Every eye that has gazed upon Brock Lesnar would agree that he is a once-in-a-lifetime talent. The Beast Incarnate has made justice to that claim throughout his decorated combat-sports career and has been successful in his every venture so far. He is a perfect physical specimen with years of experience in the business, and with his recent run with WWE, he has also proved he has a way with his words as well.
Brock Lesnar's career has been filled with ups and downs, but the former heavily outnumber the latter, as he always found a way to get back up whenever he ran into a roadblock. With that said, let's take a look at Brock Lesnar's decorated career through various photos taken over the years.
10 First Contract & OVW
Brock Lesnar's accolades in amateur wrestling opened the doors for him to sign his first contract with WWE in 2000. He got assigned to the promotion's then developmental territory Ohio Valley Wrestling, where he met his future friend and manager Paul Heyman and paired up with his friend and college roommate Shelton Benjamin. He also worked with future WWE superstars like Randy Orton, John Cena, and Batista.
He competed in various live events and dark matches between October 2000 to March 2001 before the promotion decided it was time for him to make his main roster debut.
9 The Next Big Thing
Brock Lesnar made his main roster debut on the March 18, 2002, episode of Raw, where he attacked Al Snow, Maven, and Spike Dudley, during their Hardcore Championship match, accompanied by Paul Heyman.
He got drafted to Raw as part of the 2002 Draft, and along with Paul Heyman as his manager, Lesnar established himself under the moniker "The Next Big Thing."
His first feud came against The Hardy Boyz, which saw Lesnar manhandle both Hardy Brothers in TKO victories on the 2002 Backlash PPV and the following night on Raw. He continued the rivalry with the Hardy Boyz the following weeks until it culminated at Judgment Day, where he and Paul Heyman defeated Matt & Jeff Hardy.
8 King Of The Ring & Youngest WWE Champion
Brock Lesnar entered the 2002 King of the Ring tournament and defeated Bubba Ray Dudley in the first round. He went on to overcome Booker T in the quarter-finals and Test in the semi-finals before defeating Rob Van Dam in the final and earned himself a shot at the Undisputed WWE Championship.
Following a short feud with Rob Van Dam and Hollywood Hogan, Lesnar joined SmackDown and received his one-on-one match for the Undisputed WWE Championship against The Rock at SummerSlam 2002.
He defeated The Rock at the event to become the youngest superstar to win the WWE Championship at age 25 and also became the second-fastest wrestler to win the title since his debut (126 days), behind Ric Flair (113 days).
7 High Profile Matches & Departure
Following the big title win, Lesnar became a major attraction for WWE, which landed him in various high-profile feuds against the likes of The Undertaker, and The Big Show, to whom he lost the WWE Championship.
Lesnar then turned his focus on winning back the title and went on to win the 2003 Royal Rumble match. He faced Kurt Angle for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 19 and reclaimed the title.
He lost the title once again to Angle but won it back in a 60-minute Iron Man Match on the September 18, 2003, episode of SmackDown. He continued to hold the title until he lost it to Eddie Guerrero at No Way Out 2004, following interference from Goldberg.
It led to a match between the two behemoths at WrestleMania 20, but it would turn out to be the last match for both the superstars, as they ended up leaving WWE following the event.
6 Japan Stint
Following his exit from WWE, Brock Lesnar took his talents to New Japan Pro Wrestling and won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship on his debut in a three-way match against Kazuyuki Fujita and Masahiro Chono.
WWE tried their best to stop Brock Lesnar from competing in NJPW, but the court dismissed the lawsuits, which allowed Lesnar to continue performing in Japan. He defended the title against the likes of Shinsuke Nakamura, Akebono, and Giant Bernard, before getting stripped of the title due to him not defending the title owing to visa issues.
However, Lesnar held the title hostage and didn't defend it for an entire year until he dropped it to Impact World Champion Kurt Angle in the debut event of Antonio Inoki's Inoki Genome Federation on June 29, 2007.
5 Dominating UFC
Brock Lesnar then chose to pursue a career in MMA and signed with UFC in October 2007 and made his debut at UFC 81 against Frank Mir. Despite losing the fight to Mir, Lesnar rebounded quickly and secured a victory against Heath Herring via unanimous decision at UFC 87.
He then faced Randy Couture for the UFC Heavyweight Championship at UFC 91 and defeated Couture via TKO to win the championship. He went on to hold the title despite battling severe illness along the way, which required him to undergo surgery.
He finally lost the title to Cain Velasquez at UFC 121, and following another round of illness and a second surgery, Lesnar couldn't keep up the pace anymore as he lost his final fight against Alistair Overeem before announcing his first retirement.
4 WWE Return
Brock Lesnar made his long-awaited return to WWE in 2012 and attacked John Cena on the Raw after WrestleMania 28 to kick things off again. Following a loss to Cena at his return match at Extreme Rules 2012, Lesnar turned his attention to Triple H.
He defeated Triple H at SummerSlam 2012 but lost to him in a No-Hold-Barred match at WrestleMania 29. The two superstars continued their rivalry, which culminated with Lesnar beating Triple H in a steel cage match at Extreme Rules 2013.
Lesnar then defeated CM Punk at SummerSlam 2013 and The Big Show at Royal Rumble 2014 before setting his sights at an even bigger goal.
3 Ending The Streak & WWE Champion
The Undertaker's iconic undefeated streak became Brock Lesnar's next target after The Deadman chose Lesnar as his opponent for WrestleMania 30. Lesnar shocked the world at the event when he defeated The Undertaker and ended his undefeated streak at 21-1.
Following the big win, Lesnar challenged John Cena for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at SummerSlam 2014, and he took the title off Cena in convincing fashion after taking Cena to suplex city.
He remained champion for 224 days until he defended the title against Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 31, but in a shocking turn of events, lost it to Seth Rollins, who cashed in his MITB contract at the final moments of the match.
2 Dominating The World Title Picture
After various other matches, Brock Lesnar took on a familiar foe in Goldberg at Survivor Series 2016 but shockingly lost under two minutes. But he redeemed himself after beating the WCW legend for the Universal Championship at WrestleMania 33.
Lesnar then held a death-grip on the Universal title and held it for a record-setting 504 days before dropping it to Roman Reigns. He then went on to hold the title on two other occasions and lost it to Seth Rollins on both instances.
He also won the WWE Championship from Kofi Kingston and defended it against his UFC rival Cain Velasquez, Rey Mysterio, and Ricochet before dropping it to Drew McIntyre at WrestleMania 36.
1 Return With A Fresh Character
After a long absence from WWE following WrestleMania 36, Brock Lesnar returned at SummerSlam 2021, sporting a new farmer look with a beard and ponytail and with a new attitude. He confronted Roman Reigns at the event to set up a Universal title bout between the two at Crown Jewel, where he lost to Reigns.
He then captured the WWE Championship at the Day 1 PPV in January 2022 and lost it to Bobby Lashley at the Royal Rumble, but went on to win the Royal Rumble match later the same night and is all set to face Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 38.
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