Brock Lesnar hasn't appeared on WWE programming since he dropped the Universal Championship to Seth Rollins at SummerSlam, but we may not have to wait long for his return.

According to WWE insider Brad Shepard, the expectation is that Lesnar will be back on WWE television before the Fox SmackDown premier on Oct. 4. So that means we can expect to see Lesnar within the next couple of weeks, ahead of the big show.

Lesnar is among the many WWE legends who's being advertised for the Oct. 4 show - which also celebrates SmackDown's 20th anniversary. The list also includes the likes of Hulk Hogan, Booker T, Ric Flair, Goldberg, Mark Henry, Kurt Angle and Trish Stratus.

The 42-year-old Lesnar also lost the Universal Championship to Rollins at WrestleMania 35, which suggested that Vince McMahon may stop placing him in the main event picture once and for all. Lesnar's title reigns came under plenty of criticism due to the fact that he's a part-time performer.

Related: 5 Wrestlers That Brock Lesnar Had Beef With (& 5 That He Loves)

UFC president Dana White confirmed several months ago that Lesnar won't compete for his company again, so some wonder if the latter will also hang up the boots on his wrestling career as well. So far, there haven't been many indicators that he's planning to quit.

Even though he only wrestles on a part-time basis, Lesnar remains a huge money draw in WWE. And with Fox Sports set to take over the SmackDown broadcasts, it's easy to believe that executives will want him on their show in order to help the television ratings.

What's Next For Lesnar?

We should have an idea on where WWE plans to go with Lesnar within the next few weeks. Lesnar's program with Rollins is most certainly over at this point, but if he moves to SmackDown, there's a good chance he'll enter a feud with Kofi Kingston for the WWE Championship. Again, Fox would probably love to get Lesnar on their show as much as they can, and that would have to mean putting him in the main event spotlight.

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