Details on Brock Lesnar’s WWE Status and If He’ll Be Re-Signing After WrestleMania 31

The latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter has provided new details on Brock Lesnar’s WWE status and if he’ll be re-signing after WrestleMania 31. As previously reported, Lesnar’s post-Mania employment is still up in the air, as he is still negotiating terms with WWE, Belator MMA, and UFC, and has yet to sign on the dotted line with anyone.

It was previously revealed that Lesnar and McMahon almost got into a backstage brawl over a heated argument having to do with Lesnar’s status in the company and whether or not he’ll be re-signing with WWE following his last scheduled date for them, which is March 30. As previously reported, many thought the situation may lead to Lesnar not appearing for WWE for the remainder of his contract. However, McMahon reportedly claimed that he would sue Lesnar if he didn’t appear and work at WrestleMania 31 on March 29.

Lesnar, who is the current WWE World Heavyweight Champion, is currently slated to drop the title to Roman Reigns at the annual PPV event. He was supposed to continue building towards this match on television the night he walked out during the company’s broadcast of “Monday Night Raw,” but due to the backstage argument with McMahon, Lesnar left and didn’t work the show.

As of this report, the situation between McMahon and Lesnar remains unresolved, but McMahon believes that Lesnar will show for the rest of his contractual obligations. Technically, the champion owes the company a date, since he didn’t appear on “RAW” on March 2, but who knows if they’ll even push him to make it up.

McMahon is so confident that Lesnar will appear on “RAW” and at WrestleMania that he has told his creative team not to worry, and not to come up with any backup plans for these events, as Lesnar knows what will happen if he doesn’t show. He’ll be in breach of contract and face heavy legal ramifications from WWE’s lawyers.

Dave Meltzer writes the following about the situation,

“…As far as Lesnar’s future after the end of this month, that’s anyone’s guess. One would have figured the decision of where to sign his next deal would go down to the wire because he’s in a unique position to have three major companies all willing to pay big money for his services and based on his contract, he can’t legally negotiate with UFC or Bellator until the end of the month.

Lesnar walked out at television on 2/23 in Nashville, when he was advertised and scheduled to appear, to build up his WWE title match with Roman Reigns that headlines the 3/29 show at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara.

The only thing new is that there was a shouting match between Lesnar and McMahon in Nashville, loud enough that people who heard it were concerned about the situation. Lesnar then left the arena, stemming from whatever the issue was with his talks regarding signing a new contract. It was claimed last week that the differences were not insurmountable, but that it was two people who didn’t want to back down to the other.

Lesnar then showed up in Los Angeles, in an enormous suit-and-tie, sitting with Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta at UFC 184. White would only say that Lesnar is still under contract to another organization, and when the contract expires, he expects that they will talk. He couldn’t say anything past that or he would open the company up to a tampering charge from WWE. Obviously appearing at the show was meant to send a message to WWE, and McMahon in particular.

Lesnar had made arrangements with Dana White at least a couple of days earlier to appear at the show. It wasn’t a last minute thing, although everyone kept it secret. UFC itself pushed him being there. 

Those in UFC had expected for some time that Lesnar would be returning, beginning with a fight with Frank Mir. Mir had brought up the night before Lesnar’s issue with McMahon, about potentially fighting Lesnar, noting that if he didn’t win his 2/22 fight over Antonio Silva, he wouldn’t get what he acknowledged would be his highest profile match possible.

Lesnar vs. Mir would be a rematch of UFC 100, nearly six years ago, where Lesnar finished Mir in the second round, to unify the UFC heavyweight title that Lesnar held, and the interim heavyweight title, that Mir held. That event did 1.6 million buys, by far the largest number in UFC history, and a figure surpassed only a few times in PPV history, all for massive boxing events.

However, those in WWE believed Lesnar would be signing a new deal with their company. The feeling is that he would have more longevity on top as a pro wrestler, given that he turns 38 this summer, even if he could earn more short-term money in MMA. In doing so, he’d have to train harder, and risk more physical damage than he would have from his limited pro wrestling schedule.

When Lesnar retired from UFC in 2011, he cited a promise made to his wife about making a championship run and then retiring, and once he lost to Alistair Overeem, his championship run looked to be over. Logic points to wrestling unless he’s got something in him who thinks an illness robbed him of what he could have accomplished. Age stands still for nobody, but you can make it stand still easier in pro wrestling than MMA if the person in charge chooses to.

On 2/24, McMahon acknowledged to his writing staff that there was a problem, but not to rewrite anything, because Lesnar is under contract and he felt there was no way he would not be at WrestleMania. Lesnar could be facing a huge lawsuit if he failed to appear at WrestleMania, plus he’s making such a big payday from that show that no matter what his mentality is, missing the show doesn’t seem like a logical option. Lesnar is believed to be making $5 million per year on his limited date WWE contract, which calls for three PPV matches each year. 

The situation remained unresolved as of press time. Lesnar was not in Newark, NJ, for Raw on 3/2, but he was not scheduled for the date. He was scheduled to be on the 3/9 Raw in Pittsburgh and is expected to be on that show. The feeling is that he’s got a contract and missing a second date, particularly during the Mania build, would fracture the relationship badly. One person noted that Lesnar missing any of his four last dates would pretty well force a termination after Mania, although WWE does forgive if someone’s star power is big enough.

Even if Lesnar has decided he’s leaving, and if the new contract is anything like the last two, that would on the outside feel like a mistake, it’s still preferable to be negotiating between three big companies (UFC, Viacom and WWE) as two. Although most feel that even though he could make money and beat lesser heavyweights in Bellator, that they are not in the running, because Lesnar only wants to be with the top organization. The idea is if he’s going to compete in a sport, he’s competing to be the best, and he can’t be that in Bellator. 

At press time, those in the company involved with the show did not know if he would be there or not, but since he is booked and advertised, they are proceeding with the idea he will be there.

An argument can be made that by not appearing on 2/23, Lesnar would owe the company an additional television date. Between now and the expiration of the contract, the only Raw date he could add would be the 3/16 show in Des Moines, which he is not advertised for.

It is also believed that there is still a good chance he will sign his new deal with WWE. Only he knows how serious his idea of having unfinished business in UFC as being a reason he’s looking at leaving. Or whether he is saying that to use MMA as a leverage move to get a better deal for wrestling. There is also the question of what kind of a deal Viacom would come up with, as they could offer more freak show fights, which are more winnable than going into UFC. Even Mir is significantly higher level than the type of opponents he would most likely face in Bellator, such as Kimbo Slice or Bobby Lashley.

Another question is how the dynamic, should WrestleMania be Lesnar’s final match, change the fan dynamic at the show. Some people believe that the WrestleMania crowd will boo Reigns heavily under any circumstance. In 2004, when it was known that both Lesnar and Bill Goldberg were in their final WWE matches, the crowd turned on both men with “You sold out” chants that pretty much ruined what was originally hoped to be something of a dream match of that era. It was believed the crowd would be behind Lesnar, against Reigns, even though the original concept of the match was the unbeatable monster heel Lesnar, who John Cena couldn’t beat, and who beat Undertaker, would lose to Reigns as the new babyface savior. It was counted on that Reigns would be riding a huge swell of momentum, which is anything but the case right now.”

Editor’s Note:
Really crazy how one man can pull the strings of three HUGE companies like this.