Brock Lesnar returns to WWE: Why was UFC star named in lawsuit against Vince McMahon?

Brock Lesnar, who returned to WWE at SummerSlam on Sunday, August 4, was previously named in a lawsuit against Vince McMahon.

Brock Lesnar returned to WWE at SummerSlam on Sunday, August 4. This was his first appearance for the company since the summer of 2023.

Brock Lesnar returns to WWE: When UFC star was named in lawsuit against Vince McMahon (Image Credit: WWE)

Lesnar returned after Cody Rhodes beat John Cena to win the undisputed WWE title. The last time Lensar was seen on WWE was when he performed at SummerSlam in August 2023 when he lost to Rhodes.

Why was UFC star Brock Lesnar named in lawsuit against Vince McMahon?

In January 2024, former WWE employee Janel Grant officially identified Lesnar in a federal lawsuit she filed against the company and former executive Vince McMahon. Grant identified Lesnar as someone McMahon allegedly offered her to for sex in 2021, per an amended complaint filed in U.S. District Court. The original complaint referenced a star wrestler, but did not name Lesnar. Lesnar, who fought in the UFC primarily from 2008 to 2011, was not listed as a defendant in the lawsuit.

At the time, McMahon called the amended complaint a "publicity stunt” in a statement his attorney issued. "As expected, the proposed amended complaint is nothing more than the latest publicity stunt in an ongoing smear campaign," McMahon attorney Jessica Rosenberg said in a statement, according to ESPN. "It is filled with desperate falsehoods from a team that continues to disregard the law and the truth."

Grant worked in the company's legal and talent departments. She accused McMahon of forcing her into a sexual relationship to keep her job, and asking her to create "personalized sexual content" for Lesnar in July 2021. At the time, McMahon was trying to keep Lesnar under contract with the WWE. Grant also claimed that McMahon flew Lesnar to Connecticut in 2021 for a sexual encounter, but it ultimately did not happen. According to the amended complaint, McMahon even demanded that Grant create "customized pornographic content" for longtime producer Michael Hayes.

McMahon denied the allegations. Grant reportedly sought unspecified monetary damages at the time.