The New Jersey crowd perhaps thought that SummerSlam Sunday could not get more shocking after Cody Rhodes' upset win over now-former Undisputed WWE Champion John Cena that is, a name long-thought to have been blacklisted from WWE made his appearance in the show's final moments. Cena watched as a "Beast Incarnate" walked down the ring, and found himself, for the second time that night, looking up at the lights, as Brock Lesnar flattened him with an F5 to close out New Jersey's historic SummerSlam weekend.
Cena stood in the ring to an adoring New Jersey crowd after his final SummerSlam match, with silence filling the ring as "thank you, Cena" chants rang out through MetLife Stadium. Rhodes had already made his way backstage after having his hand amicably raised by Cena, and for a moment, it seemed as if the broadcast would end with a tender moment between Cena and the WWE Universe. However, as Cena looked to exit the ring, the screeching tones and heavy beats of Lesnar's theme filled the arena. Lesnar appeared, and as WWE's commentary booth shouted, Lesnar took off his cowboy hat to expose his bald head before making his way down to the ring. Lesnar circled the ring before diving in to lay waste to Cena with an F5 to end the show.
Controversy is already swirling around Lesnar's shocking return. Lesnar's last headlines saw him named in the Janel Grant lawsuit, in which former WWE employee Grant accused Vince McMahon and other WWE officials of sex trafficking. The Grant lawsuit has hung over WWE like a plague, with the case ultimately leading to McMahon's shocking and high-profile departure from WWE and TKO. Many assumed that Lesnar would never return to WWE after his involvement with the scandal broke, and it is currently unclear who facilitated Lesnar's return and why.
