Jim Ross Talks Brock Lesnar's Apparent Retirement, Potential WWE Match With GUNTHER

Following his loss to Oba Femi at WWE WrestleMania 42, Brock Lesnar seemed to signal the end of his in-ring career by leaving his wrestling boots and gloves laying in the ring. Still, former WWE commentator Jim Ross isn't entirely convinced that fans have seen the last of him.

"Here's what I think will happen. Have we seen the last of Brock Lesnar? Hell no. No way," Ross said on "Grilling JR." "Have we seen the last of Brock Lesnar as a semi-reoccurring character on TV? I think so, but I don't think we've seen the last of him. I think that for WrestleMania next year or major events or what have you, it's just a crazy world, man. With all those financial-oriented guys investing in the company and owning a piece of this and a piece of that, they're in it for the cash. If they project that Brock Lesnar return to fight Oba Femi, I know they fought already, but that means nothing to me. If you're good at what you do for a living, you should be able to do it more often than once and kick ass. I'm sure those two guys could do that."

Since his emotional farewell to the WWE Universe, mixed reports on Lesnar's future in WWE, and wrestling overall, have emerged. Most recently, though, backstage figures were said to be under the belief that Lesnar had legitimately retired from in-ring competition, with WrestleMania 42 in Las Vegas being his farewell platform.

Nevertheless, speculation on Lesnar potentially wrestling once more at SummerSlam, based in the state of his alma mater this year, has continued. As Ross further addressed, the chatter has particularly pointed to former WWE World Heavyweight Champion GUNTHER as Lesnar's opponent for the premium live event.

"That's a match that has to be booked at someplace soon," Ross said regarding the possibility of Lesnar facing GUNTHER. "At least get the story started and percolating a little bit and build anticipation in a slow process. Of course we know Lesnar's win-loss loss record is going to be stellar. Nobody hardly beats Brock except Oba did and that was a good fight. That was the right thing to do. But man, Brock and GUNTHER, that's a WrestleMania match, not SummerSlam, not Royal Rumble. It's a WrestleMania match. It's already half-ass built. It's like building a castle. Now you're just putting the finishing touches on it because the foundation is laid. The structure is in your vision. That'd be a WrestleMania match in my view, and it would sell like a son of a b*****, especially in Minneapolis where Lesnar [has history]."

For years, wrestling fans and pundits have backed the idea of "The Beast" taking on "The Ring General." GUNTHER himself has supported it as well, citing his desire to be a "final boss" in WWE, much like Lesnar had previously been. Outside of a singular faceoff in a Royal Rumble, an official match between the two has yet to materialize.

SummerSlam 2026 will take place in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the city in which Lesnar amateur wrestled for the University of Minnesota, on August 1 and 2. WrestleMania 43 will emanate from Saudi Arabia sometime next spring. Given his apparent retirement at this year's "Show of Shows," it is unclear if Lesnar will wrestle at either event. However, WWE officials are reportedly hopeful that he will at least appear at SummerSlam in some manner.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Grilling JR" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.