Brock Edward Lesnar (/ˈlɛznər/ LEZ-nər; born July 12, 1977) is an American professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist, amateur wrestler and professional American football player. As a professional wrestler, he is signed to WWE, but as of 2023, is on hiatus from active competition. Often regarded as one of the most prolific combat sport athletes in the world, Lesnar is the only person to have won the primary heavyweight championships of WWE, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW),[11] the Inoki Genome Federation (IGF), and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).[12]
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 (WWF, renamed WWE in 2002), 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 (NFL), 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 (MMA). 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 (2003 and 2022), the Money in the Bank ladder match (2019), the King of the Ring tournament (2002), and has headlined several pay-per-view events, including WWE’s flagship event WrestleMania five times (19, 31, 34, 36, and 38), nine SummerSlams (2002, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2022); 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,[13] Lesnar retired from MMA in 2011.[14] 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.[15]
Early life
Brock Edward Lesnar[16][17] was born in Webster, South Dakota, on July 12, 1977,[1][18][19] the son of Stephanie and Richard Lesnar.[19] Even though his surname is Slovenian, he is of Polish descent,[20] and grew up on his parents’ dairy farm in Webster.[21] He has two older brothers named Troy and Chad, and a younger sister named Brandi.[19] 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.[19][22] He was discharged after failing a computer typing test and later worked for a construction company.[19]
Amateur wrestling
Lesnar attended Webster High School, playing football[19] and competing in wrestling, placing third in the state championships his senior year.[23] 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 (NJCAA). In 1998, his sophomore year, he won the 275 lb championship.[1][24] 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.[19]
World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (2000–2004)
Ohio Valley Wrestling (2000–2002)
In 2000, Lesnar signed a developmental contract with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and was assigned to its Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) territory. There, he met Paul Heyman, who would later become his on-screen manager.[26] Under the direction of OVW booker Jim Cornette, Lesnar was paired with his former University of Minnesota teammate Shelton Benjamin.[27] Competing as The Minnesota Stretching Crew, the duo held the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship three times.[28] Lesnar also took part in numerous dark matches in 2001 and early 2002 before being called up to the main roster.[1]
Brock Lesnar made his televised WWE debut in March 2002, immediately portrayed as a dominant force under the guidance of Paul Heyman.[29][30] After winning the King of the Ring tournament that June,[31] Lesnar earned a WWE Undisputed Championship opportunity and defeated The Rock at SummerSlam, becoming the youngest WWE Champion in history at age 25.[32] His win also marked one of the fastest ascents to the title, occurring just 126 days after his debut.[33]
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, and in a Hell in a Cell match at No Mercy,[34] but lost the title to Big Show at Survivor Series following interference from Heyman, in a storyline betrayal that marked Lesnar’s first televised pinfall loss and his transition to a fan-favorite character.[35] At Royal Rumble in January 2003, Lesnar defeated Big Show to enter the Rumble match, which he won by last eliminating The Undertaker, earning a title shot at WrestleMania XIX.[35]
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, and against Big Show in a stretcher match at Judgment Day.[36] He faced Big Show again on an episode of SmackDown! in June, during which a superplex by Lesnar caused the ring to collapse.[37]
Angle returned later in the year, leading to a feud with Lesnar. The rivalry culminated at Vengeance, 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.[38] He failed to regain the title at SummerSlam,[39] 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.[40]
Lesnar’s third WWE Championship reign included successful title defenses against challengers such as Chris Benoit[41] and The Undertaker, the latter in a Biker Chain match at No Mercy.[42] At Survivor Series, Lesnar captained a team in a traditional elimination tag team match against a team led by Kurt Angle, which Lesnar’s team lost.[42]
In late 2003, Lesnar began a cross-brand feud with Goldberg, who interrupted a backstage interview at Survivor Series.[42] He later retained the WWE Championship against Hardcore Holly at Royal Rumble.[43] The rivalry with Goldberg escalated when Lesnar interfered in the Royal Rumble match, costing Goldberg a chance at victory.[42] At No Way Out, Goldberg retaliated by attacking Lesnar during his title defense against Eddie Guerrero, leading to Lesnar’s loss and the end of his championship reign.[44]
Lesnar faced Goldberg at WrestleMania XX, 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.[45][46] Goldberg won the bout, and both he and Lesnar were given Stone Cold Stunners afterward.[46] Lesnar officially left WWE after WrestleMania, later citing burnout, injuries, creative dissatisfaction, and the travel schedule as reasons for his departure.
Japanese promotions (2005–2007)
After leaving professional football, Lesnar returned to wrestling in 2005 by debuting in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). On October 8, he won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in his first match, defeating Kazuyuki Fujita and Masahiro Chono in a three-way bout at the Tokyo Dome.[47] Lesnar used the name The Verdict for his finishing move—previously known as the F-5—as a reference to ongoing legal disputes with WWE, who unsuccessfully sought to prevent him from competing in sports and entertainment elsewhere.[48][49]
Lesnar defended the IWGP title against several opponents, including Shinsuke Nakamura at the January 4, 2006 Tokyo Dome event,[50] Akebono in March,[51] and Giant Bernard in May.[52] However, in July 2006, NJPW stripped Lesnar of the championship, citing visa issues that prevented him from returning to defend it. Despite this, Lesnar retained physical possession of the belt for nearly a year.[53]
On June 29, 2007, Lesnar lost the IWGP title to TNA World Heavyweight Champion Kurt Angle at the debut event of the Inoki Genome Federation (IGF).[53][54] This marked Lesnar’s final professional wrestling match until his return to WWE in 2012.
At SummerSlam on August 17, Lesnar defeated John Cena to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in dominant fashion, delivering sixteen suplexes and two F-5s with little offense from Cena.[80] In their rematch at Night of Champions, Lesnar retained the title after Seth Rollins interfered, causing a disqualification.[81] Rollins later aligned with The Authority and was added to Lesnar and Cena’s title match at the Royal Rumble on January 25, 2015,[82] which Lesnar won.[83]
Lesnar’s next challenger was Roman Reigns, who won the Royal Rumble match to earn a title shot at WrestleMania 31.[84] During their match at the WrestleMania main event, Lesnar dominated early and famously uttered “Suplex City, bitch!”, which evolved into a popular catchphrase. Midway through the bout, Rollins cashed in his Money in the Bank contract, turning it into a triple threat. Rollins pinned Reigns to win the title.[85] The following night on Raw, Lesnar attempted to invoke his rematch clause but attacked announcers and a cameraman after being denied, leading to a storyline suspension.[86]
Lesnar returned on the June 15 episode of Raw and was named the number one contender for Rollins’s title at Battleground.[87][88] On July 4, he appeared at WWE’s The Beast in the East special in Tokyo, defeating Kofi Kingston.[89] At Battleground, Lesnar appeared poised to win the title before The Undertaker interfered, resulting in a disqualification and continuing their unresolved feud.[90]
Suplex City (2015–2017)
The following night on Raw, The Undertaker explained that he had attacked Lesnar not for ending his WrestleMania streak, but rather for Lesnar allowing Heyman to constantly taunt him about it, which led to the two brawling throughout the arena and a WrestleMania rematch being scheduled for SummerSlam on August 23,[91] where The Undertaker controversially defeated Lesnar. The timekeeper rang the bell as The Undertaker had supposedly submitted to Lesnar’s Kimura lock, though the referee had not seen any submission. In the ensuing confusion, The Undertaker hit Lesnar with a low blow and applied his Hell’s Gate submission hold, in which Lesnar passed out.[92] The following night on Raw, Lesnar and Heyman challenged The Undertaker to an immediate rematch, only to be confronted by Bo Dallas (who mocked Lesnar about his defeat); Lesnar responded with five German suplexes and an F-5.[93]
At Hell in a Cell on October 25, Lesnar defeated The Undertaker in a Hell in a Cell match after a low blow and F-5 onto the exposed ring floor, ending their feud.[94][95] The match was later voted “Match of the Year” during the 2015 Slammy Awards.[96]
On the January 11, 2016, episode of Raw, Lesnar returned, attacking The New Day, The League of Nations (Sheamus, King Barrett, Rusev and Alberto Del Rio) and Kevin Owens, before performing an F-5 on Roman Reigns.[97] The following week on Raw, he brawled with Reigns until they were attacked by The Wyatt Family.[98] At the Royal Rumble on January 24, Lesnar was the 23rd entrant, eliminating Jack Swagger and The Wyatt Family minus Bray Wyatt before being eliminated by the Wyatt Family members he had eliminated first. He later defeated Wyatt and Luke Harper in a two-on-one handicap at the Road Block pay-per-view event.[99]
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