Some were surprised, others not so surprised, but former UFC, NCAA, WWE and IWGP Champion Brock Lesnar's potential USADA violation is creating shockwaves across multiple industries.
Lesnar's potential United States Anti Doping Agency violation has a major effect on the WWE. While Lesnar hasn't competed for the WWE in over 100 days, the company is featuring him at WWE Summerslam in just over a month, and has him set for the cover of their WWE 2K17 video game.
Lesnar's WWE status is up in the air. It hasn't been revealed what substance the potential violation was for. It's quite possible that the substance isn't a violation of WWE's Wellness Policy. Also, Lesnar would only be suspended for 30 days, which if done retroactively, would have him back in time for Summerslam.
See Also: Mark Hunt Wants Lesnar's Money Or Else Be Released Of His UFC Contract
Former WWE trainer Billy Gunn was fired for a similar situation in 2015, as he never actually failed a WWE wellness test. Instead, Billy Gunn was flagged for a test he'd done in an independent powelifting competition, ans was subsequently cut. However, in the past WWE has had separate precedents set for talent and trainers or office workers.
Another situation to pay attention to is the Nevada Athletic Commission's role. The commission could suspend Lesnar within the month. This is important, because New York also regulates professional wrestling. Generally, state athletic commissions respect the authority of each other, and could render Lesnar unable to compete. It's also possible that Lesnar could fight the claims, and WWE could say they're doing their "due diligence," and hold off Lesnar's suspension until he gets a formal hearing, punishment or appeal. This isn't clear cut, however, as unlike Kentucky, New York doesn't individually license professional wrestlers
Lesnar issued a statement to the Associated Press, saying that they plan on "getting to the bottom of this."
USADA spokesperson Ryan Madden also commented on the matter to MMA Fighting, noting that Lesnar's other tests were negative.
"With Mr. Lesnar having spoken publicly about the issue, I can confirm that he has been notified of a potential anti-doping policy violation, stemming from an out-of-competition sample collection on June 28, 2016," Madden said. "I can also confirm that the results from his previous samples collected by USADA were all reported as negative. Although USADA will not be providing any further specifics of the case at this time, I can tell you that Mr. Lesnar, as with every athlete under the UFC anti-doping policy, will be provided full due process under the rules."
You can check out Fightful.com's Breaking News Podcast on the situation above.