Brock Lesnar declared his in-ring career in WWE to be over following his SummerSlam defeat to Oba Femi, and the reaction of the company’s locker room to the news has now been revealed.

Lesnar and Femi closed the show on the first night of SummerSlam 2026, clashing in a ‘Hell in a Cell’ match. Femi hit Lesnar with the Fall From Grace and then pinned him successfully to win the match.

The defeat seemingly brought the curtain down on 49-year-old’s time in the ring, with Brock referring to himself as ‘the past’ when taking the microphone after the match.

Appearing on The Pat McAfee Show several days after losing to Femi, Lesnar stated quite categorically that the SummerSlam match marked the end for him in professional wrestling.

“I’m here today to let the world and everybody know that I am retired,” he said. “I want to say a big thank you to everybody. Saturday was a very emotional day for me.”

In his interview with McAfee, he stated: “That’s it for me in the squared circle. I just want to give a shout-out to everybody [in] this universe that’s followed me. I was just a farm kid from South Dakota, with a big dream, and a big heart, and a big ass chip on my shoulder.”

Backstage Reaction to Brock Lesnar’s Retirement Emerges

However, a recent report from Wrestlevotes has revealed that a number of people backstage in WWE don’t believe that Lesnar is done with the company. In fact, they expect him back within less than a year.

WrestleMania 43 is set to take place next April in Saudi Arabia. This will be the first time the ‘Show of Shows’ has been held outside of North America and there are some that struggle to believe Lesnar will walk away “before one final payday” in the Gulf state. The idea of him headlining the 2027 WWE Hall of Fame has also been floated backstage, with the promotion still keen to feature the veteran Superstar.

Paul Levesque, better known as Triple H, admitted earlier this year that the company didn’t have a massive say in what Lesnar does. The WWE’s Chief Content Officer said: “You know as well as I do, Brock does what Brock wants. So I would take what he said at face value, and let’s see.”

Lesnar Claimed To Be Retired At WrestleMania 42

At WrestleMania 42 in April, Lesnar faced off against Femi and, after losing, left his gloves in and boots in the ring. He then threw up an ‘X’ signal which is used to indicate that the act is not part of the script, suggesting his retirement was entirely legitimate.

Then, after sharing an emotional embrace with his long-time friend and manager, Paul Heyman, he was gone. The tributes even came pouring in afterwards, including from UFC President, Dana White, head of the organisation where Lesnar won the heavyweight title within just four fights. He was even moved to the Alumni section of WWE’s official roster page.

By May, however, Lesnar was back.

Making his big return on WWE Raw, Lesnar attacked Oba Femi as he made his way to the ring for his weekly open challenge. This set up a rematch between the pair at Clash in Italy, with Lesnar gaining redemption when defeating Femi by pinfall.

With their head-to-head tied 1-1, a rubber match was booked for SummerSlam 2026, with Femi running out the victor. It remains to be seen if that bout will turn out to be the last time Brock competes in the WWE.

It’s hard to imagine there could ever be a ‘new Brock Lesnar‘ after the WWE icon officially announced his retirement from the business following SummerSlam in 2026.

‘The Beast Incarnate’ is one of the most dominant Superstars in the company’s history, destroying anyone in his path. The man who ended The Undertaker’s undefeated streak at WrestleMania 30 also conquered the world of MMA.

Lesnar won the WWE world title 10 times during his two decades inside the squared circle. He also beat Randy Couture for the UFC Heavyweight Championship, proving his credentials as a ‘beast’.

WWE Signed Brock Lesnar’s Heir in 2021

In 2021, WWE signed Parker Boudreaux on a development contract. The 6 ft 4 in athlete had a background in collegiate football and certainly looked the part.

There were clearly high hopes for the then-23-year-old, who made his debut on NXT as Joe Gacey’s enforcer under the ring name Harland. However, his time in the company didn’t last too long, as his final NXT match came on March 1, when he defeated Draco Anthony.

Boudreaux was released just one month later, a decision which took him by surprise. Speaking in an interview with F4WON, he explained that WWE had given him a raise just two weeks before letting him go.

It would’ve come as a surprise to Lesnar’s right-hand man, Paul Heyman. The advocate responded to a Boudreaux tweet, which claimed 2021 would be ‘special’. He replied: “His tweet is not a prediction. It’s a spoiler.”

During his short-lived time under Triple H’s watch, Boudreaux was very aware of the comparisons to Lesnar. He addressed the pride he took in being mentioned next to the WWE veteran.

He said: “It was amazing because right when I got there, you know, of course everybody was saying the Brock Lesnar stuff, but then once they saw me train and, you know, work, you know, some promos and do the stuff, they gave me my character and that was Harland.”

What Happened to Boudreaux After WWE Release

In July 2022, Boudreaux headed to All Elite Wrestling under his real name, where he formed part of The Trustbusters, alongside Ari Daivari and Slim J. Just like in WWE, his time with the organisation didn’t quite go to plan.

He made his debut on Dynamite in December 2022, backing up Swerve Strickland. Unfortunately, Boudreaux suffered an injury in July 2023, ruling him out for some time. He was then released the following year.

Since then, he has been working on the independent circuit, making appearances for GLEAT and Continental Wrestling Entertainment (CWE). He won his first title, the CWE World Heavyweight Championship, in January 2026. At 28 years old, there’s still plenty of time for ‘the next Brock Lesnar’ to prove his biggest supporters, including Heyman, right.

The list of nations that have officially declared their opposition to Gianni Infantino’s FIFA presidency is growing by the day.

Infantino had the support of nearly every FIFA member going into the World Cup. Over 200 of its members sent letters to FIFA declaring their support for the 56-year-old’s re-election as president.

However, his plan to sell off stakes in FIFA’s major competitions to private investors, which he had to abandon following widespread outrage, has led to many losing confidence in his leadership.

As of the time of writing, 12 countries have now made their opposition to Infantino public.

11 UEFA Members Have Declared Opposition to Infantino

REUTERS/Dylan Martinez/File Photo

UEFA have threatened to boycott FIFA competitions in the future and 11 of its members have made their opposition to Infantino public.

It was revealed by former Premier League footballer Jan Aage Fjørtoft that Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Germany never sent a letter to FIFA backing Infantino’s re-election. They have all since called on him to be replaced.

President of the Norwegian Football Federation, Lise Klaveness, has long opposed the 56-year-old. Sepp Blatter has praised her in recent times, saying that she should replace Infantino as FIFA president.

Wales became the first FIFA nation to withdraw their support for the current FIFA president earlier this week. They said in a statement:

England have since followed suit, as have Germany, Serbia, Greece, Albania and the Netherlands.

Jordan Only Non-UEFA Member to Declare Opposition to Infantino

REUTERS/Brian Snyder

The only non-UEFA member that have publicly expressed their opposition for Infantino’s FIFA presidency is 2026 World Cup participant, Jordan.

Jordan chief Prince Ali bin Al Hussein accused Infantino of blackmail in an incredible statement. He wrote: “First, getting our fans into the USA: not all were granted VISAS, even though they had tickets – which we also know were sold at exorbitant prices.

“Secondly, we are being taxed by the US govt through FIFA for our participation. Money that should go to players and staff. This was not the case for those who played and set up camp in Canada and Mexico. But we happened to be in the USA so now we face these huge costs in taxes for having participated.

“Thirdly, we have been waiting for reward money for our players since December for the Arab Cup in Qatar, which is a FIFA event. The money our team should receive for having reached the final has not been delivered yet, while at the same time FIFA brags about how many billions they have in reserve.

“For months, FIFA has been refusing to help us on any of these or other matters – until it was verbally communicated to me during the World Cup that if I endorsed Infantino, it would go a long way to helping our FA out.

Ali has since declared that FIFA have paid Jordan the money they are owed, but said that does not change his opinion of him. He said: “It does not change my clear position concerning the leadership of Fifa: my FA and I will not endorse President Infantino, nor will we vote for him.”