Why Brock Lesnar’s WWE Return Was Badly Timed

Brock Lesnar returned at SummerSlam 2025 Night 2 on Sunday, August 3, 2025, at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. It happened moments after Cody Rhodes defeated John Cena in a brutal Street Fight to reclaim the Undisputed WWE Championship.

As the 17-time world champion remained in the ring acknowledging the crowd, Lesnar stormed down, hoisted him up, and delivered a thunderous F-5 to close the show. This marked his first WWE appearance since SummerSlam 2023, where he lost to The American Nightmare in a singles match.

The shocking angle instantly dominated headlines and social media, eclipsing the epic main event and setting the stage for a teased Lesnar–Cena program coming out of SummerSlam.

Bill Apter Says Brock Lesnar’s Return Undermined Cody Rhodes and John Cena’s Match

Veteran journalist Bill Apter criticized the timing of Brock Lesnar’s return on The Wrestling Time Machine with host Mac Davis. He claimed that the return stole the spotlight from the Cody Rhodes vs. John Cena match and argued that WWE should have saved the return for Monday Night RAW, so that the night two main event match could have its much-deserved moment at the summer extravaganza.

Cody Rhodes and John Cena put on a 10-star match in my opinion. The next day, all the internet fans and everyone else, all they were talking about was Brock Lesnar coming back. It slapped Cody and Cena in the face.

They could’ve done that Monday night. They could have brought Brock Lesnar back. It was great shock value. But again, I just think it slapped that main event that was so fabulous in the face. I wish they wouldn’t have done it at SummerSlam.” [From 1:10 onwards]

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