WWE planning big main event for PLE opposite AEW All Out

WWE is planning a big main event for its yet-to-be-announced September PLE.

Yesterday, it was reported that WWE will be running a main roster PLE on the same day as AEW All Out on Saturday, September 20. The WWE show is slated to be held in Indianapolis, while All Out is set for Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez discussed the situation on Wrestling Observer Radio, with Meltzer noting that — as of now — John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar is expected to headline the WWE PLE.

“It can change, but the main event for this show is Brock Lesnar and John Cena,” Meltzer said. “So it’s a big one. Which is why Brock’s not in Paris, is because of this. They wanted him for this show, not for the Paris show. And that’s where Logan Paul got the gig.”

Cena vs. Paul is happening at WWE Clash in Paris on August 31 in advance of this September PLE.

At SummerSlam earlier this month, Lesnar returned to WWE by attacking Cena. It was the first appearance for Lesnar since his name was mentioned in the lawsuit former WWE employee Janel Grant filed against Vince McMahon and WWE in January 2024. His most recent match was against Cody Rhodes at SummerSlam 2023.

Cena is in the final stretch of his retirement tour with his in-ring career coming to an end this December.

WWE has not officially announced the September 20 PLE yet, and it’s not known what the name of the show will be.

WOL: The week WWE proved they are cancel-proof

For the first time in years, the Sunday edition of Wrestling Observer Live is TWO HOURS long (well, for Sports Byline, anyway).

Josh Nason guest hosts this week with a lot to talk about including:

  • The week that WWE proved they are cancel-proof with the return of Brock Lesnar, Paul Heyman explaining there are no apologies for him returning, and the insulating culture of many WWE fans in 2025 that made it possible
  • The winners & losers of the WWE & ESPN PLE deal
  • An early look at AEW Forbidden Door, why this year’s lineup doesn’t feel special thus far, and why the gimmick has lost its luster
  • Why the John Cena heel turn was going to be a disaster from the start and why we should have known

All that and lots more ahead. Listen below for free or on either Spotify or Apple Podcasts (search for Wrestling Observer):

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WOL: BJ Bethel on the last week of WWE news, Janel Grant case updates

Image: WWE

It’s time for the Saturday Wrestling Observer Live with Jim Valley.

There’s been some massive news stories from WWE over the past seven+ days like the return of Brock Lesnar and WWE legal claiming he has “been cleared” in the Janel Grant lawsuit (whatever that means), and WWE PLEs coming to ESPN starting next April.

Journalist BJ Bethel has been covering the Grant case and the sports broadcasting industry for years. He joins me this week to talk about important aspects of WWE business past, present and future.

It’s a great conversation and you will get a lot out of it. Check it out.

Click here to listen (sub needed)

Drew McIntyre on Brock Lesnar’s WWE return: ‘He causes a lot of headlines’

Drew McIntyre says Brock Lesnar brings the headlines.

McIntyre recently spoke with The West Sport in Australia to promote Crown Jewel on October 11 in Perth. During the interview, he was asked about his reaction to Lesnar’s return at SummerSlam, where Lesnar gave John Cena an F-5.

“I just thought ‘There’s Brock, there here is.’ I didn’t think anything crazy.”

“I’d finished my last appearance. I got on a plane. I believe I just arrived home in the Nashville area here where I saw it and I went, ‘Oh, there he is.’ Brock is back. He’s the beast. He causes a lot of headlines and most importantly he’s also the guy I beat in the main event of Wrestlemania for my first WWE Championship in five minutes.”

McIntyre defeated Lesnar for the WWE Championship in the main event of WrestleMania 36 night two, held at the WWE Performance Center in front of no fans due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The match went just four and a half minutes and is the only singles match the two have had. McIntyre would lose the title to Randy Orton at Hell in a Cell 2020 that October but regained it a few weeks later on Raw at the ThunderDome. Then in February 2021, The Miz successfully cashed in on McIntyre after McIntyre had won the men’s Elimination Chamber match.

McIntyre’s full interview with The West Sport is available below:

WOR: ESPN & WWE PLE deal, Brock, Kross & more news

Dave Meltzer and Garrett Gonzales are back with the Friday edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, talking about all the big news from today’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

Here were some of the things the guys discussed:

  • WWE’s PLE deal with ESPN
  • Dave’s story on Brock Lesnar and TKO
  • Jonathan Gresham
  • Karrion Kross
  • TNT Sports streaming service
  • Hulk Hogan conning Brooke Hogan

Click here to listen (sub needed) or watch on YouTube

Roman Reigns names his favorite all-time WWE opponent

In a rapid fire Q&A session for ESPN, Roman Reigns named his favorite-ever WWE opponent.

“Favorite all-time opponent? Brock Lesnar,” Reigns answered. “My whole career changed once I got in the ring with him.”

Lesnar was the opponent the first time Reigns main evented WrestleMania in 2015, where Seth Rollins cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase during the match. Reigns and Lesnar have headlined WrestleMania against each other three times in total. Their most recent meeting was a Last Man Standing match at SummerSlam 2022, which WWE ranked as the 12th greatest match in SummerSlam history.

At this year’s SummerSlam, Lesnar returned to WWE following a two-year absence. It was his first WWE appearance since his name was mentioned in the lawsuit Janel Grant filed against Vince McMahon and WWE in January 2024. That lawsuit is still ongoing.

Reigns was also asked during the Q&A to name his favorite moment of his WWE career.

“My 1,316-day title reign,” he said. “I can’t just pick one, there were so many moments in that. Just that reign alone is unprecedented.”

Reigns was at ESPN this week to promote WWE’s new partnership with the network.

It’s been confirmed that Reigns will be appearing on both the August 18 and August 25 episodes of Raw. He’s also slated for WWE’s Clash in Paris PLE on August 31. In September, Reigns is scheduled to film his role as Akuma in Legendary Entertainment’s Street Fighter movie.

Fight Game: WWE’s huge ESPN deal

John LaRocca and Garrett Gonzales are back to discuss the latest happenings in the world of pro wrestling.

We kicked off the show with our Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down winners and losers of the week before getting to our big topic of the show which was the WWE/ESPN PLE deal.

We also dive deep into the SummerSlam fallout, including the controversial return of Brock Lesnar, the showdown between CM Punk and Gunther, and John Cena turning back the clock once more against Cody Rhodes.

On the AEW side, we talk about the ratings bump for Dynamite, the ongoing Tag Team Eliminator tournament featuring the Young Bucks vs. Brodido, and the latest on backstage heat surrounding MVP. We also take a look at the MJF vs. Mark Briscoe match.

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August 11, 2025 Observer Newsletter: WWE PLEs heading to ESPN, Brock Lesnar’s controversial return at SummerSlam

Image: WWE/Getty

It was another insane week in pro wrestling news and this week’s brand-new Wrestling Observer Newsletter has it all.

Dave Meltzer leads off with a look at the newly-announced media rights deal between WWE and ESPN that will see their full premium live event slate head to ESPN’s new streaming service in April 2026.

He then goes over all the results and news from last weekend’s WWE SummerSlam that was dominated by the controversial return of Brock Lesnar, Seth Rollins revealing his knee injury was a work, and Cody Rhodes ending John Cena’s final WWE World title run.

Get all that plus all the rest of the news from AEW, CMLL, TNA and more.

Click here to read because reading is your friend.

Triple H addresses Brock Lesnar’s WWE return on ESPN

During his appearance on ESPN this morning to discuss WWE’s new partnership with the network, Paul “Triple H” Levesque addressed Brock Lesnar’s return to WWE.

Lesnar reemerged from a two-year absence at SummerSlam this past weekend, appearing for the first time since his name was mentioned in Janel Grant’s lawsuit against Vince McMahon and WWE. The suit alleges that McMahon sent Lesnar explicit images and videos of Grant and offered Lesnar sex with Grant as an incentive of him signing a new contract with WWE.

ESPN’s Get Up asked Levesque what’s next for Lesnar following his return.

“Have you met Brock? Whatever the hell he wants,” Levesque responded. “When you’re Brock Lesnar, you sort of can — when that music hits and you walk down that aisle, doesn’t matter where he is, he sort of does what he wants to do. So we’re thrilled to have The Beast back. You know, we hit him up and said, ‘Time to come home.’ And he was into it, and here we are. A massive, massive moment for our WWE fans, something that they thought they wouldn’t get to see. And making a statement with John Cena. You know, huge — and we’re thrilled to have him back.”

There was no further discussion of Lesnar’s status past that.

Lesnar attacked Cena at the end of SummerSlam night two after Cena lost the WWE Championship to Cody Rhodes in the main event. WWE will follow up on the angle with Cena appearing live on SmackDown this Friday night.

Levesque’s appearance on Get Up came after it was announced that WWE PLEs will be moving away from Peacock in 2026 — when they will begin airing on ESPN’s new streaming service.

WOL: Lance on Brock, Raw after SummerSlam, news!

Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Lance Storm returns with tons to talk about including the return of Brock Lesnar and an aspect that hasn’t been talked about much, the RAW after SummerSlam, G-1 update, all of the news and more. A packed show as always so check it out~!

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John Cena on Brock Lesnar’s WWE return: ‘They deal ‘em, I play ‘em’

John Cena commented on Brock Lesnar returning to WWE during a recent interview.

Lesnar returned to WWE programming for the first time in two years at SummerSlam on Sunday, closing the show by giving an F-5 to Cena. When asked about Lesnar returning to WWE recently, Cena simply said, they deal ‘em, I play ‘em‘”

Cena said to Adam Glyn of Adam’s Apple:

“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 we’re closing our book. And just because I close my book in December, that doesn’t mean the WWE closes its books. They’ve got to continue their programming going forward. So, they’re just trying to make the most exciting shows for the fans and for the dozen of them I got left, they deal ‘em, I play ‘em.”

Triple H addressed Lesnar WWE return at the SummerSlam post-show. He indicated that facing Lesnar was something Cena put on his “wish list.”

Triple H said:

“For me, this is sort of…this is John Cena’s wishlist…it’s him writing the last chapter of his book, and I think people saw a conversation with us where he said we’d have to screw it up pretty badly to ruin his career. But it’s not about that for me,” he said. “It’s about John being able to go out the way he wants to go out, to write his chapter. I know what that’s like as a performer. I know what that’s like for everybody to feel that, and I think for John to be able to do what he wants to do. One of the very first things I said to him was ‘Who do you want, and how?’ and we’re working through that.”

Not including house shows, Cena and Lesnar have had six singles matches on WWE programming. Cena won their last match via DQ at Night of Champions 2014, but Lesnar leads their head-to-head series 4-2. Cena is scheduled for Friday’s edition of WWE SmackDown in Montreal. He turned babyface on last week’s show in an in-ring promo segment with Cody Rhodes.

WOR: Lesnar, RAW after SummerSlam, AEW ownership

Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer returns with tons to talk about including the latest on Brock Lesnar, the story WWE told on RAW, Hulk Hogan, odd note from an AEW lawsuit, ratings, the RAW after SummerSlam TV report, and tons more! A packed show as always so check it out~!

Timestamps:
Start: Rafa el Maya, Tomihiko Hashimoto passes away
2:30: The latest on Brock Lesnar, WWE reveals when they contacted him
14:40: Jon Moxley/AEW lawsuit update
18:45: Who won’t be at Forbidden Door
23:29: Ratings
26:06: Raw recap, lineups for the coming week

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WWE clarifies when they contacted Brock Lesnar for SummerSlam return

Michael Cole has clarified when WWE contacted Brock Lesnar to make his return.

During Monday’s Raw, a replay was shown of Lesnar’s attack on John Cena. Cole then took time to say that WWE contacted Lesnar a few weeks ago to bring him back.

“Earlier today, I had the opportunity to sit down with WWE President Nick Khan and WWE’s Chief Content Officer Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque. And I asked them a simple question: ‘When was it determined that Brock Lesnar would return to WWE?'” he said. “They told me they reached out to Brock a couple of weeks ago and said, ‘We believe it’s time for you to come home.’ Brock Lesnar said ‘Let’s do it’ and here we are.”

Lesnar returned on Sunday and immediately set his sights on John Cena, who had just lost the WWE Championship to Cody Rhodes in a street fight. Cena will respond to Lesnar’s attack on this Friday’s SmackDown.

Dave Meltzer reported on Monday that WWE legally cleared Brock Lesnar four weeks ago, while Bryan Alvarez reported he was listed as part of WWE’s active roster two weeks ago. He had been kept off WWE programming after he was named in Janel Grant’s lawsuit, where the former WWE employee alleged that Vince McMahon attempted to use sexual favors from her as an incentive for Lesnar to sign a new WWE contract.

WOL: Lesnar return fallout, Seth’s knee, CM Punk

Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Filthy Tom Lawlor is back with tons to talk about including the return of Brock Lesnar and all of the unanswered questions surrounding his return, what he’s been accused of, what he has not been accused of, what this all likely means, plus some thoughts on Seth’s injury and Punk’s match. A fun show as always so check it out~!

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Janel Grant’s representative issues statement on Brock Lesnar’s WWE return

A representative of Janel Grant has released a statement on Brock Lesnar’s WWE return.

Lesnar returned to WWE in the closing moments of SummerSlam 2025 on Sunday night. He had been gone from the company since January 2024 following allegations in Grant’s lawsuit against WWE, Vince McMahon and John Laurinaitis that McMahon used sexual encounters with Grant as incentive for Lesnar to sign a new contract.

Fight Game Media’s Samantha Schipman posted a statement from Grant’s team on Monday:

“For far too long, abuse was allowed to thrive under WWE’s leadership. Instead of righting this wrong, WWE has done nothing to ensure those responsible are held accountable. This attempt to sweep misconduct under the rug will backfire. We look forward to the full set of facts, including those about Mr. Lesnar, coming out in a court of law where they belong but, in the meantime, we refer you back to Janel Grant’s updated complaint, which outlines, in detail, the abuse she endured by McMahon and others while employed at WWE.”

Grant publicly confirmed Lesnar by name in her amended lawsuit filed in January 2025. He was referred to as both a former UFC Heavyweight Champion and WWE Superstar in the original suit filed a year ealier. Lesnar’s name now appears in the following sections of Grant’s amended lawsuit:

15. McMahon treated Ms. Grant as a commodity—offering her to other men. In March 2020, McMahon began sharing sexually explicit photographs and videos of Ms. Grant (including pornographic content he recorded on his cell phone) with other men both inside and outside the company, including with members of the television production “tech” team, executives, producers, and a world-famous athlete and former UFC Heavyweight Champion, Brock Lesnar, with whom WWE was actively trying to sign to a new contract (and ultimately did sign that contract).

27. Even after pushing Ms. Grant out of the Company and muzzling her with an NDA, McMahon continued efforts to exploit her, including attempting to traffic her to a WWE star Brock Lesnar who would be in New York City for a live event and TV taping in March 2022.

221. Upon information and belief, McMahon began to recruit Lesnar for a sexual encounter with Ms. Grant while she was still a coordinator in the legal department. By July of 2021, McMahon informed Ms. Grant that WWE Superstar Lesnar would be their next “playmate.”

224. On or about July 12, 2021, McMahon directed Ms. Grant to create personalized sexual content for Lesnar. McMahon shared the photos with Lesnar and then informed Ms. Grant that “he likes what he sees”

225. On July 21, 2021, McMahon flew and/or caused WWE SuperstarLesnar to fly on a jet into a local airport and travel into Connecticut (across state lines) for what McMahon described to Ms. Grant as a “business dinner,” as well as a sexual encounter with Ms. Grant in McMahon’s condo. Upon information and belief, the dinner was to discuss Lesnar’s continued involvement with WWE. Prior to the “business dinner” with McMahon, Lesnar made a brief visit to Ms. Grant’s building. However, Lesnar did not return to the building for a sexual encounter because he was too intoxicated and taken back to the plane.

The lawsuit continues, in graphic detail, to describe similar accusations. The amended lawsuit can be read in its entirety here.