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Michael Cole Confirms Brock Lesnar’s Future After WWE SmackDown Appearance

By Monika Thapa • Published Sep 07, 2025 06:34 EDT
Brock Lesnar returned at WWE SummerSlam 2025

Brock Lesnar made a shocking appearance on the September 5, 2025, episode of WWE SmackDown during a match between John Cena and United States Champion Sami Zayn.

Cena kicked off the Friday night show, and shortly afterwards, Sami Zayn appeared. He challenged The Never Seen 17 to a match as a way to honor Cena’s iconic legacy with the US title. Zayn reminded the audience that Cena had given him one of his biggest opportunities years ago with the original U.S. Title Open Challenge. He proposed to hold a version of that open challenge on Cena’s final SmackDown appearance, and The Last Real Champion accepted immediately.

Cena paid tribute to past rivals during the bout, incorporating signature moves reminiscent of Kurt Angle, CM Punk, Adam Copeland, and Kevin Owens. As the match reached a high point, Lesnar suddenly appeared, dragging the referee out of the ring and attacking both Cena and Zayn with his signature F5 finishing move. The invasion effectively ended the match in a no-contest.

Later in the show, WWE commentator Michael Cole announced The Beast would be back next Friday on SmackDown.

“And it’s also the return of the Beast – Brock Lesnar. After his attack on John Cena earlier tonight, he faces Cena two weeks from tomorrow at Wrestlepalooza. Brock Lesnar will be on SmackDown Live.”

Brock Lesnar Signed a New Contract To Return to WWE

Dave Meltzer had earlier reported that Brock Lesnar had been fully paid and under contract during his WWE absence. He rectified these claims in the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, explaining that Lesnar’s prior WWE contract had expired months ago, making him a free agent. Lesnar then signed a new deal with WWE after legal clearance and returned to the company at SummerSlam 2025, where he attacked John Cena.

“A correction regarding Brock Lesnar. Lesnar actually just signed a new contract to return. He was getting paid on his prior contract long after they stopped using him, but that deal did expire and he actually was a free agent for months until the new deal was signed. They couldn’t extend the prior deal due to injury like with others because he wasn’t injured and it was their choice not to use him,”