Paul Heyman has revealed what the former WWE Champion Brock Lesnar told him during their emotional WrestleMania 42 moment.
‘The Beast Incarnate’ removed his gloves and boots at WrestleMania 42 and the two embraced in the middle of the ring. Heyman described the moment as surreal and deeply personal, even as it played out on a stadium broadcast. Lesnar told his longtime manager:
F*ck them! Don’t worry about that, this is just for us.
Heyman has now shared the full account of that exchange, recasting the viral retirement scene as a private goodbye between two men with a decades-long bond.
Heyman detailed the conversation in an interview with Insight With Chris Van Vliet.
I thanked him for everything. He thanked me for everything,” Heyman said.
I told him that I love him. He told me that he loves me. Then I asked him if he finds it funny that the two of us are standing in the middle of the ring, in the middle of the stadium, in the middle of WrestleMania, being broadcast all over ESPN, telling each other that we love each other. I said, ‘This is kind of a surreal moment.’
He goes, ‘F*ck them! Don’t worry about that, this is just for us.’ Okay, my beast. Happy to happen, happy to participate in the moment. It was just a very personal moment that we were not hesitant to share with the rest of the world. It was a very emotional moment.
Following the hug, Heyman raised Lesnar’s arm as a sign of respect to “The Beast.” Lesnar then exited the ring, leaving his gloves and boots behind.
Heyman Says The Moment Still Matters After Lesnar’s Return
Fans initially read Lesnar’s actions as an in-ring retirement. Just a month later, he returned for a rematch against Oba Femi at WWE Clash In Italy, which complicated the meaning of the WrestleMania scene. The buildup to that rematch saw Lesnar vow to conquer Femi in Italy.
Asked what fans should now make of the WrestleMania goodbye, Heyman encouraged them to hold onto how it felt in the moment.
Remember how I felt if I’m an audience member. I would remember how I felt watching it,” he said. “I’d remember what that moment was. I remember all that it encompassed, and I would be appreciative of the fact that I got to live that moment and experience it and hold it in my data bank as a fan.
Lesnar’s Clash In Italy appearance made clear that he is not done with WWE, even after the WrestleMania farewell. Heyman, who had earlier called Femi “born to rule” ahead of the original meeting, framed the retirement segment as a genuine moment regardless of what followed.