For those who follow the fine art of professional wrestling with any great dedication, the unknown quantity of Brock Lesnar‘s status with the WWE leading up to this Monday’s giant WrestleMania 31 event provided more than a few furrowed brows.
Rumours abounded that contract negotiations between Lesnar – the reigning, defending WWE World Heavyweight Champion – and wrestling head honcho Vince McMahon had broken down, with a much publicised screaming match alleged to have occurred backstage prior to an episode of Monday Night Raw, leading to Lesnar walking out of the building.
The story goes that Lesnar was adamant on reviving his Mixed Martial Arts career with the UFC, and wanted a contract that would allow him to pursue that whilst simultaneously maintaining the lucrative part-time schedule that the WWE has afforded him. Lesnar further stoked these rumours by appearing ringside at the UFC 184 event alongside UFC boss Dana White.
But today, in something of a shock move, Lesnar revealed to ESPN‘s SportsCenter that he has officially decided to close the door on his MMA career, revealing that he quietly re-signed with the WWE last night on a multi-year contract.
“The fighter inside of me wants to compete. The father, the husband – I’m an older caveman now. So I make wiser caveman decisions. So I’m here to say my legacy in the octagon is over. However my legacy this Sunday at WrestleMania will not be my last.”
Lesnar revealed that he’d been wrestling with the decision to go back to MMA for over twelve months, and in the past eight weeks or so had been training for a return to the octagon. Lesnar’s first tilt inside the octagon was cut short following a nasty, life-threatening bout of diverticulitis – a forced ending that has bugged him ever since, it seems.
But ultimately, he says, the decision came down to an issue of mental readiness. He stated that whilst his body, physically, was up to the task. But mentally, “something wasn’t right.” And at the end of the day he enjoys being an entertainer, and enjoys the less physically-taxing schedule that his part-time role on full-time pay with the WWE affords him.
Brock Lesnar is scheduled to defend the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against rising star Roman Reigns this coming Monday (Australian time) at WrestleMania 31, which takes places from Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, just outside of San Francisco, California.
The event will be broadcast live in Australia on Main Event PPV, and via the WWE Network subscription streaming service.
