Brock Lesnar

At 47 years old, Brock Lesnar has this physical status:

Brock Edward Lesnar (born July 12, 1977) is an American professional wrestler, former mixed martial artist, and professional football player who has signed to WWE, where he appears on WWE's Raw brand and is the current WWE Champion in his fifth appearance. Lesnar signed WWE (then the World Wrestling Federation) in 2000 after his outstanding amateur wrestling career at Bismarck State College and the University of Minnesota.

He was sent to its youth development program, Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), where he competed for three years with Shelton Benjamin as the OVW Southern Tag Team Champion.

Lesnar, who made his debut on WWE's main roster in 2002, went on to win the WWE Championship five months after being the youngest champion in the series's history.

Lesnar left WWE and pursued a career in the National Football League after his match against Bill Goldberg at WrestleMania XX.

He was selected as a defensive tackle for the Minnesota Vikings but was suspended prior to the 2004 season.

Lesnar returned to professional wrestling in 2005 and he signed with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in his first match.

Early life

Brock Edward Lesnar was born in Webster, South Dakota, on July 12, 1977, the son of Stephanie and Richard Lesnar. In Webster, he grew up on his parents' dairy farm. He is of German descent and has two older brothers named Troy and Chad, as well as a younger sister named Brandi. After his red-blindness had been deemed ineffective to his ability to work with explosives at the age of 17, he joined the Army National Guard and was assigned to an office position. He was fired after failing a computer typing test and later worked for a building company.

Personal life

Lesnar married Rena Greek, more popularly known as Sable, on May 6, 2006. They now live on a farm in Maryfield, Saskatchewan, after having lived in Maple Plain, Minnesota. They have two sons named Turk (born 2009) and Duke (born 2010). Lesnar also has twins who were born in 2002: Mya Lynn (who has signed to compete in track & field at Arizona State) and Luke, who plays ice hockey, along with his ex fiancée, Nicole McClain. He is also the stepfather of Greek's daughter, who was born in Greece, and she and her first husband are together.

Lesnar has a strong dislike for the media; he rarely appears in interviews and avoids questions concerning his personal life. He is a supporter of the Republican Party and a member of the National Rifle Association, and he appeared at the NRA's annual meeting in May 2011 to discuss his passion for hunting and his role as a spokesperson for Fusion Ammunition. He holds both Canadian and Canadian citizenship and is a fan of the Winnipeg Jets; all three of his sons play ice hockey. He is also a fan of the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League.

Lesnar suffered with alcoholism and painkillers during his first run in WWE, reportedly drinking a bottle of vodka per day and taking hundreds of Vicodin pills per month to relieve the pain caused by wear and tear on his body. WrestleMania XIX's botched shooting star press press was cited as a point of pain by the writer. Lesnar claims that he does not recall the "entire two years" of his first WWE tenure as a result of his heroin use and mental exhaustion.

Source

Professional wrestling career

Lesnar signed with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 2000 and was sent to the Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), where he first met future friend and boss Paul Heyman. In October 2000, OVW booker Jim Cornette paired Lesnar with his old college roommate Shelton Benjamin. They were called The Minnesota Stretching Crew and they had won the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship on three separate occasions. Lesnar had several gruesome matches in 2001 and 2002 before being called up to the WWF's main roster.

Lesnar appeared on WWF television on March 18, 2002, as a heel, challenging Al Snow, Maven, and Spike Dudley in a WWF Hardcore Championship match, while also being accompanied by Paul Heyman, who was seen giving Lesnar instructions. Lesnar was drafted to the Raw brand when the WWF first introduced the brand extension. Heyman was later revealed to be Lesnar's agent, and gave Lesnar the nickname "The Next Big Thing" in honor of his visit. Lesnar's first rivalry was with The Hardy Boys. Hardy was defeated by a landslide after Hardy did not respond to referee Theodore Long at Backlash was his first official televised match on April 21, his first official televised match. Lesnar faced Jeff's brother, Matt Hardy, on Raw next night and defeated him in the same manner. Lesnar and Shawn Stasiak were disqualified at Insurrextion on May 4 after Stasiak was pinched, but Lesnar attacked all the participants after the match. Lesnar and Heyman defeated The Hardy Boyz on May 19 at Judgment Day. This was also the first pay-per-view match held since the WWF was renamed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).

Lesnar won the 2002 King of the Ring tournament, defeating Bubba Ray Dudley in the first round, Booker T in the quarter-finals, and Rob Van Dam in the finals, earning him a shot at the WWE Undisputed Championship in SummerSlam. Lesnar lost by disqualification in a WWE Intercontinental Championship match at Vengeance on July 21.

On July 22, Lesnar joined the SmackDown!

This is a brand new one. Lesnar defeated The Rock at SummerSlam on August 25 to become the next WWE Undisputed Champion and youngest WWE Champion at age 25 after a brief feud with Hollywood Hogan in August 2002. He also became the second fastest professional wrestler to win the WWE Championship since his debut (126 days), behind only Ric Flair (113 days). Both brands were being defended at the time, so Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff hoped Lesnar to return on Raw the following night.

SmackDown!

Lesnar was only allowed to defend the SmackDown title, according to General Manager Stephanie McMahon. Bischoff wanted to create a new brand for the Raw brand (the World Heavyweight Championship), but the WWE Undisputed Championship was renamed the WWE Championship.

Lesnar's meteoric rise to the top of WWE in 2002 culminated in a feud with The Undertaker, which culminated in a match at Unforgiven on September 22. Lesnar retained the title after the match ended in a double disqualification. Lesnar took on The Undertaker at No Mercy once more, this time in a Cell match in Hell. Lesnar broke The Undertaker's hand with a propane tank leading up to the match. Despite Heyman's begged McMahon not to allow The Undertaker to use his cast as a weapon, the request was denied, and the match went on as expected. Lesnar defeated The Undertaker in a Cell match at No Mercy on October 20 to hold the title, putting an end to the feud. In a handicap match against Edge at Rebellion on October 26, he retained the WWE Championship.

Lesnar's up-and-coming competitor was Big Show, and Heyman was more convinced than anyone that Lesnar would not win, and he was attempting to talk him out of fighting the title. Lesnar refused and defended the title against the Big Show at Survivor Series on November 17. Heyman took on Lesnar at Survivor Series, allowing Big Show to choke him down and pin him to win the WWE Championship, resulting in Lesnar's first pinfall loss in WWE history. For the first time, Lesnar's face turned. Heyman made it clear that Lesnar would not win a rematch and had snuck a special clause in his deal that stated that this was not to be repeated. Lesnar played a role in Big Show's first title defense, which culminated in Angle's victory over Kurt Angle on December 15, which was where Lesnar executed the F-5 on Big Show, which enabled Angle to win the WWE Championship. Angle introduced Heyman as his boss, but later in the evening, despite promising Lesnar a championship shot earlier in the evening, the Lesnar eventually did not get it. Lesnar's rivalry with Heyman and Big Show resurfaced, culminating in a match at the Royal Rumble on January 19, 2003, with the winner being admitted to the Royal Rumble match later in the evening. He beat Big Show and entered the Royal Rumble competition as the #29 entry in the Royal Rumble match. Matt Hardy and Team Angle (Charlie Haas and Lesnar's former OVW teammate Shelton Benjamin), who at the time were mentored by Angle as a three-man stable, were fired by Angle. He defeated The Undertaker last and won the Royal Rumble match, guaranteeing him a WWE Championship match at WrestleMania XIX since he was a SmackDown! The wrestler takes the spotlight. Lesnar and Chris Benoit of the Royal Rumble thrashed Angle, Haas, and Benjamin in a three-on-two handicap match at No Way Out on February 23, despite Team Angle's injury to Edge, the match's backstage. Lesnar defeated Angle to win his second WWE Championship on March 30, while he botched a rifle press (a tactic he had used numerous times in OVW) and landed on his head and neck, resulting in a concussion. Angle (who had a fractured neck) and Lesnar were compelled to rewrite the match's ending, which caused Angle (who was unemployed) and Lesnar to improvise the result.

Lesnar shifted his attention away from wrestlingMania to John Cena, who had recovered from an F-5 crash in February 2003, with Cena claiming Lesnar barely ended his career and even referred to his new finishing move, "F.U." As a jab at the new champion, the jab was a hit. The feud came to an end at Backlash on April 27, where Lesnar defeated Cena to regain the WWE Championship. Lesnar recalled his rivalry with Big Show after, as the storyline states, Big Show injured Rey Mysterio during their match at Backlash. Mysterio was taken out on a stretcher and backboard, and Big Show took Mysterio off the stretcher and swung the backboard into the ringpost, exacerbating the injury. Lesnar called out the Big Show, who argued that Lesnar's name was in jeopardy. Lesnar took home a stretcher match for the WWE Championship on Judgment Day on May 18, which Lesnar won. Lesnar carried the top-rope in a superplex on a rematch of SmackDown! Kurt Angle recovered from neck surgery and began to develop a more amiable rivalry with Lesnar, as the two were still adversaries, but not yet candidates for the coveted title.

At the first-ever SmackDown!

After being pinned by Angle, Vengeance, Lesnar lost the WWE Championship to Angle in a triple threat match involving Big Show.

Despite Lesnar's friendship with Angle, he continued to fervently pursue the WWE Championship. Mr. McMahon was first involved in the story, first berating Lesnar, who had been implicated in McMahon's feud with Zach Gowen for losing to Angle. This all came to a swerve that came into focus on SmackDown's August 7 episode! Lesnar and McMahon were due to face each other in a steel cage match as the special guest referee as per McMahon's instructions on the previous week's schedule. Lesnar had been disqualified due to a staged backstage crash, and McMahon had been supposed to pinned him, but Angle refused to force McMahon to win by a point of contention. Lesnar stabbed Angle with an F-5 and kept attacking Angle, while McMahon watched and celebrated with him afterward, turning heel once more in the process. Lesnar lost to Angle after submitting to the ankle lock at SummerSlam on August 24, according to Lesnar. Lesnar defeated Angle in an Iron Man match on September 18 to win his third WWE Championship, thus ending their long-running feud.

On the October 9 episode of SmackDown, Lesnar defended his newly won title over the debuting Paul London. Lesnar had previously cost Undertaker the title in a match against then-champion Kurt Angle on September 4, giving him a shot at Lesnar's crown. On October 19, Lesnar defeated Undertaker in a Biker Chain match after interference from The Full Blooded Italians and Vince McMahon. As SmackDown returned to WWE, Paul Heyman appeared in WWE as SmackDown! Lesnar, the General Manager, ally with Heyman. Angle was beaten to a traditional Survivor Series elimination tag team match with Survivor Series coming up. Lesnar selected Big Show as his first teammate, with Heyman bringing a returning Nathan Jones and a debuting Matt Morgan to round out the team number to four. Angle recruited Chris Benoit and The APA (Bradshaw and Faarooq) to join his team. Faarooq was injured during a match against Lesnar and Angle's team, and the team was forced to find a replacement for him. Lesnar's staff selected A-Train to fill the fifth and final spot for them after he assaulted John Cena, who refused to accept an invitation to join Lesnar's team. Cena then joined Angle's team and Anglesna's team, while Angle's fourth member, Hardcore Holly, was recalled as the fifth member (Lesnar had legitimately injured Holly the year before, but he hadn't wrestled since). Lesnar was dismissed after Benoit compelled him to sign out of the Crippler Crossface on November 16, Survivor Series. His team lost the game. After Benoit's debuting submission hold, the Brock Lock, defended the WWE Championship from Benoit on December 4's episode of SmackDown!

Lesnar met Goldberg from the Raw brand during the Survivor Series in November 2003, which was also the first time the brand met him. After Lesnar claimed in a backstage interview that he could beat anyone in the world, Goldberg interrupted the interview and introduced himself to Lesnar, shaking hands with him before exchanging with a stare. Lesnar followed this rivalry with a feud involving Hardcore Holly. Holly wanted revenge on Lesnar for clearly injuring his neck during a recent match between the two teams in 2002, which left Holly in need of neck surgery and out of action for a year. Lesnar defeated Holly at the Royal Rumble on January 25, 2004, defeating them to maintain the WWE Championship. Lesnar struck Goldberg with an F-5, allowing Kurt Angle to disarm him by throwing him off the top rope later in the Royal Rumble match.

Lesnar defended the WWE Championship against Eddie Guerrero at No Way Out on February 15, defeating him in a no-way out. When the referee was ineffective, Goldberg struck Lesnar with a spear, allowing Guerrero to win a near-fall on Lesnar. Lesnar tried an F-5 on Guerrero, but Guerrero converted it into a DDT on the title belt and launched a frog splash to win the WWE Championship. An outraged Lesnar started feuding with Goldberg, chasing him for his loss of his fame, and a match was scheduled between the two teams at WrestleMania XX on March 14. Lesnar was also at odds with Stone Cold Steve Austin, who was seen telling Goldberg that he assaulted Lesnar at No Way Out during the feud with Goldberg. Austin was named as the special guest referee for the WrestleMania match after Lesnar attacked Austin on February 23 and stole his four-wheeler. Lesnar defeated Hardcore Holly in his last match on a weekly WWE televised show until 2019. It was widely reported that the match was Goldberg's last in WWE, as it was seen behind the scenes. Lesnar TootleMania was fired by WWE rumors just a week before WrestleMania, and the National Football League announced that he would play in the National Football League. Lesnar's match with Goldberg became a fiasco as a result, as the fans at Madison Square Garden booed and mocked both of them vociferously. After a Jackhammer, Goldberg defeated Lesnar, and both men were rewarded with Stone Cold Stunners from Austin.

Lesnar won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship on his debut match in a three-way match against Kazuyuki Fujita and Masahiro Chono at a New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) show in the Tokyo Dome on October 8, 2005. Lesnar is one of the few American wrestlers to have fought for this honor. He won the match by defeating Chono after an F-5, which he had renamed the Verdict because WWE owns the F-5 trademark. Lesnar stated that this name refers to his case against WWE, who filed a motion for a temporary restraining order to discourage Lesnar from continuing to work with NJPW on December 6, but the court refused to authorize it. He had two non-title victories over Manabu Nakanishi and Yuji Nagata after that. Lesnar defeated former champion Shinsuke Nakamura successfully defend the championship on January 4, 2006. WWE had an injunction against Lesnar on January 13, which was later not enforced as he continued to defend his title against former Sumo Wrestling Grand Champion Akebono on March 19, at the Sumo Hall. Lesnar had another successful title defense against Giant Bernard on May 3. This was the first American vs. American championship match in NJPW since Vader vs. Stan Hansen in 1990. Lesnar of the IWGP Heavyweight Championship was barred from contesting the tournament due to visa issues. On July 16, Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated the current champion in a tournament that was won by Hiroshi Tanahashi. Lesnar retained his physique until late June 2007.

Lesnar defended his IWGP Heavyweight Championship against TNA World Heavyweight Champion Kurt Angle in a champion versus champion match at the Inoki Genome Federation's inaugural event on June 29, 2007. Although Lesnar was not disqualified for the title, IGF promoter Antonio Inoki said he was the "proper" IWGP Heavyweight Champion, not defeated for the tournament. Angle won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship by taping out to the ankle lock, as shown by IGF and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). This was Lesnar's last match as a professional wrestler until 2012, when he rejoined WWE.

Lesnar, a heel, returned to WWE on Raw as a heel by confronting and giving an F-5 to John Cena. Following Lesnar's signing of "legitimacy" back to WWE and as the "new star of the WWE," the following week. Lesnar is also scheduled to meet Cena at Extreme Rules in a Extreme Rules match, according to Laurinaitis. Lesnar lost to Cena despite dominating the match under extreme circumstances on April 29, according to Extreme Rules.

Triple H, WWE's Chief Operating Officer, refused to comply with Lesnar's unreasonable labor demands (which included being given his own personal jet and being renamed to Monday Night Raw Starring Brock Lesnar), resulting in Lesnar's assaulting him and breaking his arm with a kimura lock in the storyline. Paul Heyman, Lesnar's legal representative, returned to WWE next week as Lesnar's legal representative; he said Lesnar was leaving WWE and suing WWE for breach of contract. Triple H at No Way Out in June fought Lesnar (who was not present) to a match at SummerSlam, which Lesnar refused. On July 23, Stephanie McMahon coerced Heyman into forfeiting the match on Lesnar's behalf. Lesnar defeated Triple H by submission at SummerSlam on August 19, after breaking his arm in storyline for the first time. Lesnar proclaimed himself the current King of Kings" on Raw and announced that after his victory over Triple H, he would leave WWE, claiming that he had conquered everything in the organization.

Lesnar appeared on Raw on January 28, 2013, talking to Mr. McMahon, who was about to dismiss him, and Lesnar, despite Heyman's pleas, struck McMahon with an F-5, breaking McMahon's pelvis in the storyline. Raw Managing Supervisor Vickie Guerrero revealed herself as the one who signed Lesnar to a new deal to please McMahon this week. Lesnar attempted to murder McMahon on February 25, only to get into a brawl with the return of Triple H, resulting in Lesnar's head split open and needing eighteen stitches. Lesnar rematch with him at WrestleMania 29, which Lesnar accepted, but only after Triple H agreed to a deal was announced, Lesnar accepted it. No holds Barred with Triple H's career on the line after Triple H agreed to the deal and assaulted Heyman. Lesnar lost to Triple H on April 7, despite being pedigreed onto the steel steps at WrestleMania. Lesnar attacked 3MB (Heath Slater, Drew McIntyre, and Jinder Mahal) before Heyman challenged Triple H to face Lesnar in a steel cage match at Extreme Rules, which Triple H accepted the following week. Extreme Rules were ruled on May 19, after Heyman, Lesnar manipulated Triple H to put an end to their feud. Lesnar appeared on Raw on June 17 as a client of Heyman's fellow client, CM Punk, with an F-5. Despite Punk's allegations, Heyman maintained that he was not responsible for Lesnar's assault. In July, Heyman took on Punk, arguing that Punk could not beat Lesnar, triggering Lesnar's return and hitting Punk on Raw's July 15 episode. Lesnar defeated Punk in a no disqualification match at SummerSlam this week. Punk was a member of Raw, Punk, who was battling Lesnar to a match at SummerSlam on August 18, where Lesnar defeated Punk in a no disqualification match.

Lesnar and Heyman returned to face the winner of the forthcoming WWE World Heavyweight Championship match between Randy Orton and John Cena at the Royal Rumble on December 30. Lesnar stunned any wrestler who disagreed with the theory to challenge him, which was answered by Mark Henry. Lesnar delivered an F-5 to Henry at the end of the ensuing brawl. Henry fought Lesnar again on Raw this week, only to have Lesnar dislocate his elbow with the Kimura lock in the storyline, prompting Big Show to confront Lesnar, who then began a feud between Lesnar and the Royal Rumble on January 26, 2014, where Lesnar defeated Big Show after defending him with a steel chair before the match began. Lesnar had requested a match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania XXX but was turned down for a match of his choosing instead, according to Heyman. The Undertaker recovered and charged Lesnar with a choke chokeslam across a table, setting up their match against WrestleMania XXX. Lesnar defeated Undertaker by three F-5s on April 6, bringing an end to his undefeated WrestleMania streak since the Montreal Screwjob.

Lesnar defeated John Cena to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship on August 17, the majority of which were German suplexes) and two F-5s to Cena, who barely had a single criminal conviction. Lesnar was disqualified due to Seth Rollins' interference but he retained his title in a rematch at Night of Champions on September 21, but stayed his title. Rollins recovered with The Authority and were admitted to Lesnar and Cena championship match on January 25, 2015, which Lesnar won despite (storyline) breaking a rib during the match.

Roman Reigns, who had won the Royal Rumble match to gain a championship match at WrestleMania 31 on March 29, was Lesnar's next challenger. Lesnar delivered several suplexes and was heard shouting, "Suplex City, bitch" during his main event match against Reigns. "Suplex City" became one of his signature catchphrases and merchandise motifs shortly. Rollins won Money in the Bank contract while the game was unfolding, making it a triple threat to Rollins and Reigns after giving a Curb Stomp. Lesnar continued to use his match clause and later attacked commentators John "Bradshaw" Layfield and Michael Cole, as well as a photographer after Rollins refused the match, resulting in Stephanie McMahon suspending Lesnar indefinitely in storyline.

Lesnar appeared on Raw on June 15 after being chosen by The Authority as the top contender to Rollins' WWE World Heavyweight Championship at Battleground. Lesnar made his first non-televised wrestling appearance for WWE since his 2012 return, defeating Kofi Kingston at The Beast in a quick victory at the East live event in Tokyo; he also gave F-5s to Kingston's New Day stablemates Big E and Xavier Woods after the match. Lesnar dominated Rollins on July 19, firing thirteen suplexes, but mid-pin falls after failing an F-5, forcing Lesnar to disqualify by disqualification and Rollins to keep the game alive, with Lesnar winning by disqualification and Rollins keeping the title.

Undertaker revealed on Raw that he assaulted Lesnar not for ending his WrestleMania streak but rather for Lesnar's constant taunting of him about it, which culminated in the two brawling throughout the arena, with Undertaker controversially beating Lesnar. The timekeeper rang the bell when Undertaker had reportedly submitted to Lesnar's Kimura lock, but the referee had not seen anything. In the ensuing confusion, Undertaker struck Lesnar with a low blow and established his Hell's Gate submission hold, which Lesnar lost. Lesnar and Heyman faced Undertaker to an immediate match, but Bo Dallas confronted Lesnar about his defeat; Lesnar responded with five German suplexes and an F-5;

Lesnar defeated Undertaker in a Cell match on October 25, bringing an end to their feud. During the 2015 Slammy Awards, the match was later named "Match of the Year."

Lesnar's appearance on Raw, February 11, 2016, Lesnar, a sportsman, Rusev, and Alberto Del Rio) and Kevin Owens appeared on The New Day, The League of Nations (Sheamus, King Barrett, Rusev and Alberto Del Rio) and Kevin Owens, before presenting an F-5 on Roman Reigns. He brawled with Reigns until they were confronted by The Wyatt family the following week. Lesnar was the 23rd entrant, excluding Jack Swagger and The Wyatt Family minus Bray Wyatt before being ruled out by the Wyatt Family members who had been seated first. At the Road Block pay-per-view tournament, he later defeated Wyatt and Luke Harper in a two-on-one handicap.

Stephanie McMahon hosted a triple threat match for Fastlane on January 25 to see who would face Triple H's for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 32. Lesnar was consistently triggered by Ambrose in the weeks to come, with Reigns defending him against Lesnar's subsequent assaults. Lesnar dominated the majority of the match before being pushed through two television tables by Ambrose and Reigns on February 21, but Reigns pinned Ambrose. Lesnar was reportedly assaulted in the parking lot as he arrived at the arena because of this. Later in the night, Ambrose recovered from a hijacked ambulance and challenged Lesnar to a No Holds Barred Street Fight match at WrestleMania 32, where Lesnar defeated Ambrose after an F-5 into a pile of chairs.

It Lesnar was announced as the returning Randy Orton's challenge for SummerSlam on the episode of SmackDown on July 7th. WWE permitted Lesnar to fight for UFC 200 on July 9, two days later. Lesnar failed two of his drug samples for this fight, but WWE did not suspend him because he is not a full-time performer. Lesnar was the top draft pick for the Raw brand on July 19 at the 2016 WWE draft on July 19. According to reports, he may have ranked #1 if he had not failed his drug testing in UFC. Orton was drafted to SmackDown, thus making their match an interbrand match, while WWE billed their match as a contest fifteen years in the making. Lesnar returned to Raw on August 1 (his first appearance on WWE since WrestleMania 32), but Orton stunned Lesnar with an RKO during his segment. Lesnar then assaulted Orton during his match on SmackDown Live the following night, after a match on Orton, giving him a F-5 on Orton. Lesnar defeated Orton by a technological knockout on August 21, leaving Orton with a forehead wound that required ten staples. Shane McMahon was then struck with an F-5. Many people believed Lesnar had strayed script due to Orton's head injury, out of which Vince McMahon announced that it was not intended. Lesnar was fined $500 for giving an F-5 to SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon and his assault on Orton. Lesnar defeated Orton in a no-disqualification match at a house show in Chicago, Illinois, on September 24, with the match being billed as a Suplex City death match.

After the two friends had been feuding for several months on social media and during promotional work for the WWE 2K17 video game, which featured Lesnar as the cover star and Goldberg as the pre-order bonus, on Lesnar's behalf, the two men were challenged to a fight on October 10 on Lesnar's behalf. Goldberg was the one blemish in Lesnar's WWE career, according to Heyman, who said that Goldberg had defeated Lesnar at WrestleMania XX in 2004. Goldberg returned to WWE after a twelve-year absence, accepting Lesnar's request for a match that would be televised for Survivor Series. Lesnar and Goldberg were involved in a brawl between security after Heyman insulted Goldberg's family on the final Raw before the Survivor Series. Lesnar flopped to Goldberg in 1 minute and 26 seconds on November 20 at Survivor Series for the first time in three years, Lesnar was pinned. Goldberg, the first entrant in the 2017 Royal Rumble match, announced himself next night on Raw. Heyman, who will also be in the Royal Rumble as he has something to prove, addressed the Survivor Series match on Raw, saying that they underestimated Goldberg and that the match was a humiliation and shame for him and Lesnar. Lesnar appeared on Raw's January 16 episode to confront other Royal Rumble participants, including Sami Zayn, Seth Rollins, and Roman Reigns. Lesnar debuted at number 26 and went on to eliminate Enzo Amore, Dean Ambrose, and Dolph Ziggler before going to face Goldberg, who appeared at number 28 and quickly dismissed Lesnar after a spear.

Lesnar defeated Goldberg in a final match at WrestleMania 33 on Raw, Lesnar defeated him on Raw, Lesnar. On the February 6 episode of Raw, Goldberg accepted Lesnar's challenge and was named the number one contender for Kevin Owens' Universal Championship, which he won on March 5 at Fastlane, transforming his match against Lesnar's to a championship match. Lesnar defeated Goldberg in his fifth world title in WWE on April 2nd and became the first man to have won both the WWE Championship and the Universal Championship. Lesnar was also the second person to kick-out from Goldberg's Jackhammer, earning him his first clean singles loss of his pro wrestling career. Lesnar's first title defense came at the inaugural Great Balls of Fire festival in July 9, 2017, where he comfortably held against Samoa Joe before losing his second time at a house show.

Lesnar was supposed to defend his crown in a ferocious four-way match against Samoa Joe, Roman Reigns, and Braun Strowman on July 31's episode of Raw. Both Lesnar and Heyman announced that if Lesnar lose the championship in the match, they would leave WWE. Lesnar retained the title by winning Reigns at SummerSlam on August 20. Lesnar was struck by Strowman on Raw Night the next night. Lesnar took the following championship match at No Mercy on September 24. Lesnar then defeated WWE Champion AJ Styles in an interbrand Champion versus Champion non-title match at Survivor Series on November 19. On January 28, 2018, where he successfully defended the crown in a triple threat match against Strowman and Kane, his next title defense was set for the Royal Rumble. Lesnar re-ignited his rivalry with Roman Reigns, who won the Elimination Chamber match on February 25 to become the top contender for Lesnar's crown at WrestleMania 34. Lesnar pinned Reigns to keep the title in the main event at WrestleMania on April 8. Lesnar will leave WWE and rejoin the UFC, according to rumors. Lesnar re-signed with WWE on April 9, 1999. He defeated Reigns in a steel cage again at the Greatest Royal Rumble pay-per-view on April 27, when Reigns speared Lesnar through the cage wall. As Lesnar descended on the cage first, he was declared the winner.

Lesnar was banned from WWE television for almost three months after the Greatest Royal Rumble. On July 15, Raw General Manager Kurt Angle threatened to strip Lesnar of the Universal Championship if he did not turn up to Raw the following night. Lesnar will defend his rank at SummerSlam, according to Heyman, who later became the top contender later that night. Lesnar appeared at the arena on July 30 but declined to enter the competition. If he could not convince Lesnar to come to the ring, Angle threatened to fire him. Heyman's attempts were unsuccessful throughout the program. Angle fired Lesnar, who had shot Angle, at the end of the show, he was reportedly threatening Angle and choke Heyman. Lesnar and Heyman's dissatisfaction with Lesnar and Heyman's dissension was revealed to be just a ruse when Lesnar returned to Reigns on August 13 to slash Reigns. On August 19, Strowman was at ringside ready to cash in on the winner's Money in the Bank contract. Lesnar was incapacitated in his role as a warrior in the Universal Championship, allowing Reigns to profit from the tense Lesnar's victory and win the Universal Championship, snapping Lesnar's reign as the nation's champion for the final five days. The reign was the longest since 1988, and it was the sixth-longest world championship reign in WWE history.

Lesnar returned to Hell in a Cell match between defending Universal Champion Reigns and Braun Strowman, kicking in the door and attacking both men, effectively ending the match as a no contest and costing the banker his money. Reigns will defend the Universal Championship in a triple threat match against Lesnar and Strowman at Crown Jewel on November 2 next night. After Reigns relinquished the title due to a legitimate leukemia relapse, the match was shortened to a singles match between Lesnar and Strowman for the vacant title. Lesnar defeated Strowman in three minutes to become the first two-time Universal Champion, thanks to Baron Corbin's pre-match assault.

Lesnar was supposed to face WWE Champion AJ Styles at Survivor Series in another non-title match after his championship victory. Styles lost the WWE Championship to Daniel Bryan on SmackDown five days before. Lesnar defeated Bryan early in the Survivor Series on November 18, despite a late rally from him. Lesnar then successfully defended Finn Bálor against Finn Bálor by submission at the Royal Rumble on January 27, 2019. Lesnar, the current Raw crown Rumble match champion, defeated Seth Rollins with six F-5s on Wednesday night, setting up a title match for WrestleMania 35. Lesnar attacked Rollins before the match at WrestleMania on April 7, the first time the two teams met. Rollins then hit Lesnar with a low blow while the referee was down and pinned Lesnar, effectively ending his second stint as Universal Champion at 156 days.

Lesnar was unexpectedly replaced in the Money in the Bank ladder match by Money in the Bank on May 19, 2019. Zayn had been assaulted backstage before the match. Later in the match, only seven of the scheduled eight participants were able to participate. Lesnar played in, took out Ali, who was on the top of a ladder, and earned the Money in the Bank contract, granting him either a Universal Championship or WWE Championship match at any time within the next year. Lesnar succeeds in his show-down victory over Universal Champion Seth Rollins and WWE Champion Kofi Kingston after teasing winning the Universal Championship from Rollins at Extreme Rules on June 7 right after Rollins and Raw Women's Champion Becky Lynch retained their respective titles against Baron Corbin and Lacey Evans in an Extreme Rules mixed tag team competition at Extreme Rules. Lesnar lost the title back to Rollins on August 11, his third title appearance in 28 days.

Lesnar and Heyman appeared on SmackDown's September 17 episode to face Kofi Kingston for the WWE Championship. Lesnar proceeded to F-5 him after Kingston accepted him. Lesnar defeated Kingston in about eight seconds to win his fifth WWE Championship on SmackDown's 20th anniversary on October 4; this was Lesnar's first match on SmackDown in 15 years. Lesnar was attacked by former UFC star Cain Velasquez, who made his WWE debut after his victory. Lesnar was then scheduled to defend the WWE Championship against Velasquez at Crown Jewel on October 31. Lesnar was drafted to SmackDown during the 2019 draft. Lesnar defeated Velasquez in under five minutes by submission with the Kimura Lock at the Crown Jewel Festival. Rey Mysterio raged Lesnar with a chair after the match. Lesnar and Heyman quit the brand in order to go after Mysterio, who had been drafted to Raw and then jumped to Raw, thus moving to Raw with the WWE Championship. During Mysterio's attempt to assist Mysterio during the match, Mysterio defeated Lesnar at the WWE Championship at Survivor Series on November 24, where Lesnar retained, despite Mysterio's son's attempt to assist Mysterio during the match.

Lesnar appeared on Raw's January 6, 2020, episode to say that no one deserved an opportunity at the WWE Championship at the Royal Rumble, so he will instead face King Rumble as entrant number one. Lesnar defeated the first thirteen opponents he faced in a Royal Rumble match on January 26, tying the record for the most eliminations in a Royal Rumble match before being eliminated by Drew McIntyre, the match's winner. Lesnar lost the WWE Championship to McIntyre in the main event of WrestleMania 36 Part 2 on February 27, his longest showdown at 264-26 has been aired on April 5th. This was Lesnar's last match before 2021, according to several sources that he wasn't under contract with WWE after the match. Lesnar said in March 2022 that he had initially retired from professional wrestling after WrestleMania 36, before deciding to return in 2021.

Lesnar, who is sporting a beard and ponytail at SummerSlam on August 21, 2021 as a face, confronting Universal Champion Roman Reigns after his triumphant title defense against John Cena, has a face. Lesnar had become a free agent, allowing him to appear on any brand during the 2021 WWE Draft. He then appeared on SmackDown, and Reigns and Reigns sparred for the crown jewel title at Crown Jewel on October 21, which Lesnar lost after interference from The Usos. He began a locker room clearing brawl with Reigns, resulting in an indefinite suspension by on-air authority figure Adam Pearce, whom Lesnar attacked, in a following episode of SmackDown. It was announced that his suspension had been lifted on the November 26 episode of SmackDown. Lesnar will face Reigns for the title once more on the Day 1 tournament, this time at SmackDown on December 3rd. Due to Reigns' contracting COVID-19, the match was called off, but Lesnar was later added to Raw's WWE Championship match, effectively ending the match in a fatal five-way match. Lesnar claimed his sixth WWE Championship on January 1, 2022, defeating Seth "Freakin" Rollins, Kevin Owens, Bobby Lashley, and defending champion Big E, who pinned, despite losing he pinned. Lesnar reunited with his advocate Paul Heyman on the following episode of Raw.

He lost the WWE Championship to Lashley due to Reigns' interference and Heyman's betrayal, his sixth reign with Reigns, but the surprise 30th entrant emerged from the match later that night, becoming the fourth person to win from the #30 position (after The Undertaker in 2008 and Triple H in 2016). Lesnar was the first person to lose their world championship and then win the Rumble in the same night, after his first victory in 2003. Lesnar was also one of the longest Rumble wins at 19 years, beating the previous record for the longest time between Rumble wins. He also set a record for the least time spent in the Rumble before winning the tournament, being in the match for 2 minutes and 30 seconds and beating Edge's 2010 record by 5 minutes and 7 seconds. Lesnar revealed on Raw's following episode that he will face Reigns for the Universal Championship at WrestleMania 38, and that he was also eligible to compete in the WWE Championship Elimination Chamber match on February 19 at Elimination Chamber. Lesnar defeated all other opponents for a seventh time (Seth "Freakin" Rollins, AJ Styles, Riddle, and Austin Theory), except Lashley, who was suspended early in the game due to a concussion procedure. This also turned his Universal Championship match against Reigns at WrestleMania into a Winner Takes All match. The Following night on Raw, their Winner Takes All match was then declared as a championship unification match. In the unification match at the tournament on April 3, Lesnar lost the WWE Championship to Reigns.

Lesnar was recalled and threatened Reigns on the SmackDown episode on June 17 after successfully defending the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship against Riddle, resurrecting their rivalry. At SummerSlam, a Last Man Standing match was held for the title, with WWE branding it as the ultimate finale to the feud. Lesnar was unable to defeat Reigns for the title after being influenced by the Usos, Paul Heyman, and Austin Theory.

Lesnar made a surprise appearance on the October 10 episode of Raw, blaming United States Champion Bobby Lashley and injuring his shoulder before his scheduled title defense against Seth "Freakin" Rollins resumed.

Professional football career

Despite not playing football since high school, Lesnar left his career in WWE to pursue a career in the National Football League (NFL). Following his deposition: WWE released this statement on their official website, WWE.com.

Lesnar said in a Minnesota radio show that he had "three wonderful years" in WWE but had grown dissatisfied and never wanted to play professional football, but that he did not want to be 40 years old and asking if he had "made it" in football. In an interview with Bill Belich, he said, he said: 'In a talk about the NFL, he said, "I've been attracted to football."

Lesnar had a great showing at the NFL Combine on Saturday, but a minivan collided with his left hand, bruised pelvic, and a pulled groin. Several NFL teams expressed an interest in watching Lesnar work out. On June 11, the Minnesota Vikings beat Lesnar, but the groin injury caused in the April motorcycle accident hampered him. He was almost recovered from his groin injury on July 24, according to reports. On July 27, he signed with the Vikings and appeared in several preseason games for the team. On August 30, the Vikings released him. Lesnar was given the opportunity to assist the Vikings in NFL Europa, but he turned down the opportunity to remain in the United States with his family. During his time with the Vikings, he had several football cards of him.

Mixed martial arts career

Lesnar, who appeared in Las Vegas for the last time in the K-1 World Grand Prix 2006, announced his intention to join Hero's mixed martial arts competition. He trained with Minnesota Martial Arts Academy under Greg Nelson and Minnesota Assistant Head wrestling coach Marty Morgan. Lesnar was a student at the University of On August, Lesnar agreed to the contract. On June 2, 2007, at the Dynamite, his first combat against Hong-man Choi of South Korea was scheduled. The display in the United States has a photo. Choi was initially suspended by Min-soo Kim prior to the match. Lesnar defeated Kim in 1:09 of the first round to win his first official MMA match.

Lesnar joined Ultimate Fighting Championship with a one-fight deal during UFC 77 on October 20, the first time he had been in UFC 77. Lesnar made his debut with the company in a fight called UFC 81: Breaking Point versus former UFC Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir on February 2, 2008. Lesnar was wearing 4XL gloves for the fight, making him the second man in Nevada's combat sports history to wear such gloves after Choi Hong-man. Lesnar landed numerous punches early in the game, but he was suspended a point after a punch hit Mir on the back of the head. He scored another takedown and pound before Mir secured a kneebar and compelled a submission at 1:30 of the first round.

Despite losing his debut and in UFC 82, former UFC Heavyweight Champion and Hall of Famer Mark Coleman was announced to face Lesnar at UFC 87. Coleman was forced to leave the fight due to an injury and Heath Herring took the field. Lesnar had a late knockdown and went on to dominate the contest winning by a unanimous vote of all three judges' scorecards in the first round.

On November 15, Lesnar then met Randy Couture for the UFC Heavyweight Championship at UFC 91. He denied Couture's attempted takedown attempts and outstruck him on the feet, eventually knocking him down and landing ground and pound until he was crowned the champion and UFC Heavyweight Championship.

Frank Mir defeated Antônio No. 92 at the Interim Heavyweight Championship and went to face Lesnar for the Undisputed UFC Heavyweight Championship at UFC 98. Mir found Lesnar in the crowd and yelled, "You've got my belt." immediately after winning the Interim Heavyweight championship. The title unification match against Lesnar, which was supposed to be the UFC 98 main event, was postponed due to a knee injury to Mir. Lesnar lost in the fight against Mir at UFC 100 on July 11, 2009. Mir attempted to seize Lesnar's leg early in the fight but was denied, and Lesnar retained top landing punches for the remainder of the round. Both fighters traded blows in the second round, but Mir hurt Lesnar with a knee and a punch, causing him to drag Mir down and land heavy ground and pound the fight by technical defeat in round two. Lesnar flipped off the crowd of people who had been booing him during his post-match celebration. Lesnar made a disparaging remark about Bud Light's primary sponsor, Bud Light, who said they "didn't pay me nothin'" and promoted Coors Light instead. Lesnar later apologised for his remarks at the post-fight press conference, where he held a bottle of Bud Light and endorsed their product.

The winner of the Shane Carwin vs. Cain Velasquez fight at UFC 104 would face Lesnar on July 1st, but the match was cancelled and Lesnar was supposed to defend the title against Shane Carwin at UFC 106 on November 21. Lesnar was forced to cancel his Carwin bout due to an illness on October 2nd. Lesnar had been sick for three weeks, but he had never been this sick in his life and that recovering would take him a long time, so his match with Carwin was postponed for UFC 108 on January 2, 2010. Lesnar began seeking medical attention in Canada, but later told reporters that he had received "Third World medicine" at a hospital in Brandon, Manitoba, and that getting better medical care in the United States saved his life. Lesnar went on to condemn Canadian health care and revealed that he spoke "on behalf of the doctors in the United States who do not want health care reform to happen."

Lesnar had mononucleosis and that his match against Carwin would take a little longer, so the fight for Lesnar's heavyweight championship was postponed. Dana White said at the UFC 105 post-fight conference on November 14 that "Lesnar] isn't well and he's not going to be well," and that an interim championship match will need to be arranged. In addition to mononucleosis, it was discovered that he had a serious case of diverticulitis, an intestinal disorder that required surgery. Lesnar underwent surgery on November 16 to close an intestine that had been secretly leaking fecal matter into his abdomen, causing pain, absces, and overburdened his immune system to the point of being mononucleosis. The surgeon estimated that the intestinal disease had existed for at least a year due to the severity of injury to Lesnar's device.

Lesnar revealed on ESPN's SportsCenter in January 2010 that he would return to the UFC in the summer. On March 27, Frank Mir and Shane Carwin clashed at UFC 111 to determine the Interim Heavyweight Champion and Lesnar's next opponent. Shane Carwin emerged as the first Interim Champion after being knocked out in the first round. Lesnar burst into the ring and said, "It was a good fight, but he was wearing a belt that looks like a make-believe belt." I have the real championship belt." Lesnar defeated Carwin at UFC 116 on July 3 to unify the heavyweight divisions. Carwin knocked Lesnar down with strong punches, continued landing ground and pound throughout the round, revealing a cut in Lesnar's eye early in the round. Carwin was obviously drained in the next round, and Lesnar scored a takedown, gained full mount, and then went into side control, ending the game with an arm-triangle choke. Lesnar became the undisputed UFC Heavyweight Champion, earning his first Submission of the Night and giving Carwin his first defeat. The victory also set a UFC record for the most consecutive UFC Heavyweight Championship defenses.

On October 23, Lesnar's next defense was against undefeated top contender Cain Velasquez at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, UFC 121. Dana White, a Canadian, has revealed via SportsNation that the UFC will revive UFC Primetime to hype the fight. Lesnar had a takedown and land some heavy knees, but he was eventually dissatisfied with Velasquez's superior hitting, and was ended by technical failure in the first round.

Lesnar was announced as a mentor of The Ultimate Fighter Season 13, opposite Junior does Santos, but the two were forced to fight on June 11 at UFC 131, but he was forced to cancel from the fight on May 12. Shane Carwin was brought to his rescue by Shane Carwin, who lost to dos Santos. Lesnar underwent surgery on May 27 to help solve his diverticulitis problems. Dana White said he had a 12-inch piece of his colon removed.

ESPN's magazine published a story naming the highest-paid celebrity based on base salary and earnings for the most recent calendar year or the most recent season in 30 sports in its May 2011 issue. Lesnar led the way for MMA at $5.3 million, which included his estimated bout compensation and estimated pay-per-view awards.

Lesnar declared in the summer of 2011 that he was returning to action, saying, "I look like a new man." I'm fine. Strong. I feel like I used to feel this way. Alistair Overeem, the current Strikeforce heavyweight champion, was supposed to face him in Las Vegas on December 30. Lesnar attempted to kill Overeem but was unable and hungry to his surgically wounded stomach, resulting in a liver kick and punches. Lesnar resigned from MMA after referring to his bouts with diverticulitis and saying that "tonight will be the last time you'll see me in the octagon."

The rumors of a return to MMA didn't persist until March 24, 2015, when Lesnar revealed in an interview with SportsCenter that he had resigned with WWE and officially closed the door on a return to MMA, even though he was given a contract "ten times more" than what he had earned in his MMA career. He continued to talk about how he was training for months for a return to the UFC, but something was missing physically," he said. Lesnar said, "[he's] an older caveman now," and that "he" makes better caveman decisions" rather than returning to MMA because he's able to "work part-time with full pay."

Although Lesnar said he was "closing the door on MMA" in March 2015, UFC announced on June 4, 2016, that he will return to UFC 200 on July 9. WWE revealed that Lesnar "has been given a one-off chance" to compete at UFC 200 before returning to the company for SummerSlam on August 21. Lesnar dominated the first and third rounds, battering Hunt with ground and pound in the third round to win in a unanimous decision. He was also paid a $2.5 million purse. Conor McGregor, the previous champion, set this record at UFC 202.

Lesnar was alerted by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) on July 15, 2016 of an undisclosed prohibited drug in an out-of-commission sample collected on June 28. A second test sample taken in-commission on July 9 was revealed to be positive for the same banned drug found in the previous out-of-commission sample. Lesnar had twice been tested positive for clomiphene and was suspended on August 23, according to the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC).

Lesnar was fined $250,000 and suspended from racing for one year by the NSAC on December 15. In July 2017, he will be able to return. The result of Mark Hunt's match was reversed to a no contest as a result of his suspension. Lesnar has yet to pay the fine as of January 2019.

Lesnar had notified UFC that he had resigned from MMA for the second time on February 14, 2017. Lesnar raged the cage after the main event battle at UFC 226 on July 7, 2018, taking on Daniel Cormier, the current UFC Heavyweight champion. Lesnar had started the process of returning to their drug testing pool on July 8, USADA announced. According to reports, UFC officials were preparing a match between Lesnar and Daniel Cormier for the UFC Heavyweight Championship, but Dana White said Lesnar was "done" with MMA and that the match did not happen.

In September 2020, White said he could make a mega-fight between Lesnar and Jon Jones if both fighters wanted it. That same month, Bellator president Scott Coker expressed excitement in booking a fight for Lesnar, aiming to stage a match between Lesnar and Fedor Emelianenko. Lesnar resigned in March 2022, saying, "I'm too old" is the reason for the door.

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