Jim Ross thinks Brock Lesnar is done, killing the Gunther dream match

Wait, is Brock Lesnar actually retired?

It's the question that's been hovering over WWE like a dark cloud for a while now. He hasn't been seen, he hasn't been mentioned, and the Beast Incarnate seems to have just retreated to Saskatchewan to hunt elk and ignore his phone.

Now, Jim Ross is weighing in, and his assessment is as sobering as a stiff chop to the chest. On a recent podcast, Good Ol' JR essentially said that he believes Lesnar is likely done with in-ring competition.

JR knows Brock better than almost anyone. He was the guy who flew out to Minnesota, saw this absolute freak of nature winning NCAA championships, and signed him to a developmental deal. If JR is looking at the board and saying Lesnar might be permanently checked out, you have to take that seriously.

The dream match we are being robbed of

But if Lesnar really is riding his tractor into the sunset, there is one massive, glaring omission on his resume that is going to drive wrestling fans crazy for the next decade. We never got Brock Lesnar versus Gunther.

Think about the sheer, unadulterated violence we missed out on. When they had that brief, electrifying face-off in the Royal Rumble, the stadium genuinely shook. It was two massive men looking at each other, realizing they were the apex predators in a ring full of prey.

We didn't just want that match. We needed it. We needed to see if Gunther's chops could actually drop a man whose neck is thicker than a telephone pole.

We needed to see if Lesnar could casually toss a 260-pound Austrian across the ring with a German suplex like he was a cruiserweight. It was the ultimate immovable object versus an unstoppable force scenario, but with actual, legitimate combat sports credibility.

The mercenary walks away

Let's look at how Lesnar operates. He is the ultimate mercenary. He doesn't care about star ratings, he doesn't care about legacy, and he certainly doesn't care about having a tearful farewell in the middle of the ring while the locker room claps for him.

Brock clocks in, destroys someone, cashes a check with more zeroes than a zip code, and leaves. That's not a wrestling gimmick. It's just who he is.

So the idea of him quietly walking away without a designated retirement match makes perfect sense. He's not Ric Flair. He's not Shawn Michaels. He isn't going to drag this out for a sentimental payday. If he doesn't want to get on a plane, he just won't.

But man, what a missed opportunity. Gunther is currently operating on a level that very few heels have ever reached. He is the final boss of professional wrestling right now.

He survived the historic Intercontinental Championship run, he's surviving the main event scene, and he just chops the soul out of anyone who steps up. A win over Brock Lesnar would have been the ultimate crown jewel for the Ring General.

Life after the Beast

Look back at WrestleMania 41, which we just wrapped up last week in Vegas. The card was stacked. We had John Cena's farewell. We had Cody Rhodes defending against the Bloodline madness on Night 2. It was a massive spectacle.

But there was a Lesnar-sized hole in the spectacle. In years past, WrestleMania meant Brock Lesnar was going to show up, turn someone purple, and hit an F5 that made the highlight reel for the next twelve months. His absence was noticeable.

If JR is right, we are officially in the post-Lesnar era.

Let's be completely honest for a second. WWE has fumbled dream matches before. We never got Sting versus Undertaker when it actually mattered. We never got Stone Cold versus Hulk Hogan because of backstage politics and physical limitations.

But Lesnar versus Gunther feels different because it was right there. They teased it. They knew the crowd wanted it. And then, the real world got in the way.

Legal situations, contract statuses, and corporate restructuring usually ruin the fun, and it seems like that's exactly what happened here. You can't blame WWE for pivoting, because they have a massive business to run.

But as a fan who just wants to see two enormous humans batter each other for twenty minutes, it is immensely frustrating. Gunther's style is heavily reliant on his opponents selling the absolute agony of his strikes.

The chops look brutal because they actually are brutal. Now imagine Lesnar taking one of those chops. Brock doesn't sell like a normal wrestler.

When Brock gets hit hard, he gets mad. His face turns red, he bites down on his mouthpiece, and he starts throwing absolute bombs. It would have been a chaotic, beautiful trainwreck.

No mountains left to climb

JR pointing out that Lesnar has nothing left to prove is entirely accurate. What else is he going to do? He broke the Undertaker's streak. He squashed John Cena at SummerSlam in a match that literally broke the internet.

He has main evented WrestleManias and UFC pay-per-views. There is literally no mountain left for him to climb in combat sports or sports entertainment.

Think about how Steve Austin went out initially in 2003. He lost to The Rock, gave a quick wave, and walked to the back. We didn't know it was his last match for almost two decades until he returned in Texas.

Lesnar's departure feels eerily similar, minus the wave. He just packed his bags and went back to his farm. No grand speeches, no tears, no lingering on the stage. That is the most Brock Lesnar way to retire ever.

There is also the Paul Heyman factor in all of this. Heyman’s current storyline entanglement with Roman Reigns and the Bloodline has been masterclass television.

But part of what made Heyman’s character so dangerous for a decade was the constant threat that he could just make a phone call and bring the Beast out to ruin someone’s life. Without Lesnar lurking in the background, Heyman is vulnerable.

The ultimate gatekeeper

And let’s talk about the locker room impact. For years, the WWE locker room knew that the road to the very top eventually went through Suplex City.

Whether you were Seth Rollins, Drew McIntyre, or Roman Reigns, you had to survive a program with Brock to solidify your spot. He was the ultimate gatekeeper.

Gunther is now assuming that role. He is the guy you have to beat to prove you belong in the main event. But Gunther is a wrestler's wrestler.

He's going to lock up, chain wrestle, and break you down. Lesnar wasn't a wrestler. He was a natural disaster that occasionally wore combat boots.

The reality is that WWE's current product is actually completely fine without him. The storytelling is miles better than it was during Lesnar's peak Universal Championship run where he showed up four times a year and held the belt hostage.

With WWE Backlash just nine days away, the machine keeps moving forward. They don't explicitly need Brock Lesnar to sell tickets right now. But that doesn't mean we don't miss the absolute chaos he brings.

When Brock Lesnar walked down the ramp, the rules of professional wrestling temporarily stopped applying. Referees got thrown into the third row. Announce tables exploded.

The match could end in 12 seconds or it could be a twenty-minute war. Gunther brings a completely different intensity. It's structured, disciplined, and methodical.

Pitting Lesnar's unhinged violence against Gunther's clinical brutality was the easiest story to tell in the entire industry. You barely even needed promos. Just let Paul Heyman talk for five minutes and then let them stare at each other.

If Brock is truly retired, he goes down as one of the most unique attractions in the history of the business. Nobody else possessed that combination of amateur pedigree, freakish size, and terrifying speed.

So when JR says it's probably over, I believe him. It just sucks that we won't get to see Gunther try to chop his chest in half. We'll have to settle for video game simulations and arguing about it on Reddit.

Wrestling is a business of missed opportunities and what-ifs. This one is going to sting for a very long time.