Caught up in Janel Grant's lawsuit against former WWE Chairman Vince McMahon, Brock Lesnar was dropped from the company's plans earlier this year and ended up missing the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania PLEs.
The Beast hasn't been seen since and it's unclear whether he'll ever return to WWE (at least not until this lawsuit is dealt with and his name is theoretically cleared).
During a recent interview, WWE Hall of Famer Paul Heyman was asked if he's spoken to Lesnar in recent months and, well, he chose his words carefully and delivered perhaps the most Heyman answer possible.
"You know, it’s funny when people ask me about that, and it’s the same answer I would have given in 2002 or in 2009 when he was the UFC Heavyweight Champion," he replied. "People would see me in the background in his training camps or his fights."
"When it comes to Brock Lesnar, Lesnar doesn’t like to be discussed about anything, about his life that’s off camera. So if I do speak to Brock Lesnar, he would want that to be private. If I don’t speak with Brock Lesnar, he would want that to be private. I would never want to violate his wish of privacy."
"Number two, I would fear for a human being that would want to violate the feeling of privacy that would be decided by Brock Lesnar," Heyman continued. "So based on both love and appreciation for the man and a healthy dose of absolute fear of the man, I will neither confirm nor deny my knowledge of even the existence of a species on this planet that carries the name, Brock Lesnar."
The ECW founder made his own return to WWE last week when he announced CM Punk as the fifth member of Roman Reigns' WarGames team ahead of Survivor Series. Despite what proved to be a lengthy TV absence, he's still been working backstage and elaborated on that role.
"It’s no secret. I mean, because if you read some of the interviews that have been done with a number of people, be it Bron Breakker or Damian Priest or Bronson Reed, let alone, Jey Uso, or Gunther, you know, it’s no secret I’ve been working with a lot of the young talent backstage and love doing it."
"There are so few veterans that are available at their disposal right there during the show for instant feedback," he added, "for that last moment before they go through the curtains of observation of what could make the segment better."
Heyman, who has been a huge part of the ongoing Bloodline drama, later shared his belief that thus is arguably the best storyline in pro wrestling history.
"Because of the longevity that this story line has had, I have to rank it number one. I mean, the money-drawing years of the Horsemen weren’t this long. The money-drawing years of the NWO wasn’t this long. The money-drawing years of Austin versus McMahon wasn’t this long. Hogan vs Savage. Hogan vs Piper which put WrestleMania on the map. So just in terms of overall storytelling and constant web and flow of affecting other people’s environment in the roster and how they tell their stories, I would suggest it’s the most significant."
"It’s the biggest money drawing. It has the most longevity, It’s held the most interest, and overall, it has done so by being the most intriguing and compelling, because at every turn, you see the characters not just turn towards what the story calls for, but the long term effects of the development of these characters and the evolution of these characters is never lost on us."
You can watch the full interview with Heyman (and, as always, we'd highly recommend doing so) in the player below.