Brock Lesnar

About

Brock Lesnar is an American Professional Wrestler currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment, where he is currently the reigning WWE Universal Champion. While most known for his time in WWE, he also wrestled when he was at the University of Minnesota and later in other professional wrestling federations. He also competed for Ultimate Fighting Championship and spent a year attempting to play football in the National Football League. His most notable accomplishments include being a 7-time world champion in professional wrestling (4 times with the WWE Championship, 2 times with the WWE Universal Championship, and 1 time with New Japan Pro Wrestling's IWGP Heavyweight Championship), winning the UFC Heavyweight Championship and a Division I Heavyweight Wrestling Championship, and ending the Wrestlemania undefeated streak of The Undertaker.

History

First stint with WWE – "The Next Big Thing"

Brock Lesnar first made his mark on WWE in 2002, winning the King of the Ring tournament and then defeating The Rock to win the WWE Championship (at the time known as the Undisputed Championship) within 6 months of his debut. Alongside his manager Paul Heyman, he continued to defend the championship for months until he lost the title (thanks to Heyman betraying him) to The Big Show. Lesnar recovered and won the 2003 Royal Rumble match, securing a title shot at Wrestlemania 19 against the champion Kurt Angle.

The most notable moment of Lesnar's WM19 title match was his attempt at a Shooting Star Press (see the above gif) off the top rope, an aerial move usually done only by much smaller wrestlers. Brock had landed the move many times while training in developmental, but when he attempted the move against Angle at Wrestlemania he botched the move and landed awkwardly on his head and neck. Despite the impact causing him a concussion, he and Angle finished the match, and Lesnar won the WWE Championship for the second time in his career.

The rest of Lesnar's initial run with WWE consisted of various rivalries, including notable ones against The Undertaker, Vince McMahon and a young up-and-coming star named John Cena. Knowing that he was leaving the WWE after Wrestlemania 20 to pursue other endeavors, his final match took place at the event against Goldberg, which was considered a disappointment and one of the worst matches of either one's career.

NFL and UFC careers – "The Baddest Man on the Planet"

After leaving WWE, Brock Lesnar attended the 2004 NFL Combine and then tried out for his hometown team, the Minnesota Vikings. He had a strong showing at training camp and made the practice squad, but was the last player cut from the roster before it was finalized. Having not made the team, Lesnar declined an offer to play football in Europe and instead returned to the world of Fighting.

After a short stint back in wrestling, which culminated with Lesnar winning the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in Japan, Lesnar began training for Mixed Martial Arts and eventually signed to UFC. He lost his debut fight to Frank Mir, but afterwards went on a winning streak that included defeating future UFC hall-of-famer Randy Couture for the UFC Heavyweight Championship and then defeating Frank Mir in a rematch to retain it.

Lesnar's title reign and UFC career were cut short by him suffering from an intestinal disorder known as diverticulitis, which required surgery to fix and sapped him of some of his strength over the next couple years. He was able to retain against Shane Carwin by submission, but lost the title to Cain Velasquez. Later, a failed comeback attempt led to him getting beat down by Alistair Overeem and Lesnar announcing his retirement from UFC. Though he is not as well-known or as memetic for his NFL and UFC days as he is in WWE, these are still important and very proud moments in Lesnar's storied athletic career.

Return to WWE – "The Conqueror"

Brock Lesnar made his surprise return to WWE in 2012, attacking John Cena the night after Wrestlemania 28. After a match with Cena, Lesnar re-united with his long-time manager Paul Heyman and entered in feuds against Triple H and CM Punk later. He defeated Triple H in two of their three matches (the only loss coming at Wrestlemania 29) and then defeated CM Punk at the following Summerslam.

Despite his dominant victories, Lesnar was denied a WWE Championship opportunity, and instead was booked in a match at Wrestlemania 30 against The Undertaker. Undertaker entered the match with a 21-0 undefeated streak at Wrestlemania, one of the greatest accomplishments in wrestling history, and most thought he would never lose on that stage. After a dramatic and brutal match, Lesnar pinned Undertaker with three uses of his F5 finisher and ended the Streak. Needless to say, the fans who were upset by Undertaker's loss spawned many notable reaction images.

Following this monumental win, Lesnar then challenged John Cena for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at the next Summerslam and won the title in a dominant victory. After a continued feud with Cena and later Roman Reigns, he held the title until Wrestlemania 31 the next year, where he lost the title without being pinned when Seth Rollins cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase during the title match between Lesnar and Reigns, pinning Reigns to win the title by triple threat rules.

During the buildup for Lesnar's title defense, rumors started spreading that he was contemplating a return to UFC after his WWE contract was scheduled to end after WM31. After negotiations with both WWE Chairman Vince McMahon and UFC President Dana White, and after a year of contemplating his decision, Lesnar announced in an interview with ESPN that he was "closing the door" on a return to UFC and had decided to sign a contract extension to stay with WWE. Lesnar's first match after signing the extension was a rematch against Seth Rollins for the WWE title later in the year, where his attempt to regain the title was ended by interference from The Undertaker wanting revenge.

Lesnar had two more matches against Undertaker to conclude their feud from Wrestlemania 30. The first was a painful submission loss at Summerslam (pictured above) where Undertaker used a low blow to get Lesnar in the hold and make him pass out. The other was a bloody victory at Hell in a Cell to end the feud with Lesnar on top. After this feud ended, Lesnar made a couple special appearances at untelevised live events, having matches against Alberto Del Rio and Sheamus.

Lesnar returned to WWE programming on the January 11 episode of Monday Night RAW, where he interrupted the main event match by suplexing everyone in the ring and delivering an F5 to Roman Reigns. Lesnar competed in the 2016 Royal Rumble match on January 24, but was eliminated from the match by Bray Wyatt and the other members of the Wyatt Family. After this, Lesnar was entered into a triple-threat match where he faced Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns to determine who will become the number one contender to the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at Wrestlemania 32. Reigns won and Lesnar was unsuccessful in earning a title shot, but he and Ambrose continued their rivalry. Lesnar and Ambrose faced off at Wrestlemania 32 in a No Hold Barred Street Fight, in which which Lesnar was victorious.

Return to UFC – "The Beast of Both Worlds"

In a very unexpected turn of events, it was announced at the UFC 199 event that Brock Lesnar would make his return to the octagon on July 9, 2016 at the milestone UFC 200 event. Lesnar's opponent that night would be the 8th-ranked UFC heavyweight, Mark "Super Samoan" Hunt. Although Brock was still under contract with WWE at the same time, Vince McMahon and WWE approved of the deal and allowed Lesnar to have his UFC fight.

Just a few days before UFC 200, WWE announced that Brock Lesnar would return to action at the 2016 WWE Summerslam event in August, where he would face Randy Orton. Lesnar would then go on to successfully and dominantly defeat Mark Hunt at UFC 200 by a unanimous decision, although it was later revealed that he tested positive for a performance-enhancing substance and was then suspended from UFC.

Lesnar followed up the UFC 200 victory with another equally dominant performance at Summerslam, but this victory had a bittersweet taste. The match was stopped early due to legitimate damage caused to Randy Orton's skull by Lesnar's repeated punches and elbow attacks. Lesnar was declared the victor by TKO and then continued to attack Orton after the match, causing yet another major battle involving Lesnar to be marred in controversy. Orton required ten stitches to close the wound after their battle, and a rematch between Lesnar and Orton was scheduled for a September 24th live event in Chicago, in which Lesnar was again victorious.

Between the positive drug test after his UFC fight and the anticlimactic ending to his Summerslam match, more fans have begun to turn on him. This continued into Lesnar's next feud, in which he was called out by a returning Goldberg, for a match at Survivor Series 2016. In Goldberg's first match back in WWE in over a decade, his first match since defeating Brock Lesnar at Wresltemania 20, Goldberg once again emerged victorious over the beast… but this time, in an extremely shocking result, Goldberg defeated Lesnar in a squash match that lasted less than two minutes! WWE fans in attendance, on the internet, and across the world were left stunned by this outcome.

At the 2017 Royal Rumble event, Goldberg once again gained the upper hand over Brock Lesnar, eliminating him from the Royal Rumble match. Lesnar demanded one more match against Goldberg at Wrestlemania 33, but Goldberg shifted his focus elsewhere. At the Fast Lane 2017 event, Goldberg would defeat Kevin Owens to win the WWE Universal Championship, setting up Goldberg vs. Lesnar for the third time… but this time, for the title.

In an intense match, Brock finally defeated his nemesis at Wrestlemania 33, winning the Universal title in the process. Lesnar would continue to win matches and go on to hold the title for 504 days, the longest world championship run of WWE's modern era, before being defeated for the title by Roman Reigns at the Summerslam 2018 event. However, after Roman was forced to surrender the title (when he was diagnosed with leukemia and required time off for treatment), Lesnar defeated Braun Strowman to win the vacant title at WWE's Crown Jewel event in November 2018. Lesnar's second reign with the WWE Universal Championship ended at Wrestlemania 35, where he was defeated by Seth Rollins for the title.

Lesnar returned at the Money In The Bank PPV event in May, where he won the Money In The Bank Ladder Match as a surprise entrant, to the displeasure of many WWE fans. The next night on RAW, Lesnar came out with the Money In The Bank briefcase to celebrate, pretending that the briefcase was a boombox and dancing with it. While WWE fans were still upset with the booking decision, they were entertained by this new, oddly comedic side of Brock Lesnar. Though he doesn't have gold around his waist right now, the "Brock Party" continues…

Reputation

Brock Lesnar has always been considered a physical freak of nature due to his immense size and athleticism. He was a strong competitor in both WWE and UFC, something that no other man has managed to match, and is considered one of the most dominant pure athletes of all time. His freakish size and noted arrogant smugness, along with his oddly unfitting voice and accidentally funny moments, has also led to fans thinking of him as sort of a 'meathead'. His moments of accidental hilarity when he speaks for himself (instead of Paul Heyman speaking for him) have made him very popular on the internet even outside of his WWE/UFC fans.

Online Presence

Brock Lesnar has a dedicated twitter account, but much of his interaction with social media is done through his manager and advocate, Paul Heyman. He is a big part of Heyman's Youtube channel as well.

Related Memes

- Bork Laser

Bork Laser is a misspelled nickname given to Brock Lesnar, similar to the Dolan meme. The nickname, along with others for various wrestlers, originated from videos of WWE matches being illegally posted on Youtube. To avoid takedowns and keep the videos online longer, the names of wrestlers were changed in odd and often humorous ways. Many of these nicknames have remained popular on wrestling message boards and have been incorporated in jokes similar to the Dolan comic seen above. Some examples of these nicknames include:

Undertaker = "Nudertaker"
Kane (or fake Kane) = "Jand"
Chris Benoit = "Crispin Wah"
Hulk Hogan = "Hull Kogan"
Kurt Angle = "Kirk Angel"
Big Show = "Bog Show"

The Bork Laser meme was also referenced by TeamFourStar during their Let's Play videos of Pokemon Leaf Green.

They nicknamed the Snorlax they caught "Bork Laser" because it nearly annihilated their team like Brock Lesnar, and this Snorlax became a highlight of the later videos in the series. Bork Laser the Snorlax was on TFS's final team when they beat the game. Fanart and memes of this Snorlax made to resemble Brock Lesnar (as pictured above) followed.

- Brock Lesnar Guy

"Brock Lesnar Guy" (real name Michael Corcoran, also goes by the nickname "Mark Out Man") is a WWE superfan who became famous for his imitation of Brock Lesnar on the night Lesnar returned to WWE in 2012. Although he only became internet-famous with his reaction to Lesnar's return in 2012, he has been a lifelong wrestling fan and has attended many WWE events over the past 15+ years. He is most easily recognized in his signature black and grey shirt, especially at a show where Brock Lesnar is advertised to show up.

Brock Lesnar Guy has embraced his newfound fame, wearing his signature shirt to almost all wrestling events he attends. He also has nearly 44,000 followers on his Twitter account where he regularly posts about WWE. He also took part in a Reddit AMA for the r/SquaredCircle wrestling subreddit and even submitted a tryout video to audition for WWE's "Tough Enough" reality series.

- "MY CLIENT BROCK LESNAR CONQUERED THE UNDERTAKER'S UNDEFEATED STREAK AT WRESTLEMANIA!"

"My client Brock Lesnar conquered The Undertaker's undefeated streak at Wrestlemania!" is a catchphrase that Paul Heyman said (and he said it many, many, many times) after the events at Wrestlemania 30. Following his victory over Undertaker, Lesnar and Heyman continued to brag about the victory every chance they got, using this line and others such as "EAT! SLEEP! CONQUER! REPEAT!" to show how dominant and powerful Lesnar is. The exact line, as well as the general idea of a challenger conquering a long winning streak, has since been parodied for other streaks being broken.

Examples (seen above) include the Milwaukee Bucks ending the record 28-game winning streak of the Golden State Warriors at the start of the 2015 NBA basketball season, and Seagull Joe upsetting multiple-time Super Smash Bros 4 champion ZeRo at a major Smash tournament.

- "SUPLEX CITY, BITCH!"

"Suplex City, Bitch!" is another catchphrase often associated with Brock Lesnar, and references his repeated use of the German Suplex move to torture and punish his opponents in the ring. Though he first said the exact line during his Wrestlemania title match with Roman Reigns, his repeated use of the suplexes was first displayed in his Summerslam title victory over John Cena the year before. Since his match with Reigns, fans have started bringing Suplex City signs and counting the number of suplexes Brock does in each match. An authentic "Suplex City" t-shirt was made available to buy on WWEshop.com, and collectible versions that displayed the name of a specific city were sold at various WWE live events across the country.

The line has also been turned into "EAT! SLEEP! SUPLEX! REPEAT!" by Paul Heyman in a way similar to the previous meme, and it has been parodied and even remixed into songs (such as the one posted above) online.

- Undertaker's Screaming Face

Undertaker's Screaming Face is a photoshop meme that arose during Brock Lesnar's Summerslam 2015 match with Undertaker. Though obviously not the star of this meme, it was Lesnar's imitation (and mocking laughter afterwards) of Undertaker's signature sit-up that triggered Undertaker to react in the way he did and make the original Takerface that would become this meme.

- Brock Lesnar Reading A Magazine

Brock Lesnar Reading A Magazine is an exploitable photoshop meme which spawned from the 7/30/18 episode of Monday Night RAW, where Brock showed up to the arena as contractually obligated, but for most of the episode sat backstage and read a magazine instead of going out in front of the live audience. After the show, fans parodied the scene by editing the magazine Lesnar was reading to other magazines (both real and fictional) as well as books, manga, and even porn/hentai.

- Brock Party

Brock Party is a new gimmick that Brock Lesnar adopted after winning WWE's Money In The Bank Ladder Match in May of 2019. Lesnar entered the arena to celebrate his win by holding the briefcase like a boombox and pretending to listen to music from it, and even headbanged to Seth Rollins' entrance music.

Despite fans being upset with Lesnar's victory in the match, they were entertained by this new, comedic side of Lesnar's character. Gifs of Lesnar's dancing and videos of Lesnar rocking out to various music tracks began to spread on sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit's r/SquaredCircle community.

Search Interest

External References