John Cena On Brock Lesnar's WWE Return: "They Deal 'Em, I Play 'Em"
Cena seemingly contradicts Triple H's rationale for bringing Lesnar back at SummerSlam.
Brock Lesnar's shocking return to WWE at SummerSlam Sunday night has been the talk of the wrestling world. And while WWE is more than happy to boast about the social media virality of the Beast's appearance, it seems like people are playing hot potato when it comes to taking responsibility for landing Lesnar -- named dozens of times in the ongoing sex trafficking lawsuit filed by Janel Grant against Vince McMahon and WWE -- back with the company.
During WWE's SummerSlam post-show (a controlled atmosphere after cancelling their typical press conferences), Paul "Triple H" Levesque laid the reasoning for bringing in Lesnar after a two-year absence to John Cena wanting Brock as one of his final opponents: "It's him writing the last chapter of his book...one of the very first things I said to him [when mapping out his last run] was 'Who do you want, and how?'."
But Cena, in an interview Tuesday with Adam Glynn, seemed to contradict Levesque's reasoning for the controversial move to pull Lesnar back into the fold.
John Cena speaks on his reaction to Brock Lesnar’s return:
“I’ve been saying the same thing for 25 years. They deal ’em, I play ’em. You know, I’m just really excited. We got like 12 of these things left. I think SummerSlam was an indication from the audience where everybody… pic.twitter.com/32xQkDVUe9
Advertisement— Wrestle Ops (@WrestleOps) August 5, 2025
This also comports with a comment Cena made at a FAN EXPO event in Denver last month, where he commented on the notion of "fantasy booking" his farewell run:
I've survived and kept a level head over 25 years in the WWE by not setting expectations, by showing up every single day, doing what I'm told and asking to do it to the best of my ability. Where I ask for freedom, where I ask for creative expression is not in the selection of my opponent. It is in the process of how we put forth the work to you guys... I don't like to choose opponents, because a lot of times that doesn't work out. What I like to do is get a plan and say, 'Hey, as the artist, can I be creative with the plan?' And I've earned enough trust that they'll let me do some stupid stuff.
As a Hollywood actor these days, John Cena obviously is image-conscious, so this should be taken with a grain of salt that he could be deflecting away from being the reason that a highly controversial figure like Lesnar was brought back into WWE after being on the company's "no-fly" list ever since being pulled from the 2024 Royal Rumble days before the event.
It also is entire possible Cena is being truthful and that Levesque was attempting to pass the blame off on one of his talent rather than admitting the company brass initiated the discussions with Brock. Regardless, it's telling that there are contradicting stories about who made the decision.