This article contains descriptions of alleged sexual abuse, coercion, and trafficking that some readers may find disturbing.
Brock Lesnar returned to WWE programming at SummerSlam on Sunday in East Rutherford, New Jersey, appearing for the first time since 2023. His reintroduction to the company coincides with the ongoing lawsuit against WWE and its former chief executive, Vince McMahon, brought by former employee Janel Grant, who accused McMahon of sexual abuse and trafficking.
Grant’s complaint alleges that McMahon sexually assaulted her and used his power as WWE’s then-CEO and Chairman to coerce her into sex acts and offered her to other men, including Lesnar. Grant says Lesnar requested and received sexually explicit images of Grant at McMahon’s direction during Lesnar’s contract renegotiation in 2021 and 2022. The lawsuit also alleges that arrangements were repeatedly made for Lesnar and Grant to meet for a sexual encounter, but the meetings never occurred.
“For far too long, abuse was allowed to thrive under WWE’s leadership,” a spokesperson for Grant said in response to a request to comment on Lesnar’s return. “Instead of righting this wrong, WWE has done nothing to ensure those responsible are held accountable.”
“This attempt to sweep misconduct under the rug will backfire,” the spokesperson added.
McMahon has denied any wrongdoing related to Grant’s allegations. Lesnar has not commented publicly on the allegations. Though WWE and McMahon are named defendants in her lawsuit, Lesnar is not. McMahon was reportedly under investigation by federal prosecutors for related allegations of sexual misconduct. No criminal charges have been filed to date, and McMahon’s representatives say that the investigation has been dropped.
WWE declined to respond to our requests for comment on Lesnar’s return or the company’s decision to cancel its post-event press conferences that usually follow major events and which did not take place following either night of SummerSlam. The company also didn’t respond to questions about whether Lesnar’s reappearance influenced that decision, nor whether allegations raised in the Grant complaint were considered in determining his return.
Lesnar was set to appear at the 2024 Royal Rumble, but that was canceled after Grant filed her lawsuit two days before the event. His most recent WWE appearance was almost exactly two years ago at SummerSlam in August 2023.
Grant’s lawsuit, brought under the federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA), implicates Lesnar as a beneficiary of a trafficking scheme allegedly conducted by McMahon. Grant provides text message records of her interactions with McMahon throughout the lawsuit and refers to her texts with Lesnar. Communication records between McMahon and Lesnar are not part of the public record and neither has expanded publicly on their side of the story about alleged arrangements for a sexual encounter between Grant and Lesnar.
According to the complaint, McMahon told her Lesnar could “have whatever he wants,” provided him with her phone number and explicit images of her, and encouraged her to comply with Lesnar’s requests. Grant says she felt compelled to participate, fearing that if she didn’t, it would damage her standing with McMahon and potentially interfere with a major WWE talent contract.
The lawsuit states:
221. Upon information and belief, McMahon began to recruit Lesnar for a sexual encounter with Ms. Grant while she was still a coordinator in the Legal department. By July of 2021, McMahon informed Ms. Grant that Lesnar would be their next “playmate.”
222. As in other instances, McMahon described his fantasy of seeing Ms. Grant engaged in unmerciful sexual acts with Lesnar during which he would “rip” her open.
223. McMahon also confided to Ms. Grant that he wanted to have Lesnar under a new contract, while Lesnar indicated an interest in a return to other professional endeavors.
224. On or about July 12, 2021, McMahon directed Ms. Grant to create personalized sexual content for Lesnar. McMahon shared the photos with Lesnar and then informed Ms. Grant that “he likes what he sees”:
Grant’s lawsuit then includes the following text message screenshot from McMahon.
The filing continues, describing a proposed arrangement for Grant and Lesnar to meet.
225. On July 21, 2021, McMahon flew and/or caused Lesnar to fly on a jet into a local airport and travel into Connecticut (across state lines) for what McMahon described to Ms. Grant as a “business dinner,” as well as a sexual encounter with Ms. Grant in McMahon’s condo. Upon information and belief, the dinner was to discuss Lesnar’s continued involvement with WWE. Prior to the “business dinner” with McMahon, Lesnar made a brief visit to Ms. Grant’s building. However, Lesnar did not return to the building for a sexual encounter because he was too intoxicated and taken back to the plane.
After Lesnar was unable to meet for a purported sexual encounter, Grant goes on to allege that McMahon that night instead sexually and physically abused her while he roleplayed as Lesnar. She says McMahon slapped and shoved her while she begged him to stop.
The lawsuit indicates that McMahon and Lesnar came to an informal agreement on Lesnar’s contract renewal around August 2021, but the new deal wasn’t yet finalized.
Grant’s complaint includes a screenshot of a text message from McMahon in which he tells her that he informed Lesnar “part of the deal was fucking U.”
231. In December 2021, McMahon gave Ms. Grant’s personal cell phone number to Lesnar and promised “she’ll do anything” requested of her.
232. Ms. Grant expressed her apprehension about the arrangement to McMahon and tried to run interference on starting a sexual relationship with Lesnar.
233. In the days that followed, Lesnar revealed a fetish to Ms. Grant and tested McMahon’s promise that Ms. Grant would “do anything” with a request that she send a video of herself urinating.
234. Unable to recognize herself, Ms. Grant went numb and obeyed. Lesnar informed Ms. Grant if she had not complied with the request, Lesnar would have lost any interest in her and then called her a “bitch.”
235. McMahon actively attempted to organize a sexual encounter between Ms. Grant and Lesnar, stating: “U have to take a flight to Greenville South Carolina this Monday. Even if it’s just to C Brock”.
The complaint provides another text message screenshot in which Grant tells McMahon that “you’re [sic] next contract negotiations just got a lot easier,” and McMahon urges her to meet Lesnar in person.
236. That same month, Lesnar expressed to Ms. Grant his desire to “set a play date” and have a sexual encounter. McMahon and Lesnar organized an encounter in conjunction with Lesnar’s appearance at a show at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut, with Lesnar even sending Ms. Grant the address for the hotel where he would be staying. However, a snowstorm changed Lesnar’s travel plans and Ms. Grant ultimately used the weather and COVID-19 as an excuse to back out.
Grant states she continued to interact with Lesnar by text message as late as March 2022, which she says McMahon instructed her to do.
While Lesnar is not named as a defendant, the lawsuit identifies him as a beneficiary of conduct that, according to Grant, constituted sex trafficking under federal law.
Grant’s spokesperson did not directly respond when asked whether she believes Lesnar committed a crime. As part of the broader statement provided to POST Wrestling, the spokesperson said:
“We look forward to the full set of facts, including those about Mr. Lesnar, coming out in a court of law where they belong, but, in the meantime, we refer you back to Janel Grant’s updated complaint, which outlines, in detail, the abuse she endured by McMahon and others while employed at WWE.”
Questions related to the legal case against McMahon and WWE have, on occasion, been raised to chief content officer Paul Levesque and others during the company’s post-event press conferences.
Multiple credentialed media members on site in New Jersey informed POST Wrestling that WWE didn’t provide any notice about whether a press conference would take place following SummerSlam.
Instead of fielding questions from the media, Levesque joined WWE’s broadcast team on the company’s post-show.
Levesque seemed to indicate John Cena—who Lesnar attacked in a post-main event angle—was eager to work with Lesnar in Cena’s final matches before retiring. Levesque described Cena’s final run as being guided by the latter’s “wish list,” saying, “It’s one of the very first things I said to him: What do you want, and how?” framing a likely upcoming match with Lesnar as part of Cena’s preferred farewell.
WWE’s top executives have offered only brief and often vague public comments when asked about the allegations involving McMahon and the company’s handling of them.
Paul Levesque is asked about dealing with the fallout of the sexual assault and trafficking lawsuit against Vince McMahon and WWE:
“All we can do is move forward. And allegations are allegations, right? It’s a complicated relationship for anybody in life. Nobody is perfect…” pic.twitter.com/rKxpG0V2cq
— Brandon Thurston (@BrandonThurston) August 1, 2025
“All we can do is move forward. And allegations are allegations, right? It’s a complicated relationship for anybody in life. Nobody is perfect,” Levesque said in an interview in the days before SummerSlam. “But accusations are made, and that’s a whole legal thing that is totally separate and aside from what we do. My job is to put on the best creative product that WWE can do.”
WWE President Nick Khan is not accused of abuse but is named in the lawsuit as one of the executives who, according to Grant, enabled McMahon’s conduct.
In an interview last April, Khan briefly referred to Grant’s allegations as “tawdry” (a word often used to describe something as indecent, scandalous, or meant to embarrass).
More recently, sitting with Stephanie McMahon, speaking about McMahon more generally, Khan said, “I only have admiration for Vince.”
Khan and Levesque were both members of WWE’s board of directors in 2022 when revelations surfaced that Vince McMahon had entered into multiple nondisclosure agreements with former female employees, including Janel Grant. McMahon resigned that summer amid an internal investigation, but while several other board members either stepped down or were removed, Khan and Levesque later voted to approve McMahon’s return to the board after he used his majority voting power to force his way back into the company.
A shareholder class action lawsuit against McMahon alleges that the board’s investigation into misconduct claims against him—and its broader review of WWE’s corporate culture—was superficial and a “sham.”
Former talent relations executive John Laurinaitis was also a named defendant in Grant’s lawsuit until last May, when he agreed to cooperate with Grant’s attorneys and provide evidence, and was dismissed from the case.
Grant alleges that while working as an executive assistant to Laurinaitis, she was instructed to engage in sexual acts with him in his office at WWE headquarters. She also says she was sexually assaulted in that office by both Laurinaitis and McMahon. Her lawsuit includes a building map showing that Laurinaitis’s office shared a wall with Levesque’s, an apparent effort in the suit to raise questions about who may have been aware of the alleged abuse.
In early 2024, WWE appointed Lee Fitting as head of production, a senior executive role that places him prominently in the company’s leadership. Fitting previously served as executive producer of ESPN’s College GameDay. His exit from ESPN reportedly followed internal complaints involving allegations of inappropriate workplace conduct. WWE has not publicly addressed those reports.
Grant’s lawsuit against WWE is still ongoing. The parties are currently litigating over whether the arbitration clause in the nondisclosure agreement signed by Grant and McMahon should stay in open court—as the plaintiff wants—or be moved to private arbitration—as the defendants want.
