9 months ago
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A heavy black cloud hangs over the Royal Rumble, as WWE is currently doing its best to run its first PLE of 2024 under the weight of public scrutiny following the bombshell allegations of sex trafficking against former Executive Chairman of the Board of TKO Group Holdings Vince McMahon, among others. McMahon retired from all duties in WWE and TKO Group Holdings on Friday, following the threat of WWE losing Slim Jim as a sponsor. Now it appears the allegations have altered the Men's Royal Rumble.
PWInsider is reporting that former WWE Champion Brock Lesnar has been "withdrawn" from tonight's Men's Royal Rumble Match. Lesnar had initially been slated to return for WrestleMania season, but his implication in the sex trafficking case against WWE has put that in jeopardy. An unnamed "WWE NXT" Superstar is said to be taking Lesnar's place in the Rumble. Lesnar had originally been scheduled to travel to St. Petersburg for the Rumble.
Lesnar was named by The Wall Street Journal as the unnamed WWE Superstar and former UFC Heavyweight Champion, to whom images of Janel Grant were sent during a time when WWE was actively trying to, and eventually did, re-sign Lesnar in 2020. Among the myriad psychological, emotional, and sexual torture described in the suit, Grant was forced to create lude content for Lesnar during this period, in the hopes of swaying Lesnar to re-sign with the company. Grant was then forced to repeat this in 2022. Grant and Lesnar never had a physical meeting.
