John Cena Denies Asking To Work With Brock Lesnar
How much influence did John Cena have over Brock Lesnar’s return?
On night two of SummerSlam, WWE shocked the world by bringing back Brock Lesnar. The appearance was Lesnar’s first on WWE television since he beat Cody Rhodes at SummerSlam 2023.
There had been plans for the star to return at the 2024 Royal Rumble, but those were dropped after he was implicated in Janel Grant’s sex trafficking lawsuit against WWE, Vince McMahon, and John Laurinaitis. According to the suit, McMahon offered Lesnar sexual encounters with Grant in an effort to get him to sign a new contract.
In the moments after Cena lost the Undisputed WWE Championship at SummerSlam, Lesnar marched to the ring and laid him out with an F-5 before leaving as the show went off the air.
With fans divided, Triple H said that Brock Lesnar had been on John Cena’s “wishlist,” as someone he wanted to face before retirement.
John Cena Distances Himself From Triple H Claims
Despite those comments from Triple H, Cena has suggested that he had nothing to do with the decision to bring Lesnar back. During an interview with Adam’s Apple, Cena was asked about Lesnar’s comeback and the very mixed reaction it received.
Although he didn’t reference Triple H directly, Cena said that he continues to work with whoever WWE wants him to wrestle. In earlier interviews, he’d denied ever choosing his opponents, even during his retirement run.
“I’ve been saying the same thing for 25 years. They deal ’em, I play ’em. I’m just really excited. We’ve got like 12 of these things left.
I think SummerSlam was an indication from the audience where everybody kind of knows where we’re closing our book, and just because I close my book in December, that doesn’t mean the WWE closes its book.
They got to continue their programming going forward. So they’re just trying to make the most exciting shows for the fans.
A dozen of them (appearances) I got left. They deal ‘em, I play ‘em.”
It’s been announced that John Cena will be featured on the August 8 edition of SmackDown. The taping will also feature new Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes, but there’s been no official comment on Brock Lesnar.
H/t to Fightful