Brock Lesnar

Brock Edward Lesnar (/ˈlɛznər/ LEZ-nər; born July 12, 1977) is an American professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist, amateur wrestler and professional American football player. As a professional wrestler, with the exception of a brief free agency between 2020 and 2021, he has been signed to WWE since 2012^[update]. Often regarded as one of the most prolific combat sport athletes in the world, Lesnar is the only person to have won the primary heavyweight championships of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), the Inoki Genome Federation (IGF), and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).

Lesnar competed in collegiate wrestling for the University of Minnesota, winning the NCAA Division I national championship in 2000. He soon signed with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, renamed WWE in 2002), rising to industry prominence in mid-2002 by winning the WWE Championship at age 25, setting the record for the youngest performer to win the championship. In 2004, Lesnar departed WWE to join the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL), but was cut from the team during pre-season. He returned to wrestling and signed with NJPW in 2005 where he won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. Lesnar later departed NJPW and continued to be promoted as the IWGP Heavyweight Champion in the IGF before taking a hiatus from wrestling to pursue a career in mixed martial arts (MMA). Years later in 2012, he re-signed with WWE; his 504-day first reign with the WWE Universal Championship is the seventh-longest world championship reign in the promotion's history and he holds the record for most reigns as Universal Champion at three. He also won the Royal Rumble match twice (2003 and 2022), the Money in the Bank ladder match (2019), the King of the Ring tournament (2002), and has headlined several pay-per-view events, including WWE's flagship event WrestleMania five times (19, 31, 34, 36 – Night 2, and 38 – Night 2) and nine SummerSlams (2002, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2022); in addition, he also ended The Undertaker's undefeated WrestleMania streak in 2014.

Lesnar began his MMA career for Hero's in 2007, and signed with the UFC in 2008. He quickly won the UFC Heavyweight Championship, but was sidelined with diverticulitis in 2009. On his return in 2010, Lesnar defeated Interim UFC Heavyweight Champion Shane Carwin to unify the heavyweight championships and become the undisputed UFC Heavyweight Champion. After a couple of losses and further struggles with diverticulitis, Lesnar retired from MMA in 2011. He returned at UFC 200 in 2016 to defeat Mark Hunt, but his victory was overturned to a no-contest after he tested positive for a banned substance on UFC's anti-doping policy. He then retired from MMA for the second time in 2017. A box office sensation, he competed in some of the bestselling pay-per-view events in promotion history, including headlining UFC 91, UFC 100, UFC 116 and UFC 121. He also co-headlined UFC 200, briefly being the main headliner before that spot was given to Amanda Nunes vs. Miesha Tate.

Brock Edward Lesnar was born in Webster, South Dakota, on July 12, 1977, the son of Stephanie and Richard Lesnar. Even though his surname is Slovenian, he is of Polish descent, and grew up on his parents' dairy farm in Webster. He has two older brothers named Troy and Chad, and a younger sister named Brandi. At the age of 17, he joined the Army National Guard and was assigned to an office job after his red–green colorblindness was deemed hazardous to his desire to work with explosives. He was discharged after failing a computer typing test and later worked for a construction company.

Lesnar attended Webster High School, playing football and competing in wrestling, placing third in the state championships his senior year. He then went to Bismarck State College where in 1997, his freshman year, he placed 5th in the 275 lb. division of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA). In 1998, his sophomore year, he won the 275 lb championship. After two years at Bismarck State College, Lesnar transferred to the University of Minnesota on a wrestling scholarship, where he was roommates with future WWE colleague Shelton Benjamin, who was also his assistant coach.

Lesnar won the 2000 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I heavyweight wrestling championship his senior year after being the runner-up to Stephen Neal the year prior. He finished his amateur career as a two-time NJCAA All-American, the 1998 NJCAA Heavyweight Champion, two-time NCAA All-American, two-time Big Ten Conference Champion and the 2000 NCAA Heavyweight Champion, with a record of 106–5 overall in four years of college.

In 2000, Lesnar signed a developmental contract with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and was assigned to its Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) territory. There, he met Paul Heyman, who would later become his on-screen manager. Under the direction of OVW booker Jim Cornette, Lesnar was paired with his former University of Minnesota teammate Shelton Benjamin. Competing as the Minnesota Stretching Crew, the duo held the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship three times. Lesnar also took part in numerous dark matches in 2001 and early 2002 before being called up to the main roster.

Brock Lesnar made his televised WWE debut in March 2002, immediately portrayed as a dominant force under the guidance of Paul Heyman. After winning the King of the Ring tournament that June, Lesnar earned a WWE Undisputed Championship opportunity and defeated The Rock at SummerSlam, becoming the youngest WWE Champion in history at age 25. His win also marked one of the fastest ascents to the title, occurring just 126 days after his debut.