Brock Lesnar announced his retirement from MMA, but new details are coming to light about why he made that choice, and Vince McMahon may have forced him to make that decision. At UFC 200, Lesnar defeated Mark Hunt in what could go down as his final professional fight in UFC. It was a huge promotional opportunity for WWE, but the benefits of the fight were overshadowed by the consequences that followed.
It gave WWE a boost heading into WWE SummerSlam last year, but Brock Lesnar’s failed drugs tests from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency have tarnished his win at UFC 200, hurt his image, and left him suspended from competing in a professional fight until July. Since returning to WWE, Brock has dominated and didn’t lose a match clean for over three years. That was until his match with Goldberg at WWE Survivor Series.
Goldberg defeated Brock Lesnar in under two minutes, which created a ton of buzz surrounding both men, which WWE officials are still utilizing to build towards their final match at WrestleMania 33. As that match gets closer by the day, some new information has come to light about Brock Lesnar’s future in WWE.
Brock Lesnar announced his retirement from UFC earlier this month, which seemed like the smart thing to do. His return to UFC 200 created a lot of problems for him, but he still enjoyed the moment of competing inside The Octagon one last time. Brock is still signed with WWE, so being ineligible from fighting for a year isn’t the end of the world. Most importantly, his retirement removed him from USADA’s drug testing pool.
It’s being reported that Brock Lesnar’s choice to retire from UFC was done for a specific reason. Apparently, Vince McMahon complained and wasn’t thrilled with Lesnar’s physique during his appearance at the WWE Royal Rumble PPV. McMahon advocated that Brock get into better shape and look how he did during his fight at UFC 200. In a nutshell, Vince wants Lesnar to look as intimidating as possible for WrestleMania 33.
In order to give Vince McMahon what he wants, Brock Lesnar had to announce his retirement from UFC to take him off the USADA’s drug testing pool. He’s no longer an active MMA fighter, which means any of the substances Brock was taking to improve his physique to the level that McMahon wants can be taken. Lesnar is also exempt from WWE’s Wellness Policy, so there isn’t any risk for Brock as he trains for WrestleMania.
WWE officials have a lot riding on Brock Lesnar heading into WrestleMania and beyond. The expectation is that Goldberg vs. Lesnar in Orlando will be for the WWE Universal Championship after the former wins the title from Kevin Owens at WWE FastLane. The WWE Universe is expecting Brock to defeat Goldberg on the grandest stage of them all, which means he will likely be holding the WWE Universal Title for some time.
On paper, the rematch between Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns could happen at WWE SummerSlam. The WWE Universe won’t have an issue with Lesnar holding the WWE Universal Championship if he’s on WWE television every week. His previous run as the WWE Champion is what soured the fans on him holding the title because he was gone most of the time, but his current situation may force him on WWE television more often.
As of this writing, all Brock Lesnar has is WWE. It’s true that WWE officials can book him in whatever way they chose to right now because he doesn’t have any other options. However, Brock Lesnar is the biggest guy and the top draw WWE has on the roster, so his misfortunes outside of the company are WWE’s gains.
