Brock Lesnar’s WWE return, while clamored for by many, was obviously going to create some ruckus. He was, after all, named in Janel Grant’s lawsuit filed against Vince McMahon in January 2024, alleging sexual misconduct and trafficking, and had been kept off television programming ever since.
But then, The Beast’s resurfacing has become a blessing for John Cena, as the former UFC mauler has been one of Cena’s most important — and dangerous rivals. This gives The Greatest Of All Time the right storyline to work as the supremely over babyface, having just come off a divisive heel run.
Booker T Says John Cena Had To Revert, And Brock Lesnar Was The Answer
On The Hall of Fame podcast, Booker T discussed John Cena’s heel run between March and August 2025. Booker noted how the wrestler-turned-actor just could not pull it off at this stage of his career, even though he tried very hard. He claimed this was proof that Cena’s character would never work as a villain.
Booker T pointed out Cena’s facial expressions as a heel, stating that anybody watching would know that they weren’t real. The veteran shared his honest thoughts about his former rival’s abrupt face turn earlier this month ahead of the Undisputed WWE Championship main event at SummerSlam.
At The Biggest Party of the Summer, Cena lost the gold to Cody Rhodes, and then Brock Lesnar entered the picture out of left field, laying out The Last Real Champion with a thunderous F-5. WWE threw away months of John Cena’s work as a heel, and now he has a Beast hunting him down.
So I thought the baby face turn was John Cena just saying, ‘Hey man, let’s just of course correct and get back on pace. We know Brock Lesnar’s coming back. I’ll be able to do something with that on the way out,” stated Booker T.
John Cena’s in-ring career will officially culminate in December 2025, with his final match reportedly taking place at TD Garden in Boston. According to the reports, it will not be a premium live event. His father also confirmed recently that the 17-time World Champion will retire in his hometown of Boston.
As for when Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena can be expected, a new report stated that the final showdown between these two longtime rivals will happen in September, clashing with a major AEW pay-per-view.