The entire WWE universe was shocked at WrestleMania 42 when it looked like Brock Lesnar was officially retiring after losing to Oba Femi. However, the Beast Incarnate made his return just about a month later. Now, a wrestling veteran has shared his belief that ESPN played a major role.
At WrestleMania, Lesnar left his shoes and gloves in the ring and walked away crying along with Paul Heyman, making it seem like the end of his career. But a few weeks later, on the May 18 episode of RAW, Lesnar attacked Oba Femi from behind and hit him with four straight F5s, instantly restarting their rivalry and setting up a rematch for WWE Clash in Italy.
Eric Bischoff raises question about ESPN’s role in Brock Lesnar’s return
WWE Hall of Famer Eric Bischoff recently shared his thoughts on his 83 Weeks podcast. He said the comeback felt awkward and unnecessary.
Bischoff explained that WrestleMania already felt like the perfect ending to the story between Lesnar and Femi. According to him, the problem isn’t that Lesnar returned. The problem is that WWE didn’t clearly explain why he came back so quickly. He also questioned what motivated Lesnar to go after Femi again after seemingly accepting defeat and retirement.
Bischoff believes that Lesnar probably decided to retire and then found out he can’t have that option legally.
“It seems like you know Brock in a kind of state of mind made one decision and found out legally afterwards that he didn’t have that option. That’s kind of what it feels like to me,” he said.
Moreover, the podcast co-host Conrad Thompson shared a speculation that WWE just wanted to give ESPN a big moment on their first WrestleMania simulcast.
“Let me throw this out at you. There’s been speculation that WWE was in on this, and this wasn’t Brock going rogue, so to speak. They just wanted to make sure that they gave ESPN a moment on their first sort of WrestleMania simulcast, and it would feel big,” he said.
Bischoff also suggested that business reasons may have played a role in Lesnar returning so quickly. He mentioned WWE’s partnership with ESPN and wondered if having a huge star like Lesnar on the Clash in Italy card influenced the decision.
“I guess if this was to satisfy a television partner, you kind of created this anticlimactic ending. Well, it was a very climactic ending, but anticlimactic, I guess, is the right word. Funky at the
very least. Act one of the next story between Oba or continuing that story. I don’t know what because it felt like the story ended for me,” Bischoff said.
Now, WWE is hyping up the rematch between Brock Lesnar and Oba Femi. It has been labeled the “biggest rematch in all of professional wrestling history.”
Read more: Brock Lesnar Explains Why He Returned To WWE After Deciding To Retire
