WWE Rumors on Brock Lesnar, Oba Femi & Nick Aldis, Carmelo Hayes Drops Eminem Meme on Baron Corbin

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

Lesnar Expected to Wrestle Again

When WWE first confirmed how it split the two-night card for SummerSlam, many might've assumed CM Punk vs. Cody Rhodes would close out the Saturday portion. Instead, Oba Femi took down Brock Lesnar in what might be Lesnar's farewell match.

However, Fightful Select (via Ringside News' Steve Carrier) reported there's an expectation The Beast Incarnate could return. Triple H refused to rule out the possibility when asked during his post-SummerSlam press conference.

"I don't know. You saw Brock in whatever way he retired a few months ago and then come back and do this," he said. "But for Brock to walk back to the ring, to bring Oba back in there with him, to put him over verbally and physically as, 'This is the future of the business. This is the today. This is the now. This is the future, and I am the past.' That's a pretty bold statement.

"Brock doesn't just say things. Without reading into it any more than that, 'I am the past' is what he said. But you know as well as I do, Brock does what Brock wants to do. So I would take what he said at face value and let's see."

According to Mike Johnson of PWInsider.com, "Lesnar was not involved in any changes made to the formatting or match order of the show." Lesnar vs. Femi was originally slated for the opener but got moved, likely a call by Triple H, the week of the show.

It was even described as "a last-minute decision" in a report from WrestleVotes (via Felix Upton of Ringside News).

According to WrestleVotes (via Ringside News' Derek Holloway), Lesnar did exert some influence to add the Hell in a Cell stipulation. It also made for a better attraction to sell to fans and premium live event partner ESPN.

The cage itself hardly came into play. The single most memorable moment — Lesnar hitting a Tombstone onto an exposed portion of the ring — had nothing to do with the cell structure.

As to Lesnar and Femi wrestling in the main event, that was subsequently justified by what it meant for the former.

Lesnar's retirement at WrestleMania 42 was all a ruse, but this felt more permanent. He was competing in his adopted hometown of Minneapolis, and he went out of his way to pass the torch Femi and put the young star over.

If Lesnar is done, that was a fitting way to close out Night 1.

Aldis May Not Be Done in the Ring

Nick Aldis had his first in-ring action since 2023 when he lost to Gunther on Saturday at SummerSlam. Fightful Select reported the belief internally is that the 39-year-old could compete again.

Aldis said on WWE Now (via Ian Carey of F4WOnline) he was told around Night of Champions in late June that he'd have a SummerSlam match. He joked that he got blown up during his ring entrance, such was the state of his ring rust.

"I've been doing the most intense, hard conditioning workouts for the last couple weeks," Aldis said (via WrestleTalk). "Genuinely never ever trained that hard my whole life and still four minutes in I'm like 'Oh my god.'"

Aldis remains the general manager of SmackDown after Triple H ripped up his resignation letter.

That seemingly sorts out his role in the immediate future.

Given Aldis' age and the fan reaction toward his comeback, it would make sense to give him an extended run as a wrestler down the line. He certainly has something left in the tank.

Hayes Targeting Corbin after SummerSlam

Carmelo Hayes left little doubt as to his focus coming out of SummerSlam.

Following Baron Corbin's victory over Trick Williams, he shared a photoshopped image of Corbin's face squarely in the middle of a rifle scope. The image was a play on the art for Eminem's "Killshot" diss track of Machine Gun Kelly in 2018.

Williams will presumably want a rematch in order to regain the United States Championship, but Hayes has his own unfinished business with The Lone Wolf.

He and Corbin battled in NXT years ago, and Corbin spoiled his battle with Williams on the July 10 edition of Raw. That eventually set the stage for the U.S. title bout at SummerSlam.

Hayes is clearly eager to recapture some gold, and now Corbin is the man standing between him and the belt.