Brock Lesnar is arguably WWE's greatest attraction of the modern era. From his debut in 2002 to his return in 2012, Lesnar has been presented as nothing less than a bona fide superstar. His angles have been prominently featured at WWE's biggest events. Just about everything involving Lesnar has been money.
And though Lesnar is WWE's premier draw, he has occasionally bombed at the box office. Whether it was bad creative, fan disinterest, or because the payoff failed to deliver, not even a beast like Lesnar could prevent these stories from falling flat on their face.
10 2003: Chris Benoit
At the Survivor Series, Chris Benoit beat Brock Lesnar by tap out. Benoit would tap out Lesnar again weeks later on Smackdown for the WWE Championship. But the referee was unconscious, and Lesnar would go on to retain the title after shenanigans on his part.
The following week, General Manager Paul Heyman declared that Benoit would never get another title match against Lesnar. After winning the 2004 Royal Rumble, Benoit was moved to Raw, and fans were deprived of a proper finish.
9 2003-2004: Hardcore Holly
During a match on Smackdown in the fall of 2002, Brock Lesnar injured Hardcore Holly's neck when he dropped Holly on his head while attempting a powerbomb. Though it was an accident, WWE worked this into a storyline between the two when Holly returned in 2003.
The culmination to their feud came at the 2004 Royal Rumble, where Lesnar beat Holly to retain the WWE Title. The problem here was that no one bought Holly as a threat as Hardcore had been a mid-carder for most of his WWE career.
8 2004: Goldberg
To many fans, Brock Lesnar appeared to be WWE's version of Goldberg when he debuted in 2002. So when the WCW icon joined WWE in 2003, the fans began to salivate at the thought of these two monsters throwing down in an epic dream match.
But when word got out that both men were leaving WWE after WrestleMania XX, that dream match became a nightmare as the crowd at Madison Square Garden booed both superstars out of the building and out of WWE.
7 2013: Triple H
Fans were left scratching their heads by WWE's decision to have John Cena beat Lesnar in the latter's first match back with the company in 2012. But at SummerSlam, it appeared that Triple H helped rehabilitate Lesnar's image by tapping out to the former UFC Champion.
Then came Lesnar's assault on Vince McMahon months later, which led to Triple H returning to the ring. The two were booked into a rematch at WrestleMania 29, but most assumed this was just a way for Triple H to get his win back at the biggest event of the year.
6 2014: The Big Show
Brock Lesnar and The Big Show had a history of having great matches with each other. Their rivalry from 2002-2003 rewrote the book on how monsters and giants wrestled each other. But something was missing when they got together again in 2014.
Their match at the Royal Rumble was abruptly put together after Lesnar injured Show's friend Mark Henry. The encounter turned out to be a wasted appearance for Lesnar. Gone were the power moves and crazy bumps. Instead, Lesnar pummeled Show with a chair for several moments before beating him with an F-5 after a brief comeback by the giant.
5 2016: The Wyatt Family
Brock Lesnar was tearing through the 2016 Royal Rumble where he eliminated several superstars including three members of The Wyatt Family. When Bray Wyatt appeared, all four members of The Wyatts attacked Lesnar before eliminating him from the match.
WWE opted to blow off their budding rivalry at a WWE Network special called Roadblock, where Lesnar was to face Wyatt and Luke Harper in a handicap match. But it quickly became a singles contest when Wyatt tagged out at the start of the bout, leaving Harper to fend for himself.
4 2016: Dean Ambrose
On-screen, the storyline leading to Lesnar-Ambrose at WrestleMania 32 was hot. Lesnar was the arrogant bad ass who Ambrose wasn't going to back down from. But behind the scenes, these two didn't gel.
During a podcast with Steve Austin, Ambrose would call Lesnar lazy. Lesnar's advocate Paul Heyman would later respond by calling out Ambrose for his attitude in dealing with Lesnar. Either way, their match at 'Mania was a bust and the fans suffered as a result.
3 2017: Braun Strowman
Interest for this match grew out of their confrontation during a Fatal-4-Way at SummerSlam where Strowman decimated Lesnar by putting him through three announce tables. No one had ever looked so dominant against Lesnar.
But the payoff at No Mercy the following month resulted in a dud. It was as if WWE had pulled a bait-and-switch on their audience as the two engaged in a pedestrian affair that ended when Lesnar hit a single F-5 on Strowman.
2 2018: Facing A Monster & A Demon
It was clear where WWE was going with Lesnar in 2018. Since winning the Universal Title the previous year, fans knew that the company was preparing The Beast for another WrestleMania showdown with Roman Reigns.
So it was hard for fans to invest in the triple threat match between Lesnar, Braun Strowman, and Kane at the Royal Rumble. Lesnar had already beaten Strowman months earlier at No Mercy, while Kane was working a limited schedule at that point in his career.
1 2018: Roman Reigns
Wrestling fans had grown sick of both Lesnar and Reigns by the time WrestleMania 34 rolled around. Reigns was the chosen one that the people didn't elect. And Lesnar was the absentee champion. Still, this was what many saw as Vince McMahon's ideal coronation for Reigns, so they were just ready for it to be over with.
But ol' Vince pulled a fast one on the fans by having Lesnar go over on Reigns that night. It was a move that puzzled and infuriated the WWE Universe. The ended up dragging out all the way to SummerSlam where Reigns finally got his big win over The Beast.