Brock Lesnar is reportedly ‘Ending’ WWE’s current run

Brock Lesnar may be leaving WWE sooner rather than later.

According to a report from PWInsider (h/t WrestlingNews.co), Lesnar indicated at last month’s Elimination Chamber event that he was nearing the end of his current tenure with WWE: “PWInsider also noted that Lesnar was saying goodbye to a few people and that he was ‘winding up.’ A source noted that Lesnar wasn’t “necessarily” finished that night or even at WrestleMania.

A year after headlining WrestleMania 38 in a title unification match against Roman Reigns, Lesnar has, in a rare twist, had a big fall on the card. “The Beast” is now scheduled to fight Omos “The Nigerian Giant” in a clash of two titans at WrestleMania 39, even though this was not originally planned for WWE’s top event.

Lesnar, however, reportedly turned down a WrestleMania match against Bray Wyatt, which was a good call on Lesnar’s part. The idea of ​​Lesnar dealing with the over-the-top elements of Wyatt’s ridiculousness isn’t exactly one that set the wrestling world on fire. Lesnar vs. Wyatt sounds like a disaster waiting to happen, but so does Lesnar vs. Omos, especially since Lesnar usually thrives against lesser opponents.

Truth be told, though, it doesn’t really matter what WWE does to Lesnar at an already sold-out WrestleMania 39. The biggest – and most important – question here is what this means for Lesnar’s future in WWE.

It is widely known that Lesnar and Vince McMahon have a close relationship, leading some to speculate that McMahon is returning to WWE’s creative process and is the reason behind Lesnar vs. Omos, which McMahon would book. Rumors of McMahon running WWE again have been dismissed so far, making Lesnar’s future and his overall booking less certain.

From 2012 to 2022, Lesnar was almost always a fixture in the world title scene whenever he was there, but with McMahon no longer being creative, Lesnar has taken a bit of a backseat. While Lesnar is still featured prominently on WWE programming, he also hasn’t been pushed to the level he was under McMahon, who prioritized him over almost anyone and everyone else on the roster.

On more than one occasion in the past, Lesnar has used his influence in WWE to sign short-term deals that give him a limited workload and kept him among the company’s highest-paid stars during his second stint with the company. Lesnar has often been WWE’s part-time “emergency glass breaker,” emerging from the shadows whenever WWE—and especially McMahon—felt its programming needed a jolt of excitement.

There is no doubt that Lesnar can also deliver just that. His current babyface has been a smash hit and has shown the kind of charisma and comedic timing that is largely lacking when he’s a villain. Even at 45, he’s still very good in the ring, but his recent matches have relied heavily on suplexes, F5s and other big moves instead of storytelling.

This has negatively affected the quality of these matches, and at a time when names like Cody Rhodes and Sami Zayn – who are no longer superstars – have become major draws, it’s clear that just being Brock Lesnar isn’t does necessarily mean that he will make things more interesting if he is unable to achieve the reservation.

While there may still be some dreams left for Lesnar, a possible sale of WWE and potential cost-cutting measures to speed up the sale process could make Lesnar more expendable at a time when the WWE product as a whole doesn’t necessarily need stars like him to thrive.

So WWE officials have to consider whether it’s worth it to keep Lesnar at a hefty price, and one argument for keeping Lesnar is that WWE needs to keep stars like him to be more attractive to potential buyers. There’s also the counter-argument to be made that, with some WWE stars unhappy about a WrestleMania potentially full of part-timers, continuing to focus so much on Lesnar is more trouble than it’s worth.

If WWE is going to pay Lesnar like a top star, though, he’s going to have to be in the marquee, and the rivalry with Omos doesn’t really fit that description. However, it’s also refreshing to see Lesnar out of the title picture for a change.

If Lesnar is going to be “finished” at WrestleMania, it is much more likely that he will be gone for a long time, given that his current contract expires around the time of WrestleMania 39. Lesnar is performing at a very high level and makes too much money to leave right now if he still wants to be in WWE.

What’s likely going on here is that Lesnar does what he always does and uses the leverage of an expiring contract to land an even better one, and if he doesn’t sign a new one before WrestleMania 39, maybe WWE will do the unthinkable and puts him over the Omos on his way out.

That’s unlikely, however, and the best-case scenario for Lesnar and WWE is that he disappears after WrestleMania 39—only to sign a new deal and return with a vengeance later in 2023.