Brock Lesnar
Brock Edward Lesnar is an American professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist, amateur wrestler and professional American football player. As a professional wrestler he has been signed to WWE as of 2021, having two previous tenures from 2000–2004 and 2012–2020. Lesnar is the only person to have won the primary heavyweight championships of World Wrestling Entertainment, Ultimate Fighting Championship, New Japan Pro-Wrestling, the Inoki Genome Federation, and the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
Lesnar competed in collegiate wrestling for the University of Minnesota, winning the NCAA Division I national championship in 2000. He soon signed with the World Wrestling Federation, rising to industry prominence in mid-2002 by winning the WWE Championship at age 25, setting the record for the youngest performer to win the championship. In 2004, Lesnar departed WWE to join the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League, but was cut from the team during pre-season. He returned to wrestling and signed with NJPW in 2005 where he won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. Lesnar later departed NJPW and continued to be promoted as the IWGP Heavyweight Champion in the IGF before taking a hiatus from wrestling to pursue a career in mixed martial arts. Years later in 2012, he re-signed with WWE; his 504-day first reign with the WWE Universal Championship is the seventh-longest world championship reign in the promotion's history and he holds the record for most reigns as Universal Champion at three. He also won the Royal Rumble match twice, the Money in the Bank ladder match, the King of the Ring tournament, and has headlined several pay-per-view events, including WWE's flagship event WrestleMania five times and nine SummerSlams ; in addition, he also ended The Undertaker's undefeated WrestleMania streak in 2014.
Lesnar began his MMA career for Hero's in 2007, and signed with the UFC in 2008. He quickly won the UFC Heavyweight Championship, but was sidelined with diverticulitis in 2009. On his return in 2010, Lesnar defeated Interim UFC Heavyweight Champion Shane Carwin to unify the heavyweight championships and become the undisputed UFC Heavyweight Champion. After a couple of losses and further struggles with diverticulitis, Lesnar retired from MMA in 2011. He returned at UFC 200 in 2016 to defeat Mark Hunt, but his victory was overturned to a no-contest after he tested positive for a banned substance on UFC's anti-doping policy. He then retired from MMA for the second time in 2017. A box office sensation, he competed in some of the bestselling pay-per-view events in promotion history, including headlining UFC 91, UFC 100, UFC 116 and UFC 121. He also co-headlined UFC 200, briefly being the main headliner before that spot was given to Amanda Nunes vs. Miesha Tate.
Early life
Brock Edward Lesnar was born in Webster, South Dakota, on July 12, 1977, the son of Stephanie and Richard Lesnar. Even though his surname is Slovenian, he is of Polish descent, and grew up on his parents' dairy farm in Webster. He has two older brothers named Troy and Chad, and a younger sister named Brandi. At the age of 17, he joined the Army National Guard and was assigned to an office job after his red–green colorblindness was deemed hazardous to his desire to work with explosives. He was discharged after failing a computer typing test and later worked for a construction company.Amateur wrestling
Lesnar attended Webster High School, playing football and competing in wrestling, placing third in the state championships his senior year. He then went to Bismarck State College where in 1997, his freshman year, he placed 5th in the 275 lb. division of the National Junior College Athletic Association. In 1998, his sophomore year, he won the 275 lb championship. After two years at Bismarck State College, Lesnar transferred to the University of Minnesota on a wrestling scholarship, where he was roommates with future WWE colleague Shelton Benjamin, who was also his assistant coach.Lesnar won the 2000 National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I heavyweight wrestling championship his senior year after being the runner-up to Stephen Neal the year prior. He finished his amateur career as a two-time NJCAA All-American, the 1998 NJCAA Heavyweight Champion, two-time NCAA All-American, two-time Big Ten Conference Champion and the 2000 NCAA Heavyweight Champion, with a record of 106–5 overall in four years of college.
Professional wrestling career
World Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling Entertainment (2000–2004)
Ohio Valley Wrestling (2000–2002)
In 2000, Lesnar signed a developmental contract with the World Wrestling Federation and was assigned to its Ohio Valley Wrestling territory. There, Lesnar met Paul Heyman, who would later become his on-screen manager. Under the direction of OVW booker Jim Cornette, Lesnar was paired with his former University of Minnesota teammate Shelton Benjamin. Competing as the Minnesota Stretching Crew, the duo held the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship three times. Lesnar also took part in numerous dark matches in 2001 and early 2002 before being called up to the main roster.Rise to prominence and departure (2002–2004)
Brock Lesnar, accompanied by Heyman, made his television debut on the March 18, 2002, episode of Raw, interfering in a Hardcore Championship match by attacking Al Snow, Maven, and Spike Dudley. Heyman began referring to Lesnar as "The Next Big Thing," a nickname that would be integrated into Lesnar's character presentation. During the WWF’s 2002 brand extension, Lesnar was initially assigned to the Raw roster.Lesnar was quickly featured in a storyline feud with the Hardy Boyz. At Backlash on April 21, he had his first televised match, defeating Jeff Hardy via referee stoppage. The following night, he secured a similar victory over Matt Hardy on Raw. Although he and Shawn Stasiak lost to the Hardy Boyz at Insurrextion on May 4, Lesnar and Heyman scored a win over them at Judgment Day on May 19, held shortly after the company transitioned from WWF to WWE. In June, Lesnar won the 2002 King of the Ring tournament, defeating Rob Van Dam in the finals at King of the Ring on June 23. As part of the tournament’s stipulations, the win earned him a WWE Undisputed Championship match at SummerSlam on August 25. Leading into the event, he lost to Van Dam by disqualification at Vengeance on July 21 in a match for the Intercontinental Championship. On July 22, Lesnar was moved to the SmackDown brand, where he continued to be positioned as a dominant competitor. On the August 8 episode of SmackDown!, he became the second wrestler to defeat Hulk Hogan via submission.
At SummerSlam, Lesnar defeated The Rock to capture the WWE Undisputed Championship, becoming the youngest WWE Champion at age 25. His win also marked one of the fastest title ascensions in company history, reaching the top championship 126 days after his televised debut. Following his victory, storyline authority figures divided the championship between brands, with Lesnar declared exclusive to SmackDown and Raw introducing the World Heavyweight Championship. The WWE Undisputed Championship was subsequently renamed the WWE Championship.
Lesnar's initial title reign included rivalries with The Undertaker, and Big Show. He retained the championship against The Undertaker via double disqualification at Unforgiven on September 22, and in a Hell in a Cell match at No Mercy on October 20, but lost the title to Big Show at Survivor Series on November 17 following interference from Heyman, in a storyline betrayal that marked Lesnar's first televised pinfall loss and his transition to a fan-favorite character. At the Royal Rumble on January 19, 2003, Lesnar defeated Big Show to enter the Royal Rumble match, which he won by last eliminating The Undertaker, earning a title shot at WrestleMania XIX on March 30.
At WrestleMania, Lesnar defeated Kurt Angle to win the WWE Championship for a second time. During the match, Lesnar attempted a shooting star press, which resulted in a legitimate concussion. He defended the title against John Cena at Backlash on April 27, and against Big Show in a stretcher match at Judgment Day on May 18. He faced Big Show again on the June 12 episode of SmackDown!, during which a superplex by Lesnar caused the ring to collapse.
Angle returned later in the year, leading to a feud with Lesnar. The rivalry culminated at Vengeance on July 27, where Lesnar lost the WWE Championship to Angle in a triple threat match also involving Big Show. Lesnar turned heel shortly after, aligning himself with Vince McMahon. He failed to regain the title at SummerSlam on August 24, but defeated Angle in a 60-minute iron man match on the September 18 episode of SmackDown!, winning five falls to four to reclaim the championship.
Lesnar's third WWE Championship reign included successful title defenses against challengers such as Chris Benoit and The Undertaker, the latter in a Biker Chain match at No Mercy on October 19. At Survivor Series on November 16, Lesnar captained a team in a traditional elimination tag team match against a team led by Kurt Angle, which Lesnar's team lost.
In late 2003, Lesnar began a cross-brand feud with Goldberg, who interrupted a backstage interview at Survivor Series. He later retained the WWE Championship against Hardcore Holly at the Royal Rumble on January 25, 2004. The rivalry with Goldberg escalated when Lesnar interfered in the Royal Rumble match, costing Goldberg a chance at victory. At No Way Out on February 15, Goldberg retaliated by attacking Lesnar during his title defense against Eddie Guerrero, leading to Lesnar's loss and the end of his championship reign.
Lesnar faced Goldberg at WrestleMania XX on March 14, with Stone Cold Steve Austin serving as special guest referee. The match was met with a hostile crowd response, as both men were widely reported to be leaving the company. Goldberg won the bout, and both he and Lesnar were given Stone Cold Stunners afterward. Lesnar officially left WWE after WrestleMania, later citing burnout, injuries, creative dissatisfaction, and the travel schedule as reasons for his departure.