Sources doubt Brock Lesnar's retirement is actually final ahead of WrestleMania 43

[Zach]

Brock Lesnar publicly announced his retirement from wrestling and everything during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show this week, right after putting Oba Femi over in a Hell in a Cell match to close out night one of WWEs bumper SummerSlam weekend in Minneapolis, but genuinely nobody in the wrestling world seems convinced this is actually the end

According to WrestleVotes Radio on Fightful Select, sources backstage still believe Lesnar will be involved with WrestleMania 43 in Saudi Arabia in some capacity, if he decides against actually wrestling a match on that card, those same sources reckon theres a solid chance hed instead get inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame at the same event, which would still come with a genuinely significant payday even without stepping into the ring

One source put it bluntly, saying they cant envision Lesnar walking away before one final payday in Saudi Arabia, and its easy to see the logic, Saudi Arabia shows have consistently paid out enormous appearance fees to major stars over the past several years, so even a ceremonial Hall of Fame induction alone would likely be a smaller payday than an actual match, but this is Brock Lesnar, and few believe hed fly all the way out there for nothing more than a plaque and a handshake

This is far from the first time Lesnar has announced retirement only for it to not fully stick, fans are already pointing out that people thought he had retired after WrestleMania 42 too, that pattern of dramatic on screen or media retirement announcements followed by an eventual return has become something of a running joke among longtime WWE followers whenever Lesnars name comes up in this context

Whats genuinely different this time is the specific setting, thanking everyone for their support on a widely watched platform like Pat McAfees show right after a symbolic passing of the torch moment with Oba Femi in Hell in a Cell does read as more deliberate and final than some of his past retirement teases, but the WrestleMania 43 Saudi Arabia timeline gives WWE a genuinely long runway, nearly eight months, to build toward either a proper full circle final match or a Hall of Fame send off depending on how negotiations and Lesnars own wishes play out between now and then

Are We SURE Brock Lesnar Is Actually Retired?! (WWE News)whatculture.com

[DeepPilot]

People thought Lesnar had retired at Mania 42 too is honestly the funniest and most telling detail here, hes basically the wrestling equivalent of a band doing one more farewell tour, nobody actually believes it until it sticks for real

[Dylan70]

Cant envision Lesnar walking away before one final payday in Saudi Arabia is such a blunt but probably accurate read on the business side of this, those shows have paid out genuinely enormous money to legacy stars and Lesnar has never exactly been shy about maximizing his own value

[Scout]

The Oba Femi passing the torch moment in Hell in a Cell does feel like a deliberate storytelling choice regardless of whether Lesnar actually stays retired, putting over a younger star cleanly on his way out the door is at least good for business either way

[PlanckLimit]

A Hall of Fame induction being floated as the fallback option if he doesnt wrestle a match shows WWE clearly wants him present at WrestleMania 43 one way or another, theyre not going to let a moment this big pass without Lesnar being part of it somehow

[Vulture50]

Would love to actually see Lesnar have one final genuinely competitive high profile match at WrestleMania 43 rather than just a Hall of Fame appearance, but given his age and how physically demanding hes historically wanted his matches to be, a ceremonial send off might honestly be the wiser call at this stage

[Cyberdyne37]

The financial logic here makes total sense from a pure business perspective, if Saudi Arabia shows are paying out life changing money for legacy appearances, its hard to blame any veteran star for wanting one more run before actually calling it quits for good

[Gaz90]

Wrestling retirements in general are famously unreliable, but Lesnars specifically have become such a running pattern that this whole story reads more like anticipatory speculation about his next move than genuine uncertainty about whether hes really done

[Mike80]

Eight months is a long runway for this to develop one way or the other, plenty of time for either a legitimately emotional final match to get built properly or for this retirement to just quietly become the real thing without any fanfare

[Bayley_Contender]

This retirement pattern with Lesnar specifically has happened often enough that its basically become a genuine wrestling in-joke at this point, hes retired more times than some wrestlers have actually wrestled matches

[Its_Jackson62]

Doing the retirement speech on Pat McAfees show specifically, rather than just an in-ring promo, does feel like it was meant to land as more genuine and personal than a typical worked wrestling angle, but the pattern of past false alarms makes it hard to take completely at face value regardless