Source: The Wrestling Observer
Here is the latest on Brock Lesnar’s status for the WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view event in August.
As of now, there is the potential that his match with Randy Orton could be in jeopardy. According to sources, this all depends on whether the New York State Athletic Commission (which also regulates pro wrestling in New York) decides to recognize the Nevada State Athletic Commission’s suspension if they eventually decide to give one to Brock for his USADA drug test failure. The standard penalty for PEDs is a two-year suspension.
For those unaware, Athletic commissions usually do recognize suspensions from other states and some commissions like those in New York, Pennsylvania and Kentucky, still regulate pro wrestling with boxing and MMA. WWE claims it promotes “sports entertainment” but still has a promoters license to run live events in New York. Event Services Inc, a subsidiary of WWE, is currently listed as the licensed promoter on the New York State Athletic Commission’s website.
According to a source who knows and talks to several NYSAC representatives, if Lesnar is suspended in Nevada, the NYSAC could stop him from fighting MMA events in New York but not wrestling events because wrestlers in New York don’t have individual licenses. Only the promoters are required to have a license in the state. The NYSAC also does not have a separate drug testing policy for wrestlers. NYSAC representative can’t really penalize wrestlers, according to the source.
An example of this is that the NYSAC doesn’t let pro wrestlers fight each other in the crowd at indy shows (this isn’t enforced at WWE live events). If they do, the promoter is threatened with penalties and fines. The commission can only penalize the promoter and not the wrestlers since only the promoters are required to carry a license in the state. Therefore, the NYSAC couldn’t prevent Brock from wrestling at SummerSlam although they could penalize WWE’s promoter’s license for letting him be a part of the pay-per-view event.
As previously reported here on eWrestlingNews.com, Brock Lesnar is currently set to face Randy Orton at SummerSlam in Brooklyn, New York on August 21st.
