WWE's SummerSlam Poster Has Me Wondering Again About Brock Lesnar

WrestleMania 42 really delivered in its second night, and part of that was thanks to what seemed to be a surprise retirement by WWE legend Brock Lesnar. "The Beast Incarnate" laid his gloves down in the ring and said his goodbyes, flying in the face of prior rumors stating he'd retire at SummerSlam in Minnesota.

It felt like a full-circle moment to have Lesnar retire in the city, given he was a successful collegiate wrestler at the University of Minnesota. While recent t-shirt releases had me thinking his retirement is legit, I'm now a bit wary after seeing Oba Femi, the up-and-comer who retired him, in the latest poster for SummerSlam. Take a look:

Oba Femi is positioned right alongside a lot of WWE's biggest names, but there's no obvious indication of who his opponent could be. Obviously, we could get that answer in the coming months as we watch his new "open challenge" segment, but is it possible Brock Lesnar is still planning a surprise return for a send-off in Minnesota? I'm pretty sure he's retired, but to play devil's advocate, here's what I'm theorizing.

Was Brock Lesnar's Retirement At WrestleMania 42 A Fake Out?

The line is always blurred when it comes to what's real and what's scripted in the WWE, and the company is not afraid to outright lie to people if it sells a better story. We saw this with Seth Rollins' recent "injury" and surprise return, with WWE: Unreal showing Triple H and company even bragging about how they sold it as an authentic incident.

There are also instances in the WWE's past where wrestlers faked their retirements. Mark Henry's iconic promo comes to mind, and more recent examples include AJ Styles faking his retirement in 2024. The narrative so far is that Brock Lesnar made a spontaneous decision in the ring to retire, and that went against the WWE's plans, but what if that's just what the company wants us to believe?

I find it strange that a week and a half after this supposed retirement, we haven't seen Lesnar break character and make some sort of public statement to the fans, or even make another appearance on The Pat McAfee Show to discuss it. We've learned over the years that he's a guy who likes his privacy, and he generally avoids the spotlight, but I'm sure he also likes to honor contractual obligations that get him paid. While we don't know the specifics of that, I just have to wonder if the WWE was really so willing to let one of its biggest stars walk and potentially derail a fresh star like Oba Femi and his planned storyline if there was more to come at SummerSlam.

It's all feasible, but still feels suspicious and leaves me wondering if we won't see Lesnar return at SummerSlam later this year after all.

Who Might Oba Femi Face At SummerSlam 2026 If Not Brock Lesnar?

If Brock Lesnar isn't returning for SummerSlam, which I think is more likely than not, I'm left to think about who Oba Femi may take on at the event. With Lesnar gone, the WWE has a shortage of big men to stand up to his massive frame.

An obvious option is Gunther, who also seems to be someone creeping around the main event scene as of late, with a big match vs. Seth Rollins at WrestleMania 42. Oba Femi vs. Gunther is a marquee match, but is that something the WWE wants to pull the trigger on with WrestleMania season only months away?

Drew McIntyre is another big guy who could throw down with Oba Femi, but presents the same downside I would guess you'd have with putting Gunther up against Femi. I'm sure the WWE does not want to feed either of those men to Femi to boost his profile, but maybe a quality match that sets up a trilogy is a possibility.

The third option I see is Oba Femi squashing some smaller superstar, but I think with Monday Night Raw already kicking off weekly open challenges, fans may be burnt out on that gimmick come SummerSlam. At some point, he'll have to face some adversity, and I think there's a chance Brock Lesnar returns for that reason.

I think back to John Cena and Brock Lesnar's feud back in 2014, which started with Lesnar absolutely destroying Cena at SummerSlam. "The Champ" bounced back and had much more competitive showings in successive matches, and if Lesnar is coming back, I think there's a chance that story can be told. Again, no guarantees we'll see Lesnar again, but don't count him out just because Femi handled him easily the first time.

We'll have a clearer picture of what's ahead for Oba Femi when SummerSlam arrives on August 1st and 2nd. As for The Beast, who knows when we'll hear from him next, but I'm not ruling out that it won't happen in the WWE just yet.