Brock Lesnar ‘withdrawn from making his WWE return at the Royal Rumble’ just days after the former UFC champion was linked to the ongoing sex trafficking lawsuit against Vince McMahon
- WWE was reportedly planning a return for Brock Lesnar at the Royal Rumble
- Former UFC champion will be replaced by a wrestler from NXT during the event
- Lesnar named by the Wall Street Journal in allegations against Vince McMahon
WWE has reportedly scrapped a planned return for Brock Lesnar at Saturday’s Royal Rumble.
Lesnar has been absent from WWE programming since August, when he was defeated by Cody Rhodes at SummerSlam.
The Royal Rumble has traditionally served as a stage for returning performers, and there were reportedly plans to have Lesnar perform ahead of WrestleMania season.
According to a report from PWInsiderLesnar has not traveled to Florida after being ‘withdrawn’ from the premium live event, with an NXT superstar set to take his place in the men’s rumble match.
The decision comes just days after Lesnar was linked to the ongoing sex trafficking lawsuit filed against Vince McMahon by a former WWE employee.
WWE has reportedly canceled a planned return for Brock Lesnar at the Royal Rumble
The news comes days after the Wall Street Journal linked Lesnar to sex trafficking allegations against Vince McMahon
Janel Grant says she suffered bruising and bleeding after McMahon forcibly penetrated her with sex toys he named after his wrestlers.
Although Lesnar was not named in the lawsuit, Grant alleged that McMahon told her in July 2021 that she had to create sexual content for a wrestler who had previously fought in the UFC and that the company was trying to resign.
According to the lawsuit, McMahon allegedly arranged a meeting between Grant and the unnamed wrestler, with a sexual encounter between the pair ultimately not taking place as the wrestler was drunkenly escorted back to their plane.
McMahon also allegedly gave Grant’s phone number to the wrestler, who then requested that she send them a video of her urinating. The lawsuit claims that after she did that, he called her a “b****.”
In their report on the allegations, the Wall Street Journal identified Lesnar as the wrestler in question.
After purchasing WWE from his father in 1982, McMahon served continuously as chairman and owner of the company before stepping down in 2022 amid allegations similar to those in Grant’s lawsuit.
Janel Grant (pictured) is suing the 78-year-old, the WWE and another company executive
McMahon has resigned as executive chairman of UFC and WWE’s parent company TKO
However, the 78-year-old returned the following year and played a key role in the sale of WWE to Endeavor, a holding company that bought the UFC in 2016.
After Endeavor merged WWE and the UFC under a publicly traded company called TKO, McMahon was named executive chairman while reportedly retaining a significant personal ownership stake.
On Friday, McMahon resigned from his position at TKO before releasing a statement describing his intention to “vigorously defend” himself against the allegations.