Bully Ray believes fans may have jumped to conclusions regarding Brock Lesnar’s apparent retirement, arguing that WWE never officially stated Lesnar was done competing.
Speaking on the Busted Open podcast, Bully Ray discussed Lesnar’s shocking return on WWE Raw and explained why he never fully bought into the retirement narrative that emerged following WrestleMania 42.
“You never heard those words come out of Brock’s mouth. At least I don’t think we did, not on WWE television, not on one of their podcasts. The WWE never touted Brock Lesnar is officially retired. As a matter of fact, they were saying ‘what’s next for Brock Lesnar,’ and I find that a very interesting choice of words post-WrestleMania.”
After losing to Oba Femi at WrestleMania 42, Lesnar removed his boots and MMA gloves inside the ring before embracing Paul Heyman and walking away in what many interpreted as a retirement moment. WWE later moved Lesnar’s profile from the active roster section to the alumni page on WWE.com, further fueling speculation that his career had ended.
However, PWInsider later reported that Lesnar remains internally listed as an active performer and is currently considered a free agent within WWE.
According to Bully Ray, WWE’s careful wording and Lesnar’s actions created the perfect setup for a future comeback angle.
“He never said I’m retiring. We just speculated it. The way he took off his boots and gloves, I got why he did it. You could always bait a person in. He got beat. What better way to sucker someone in than to make them believe you have retired?”
Tommy Dreamer also weighed in during the discussion, noting that WWE’s on-screen storyline later referenced retirement paperwork through Adam Pearce backstage. Still, Dreamer agreed that the company intentionally left enough ambiguity to allow Lesnar’s return without contradicting prior storytelling.
Bully Ray then outlined what he believes would be the ideal promo direction for Lesnar moving forward, suggesting “The Beast Incarnate” should directly address the audience’s assumptions.
“If the promo is from Brock: I never retired. I never said I was retired. All of you people said I was retired. You all speculated, but I never said it, and unless I say it, it doesn’t mean anything. So now I’m officially saying it. And I will officially retire, if you can defeat me, Oba Femi, at SummerSlam in Minneapolis.”
Lesnar made his return on the May 18 edition of Raw by attacking Femi during his open challenge segment and delivering four F-5s in a brutal assault.
Later in the show, Heyman appeared backstage with WWE official Adam Pearce and revealed a contract for WWE Clash in Italy that had already been signed by Lesnar, leaving only Femi’s signature needed to make the rematch official.
The full discussion can be heard on SiriusXM’s Busted Open podcast.
