Brock Lesnar WWE

Paul Heyman Defiant Amid Attempts To 'Cancel' Brock Lesnar Following WWE SummerSlam Return

Originally posted on Wrestling on SI | By Rick Ucchino | Last updated Aug 7, 2025 8:13 AM ET

Brock Lesnar is back in WWE and if you have an issue with that, there are some within the company who say you need to 'get over it'.

The Beast made his shocking return Sunday night at SummerSlam when he arrived at MetLife Stadium and delivered an F-5 to John Cena. He was met with a huge reaction from a crowd that had just witnessed a spectacular main event Street Fight between Cena and Cody Rhodes for the WWE Championship.

His return, however, was consumed in a cloud of controversy. While many in attendance were excited to see Brock Lesnar get an invite to the 'Biggest Party of the Summer', many others flocked to social media to express their disgust and outrage amid the on-going Janel Grant lawsuit against Vince McMahon and WWE.

Brock Lesnar is not a defendant, but he was named 44 times in the suit where McMahon is accused of attempting to leverage Grant as a sexual favor during contract negotiations with the former WWE Champion.

The decision to bring Lesnar back to television coincided with the abrupt cancellation of the SummerSlam post show press conference, which meant media members in attendance did not have the opportunity to ask Chief Content Officer Paul 'Triple H' Levesque the important questions surrounding Brock's return.

Levesque did chat briefly about the situation Wednesday while promoting WWE's new broadcast partnership with ESPN, while longtime Lesnar advocate Paul Heyman addressed the controversial decision to bring Brock back during a conversation with Ariel Helwani.

“Everything in life is met with criticism, I don’t pay attention to that. I don’t pay attention to it. He’s here. That’s the reality of the fact. He’s here and if you were in MetLife Stadium on Sunday, you would understand that return meant a lot."

Heyman said that the 50,000 plus people who were packed into the duel home of the New York Jets and Giants were 'jacked' to see Brock Lesnar make an appearance, and that was proof enough to him that the company made the right choice.

People won't be able to 'cancel' Brock Lesnar

WWE

"People were just going f---ing nuts," Heyman said to Helwani. "That’s our paying audience. They’re happy to see him. I’m happy to be a part of a team that presents him. Everyone has criticism in life."

The Oracle said very few people make it to the top in life without making mistakes or having a few skeletons in their closet, and that it's time for people to move forward.

"Obviously, the decision was made, it’s time to bring back Brock Lesnar. Whatever that decision is based on, I respect it. If there are critics of it, get over it, he’s here. He’s going to be here and you ain’t gonna be able to cancel him. I’m happy to have him back because the audience is happy to have him back." h/t Fightful

This article first appeared on Wrestling on SI and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: