Viewers of WrestleMania 42 may have watched the last match of Brock Lesnar. One of the last members of the WWE’s legendary class of 2002 may have wrestled his last match. After losing to the new “Next Big Thing” Oba Femi, Lesnar left his gloves and boots in the ring as he waved to the fans. What this signals is that one of the most legit bad ass dudes to ever step into a wrestling ring has call it quits after 25 years. Of the legendary class of 2002 that included John Cena, Dave Batista and Randy Orton, he is the most recent to hang it up.
Brock Lesnar did not have the most traditional career while in WWE. He has been with the company and then away to pursue other opportunities that made him one of the most influential stars of his time. Lesnar comes to the company after winning the NCAA Division I national championship in the Heavyweight division. That resume automatically gave him legitimate credibility, and with his million-dollar look he was labeled as “The Next Big Thing”. And after making his main roster debut in 2002 he made his presence immediately felt.
After showing up on the main roster in March of 2002, Brock beat-up the Hardy Boyz and by June he was new King of The Ring. Winning KOTR made him the number one contender for the Undisputed WWE Title which was then held by The Rock. He defeated Rock at SummerSlam to become the youngest ever WWE Champ at the time. He would go on to have high profile feuds with The Undertaker, Big Show and Kurt Angle. In 2004 he would leave the WWE to try out for the NFL. Before leaving he dropped the title to Eddie Guerrero and faced Bill Goldberg at WrestleMania 20.
Although he was cut by the Minnesota Vikings in the pre-season, he was highly regarded by members of the team, and he was one of last roster cuts. Lesnar then went on to wrestle again but this time in New Japan where he won the coveted IWGP Heavyweight title. He would drop the belt to Kurt Angle during a TNA show in 2007. Brock would then go on to join the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). His time in the UFC, was base on more of his time as collegiate wrestler and his WWE fame helped him move up the card and be a box office attraction.
In the UFC, he would go on to become the Heavyweight Champion and solidify himself as one of the biggest draws in combat sports. In 2012 Lesnar made his return to the WWE where he would have a feud with John Cena that would ultimately end up with him losing to Cena in a “No Holds Barred” match that Lesnar dominated for the most part. He would have a feud with Triple H in 2013 that led to him losing at WrestleMania 29 to “The Game” but still winning 2 of the 3 matches they had.
Although Lesnar would never fully resume a full-time schedule, he did make a significant impact in his time from 2012 up until now. He ended The Undertaker’s legendary WrestleMania streak. He introduced John Cena to “Suplex City” in a one of the most dominating titles matches ever seen at SummerSlam. His feud with Roman Reigns help legitimize Reigns as a “Main-Event” superstar.
One aspect of Lesnar’s Hall of Fame career will be how much he put guys over. A man who is seen a legitimate fighter in a world of scripted violence could take out almost any of his opponents in a fight. With his star status he could control his creative process to not lose but that is not what he did. He put over Reigns to help him become the biggest star of his generation; he put over Eddie Guerrero early in his career when he knew he was leaving. He put over Seth Rollins when they had their feud. He lost 2 of 3 matches to Cody Rhodes after Cody lost to Roman at Mania and needed to build back up to finish his story. At WrestleMania 42, he did his final act of service by putting over the new “Next Big Thing” in Oba Femi.
Written By
Keith B. Holt
Follow on Twitter @kholtjr
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