WWE News: Brock Lesnar To Retire In 2018?
As Brock Lesnar prepares for a rematch against the Undertaker– a match that is being billed as “too big for Wrestlemania” — fans should appreciate the “Beast Incarnate” while they can, because we may only see a few more matches of this caliber in the coming years.
At least, according to his manager, Paul Heyman.
The advocate for the “Beast” recently spoke to CBS Sports to promote his client’s match with the Undertaker, the SummerSlam pay-per-view, and more. But the most notable news from the interview with Heyman was his assessment of Lesnar’s future with the WWE.
“Well, I think anyone that is considering subscribing to the WWE Network to watch Brock Lesnar — who gets top billing, by the way — versus The Undertaker, needs to take into account the following: How many more times in life will you get to see Brock Lesnar wrestle a match? There’s only a certain number of matches he’s willing to do before he just goes and becomes a farmer and a hunter full time.”
As it stands, Lesnar is currently under a WWE contract for the next three years. The week of Wrestlemania 31, Lesnar appeared on ESPN and announced that he re-signed with the WWE– electing to not pursue a return to the UFC. So, despite his part-time schedule, Lesnar would be a mainstay at big time WWE shows for at least three years.
Yet, Heyman’s comments suggest that it’s possible that once Lesnar’s contract expires, he could be done as a WWE superstar. It would be a significant loss to the WWE due to the company’s heavy reliance on Lesnar to help with WWE Network and ticket sales for big events such as Wrestlemania and SummerSlam.
For example, Lesnar main-evented SummerSlam and Night of Champions in 2014. This year, he main-evented Wrestlemania 31 and Battleground and will main-event SummerSlam for the second consecutive year. The proof is in the pudding, Lesnar equals ratings and money for WWE.
Lesnar, who is currently 38-years-old, will be in his early ’40s when his current deal expires. Just for a comparison, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has been involved in the main event of three Wrestlemanias this decade, all while being in his ’40s. And, could wrestle at another one next year. Therefore, age shouldn’t be what prevents Lesnar from continuing — but rather returning to his compound where humans are not welcome, as Heyman once said.
In the same interview, Heyman promised that after this Sunday, we may never see Undertaker ever again.
“As for the The Undertaker, you have to ask yourself the same question: How many more matches does The Undertaker have? And my answer to that is one. Because he’s gonna get his a** kicked so bad at SummerSlam, I don’t know if you’ll ever see the Undertaker again.”
[Image by Nick Caito/ESPN Images]
