Brock Lesnar appeared in the closing segment of this week’s WWE SmackDown after walking out of the arena earlier in the evening.
As noted, Lesnar abruptly left the TD Garden in Boston on Friday evening after the retirement of Vince McMahon went public. WWE had announced Lesnar for the show one week ago, and it was later reported that he was scheduled to open the episode and then be “all over” the show. However, WWE pulled Lesnar from all SmackDown previews and listings once the news of his SmackDown exit made the rounds. Lesnar still had not returned to the TD Garden as of around 7pm ET, but WWE officials were trying to get him to come back. It was also reported that WWE had a SummerSlam replacement for Lesnar in mind, if needed.
Word is that Lesnar walked out of the taping to show his support for Vince. Lesnar reportedly said something to the effect of “If he’s gone, I’m gone,” when leaving after McMahon’s retirement was announced.
In an update, a new report from
Fightful Select notes that a source described the situation as being “overblown.” It was noted that things “blew over” and Lesnar returned to the arena for the show-closing segment.
WWE creative ended up re-writing the SmackDown script and the new script did not feature Lesnar at all. The rundown sheet issued backstage shortly before the show hits the air also did not mention Lesnar. However, WWE left the last segment open in a way to where Lesnar could be included if he returned.
A new update from PWInsider notes that Lesnar was scheduled to immediately leave the arena to return home via his private plane after appearing in the opening segment of Friday’s SmackDown. There is no word yet on where Lesnar went after leaving the arena, or how close he was to flying back home, but we will keep you updated. It will be interesting to find out what brought Lesnar back to the arena for the show-closing appearance.
