Early Life And Amateur Wrestling Career
Brock Edward Lesnar was born on July 12, 1977, in Webster, South Dakota. He grew up on his family’s dairy farm. When Brock was in high school, he competed in both football and amateur wrestling.
His college career saw Lesnar become an incredibly accomplished amateur wrestler; he was a two-time NCAA All-American, two-time Big Ten Conference Champion, and was crowned NCAA Heavyegith Champion in 2000.
The Next Big Thing
In 2000, Lesnar signed with WWE and began training in its developmental territory, Ohio Valley Wrestling. He made his televised WWE debut on March 18, 2002, during an episode of Raw. Lesnar quickly rose to the top of the mountain in WWE thanks to the aid of his manager Paul Heyman, who dubbed Lesnar “The Next Big Thing.”
In June 2002, Lesnar won the annual King of the Ring tournament. He would go on to defeat The Rock at SummerSlam on August 25 to win the WWE Undisputed Champion. This victory also made Lesnar the youngest WWE Champion in history at just 25 years old.
It was clear that Brock Lesnar was a legend in the making. He feuded with several iconic superstars, including Kurt Angle, The Undertaker, Stone Cold, and John Cena.
However, Lesnar’s rapid rise to stardom came at a personal toll. After WrestleMania XX, Lesnar departed from WWE due to burnout, injuries, and struggles with addiction along with backstage issues.
WWE Hiatus And MMA Career
On October 8, 2005, Lesnar made his debut match for NJPW and won the promotion’s biggest prize, the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. Unfortunately, visa issues would preclude him from defending his title on July 15, 2006, forcing NJPW to strip him of the championship.
During his WWE hiatus, Lesnar also began focusing on his MMA career. On October 20, 2007, Lesnar signed a one-fight contract with UFC. Despite losing in his debut match, Lesnar would go on to win the UFC Heavyweight Championship on November 15, 2008. Lesnar also had a brief stint in the NFL, though that exploration didn’t exactly take off.
Age and physical wear and tear began to set in on Brock Lesnar after several years in the UFC. He made the decision to go back to WWE, where he could face less potential injury and make just as much (if not more) money.
Welcome To Suplex City
On April 2, 2012, Brock Lesnar made his long-awaited return to the WWE as a cocky, overzealous heel. He reunited with his former manager Paul Heyman, who was now calling himself Lesnar’s “advocate.”
Lesnar ran roughshod over WWE, feuding with stars like his old rival John Cena, and the CEO himself Vince McMahon. Lesnar also shocked the wrestling world when he broke The Undertaker’s undefeated WrestleMania streak at WrestleMania XXX.
At SummerSlam 2014, Lesnar devastated John Cena in what was effectively a prolonged squash match and became WWE World Heavyweight Champion. He would go on to feud with Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins, who would both become regular adversaries for Lesnar.
Universal Championship Reign
At WrestleMania 33, Brock Lesnar defeated Goldberg to win the Universal Championship. He consequently became the first man to hold both the WWE Championship and Universal Championship. He defended his title against stars like Samoa Joe, Roman Reigns, Braun Strowman, and Kane. Lesnar’s reign lasted for 504 days, marking one of the longest championship reigns in WWE history.
As time went on, Lesnar’s appearances in WWE started to become more sporadic. He was still presented as a major threat and given main event spots upon his returns, though. He won both the Universal Championship and WWE Championship several more times and headlined WrestleMania 35 (against Seth Rollins), WrestleMania 36 (against Drew McIntyre), and WrestleMania 38 (against Roman Reigns).
Non Title Feuds
In 2023, Brock Lesnar would finally see himself be distanced from the World Championship scene in WWE. Instead of competing for a championship, Lesnar would see himself compete in mid-card feuds with the likes of Omos, Bobby Lashley and most high-profile of all, Cody Rhodes. Lesnar's final match as of writing was his SummerSlam clash with Cody Rhodes, the third of a trilogy where Rhodes emerged as the winner. Lesnar shook Rhodes' hand at the end of the match and hasn't been seen on WWE TV since.
