
WWE is really leaning into the story that Brock Lesnar is officially retired.
After The Beast was slain by Oba Femi at WrestleMania 42 last month, he promptly removed his gloves and boots after the final bell. With tears in the eyes of both himself and his longtime advocate, Paul Heyman, Lesnar gave a series of waves to the crowd on his way out of Allegiant Stadium.
Brock's actions that night have led many to believe he's wrestled his final match, even though SummerSlam is taking place in his hometown of Minneapolis this coming August.
The company has certainly gone to great lengths to convince the audience that he's done wrestling. The production team has moved any Lesnar highlights to the 'forever' portion of the broadcast opening video package, and now the digital team has shifted him to the alumni section of the WWE roster page.
Much to his credit, Paul Heyman has been playing his role in selling Lesnar's retirement perfectly, starting from the moment he embraced The Beast in the center of the ring at WrestleMania.
TMZ Sports caught up briefly with the WWE Hall of Famer this week, and they asked whether Heyman was genuinely stunned by Brock's actions following his loss to Femi.
"If I knew he was gonna retire, would I have gone on record saying he was gonna dominate for the next 15 years?" Heyman replied. "I was crying... Am I that good of an actor that I can cry on cue? Not I."
Reports surfaced after WrestleMania that very few people knew about Lesnar's plans to remove his gear after the match. If that's the case, then Heyman certainly was on that short list, but he's a professional and will never show his cards.
WWE Chief Content Officer Paul 'Triple H' Levesque told ESPN's SportsCenter last month that the moment was spontaneous.
“I don’t think that was a planned thing. I think Brock went to the ring, he walked into a wall called Oba Femi. Brock walked up to the next big thing and ran into a brick wall. And the intelligence in him said, ‘Maybe I should call it a day.’" Levesque said.
While we all wait to see if Lesnar does in fact have one more match left in him, Paul Heyman told TMZ Sports that he's focusing on the future, "Bron Breakker, Logan Paul, Bronson Reed, Austin Theory... The Vision taking over WWE."
More must-reads:
+
Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!