WWE Rumors: Brock Lesnar To Miss ‘SummerSlam,’ Might Not Be Back Until ‘Later In The Year,’ Per ‘PWInsider’
Rumors of WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar having contract issues with the WWE are nothing new, especially since these issues are currently being worked into Monday Night Raw storylines. While that might be WWE’s on-air way of justifying Lesnar’s possible absence from the Extreme Rules pay-per-view on July 15, a new report suggests that he also might not be present for SummerSlam in August. In fact, there could be a chance that fans won’t be seeing “The Beast Incarnate” until even later on in the year if the report turns out to be accurate.
The new rumors come from PWInsider’s Mike Johnson, who said in a members-only report that there’s a possibility that Lesnar won’t be competing a couple months from now at SummerSlam, an event that has traditionally served as his signature event, much like WrestleMania is to the Undertaker.
A report from WrestleZone that cited Johnson’s most recent comments points to a possible Brock Lesnar return “later in the year,” and while Johnson did not specify any timeline, he said that such an arrangement is “madness,” considering how long Brock has held the Universal Championship so far.
Separately, WrestleZone cited a second members-only report that could point to the odds of Lesnar leaving the WWE at some point this year and returning to UFC. According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Friday was the last day for Lesnar to re-enter the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) doping pool, and if he doesn’t enter by then, he could miss out on a number of marquee UFC matches.
“If he doesn’t enter the USADA testing pool by June 29, he won’t be able to fight the winner of the July 7 Stipe Miocic vs. Daniel Cormier heavyweight title match on December 29, or fight Jon Jones if somehow they can figure out a way to retain a smidgen of credibility for their drug testing program and somehow give Jones less than two years on a positive steroid test.”
Another report says Brock Lesnar might not return to WWE ‘until later in the year’ https://t.co/g38sQWKmit via @cagesideseats
— 420The Undisputed Saint (@caesars420) June 30, 2018
As of this writing, it remains unknown if Brock Lesnar has entered the USADA pool, but if he hasn’t as of Friday, that could mean he won’t be able to compete in the UFC for the remainder of the year, according to Meltzer’s colleague, Bryan Alvarez. In theory, that could hint at more WWE dates to come, but based on what’s been said in the WWE rumor mill as of late, the chances of Lesnar reigning as Universal Champion for well over 500 days appear to be increasing, as he remains absent from both WWE television and pay-per-views.
