What Did Brock Lesnar Say Before Walking Out Of WWE SmackDown?
Vince McMahon's exit could have big ramifications for WWE.
As previously noted, Bryan Alvarez reported that Brock Lesnar left tonight's "WWE SmackDown" in Boston, MA, hours before the show is set to air live. Alvarez has now followed up with a report that, before leaving, Lesnar said something to the effect of, "If he's gone, I'm gone," likely referring to the former WWE chairman & CEO.
Brock's line was some derivative of, "If he's gone, I'm gone."
— Bryan Alvarez (@bryanalvarez) July 22, 2022
Lesnar leaving is a massive blow to WWE's creative plans, as he's set to face Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns in the main event of WWE SummerSlam on July 30th. According to Alvarez, there is a replacement for Lesnar prepared, "but obviously they're trying to get him to come back." lesnar is not currently advertised for tonight's show, but was advertised in an email to WWE fans sent out around 5:30pm EST.
There is a replacement for SummerSlam in place for Brock, but obviously they're trying to get him to come back.
— Bryan Alvarez (@bryanalvarez) July 22, 2022
According to sources, the backstage situation is complete chaos, with an all-hands meeting at 5pm that does not sound like it provided a lot of answers. McMahon announced his retirement earlier today amidst a WWE board of directors investigation into hush money payments made by McMahon to former female talent, alleging misconduct, abuse, and harassment by McMahon, as well as former EVP of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis.
Lesnar's words, if accurate, are not exactly a vote of confidence in interim WWE chairwoman and CEO Stephanie McMahon, who took over her father's corporate duties after news of the investigation first broke. McMahon had retained creative control of the company while stepping away from his executive role, but a WWE spokesperson confirmed that McMahon is now retiring from both his corporate and creative duties. Bruce Prichard had been in charge of WWE creative while also replacing Laurinaitis in Talent Relations, but Prichard is presumably now able to focus more on creative after today's announcement that Paul Levesque has stepped back into his old role as EVP of Talent Relations.