Brock Lesnar

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

Stone Cold Praises Star Power of Lesnar, Reigns

WWE Hall of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin is arguably the biggest draw in professional wrestling history, so his opinion on the stars of today tends to carry a great deal of weight.

In an interview with veteran wrestling journalist Bill Apter (h/t Subhojeet Mukherjee of Ringside News), Austin gave his take on the biggest stars in the business currently:

"[Brock Lesnar] is still, after almost 20 years, the biggest draw, him and Roman [Reigns], in the business today. Brock Lesnar has had one of the most amazing, different runs in the history of the business, and no one will ever do it like Brock Lesnar has done it. Whether it is Suplex City or in the Octagon."

There is little doubt that WWE agrees with Austin's assessment, as it has gone back to the Lesnar vs. Reigns feud on multiple occasions, including three times at WrestleMania.

At WrestleMania 38 in April, Austin made his in-ring return and had his first match in nearly 20 years, beating Kevin Owens in the main event of Night 1. Naturally, Night 2 was headlined by Reigns defeating Lesnar to unify the WWE and Universal Championships.

Lesnar got a rematch at SummerSlam in a Last Man Standing Match, and The Tribal Chief was victorious again thanks largely to interference from The Usos.

Since making his WWE main roster debut in 2002, Lesnar has been a major attraction. His stock was bolstered even more after a stint in UFC that saw him hold the UFC heavyweight title.

WWE has been trying to push Reigns as a top star from the start of his time on the main roster as well, and while he wasn't well received for quite some time, everything changed two years ago when he turned heel and embarked on the best run of his career.

While WWE has many other performers who are on the brink of top star status, Lesnar and Reigns are the old standbys at this point, and that will likely continue to be true for as long as they are with the company.

WWE Superstars, Employees Reportedly Happy Under New Management

Many within WWE have reportedly seen their morale improve since a change in management occurred in July.

Vince McMahon stepped down from his roles as chairman, CEO and head of creative and entered retirement in July amid a WWE board of directors investigation into allegations that he paid millions of dollars in hush money to multiple women who previously worked for WWE in exchange for them remaining silent about alleged sexual relationships and encounters with McMahon.

In place of McMahon, Triple H was named the new head of creative, and McMahon's daughter, Stephanie McMahon, became chairwoman and co-CEO along with Nick Khan, who previously served as WWE president.

According to PWInsider.com's Mike Johnson, the management change has "energized" people across the company, including wrestlers, production workers and other employees.

Those who work for WWE reportedly have a better work-life balance than they did under Vince McMahon and are under less stress since they don't feel obligated to keep up with Vince's breakneck pace.

It was also suggested by those who spoke to Johnson that there was a fear of repercussions or the possibility of getting fired if a misstep was made under Vince, whereas that isn't the case with Stephanie, Triple H and Khan calling the shots.

There is no question that the WWE product has been received far more favorably by fans since the management change occurred, and it has been far more unpredictable in a positive way as well.

A big part of that has been Triple H bringing back talent that was either released or didn't re-sign when McMahon was at the helm.

Dakota Kai, Karrion Kross, Scarlett, Dexter Lumis, Hit Row, Johnny Gargano and Braun Strowman have all been surprise returns, and it has made it feel like anything can happen in WWE.

The on-screen product has been more fun to watch, and based on Johnson's report, that good feeling has permeated backstage as well.

Bobby Fish Open to WWE Return

Former NXT star Bobby Fish isn't ruling out a WWE return now that his brief run in AEW has come to an end.

In an interview with Steve Fall of NBC Sports Boston (h/t Bill Pritchard of WrestleZone), Fish confirmed last week that he could not come to terms on a new contract with AEW, making him a free agent.

In that same interview (h/t WrestlingInc's Phil Hall), Fish said he was keeping the door open for any and all offers, including WWE: "I'm open to all options and offers at the moment. I do know that there have been quite a few people have gone back through those doors."

Fish was referring to Superstars who have made their return to WWE under Triple H after getting released while Vince McMahon was in charge. Most of those who have returned thus far worked closely with Triple H in NXT.

That was the case for Fish as well, as he was part of the NXT roster from 2017 to 2021, spending most of that time as part of the Undisputed Era stable with Adam Cole, Kyle O'Reilly and Roderick Strong.

Strong is still in NXT, while Cole and O'Reilly are in AEW. Fish teamed with them briefly in AEW, but Cole and O'Reilly got injured, and Fish's contract expired at a time when he wasn't being used.

The Undisputed Era reunion in AEW ultimately fizzled, and Fish will now have the opportunity to go off on his own, which isn't something he has done much of over the past several years.

It is unclear what WWE's level of interest would be in bringing back Fish at 45 years of age, but there could be some interest in pairing him with Strong again in what would be a semi-reunion of Undisputed Era.

Fish was a multi-time tag team champion in NXT and took part in no shortage of memorable matches and rivalries, so a return would likely be well received by the fans.

If nothing else, Fish could be a valuable asset in terms of helping to develop younger Superstars thanks to his extensive experience.

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WWE Hall of Famer Goldberg revealed this week that it was Brock Lesnar's idea for Goldberg to beat him in a squash match at Survivor Series 2016.

During an appearance on Talk Is Jericho with All Elite Wrestling star Chris Jericho (h/t Subhojeet Mukherjee of Ringside News), Goldberg praised Lesnar and discussed what led to his 90-second victory over The Beast Incarnate in his WWE return match six years ago:

"Brock is the one that came up with the 90-second deal. You know me, I'm not going to walk in and say, 'Ah, I've been waiting 12 years, I'm gonna beat Brock in 90 seconds. Pay me and I’m gone.' It doesn't work like that. I learned a lot from Brock and I learned a lot about who he is and about how creative he is and about how unselfish he is. Those are things that people would definitely be surprised about when talking about Brock Lesnar."

Goldberg also called Lesnar a "mastermind" and mentioned the great understanding he has for the wrestling business.

After 12 years out of wrestling, Goldberg returned to WWE in 2016 for a rematch against Lesnar after their match at WrestleMania 20 was widely criticized by fans because of the knowledge that both were leaving the company afterward.

Their clash at Survivor Series 2016 was much better received, especially since few expected Goldberg to win so emphatically.

That win led to Goldberg beating Kevin Owens for the Universal Championship, and he then put the title on the line against Lesnar at WrestleMania 33. On that occasion, Lesnar got the win in a bout that fans thoroughly enjoyed.

Goldberg wrestled several matches after that and even became universal champion one more time.

His most recent match was a loss to Roman Reigns at Elimination Chamber in Saudi Arabia in February, which Goldberg said was the final match on his WWE contract.

It is possible that the 55-year-old veteran has wrestled his final match. If he has, the return match against Lesnar was enough to make his wrestling comeback a worthwhile endeavor.

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Brock Lesnar isn't particularly shy about flexing his position of power within WWE, and that's apparently included nixing proposed storylines.

Road Dogg, who worked in several roles behind the scenes before his dismissal this year, recently revealed Lesnar refused to work with several wrestlers in the past.

“So yeah, Brock [Lesnar] said, ‘I’m not working with him [Jinder Mahal].’ Look, he said that about several people by the way," Road Dogg said on The Wrestling Outlaws podcast.

WWE wanted Lesnar to work with Mahal at the 2017 Survivor Series pay-per-view in a champion vs. champion match. Instead, the storyline changed at Lesnar's behest, with AJ Styles defeating Mahal to win the WWE championship less than two weeks before Survivor Series.

Lesnar defeated Styles in what was one of The Beast Incarnate's best recent matches. One could argue that Lesnar had a better creative idea than the WWE writers, given Mahal isn't a particularly great worker.

It's also not as if Lesnar hasn't been on the other end of the booking stick. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin famously walked out on the company in 2002 when he was asked to put Lesnar over in the King of the Ring tournament.

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Brock Lesnar Advertised for Day 1

If Saturday's SummerSlam battle with Roman Reigns was Brock Lesnar's final WWE match, he went out on top. The pair's Last Man Standing match exceeded all expectations and included Lesnar literally lifting the ring with a tractor.

It ruled. The whole thing ruled.

But while the match may have been Lesnar's final chapter (for now) with Reigns, it does not appear he'll be transitioning to full-time farm boy. State Farm Arena announced January's Day 1 live event will take place in Atlanta next year and used Lesnar as the sole WWE wrestler in the advertisement.

World Wrestling Entertainment returns to Atlanta’s State Farm Arena with @WWE Day 1 on Sunday, Jan 1st, NEW YEARS DAY!

See your Favorite Superstars from Monday Night RAW & Friday Night Smackdown compete at the 1st Premium Live Event of the New Year!

🔗: https://t.co/5XMrpyXAC8 pic.twitter.com/SG2a3bULKO

— State Farm Arena (@StateFarmArena) July 30, 2022

Here is where we include four very important words: card subject to change. Lesnar, 45, being included in the advertising for Day 1 does not necessarily mean he's going to be there. It's possible, if not likely, the people working for State Farm Arena simply threw together a graphic without consulting WWE on what the card may look like.

Day 1 is six months away, and WWE is in the midst of a massive creative overhaul if you haven't heard. It's not likely anyone in the company knows precisely what January 1, 2023, will look like.

It was always unlikely SummerSlam was Lesnar's retirement match. He's seemed to be having more fun than ever in this latest run, and those massive WWE checks keep clearing. We may just be looking at a return to Lesnar simply being used as a special attraction rather than someone fighting for a championship.

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Ric Flair in Good Health After 'Last Match'

Ric Flair speaks to the crowd. #RicFlairsLastMatch pic.twitter.com/X6fG6yHOfD

— TrillerTV (@Triller_TV) August 1, 2022

Ric Flair looked every bit of 73 years old Sunday night as he teamed with Andrade El Idolo to take on Jay Lethal and Jeff Jarrett in what was billed as—and hopefully will be—his final match inside a wrestling ring.

Flair seemed out on his feet at several points in the match and seemingly needed to be woken up by Andrade in order to put on brass knuckles and strike Jarrett to set up the Figure Four finish.

While things got a little uncomfortable for people watching in the crowd and at home, it appears Flair left the match in good health. Mike Johnson of PW Insider reported two doctors checked Flair out after the match and said he was doing "great."

All is well that ends well, but here's to hoping this retirement—unlike Flair's others—actually sticks this time.

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Corbin Says Retirement Not Coming Anytime Soon

Happy Corbin doesn't seem like he's been around a long time, but he turns 38 in September. The former NFL player did not begin his wrestling career until he was nearly 28 and was 30 before he was making regular appearances on NXT programming.

When recently asked about his long-term future in the business, Corbin said he wants to continue wrestling well into his 40s.

"I want to have another five or 10 years here in WWE," Corbin told Bleav In Pro Wrestling. "But, eventually, like all athletes, at some point, our body doesn't keep up with our mind anymore, and we may think we can go. I want to be a guy who withdraws at the appropriate time; I don't want to be there too long. I don't want to jeopardize, because I feel like Iike I've got good stigmas about me other than everybody hates me."

Wrestlers are continuing their careers well into their 40s at this point—and sometimes into their 50s...or 70s if your last name is Flair—so Corbin continuing for another decade isn't out of the question.

He's been one of WWE's best heels since making his main roster debut, consistently garnering boos even when his storylines have not been well-written. Corbin has also established himself as a safe worker despite his late-career start, getting the trust of Kurt Angle's last match at WrestleMania 35.

Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: some language NSFW).