Add as a preferred source on Google The feeling inside WWE is that Brock Lesnar’s Hell in a Cell match with Oba Femi on Night 1 of SummerSlam won’t be the last of his career, per WrestleVotes Radio on Fightful Select. One source said they’d be surprised if Lesnar didn’t step away from TV for a while before resurfacing in time for WrestleMania 43 in Saudi Arabia. The report also notes Lesnar’s plans have never leaked, so if Saturday at U.S. Bank Stadium does end up being it, that isn’t something being discussed backstage.
That’s a real caveat, but if the read is right, Gunther is the obvious name for the last spot on Lesnar’s card.
The Match They’ve Been Sitting On Since 2023
Gunther and Lesnar came face to face in the 2023 Men’s Royal Rumble. It lasted seconds — a few shots traded before Bobby Lashley dumped Lesnar — but the pop was loud enough that the match has never gone away.
Since then, The Ring General has called Lesnar one of his top dream matches and his “personal end boss,” the guy he has to beat to validate himself. WWE has kept the tease alive on and off, even after going with Femi for this trilogy: Femi beat Lesnar at WrestleMania 42, Lesnar got it back at Clash in Italy, and Femi gave up his King of the Ring world title shot to get him inside the Cell.
If Lesnar is only coming back for Mania 43, there’s a full build’s worth of runway to finally do Gunther.
Gunther Needs His Heat Back
Gunther built the Career Killer gimmick by retiring Goldberg, John Cena and AJ Styles inside a year. That run made him the most protected act on the roster.
The problem is where he’s at now. He beat Seth Rollins on Night 1 of WrestleMania 42 off a Bron Breakker run-in, came up short in multiple cracks at the Undisputed WWE Championship, and works Nick Aldis at SummerSlam — the former SmackDown GM who stepped down to take the match and hasn’t wrestled in three years.
The Aldis program has drawn, and it’s the most anyone has talked about Gunther since the Cena match. It’s still a step down for a guy who was ending Hall of Fame careers six months ago. AJ Styles, one of the three, said on his own podcast that it’s fair to say WWE dropped the ball with him.
The Win That Fixes It
Beating Lesnar fixes all of it in one night. Gunther gets the Career Killer gimmick back over against the biggest name available, and does it by ending the career of a guy who’s been a draw across multiple eras of the company.
Lesnar gets a finish worth a WrestleMania in Saudi Arabia, and WWE turns the retirement into an actual passing of the torch.
Femi can still go over Saturday and take the trilogy 2-1. But if Lesnar has one more in him, Gunther has the history, the character and the need.