Brock Lesnar: Encyclopedia II - Brock Lesnar - World Wrestling Entertainment

Brock Lesnar - World Wrestling Entertainment

Before entering professional wrestling, Lesnar was an outstanding amateur wrestler and went to the University of Minnesota on a full wrestling scholarship, where he was roommates with WWE's Shelton Benjamin, himself a talented amateur wrestler. Lesnar won the 2000 NCAA wrestling championships as a heavyweight. He finished runner-up in 1999. Lesnar also wrestled in junior college prior to joining the Minnesota Golden Gophers.

In 2000 Lesnar signed with WWE and was sent to Ohio Valley Wrestling for development, where he wrestled in a tag team named the Minnesota Stretching Crew with Benjamin (a reference to the Minnesota Wrecking Crew). During his time in OVW he became known for performing the Shooting Star Press, a move more commonly performed by smaller, lighter wrestlers and rarely by a wrestler of his size. He was trained as a professional by Danny Davis.

In 2002, Lesnar was called up to WWE and was immediately pushed. He debuted on Raw on March 18, 2002, beating down Al Snow, Maven and Spike Dudley. Paul Heyman made his on-camera return in WWE as Lesnar's manager, touting Lesnar as being "The Next Big Thing."

Lesnar then feuded with the Hardy Boyz. A ruthless Lesnar was seen giving Matt Hardy an F-5 on the steel ramp, which led to an angered Jeff Hardy wanting revenge on Lesnar. The two squared off at Backlash. Lesnar was able to kick out of Hardy's finisher, the Swanton Bomb. A frustrated Hardy went to grab a steel chair, and was about to use it on Lesnar, but he countered and planted his own finisher, the F-5. Lesnar was declared the winner when the referee stopped the match as Jeff Hardy lay knocked out in the middle of the ring after receiving three powerbombs. The feud between the Hardyz and Lesnar lasted for a few more months, with Lesnar always ending up victorious.

Brock Lesnar - Undisputed Championship

In June, Lesnar won the King of the Ring tournament, defeating Rob Van Dam in the final round. This victory earned him a shot at the WWE Undisputed Championship in the main event at Summerslam, where he defeated The Rock. Lesnar, at age 25, was then the youngest WWE Champion ever (as of 2005, he is still technically the youngest WWE Champion ever, but Randy Orton is the youngest world champion in WWE history, having won the World Heavyweight Championship at 24). The next night on Raw, SmackDown! General Manager Stephanie McMahon announced Lesnar would defend the title only on Smackdown, forcing Raw GM Eric Bischoff to create the World Heavyweight Championship. That fall, Lesnar feuded with the Undertaker, who he defeated in a Hell in a Cell match at No Mercy 2002. He lost the championship in November at the Survivor Series pay-per-view to The Big Show after being betrayed by Paul Heyman.

After winning the 2003 Royal Rumble match in January 2003, Lesnar regained the championship in the main event of WrestleMania XIX from Kurt Angle. Toward the end of the match, his attempt at the Shooting Star Press, failed, as Angle was too far from the ring post and Lesnar under-rotated on the back flip, causing him to land almost directly on his head, stunning him and forcing Angle to improvise the finish. This move gave Lesnar a concussion. The incident coined the term "to Brock", which means to botch the biggest move in the biggest match, or to double-clutch on the top rope. This was Angle's last match in WWE for several months, as he took some time off to have neck surgery.

When Angle returned he befriended Lesnar, but when Lesnar lost the title back to Angle in a triple threat match with the Big Show at Vengeance in July, Lesnar turned on him and developed a mean streak, which was highly supported by WWE owner Vince McMahon. In August on Smackdown, Lesnar faced amputee wrestler Zach Gowen, who had an artificial leg due to cancer, in Gowen's hometown. Lesnar physically broke Gowen's remaining leg in front of his little brother and mother. Later, Lesnar kidnapped a wheelchaired Gowen and pushed him off some steps. Lesnar regained the WWE Title from Kurt Angle in an Ironman match in September, and lost it to the late Eddie Guerrero at February 2004's No Way Out event.

Brock Lesnar - Departure from WWE

Before losing the WWE Championship to Guerrero, Lesnar had begun a feud with Goldberg. The feud began at Survivor Series 2003, while both men were champions of their respective brands. Lesnar would attack Goldberg at Royal Rumble 2004, and Goldberg would retaliate at No Way Out in Lesnar's match against Guerrero. This set up an interbrand match for WrestleMania XX between the two.

Lesnar, who was angered by RAW's Stone Cold Steve Austin having suggested Goldberg attack Lesnar at No Way Out, then attacked Austin, and stole his four-wheeler. Austin was then inserted as the Special Guest Referee for the match. Although it was already known that the match would be Goldberg's last in WWE, it was only a week before WrestleMania that rumors surfaced Lesnar too was leaving, in order to pursue a career in the NFL. As a result, the match was one of the zaniest in WWE history, with the smarts at Madison Square Garden jeering both wrestlers with chants of "you sold out". Lesnar was said to be particularly shaken by this reaction. Because both men were leaving WWE, it was clear that the only man who would go over in the match would be Austin. Sure enough, although Goldberg won the match, both men were given Stunners by Austin to send them out of WWE.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "World Wrestling Entertainment", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki