WWE Rumors on Lesnar's Return, Kross and Scarlett Contract Status, Rollins vs. Knight

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.

Reported Behind-the-Scenes Details on Lesnar's WWE Return

After two years off WWE programming, Brock Lesnar made his shocking return at SummerSlam on Sunday by laying out John Cena with an F-5.

According to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t Subhojeet Mukherjee of Ringside News), the WWE legal team "cleared" Lesnar to return to the company four weeks before SummerSlam, and the company managed to keep it under wraps until he showed up at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, following Cena's WWE Championship loss to Cody Rhodes.

In January 2024, former WWE employee Janel Grant filed a lawsuit against WWE and its former chairman and CEO, Vince McMahon, alleging that McMahon sex trafficked her.

While Lesnar is not a defendant in the lawsuit, his name is mentioned in the suit, as Grant alleged that McMahon offered sexual favors from Grant as part of contract negotiations with Lesnar.

Grant also alleged that McMahon made her produce "personalized sexual content" for Lesnar, and while a sexual encounter between her and Lesnar was arranged, it didn't take place.

Prior to this past weekend, Lesnar had not appeared on a WWE show since SummerSlam 2023. It was believed he was set to return in early 2024 for the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania, but it never came to fruition after Grant filed the lawsuit.

As part of his report, Meltzer speculated that WWE changing its stance on Lesnar could be a sign that the case with Grant is either close to being settled or going to arbitration with Lesnar potentially being "not a factor" in those negotiations.

During Monday night's episode of Raw, play-by-play announcer Michael Cole said he spoke to WWE president Nick Khan and head of creative Triple H, who told him they reached out to Lesnar a couple of weeks ago and told him it was time to "come home."

Lesnar's return is hugely controversial due to his being named in Grant's lawsuit, but his status as one of the biggest stars in WWE and combat sports history likely played a role in the decision.

During Raw, WWE announced that social clips of the multi-time WWE world champion and former UFC heavyweight champion garnered 75 million views.

Whether positive or negative, the attention figures to continue for the foreseeable future, especially with Lesnar entering into a rivalry with Cena, who has just five months left in his WWE career before retirement.

Kross, Scarlett WWE Contracts Reportedly Set to Expire

Karrion Kross and Scarlett reportedly may become free agents this weekend, just one week after appearing at SummerSlam.

According to Fightful Select (h/t Steve Carrier of Ringside News), a WWE higher-up said the contracts of Kross and Scarlett are set to expire over the weekend, and they have not been approached with a new deal.

Fightful also reported that neither Kross nor Scarlett were in attendance for Monday night's episode of Raw.

On top of that, Kross and Scarlett reportedly haven't been told anything by WWE about their contractual status despite their deals being just days away from expiring.

At SummerSlam, Kross faced Sami Zayn in the rubber match of their rivalry. Zayn was victorious, meaning Kross would have to admit he was wrong about Zayn, per the stipulation of their match.

Kross made no such admission at SummerSlam, though, and since he did not appear on Raw, the stipulation has yet to be satisfied.

Zayn seemed emphatic in his insistence that he is done with Kross, though, as he said during a backstage segment on Raw that he is now focused on becoming world champion.

Kross, 40, first signed with WWE along with his wife, Scarlett, in 2020. Kross quickly became a dominant force, winning the NXT Championship twice, but he got lost in the shuffle upon getting called up to the main roster in 2021, and both he and Scarlett were released.

WWE brought them back into the fold in 2022, and about a year later, they formed a stable called The Final Testament, bringing in AOP and Paul Ellering.

The stable disbanded earlier this year when AOP and Ellering were released, though, prompting Kross and Scarlett to go off on their own.

Playing a cryptic, devil's advocate type of character, Kross got over with portions of the WWE Universe thanks largely to his backstage segments with popular babyfaces such as AJ Styles and Zayn.

Despite that, WWE never advanced him past the level of a midcard heel who put over the faces, and it looks as though he and Scarlett may be free to sign elsewhere as soon as this weekend.

Reported Pitch for Rollins vs. Knight SummerSlam Match

Seth Rollins and LA Knight did battle for the World Heavyweight Championship on Monday night's episode of Raw, but there were reportedly discussions about doing the match even earlier than that.

According to Meltzer (h/t Carrier) there were talks in WWE about having Rollins put the world heavyweight title on the line against Knight on Night 2 of SummerSlam after successfully cashing in his Money in the Bank contract to win it on Night 1.

Last month, Rollins faced Knight at Saturday Night's Main Event, and Rollins appeared to injure his knee, allowing Knight to hit him with BFT for the win.

In the weeks that followed, Rollins was spotted everywhere in a walking boot and using crutches, and both he and WWE suggested that he would be out of action for the foreseeable future.

After CM Punk beat Gunther for the World Heavyweight Championship in the main event of Night 1 of SummerSlam on Saturday, Rollins made his entrance while flanked by Paul Heyman.

Rollins was still in a boot and using crutches, and it initially looked as though he was just warning Punk of a future cash-in.

However, Rollins tossed aside the crutches and took off the boot, signaling that it was a ruse all along. He then successfully chased in on an exhausted Punk, becoming world champ in the process.

On Raw, Rollins was confronted by Knight, and Raw general manager Adam Pearce granted Knight a world title match against Rollins that same night.

In the main event, Rollins was about to stomp Knight's head onto the exposed concrete floor when Punk showed up and attacked Rollins, causing a disqualification.

Given the circumstances of how that match ended, it could signal a potential Triple Threat between Rollins, Punk and Knight in the near future.