When the lawsuit regarding Vince McMahon's alleged sexual abuse and trafficking was first made public, an unexpected WWE Superstar found himself dragged into the mess: Brock Lesnar.
It was claimed that McMahon had offered WWE employee Janel Grant to Lesnar as a bonus, of sorts, for signing a new contract. Texts showed that Lesnar responded positively to the idea, though we've seen nothing to suggest anything actually took place (or whether the former UFC star was as serious as McMahon appeared to be).
Before the scandal, the plan had been for The Beast to be eliminated from this year's Royal Rumble by Dominik Mysterio. He'd have destroyed The Judgement Day member at Elimination Chamber before facing then-Intercontinental Champion Gunther at WrestleMania.
WWE hasn't really mentioned Lesnar since January, though this week's episode of RAW featured at least two references to him.
The first came when Seth Rollins told Adam Peace that he'd slayed beasts before and the second saw Cody Rhodes also mention his battles with Lesnar. Needless to say, we can't imagine either of those remarks was accidental.
On the Backstage Pass podcast, Bill Apter said this about Lesnar's possible WWE return: "I can’t tell you definitely yes, but my inside people in WWE have told me they’re talking. That’s the most I know. I’ll give you a short answer: Yes."
If this is correct, WWE's lawyers must have cleared Lesnar of any wrongdoing. The Beast remains a huge draw for the company and the fact is that many wrestling fans don't care all that much about what happens in the real world.
"You’d have to ask Brock Lesnar that," Triple H said earlier this summer when asked if the former WWE Champion is likely to return. "Brock kind of does his own thing. He’s up in Canada, I’m sure, watching his kids play hockey and enjoying life. If and when he decides he would like to do something, we’d be open to the conversation. We’ll see."
That echoed comments made by The Game after WrestleMania when he reiterated that Lesnar was not "gone" from WWE before adding, "His status is the same as it has been before. He’s just home being Brock."
It will be interesting to see how things play out from here and what WWE might have planned for Lesnar. We know Roman Reigns earned his respect during their battles, so perhaps he'll lend the Original Tribal Chief a helping hand against The Bloodline?
Stay tuned for updates.