An ESPN executive has commented on how much involvement they have on the WWE creative process, in particular Brock Lesnar’s recent return at SummerSlam earlier in the year.
Lesnar made his shock return to the company after more than 2 years away at the end of night 2, attacking John Cena after Cena just lost the WWE Championship to Cody Rhodes in the main event. The move was met with a considerable amount of backlash from fans as Lesnar has been named 44 times in the Janel Grant lawsuit that accuses former WWE Chairman Vince McMahon of sexual assault and trafficking. Lesnar is not named as a direct defendant in the lawsuit, but was reportedly removed from the 2024 Royal Rumble on short notice in light of the allegations.
Lesnar is now set to face Cena at Wrestlepalooza on September 20, which will also be the first Premium Live Event to be broadcast on the new ESPN streaming service as part of a new agreement between both sides. With both parites looking to make the show as big as possible, there have been rumours that the network could have had some influence in the decision to have Lesnar return.
Did ESPN Ask WWE To Bring Back Brock Lesnar?
During a media call ahead of the show, ESPN Vice President of Programming and Acquisitions Matt Kenny was asked by The Takedown on SI about their relationship with the pro wrestling company, and if they have any say on Lesnar, or any other talent, appearing on programming:
“Our relationship with the WWE is such that they have creative control,” Kenny said. “And I think it’s important to provide some context there, where we are the distributors of the events. It’s not all that dissimilar to all the other rightsholder relationships that we have, where we have relationships with the league. Obviously, a glove, stick, and ball league is a little bit different than the combat sports world, as we could all appreciate.”
Kenny also added that while he is a wrestling fan, WWE has the creative control and they hve no reason or intention of changing that in light of the new partnership:
“But in regard to our relationship with the WWE, they retain creative control. Which, by the way, we’re fine with, because they have built an incredible business for a long period of time,” he said.
“For as much as I playfully talked about my WWE fandom at the top of the call, I don’t need to be opining about what a script should be to WWE. I think we’re excited about what they do, how they do it, and can’t wait for Saturday.”
Featured image: WWE/ESPN
