MONDAY NEWS DIGEST: Brock Lesnar bloodies opponent MMA-style, then has backstage scuffle last night

Brock Lesnar may be done with MMA for now but that doesn’t mean he can’t draw blood and mix it up with other men at his other job at WWE.

At last night’s WWE Summerslam event in Brooklyn, NY, Lesnar was scheduled for the main event slot against WWE mainstay Randy Orton, his first match since fighting at UFC 200. As part of the matchup, Lesnar left Orton a bloody mess, and while it was part of the plan, Lesnar cut Orton legitimately with forearms from a mounted position. The match was ended by TKO, a rare finish for modern professional wrestling but one that mimics outcomes seen routinely in Lesnar’s other (former?) career in mixed martial arts.

A black and white video posted to WWE’s YouTube page shows Orton receiving a needle to a gash on his forehead followed by the administration of staples to close the wound. WrestlingObserver.com reported Orton required ten staples to close the wound and that, while the planned finish was for Lesnar to bloody up Orton, the amount of blood and degree of injury was more than planned.

The Wrestling Observer is also reporting that Lesnar was involved in a backstage altercation with fellow wrestler Chris Jericho. The report indicates Lesnar overheard Jericho calling the lack of information being shared regarding Orton’s condition “bullsh–” and interpreted it as a personal attack. The two got into a shoving and yelling match, but no blows were thrown.

Hiscoe’s Analysis: The way this match played out shows that WWE will continue to portray Lesnar as “fighter” who is different from the other pro wrestlers, going so far as to have his matches end similar to MMA fights. It would have been interesting to see if WWE would have scripted things differently had Lesnar lost his fight to Mark Hunt in July. It’s also clear that Lesnar’s subsequent USADA drug test flagging while moonlighting at UFC has no bearing on how hard WWE will promote him or how strong they will make him look. They established this when they disclosed that he is not subject to their own drug testing program because he is a part-time wrestler, and it was affirmed last night. As for the scuffle with Jericho, it sounded like he made a benign comment that wasn’t aimed at Lesnar directly and probably didn’t need to escalate into a physical confrontation. I do have to admire Jericho for his bravado in mixing it up with a much larger man who is a proven fighter.

Monday Notebook items…

-Conor McGregor has opened as a slight favorite (-170) for a potential third fight with Nate Diaz, whose odds are listed at +145.

-The second episode of “The Evolution of Punk” airs tonight on FS1 and should be available on UFC Fight Pass Tuesday night.

-Kevin Ferguson Jr., son of the late Kimbo Slice, has suffered and injury and is off of Friday’s Bellator card.

-Conor McGregor must have his left foot/ankle fracture cleared by an orthopedic doctor or he will not be able to fight until Feb. 17, 2017.

-McGregor’s coach John Kavanagh told The MMA Hour that he “doesn’t see the point in it,” when asked about McGregor returning to the featherweight division.

-The lightweight bout between Chad Laprise and Thibault Gouti has been moved from the Fox Sports prelims to the Fight Pass featured bout for Saturday’s UFC on Fox show headlined by Carlos Condit vs. Demian Maia.