Regarding the promo that Reigns did by himself, word is that the promo was not in the script but most of the verbiage was approved, likely by Vince McMahon.
Lesnar is scheduled to defend his title against Kane at Saturday’s WWE live event in Chicago. He’s scheduled to return to TV at the March 12th RAW in Detroit.
Paul Heyman recently spoke with TMZ (transcript via WrestleZone), here are the highlights…
On a potential return to UFC for Brock Lesnar: I think Brock Lesnar does whatever Brock Lesnar wants to do. If Brock Lesnar wants to fight in UFC then Brock Lesnar will fight in UFC. If Brock Lesnar wants to fight in WWE then he will fight in WWE. Ask Braun Strowman. Ask Randy Orton. Ask THE UNDERTAKER. Brock Lesnar does what Brock Lesnar wants to do.
On if the time away from UFC makes it harder for Brock Lesnar to return there: The time away actually makes him better because his body get a chance to heal. The problem with all these UFC fighters is, and they are all fantastic athletes, top of the world, they all wear their bodies down in these training camps. All these guys that are cutting weight are destroying their bodies. Brock Lesnar is probably the healthiest fighter to enter UFC if he decides to do that. He’s always ready. Always.
On the rumors that Paul Heyman may have interest in advocating for Ronda Rousey: Why limit the people I have my eye on to just Ronda Rousey? I have my eye on anyone who is a top box office attraction. I have my eye on Ens Kanter of the New York Knicks. I have my eye on Aaron Judge and Luis Severino of the New York Yankees.
On if he would venture into other sports other than just combat sports: How do you know other sports aren’t coming to me? When you are the best advocate on the face of the entire planet, you’re in demand. My plate is full. When you advocate for the reigning, defending, undisputed heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar that’s a 24/7 job. If I happen to find an extra moment or two in my schedule for someone else… that’s just a whole bunch of side cash for me.
The WWE Summerslam tickets feature WWE superstars including Braun Strowman, Ronda Rousey, AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, Seth Rollins, The New Day, Shinsuke Nakamura, Roman Reigns and many others. Brock Lesnar does not appear on the tickets, as shown below by ESPN Reporter Arash Markazi. This has led to speculation that Lesnar won’t be returning to the company once his contract expires in April. There have been rumors that Lesnar is interested in one last UFC run for a few big money fights.
The first look at a WWE SummerSlam ticket featuring Ronda Rousey. The event takes place August 19 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. pic.twitter.com/Um9lfmVGsI
Some might find it surprising that Bobby Lashley and Brock Lesnar have never faced each other in a wrestling ring. In fact, the two of them have never even met face-to-face. In a recent interview with The Hannibal TV, Lashley called out Lesnar and said he believes it’s a fight that needs to happen.
“It’s not on me, it’s on him,” Lashley said. “I’m not the type to call people out. I have mad respect for Brock and I have mad respect for everybody in the fight business and in the wrestling business. But I think it’s just one of those things that needs to be done.”
Lashley currently competes in Impact Wrestling while Lesnar is the WWE Universal Champion, so a wrestling match is unlikely to happen any time soon. What is more likely is an MMA fight, as both Lashley and Lesnar are experienced combat fighters. Lashley said he believes a fight with Lesnar would attract casual and hardcore fans alike because of the entertainment factor.
“There’s big matchups all the way across the board. They looked at Brock fighting Jon Jones, that was one thing that was talked about, everybody was like, ‘Oh, that’s awesome!’ Floyd Mayweather fighting Conor [McGregor], these are different matchups that people want to see,” Lashley said. “I think right now people are starting to move more into that entertainment aspect of wanting to see those different contests and different matchups. Brock and myself, whether it’s in professional wrestling or whether it’s in a fight, I think it needs to be done.”
Lashley said it’s up to Lesnar or Paul Heyman to make the fight happen. He’s currently signed to Bellator MMA and last fought in October 2016 when he defeated Josh Appelt by second-round submission. Lesnar’s most recent fight came at UFC 200 in July 2016 when he defeated Mark Hunt by unanimous decision, but the win was vacated after Lesnar tested positive for a banned substance.
Lashley and Lesnar would provide an interesting matchup as they are both powerful strikers with strong wrestling pedigrees. Lashley wouldn’t offer a prediction for how a potential fight with Lesnar would go, but he said he likes his chances.
“Until the fight happens, no one knows,” Lashley said. “I think I would do well. I think our styles are very similar and I think it’s gonna be tit-for-tat in a lot of ways.”
The current contract for WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar has an option that would renew the deal and most expect that it will be renewed after it expires at WrestleMania 34, according to The Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Lesnar’s last dates under the current deal would be WrestleMania 34 in New Orleans or the post-WrestleMania RAW the next night. WWE also has certain rights with Lesnar that will go through the first week of August 2018 if a new deal is not signed.
Regarding the rumors of Lesnar possibly returning to UFC to fight Jon Jones, the feeling among just about everyone is that the fight will never happen. If Lesnar does decide to return to UFC for another fight, it likely would not happen until August since WWE would have no rights to him.
The Observer adds that while WWE has ties to WME IMG, the owners of UFC, that things aren’t smooth between the two sides. UFC President Dana White has noted that he has a good business relationship with Triple H but it’s a more difficult situation with Vince McMahon.
MMA Weekly noted that White appeared on The Dan LeBatard Show this week and said he doesn’t believe WWE would allow Lesnar to fight again while he’s under contract. Vince allowed Lesnar to work the UFC 200 event in July 2016 but WWE ended up looking bad after Lesnar tested positive for a banned substance. White commented:
“They didn’t want to do that again. You saw what happened last time he was under contract and it doesn’t look good for anybody.”
Wrestling News Blog 