In the world of combat sports, there is one name that is among the most accomplished and dominant athletes worldwide. Whether it was mixed martial arts or professional wrestling, that superstar dominated every ring he stepped into. He is none other than The Beast Incarnate Brock Lesnar.
The former WWE Champion has been a part of many blockbuster feuds and matches. Moreover, Lesnar has competed against the likes of top stars like Roman Reigns, Kurt Angle, and The Undertaker on The Grandest Stage of Them All, WrestleMania.
However, there was one particular year when Brock Lesnar did not have much interest in the feud or the match leading up to WrestleMania. Lesnar had the chance to put over a rising star in WWE, but he reportedly passed on the chance. It was against Jon Moxley, then known as Dean Ambrose, who he decided not to hurt as badly as he did to Randy Orton at the 2016 SummerSlam event.
Brock Lesnar was disinterested in his feud with Jon Moxley
In the build-up to WrestleMania 32, Jon Moxley and Brock Lesnar were slated for a top feud. This began after WWE Fastlane where Roman Reigns, who still undergoes chemotherapy and is competing in WWE, defeated both competitors to face Triple H for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania.
However, it was reported that Brock Lesnar did not see it as a marquee feud. There had been backstage tensions between the duo and Lesnar and this translated into a highly disappointing Street Fight where a far more established star, Brock Lesnar was put over and a rising star like Jon Moxley lost.
Moreover, Jon Moxley had made four pitches for the match. One of them was Lesnar delivering multiple blows to him and winning by TKO as he did to Randy Orton in their aforementioned match. But The Beast did not agree to the same.
Following his release from WWE in 2019, Jon Moxley revealed in an interview with PW Torch that according to him, Brock Lesnar saw their feud as a favor he was doing to Moxley. He also stated that The Beast arrived at the stadium three hours before the kickoff show and he did not see until the time came to go out for their match.
I think he truly thought he was just doing me a favor. [Lesnar thought] me being in the ring with him was enough to do awesome things for me. I think that’s what he thought. He didn’t want to be there.
The other pitches Jon Moxley made included using pepper spray, Lesnar throwing Moxley on thumbtacks, and Moxley wanting to use a heel hook submission. But either there was no time to practice the spots or the ideas being turned down by Brock Lesnar.
Are Jon Moxley and Brock Lesnar still with WWE?
Brock Lesnar is still contracted with WWE. However, he has not been seen on their television programming since the 2023 SummerSlam event. This came after his name was linked to the highly publicized Vince McMahon Janel Grant lawsuit. Moreover, at the start of 2025, Lesnar’s name officially came up in the amended lawsuit.
On the other hand, Jon Moxley left WWE in 2019. He debuted for rival promotion, AEW, a few months after his release. Since then, he has been one of the top attractions of the promotion and is currently in his third reign as the AEW World Champion.
Moxley recently retained his title against Adam Copeland in a Street Fight on AEW Dynamite. He is next set to defend his title against Swerve Strickland at AEW’s next pay-per-view, Dynasty, which is expected to be a blockbuster showdown for the company.
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