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179-405: Brock Edward Lesnar ( / ˈ l ɛ z n ər / 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, he is signed to WWE ; however, he is currently on hiatus from active competition. Often regarded as one of the most prolific combat sport athletes in

358-435: A bona fide athletic contest or competition. Professional wrestling is not a combative sport. Wrestling constituting bona fide athletic contests and competitions, which may be professional or amateur combative sport, shall not be deemed professional wrestling under this Part. Professional wrestling as used in this Part shall not depend on whether the individual wrestlers are paid or have been paid for their performance in

537-457: A concussion . This forced Angle (who entered the match with a broken neck) and Lesnar to improvise the finish of the match. After WrestleMania, Lesnar turned his attention to John Cena , who had returned from injury in February 2003 after an F-5 into a ringpost from Lesnar, with Cena claiming that Lesnar nearly ended his career and even named his new finishing move the " F.U. " as a jab at

716-454: A heel , by confronting and delivering an F-5 to John Cena. The following week on Raw SuperShow , General Manager John Laurinaitis revealed that he signed Lesnar to bring "legitimacy" back to WWE and become the "new face of the WWE". Laurinaitis also scheduled Lesnar to face Cena at Extreme Rules in an Extreme Rules match . At Extreme Rules on April 29, Lesnar lost to Cena despite dominating

895-567: A house show in Chicago , Illinois , Lesnar defeated Orton in a no-disqualification rematch, with the match being billed as a Suplex City death match. On the October 10 episode of Raw , Heyman, on Lesnar's behalf, challenged Goldberg to a fight after the pair had been feuding for several months through social media and during promotional work for the WWE 2K17 video game, which featured Lesnar as

1074-415: A performing art evolved from the common practice of match-fixing among American wrestlers in the 19th century, who later sought to make matches shorter, more entertaining, and less physically taxing. As the public gradually realized and accepted that matches were predetermined, wrestlers responded by increasingly adding melodrama, gimmickry, and outlandish stunt work to their performances to further enhance

1253-415: A professional wrestling exhibition. All engagements of professional wrestling shall be referred to as exhibitions, and not as matches. In the industry's slang, a fixed match is referred to as a worked match, derived from the slang word for manipulation, as in "working the crowd". A shoot match is a genuine contest where both wrestlers fight to win and are therefore "straight shooters", which comes from

1432-653: A steel cage when Reigns speared Lesnar through the cage wall. As Lesnar escaped the cage first, he was declared the winner. After the Greatest Royal Rumble, Lesnar was absent from WWE television for nearly three months. At Extreme Rules on July 15, Raw General Manager Kurt Angle threatened to strip Lesnar of the Universal Championship if he did not show up to Raw the following night. The following night on Raw , Heyman agreed that Lesnar would defend his title at SummerSlam ; Reigns became

1611-630: A steel cage match at Extreme Rules , which Triple H accepted the following week. At Extreme Rules on May 19, after interference from Heyman, Lesnar defeated Triple H to end their feud. Lesnar returned on the June 17 episode of Raw , attacking Heyman's fellow client CM Punk with an F-5 . Despite the accusations from Punk, Heyman claimed that he was not behind Lesnar's attack on him. Heyman turned on Punk in July, and claimed that Punk could not beat Lesnar, which led to Lesnar making his return and attacking Punk on

1790-457: A steel cage match with Angle as the special guest referee as per McMahon's orders on the previous week's program. During the match, Lesnar had passed out due to a staged backstage incident and McMahon was set to pin him, but Angle refused to allow McMahon to win that way. As the two men began to argue, Lesnar attacked Angle with an F-5 and kept attacking Angle while McMahon watched and celebrated with him afterward, turning heel once again in

1969-444: A traditional Survivor Series elimination tag team match . Lesnar chose Big Show as his first teammate, with Heyman adding a returning Nathan Jones and a debuting Matt Morgan to bring the team number to four. Angle chose Chris Benoit and The APA ( Bradshaw and Faarooq ) to join his team. Faarooq was injured during a match with Lesnar and Angle's team was forced to find a replacement for him. Lesnar's team picked A-Train to fill

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2148-725: A Cell on October 25, Lesnar defeated The Undertaker in a Hell in a Cell match after a low blow and F-5 onto the exposed ring floor, ending their feud. The match was later voted "Match of the Year" during the 2015 Slammy Awards . On the January 11, 2016, episode of Raw , Lesnar returned, attacking The New Day, The League of Nations (Sheamus, King Barrett , Rusev and Alberto Del Rio ) and Kevin Owens , before performing an F-5 on Roman Reigns. The following week on Raw , he brawled with Reigns until they were attacked by The Wyatt Family . At

2327-413: A background in authentic wrestling no longer mattered. After this time, matches became more outlandish and gimmicky and any semblance professional wrestling had to catch wrestling faded. The personas of the wrestlers likewise grew more outlandish. Gorgeous George , who performed throughout the 1940s and 1950s, was the first wrestler whose entrance into the arena was accompanied by a theme song played over

2506-593: A career in the National Football League (NFL) despite not playing football since high school . WWE issued this statement on their official website, WWE.com, following his departure: Brock Lesnar has made a personal decision to put his WWE career on hold to prepare to tryout for the National Football League this season. Brock has wrestled his entire professional career in the WWE and we are proud of his accomplishments and wish him

2685-532: A carny term for a shooting gallery gun whose sights were not deliberately misaligned. Wrestling in the United States blossomed in popularity after the Civil War , with catch wrestling eventually becoming the most popular style. At first, professional wrestlers were genuine competitive fighters, but they struggled to draw audiences because Americans did not find real wrestling to be very entertaining, so

2864-519: A central authority. Nor could any of them stomach the idea of leaving the NWA themselves to compete directly with McMahon, for that would mean their territories would become fair game for the other NWA members. McMahon also had a creative flair for TV that his rivals lacked. For instance, the AWA's TV productions during the 1980s were amateurish, low-budget, and out-of-touch with contemporary culture, which lead to

3043-585: A champion that Curley put forth: Dick Shikat . The National Wrestling Association shut down in 1980. In 1948, a number of promoters from across the country came together to form the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). The NWA recognized one "world champion", voted on by its members, but allowed member promoters to crown their own local champions in their territories. If a member poached wrestlers from another member, or held matches in another member's territory, they risked being ejected from

3222-685: A champion vs. champion match, at the debut event of the Inoki Genome Federation (IGF). IGF promoter Antonio Inoki had stated Lesnar was the "proper" IWGP Heavyweight Champion as he was not defeated for the title. Angle made him tap out to the ankle lock to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship as recognized by IGF and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). This was Lesnar's last match as a professional wrestler until 2012, when he re-signed with WWE. Lesnar returned to WWE on April 2, 2012, on Raw SuperShow , as

3401-433: A confrontation for the first time in twelve years, resulting in a brawl with security after Heyman insulted Goldberg's family. On November 20 at Survivor Series, Lesnar quickly lost to Goldberg in 1 minute and 26 seconds, marking the first time in three years that Lesnar was pinned. The next night on Raw , Goldberg declared himself the first entrant in the 2017 Royal Rumble match. The following week on Raw , Heyman addressed

3580-494: A contract and Lesnar named the stipulation. After Triple H signed the contract and assaulted Heyman, the stipulation was revealed as No Holds Barred with Triple H's career on the line. At WrestleMania on April 7, Lesnar lost to Triple H after a Pedigree onto the steel steps. On the April 15 episode of Raw , Lesnar attacked 3MB ( Heath Slater , Drew McIntyre , and Jinder Mahal ) before Heyman challenged Triple H to face Lesnar in

3759-462: A cowboy/farmer look with a beard and ponytail, returned as a face at SummerSlam in August 2021 and confronted Universal Champion Roman Reigns after Reigns' successful title defense against John Cena . During the 2021 WWE Draft , it was revealed that Lesnar had become a free agent, allowing him to appear on any brand. He then primarily appeared on SmackDown , and he and Reigns faced each other for

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3938-413: A degree. Vince Russo, the boss of WCW in 2000, completely disregarded kayfabe by routinely discussing business matters and office politics in public, which alienated fans. I watch championship wrestling from Florida with wrestling commentator Gordon Solie . Is this all "fake"? If so, they deserve an Oscar . List of UFC events List of UFC events is a list of events held and scheduled by

4117-404: A distinct vernacular . It has achieved mainstream success and influence within popular culture , with many terms, tropes , and concepts being referenced in everyday language as well as in film , music , television , and video games . Likewise, numerous professional wrestlers have become national or international icons with recognition by the broader public. In the United States, wrestling

4296-586: A feat that was described by Sports Illustrated as being "the most shocking result since the Montreal Screwjob ". At SummerSlam on August 17, Lesnar defeated John Cena to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship; during the match he delivered sixteen suplexes (most of which were German suplexes ) and two F-5 s to Cena, who barely managed any offense. In a rematch at Night of Champions on September 21, Lesnar

4475-410: A fee, a visitor could challenge the wrestler to a quick match. If the challenger defeated the champion in a short time frame, usually 15 minutes, he won a prize. To encourage challenges, the carnival operators staged rigged matches in which an accomplice posing as a visitor challenged the champion and won, giving the audience the impression that the champion was easy to beat. This practice taught wrestlers

4654-438: A fiasco as the fans at Madison Square Garden jeered and heckled both of them vociferously. Goldberg defeated Lesnar after a Jackhammer and both men subsequently received Stone Cold Stunners from Austin. After WrestleMania XX, Lesnar left WWE, citing burnout, injuries, poor creative decisions, an addiction to alcohol and painkillers and the rigorous travel schedule as reasons for his departure. On October 8, 2005, Lesnar won

4833-407: A forehead wound which required ten staples. He then hit Shane McMahon with an F-5 . The end made many people believe Lesnar had gone off script due to the severity of Orton's head wound, out of which Vince McMahon confirmed that the ending was planned. Lesnar was later storyline fined $ 500 for delivering an F-5 to SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon and his assault on Orton. On September 24 at

5012-405: A legitimate sport. Firstly, wrestling was more entertaining when it was faked, whereas fakery did not make boxing any more entertaining. Secondly, in a rigged boxing match, the designated loser must take a real beating for his "defeat" to be convincing, but wrestling holds can be faked convincingly without inflicting injury. This meant that boxers were less willing to "take dives"; they wanted to have

5191-412: A low blow and attacked both the referee and Lashley ending their feud. On the February 20 episode of Raw , Omos challenged Lesnar to a match at WrestleMania 39 . The following week on Raw , Lesnar appeared on the "VIP Lounge" with Omos' manager MVP ; Lesnar accepted the challenge, then proceeded to attack MVP with an F-5 . At the event, Lesnar defeated Omos. On the April 3, 2023, episode of Raw ,

5370-744: A match against Gus Sonnenberg in January 1929. Bowser then broke away from the trust to form his own cartel, the American Wrestling Association (AWA), in September 1930, and he declared Sonnenberg to be the AWA champion. This AWA should not be confused with Wally Kadbo's AWA founded in 1960. Curley reacted to this move by convincing the National Boxing Association to form the National Wrestling Association , which in turn crowned

5549-450: A match fifteen years in the making. Along with Heyman, Lesnar made his return to Raw on August 1 (his first appearance on WWE programming since WrestleMania 32), but during his segment Orton appeared and attacked Lesnar with an RKO . Lesnar then attacked Orton during his match the following night on SmackDown Live , performing an F-5 on Orton. At SummerSlam on August 21, Lesnar defeated Orton by technical knockout , leaving Orton with

Brock Lesnar - Misplaced Pages Continue

5728-465: A match was set up between the two at WrestleMania XX on March 14. During the feud with Goldberg, Lesnar was also at odds with Stone Cold Steve Austin , who was shown suggesting to Goldberg that he attack Lesnar at No Way Out. After Lesnar attacked Austin on the February 23 episode of Raw and stole his four-wheeler , Austin was inserted as the special guest referee for the WrestleMania match. On

5907-424: A more literal meaning in those places. A notable example is India's Pro Wrestling League . In numerous American states, professional wrestling is legally defined as a non-sport. For instance, New York defines professional wrestling as: Professional wrestling means an activity in which participants struggle hand-in-hand primarily for the purpose of providing entertainment to spectators and which does not comprise

6086-440: A new city, attendance was high because there was a waiting fanbase cultivated in advance by the cable TV shows. The NWA's traditional anti-competitive tricks were no match for this. The NWA attempted to centralize and create their own national cable television shows to counter McMahon's rogue promotion, but it failed in part because the members of the NWA, ever protective of their territories, could not stomach submitting themselves to

6265-479: A one-off fight for UFC 200 . Lesnar failed two of his drug tests for this fight but was not suspended by WWE because he is not a full-time performer. On July 19 at the 2016 WWE draft , Lesnar was the #5 draft pick for the Raw brand. Reports claimed that he would have been #1 had he not failed his UFC drug tests. Orton was drafted to SmackDown, thus making their match an interbrand match, while WWE billed their face-off as

6444-527: A propane tank. Despite Heyman begging McMahon not to let The Undertaker use his cast as a weapon, the request was denied and the match went on as planned. At No Mercy, Lesnar defeated The Undertaker in the Hell in a Cell match to retain the title, thus ending their feud. He retained the WWE Championship in a handicap match with Heyman against Edge at Rebellion on October 26. Lesnar's next opponent

6623-465: A same-night airing in U.S. prime time on Spike. Historically, the UFC has also aired preliminary fights prior to the main fight cards, either on television via Spike, FX, and Fuel TV, or online via Facebook and YouTube . Beginning in August 2013, starting with UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs. Sonnen , the UFC began airing non-PPV events on either Fox Sports 1 or Fox Sports 2 . In January 2014, as part of

6802-426: A second time for the title at a house show. On the July 31 episode of Raw , Lesnar was scheduled to defend his title in a fatal four-way match at SummerSlam against Samoa Joe, Roman Reigns and Braun Strowman . Lesnar and Heyman stated that both would leave WWE should Lesnar lose the championship in the match. At SummerSlam on August 20, Lesnar retained the title by pinning Reigns. The next night on Raw , Lesnar

6981-448: A spear. The following night on Raw , Lesnar challenged Goldberg to a final match at WrestleMania 33 . On the February 6 episode of Raw , Goldberg accepted Lesnar's challenge and was named number one contender for Kevin Owens ' Universal Championship , which he won on March 5 at Fastlane thus turning his match with Lesnar into a title match. At WrestleMania on April 2, Lesnar beat Goldberg to win his fifth world title in WWE and became

7160-630: A staredown. Lesnar followed this rivalry with a feud involving Hardcore Holly. In the storyline, Holly wanted revenge on Lesnar for legitimately injuring his neck during a previous match between the two in 2002 which left Holly in need of neck surgery and out of action for a year. At the Royal Rumble on January 25, 2004, Lesnar defeated Holly to retain the WWE Championship. Later in the Royal Rumble match, Lesnar attacked Goldberg with an F-5 , enabling Kurt Angle to eliminate him by throwing him off

7339-534: A steel chair before the match began. On the February 24 episode of Raw , Heyman stated that Lesnar had requested a match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania XXX , but received an open contract to face anyone else of his choosing instead. The Undertaker then returned and attacked Lesnar with a chokeslam through a table, setting up their match at WrestleMania XXX. At WrestleMania on April 6, Lesnar defeated The Undertaker after executing three F-5 s, ending his undefeated WrestleMania streak at 21,

Brock Lesnar - Misplaced Pages Continue

7518-468: A title match at WrestleMania 31 on March 29. During his main event match against Reigns, Lesnar delivered multiple suplexes and was heard exclaiming, "Suplex City, bitch!" and thereafter "Suplex City" became one of his signature catchphrases and merchandise motifs. After Lesnar and Reigns traded a few false finishes , Rollins cashed in his Money in the Bank contract while the match was in progress, making it

7697-490: A title match for WrestleMania 35 . At WrestleMania on April 7, Lesnar attacked Rollins before the match. Rollins then attacked Lesnar with a low blow while the referee was down and pinned Lesnar, ending his second reign as Universal Champion at 156 days. At Money in the Bank on May 19, 2019, Lesnar surprisingly replaced Sami Zayn in the Money in the Bank ladder match . Before the match, Zayn had been attacked backstage. Later,

7876-424: A triple threat; Rollins then pinned Reigns to win the title after delivering a Curb Stomp . The following night on Raw , Lesnar tried to invoke his rematch clause and subsequently attacked commentators Booker T , John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL) and Michael Cole , as well as a cameraman after Rollins refused the rematch, which led to Stephanie McMahon suspending Lesnar indefinitely in storyline. Lesnar returned on

8055-503: A typical American household only received four national channels by antenna, and ten to twelve local channels via UHF broadcasting . But cable television could carry a much larger selection of channels and therefore had room for niche interests. The WWF started with a show called All-American Wrestling airing on the USA Network in September 1983. McMahon's TV shows made his wrestlers national celebrities, so when he held matches in

8234-586: A victory for all the pain to which they subjected themselves. In the 1910s, promotional cartels for professional wrestling emerged in the East Coast (outside its traditional heartland in the Midwest ). These promoters sought to make long-term plans with their wrestlers, and to ensure their more charismatic and crowd-pleasing wrestlers received championships, further entrenching the desire for worked matches. The primary rationale for shoot matches at this point

8413-410: Is a true sport. Wrestlers would at all times flatly deny allegations that they fixed their matches, and they often remained in-character in public even when not performing. When in public, wrestlers would sometimes say the word kayfabe to each other as a coded signal that there were fans present and they needed to be in character. Professional wrestlers in the past strongly believed that if they admitted

8592-434: Is an open secret , with both wrestlers and spectators nonetheless maintaining the pretense that performances are bona fide competitions, which is likened to the suspension of disbelief employed when engaging with fiction . Professional wrestlers perform as characters and usually maintain a " gimmick " consisting of a specific persona , stage name , entrance theme , and other distinguishing traits. Matches are

8771-427: Is generally practiced in an amateur context. No professional league for competitive wrestling exists due to a lack of popularity. For example, Real Pro Wrestling , an American professional freestyle wrestling league, dissolved in 2007 after just two seasons. In other countries, such as Iran and India , wrestling enjoys widespread popularity as a genuine sport, and the phrase "professional wrestling" therefore has

8950-555: Is often called by his nickname "The Beast Incarnate" or simply "The Beast". During his initial run when he was consistently main-eventing, WWE was in what is labeled by the company and fans as the "Ruthless Aggression Era". His go-to finishing maneuver for his entire career has been a fireman's carry facebuster known as the F-5 (or The Verdict when he wrestled outside of WWE). After his return in 2012, Lesnar focused on an MMA-oriented gimmick, sporting MMA gloves during his matches and adding

9129-460: The WWE SuperCard video game. He would also be removed from the cover of WWE 2K24 ' s "40 Years of WrestleMania" edition, as well as the playable roster, only being accessible through the game's Showcase Mode. He was also removed from the introduction video of WWE's weekly programming, with LA Knight replacing him. Since Lesnar's debut, he was portrayed as a powerhouse athlete. He

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9308-562: The 2002 King of the Ring tournament , defeating Bubba Ray Dudley in the first round, Booker T in the quarter-finals, Test in the semi-finals and Rob Van Dam in the finals at King of the Ring on June 23, earning him a shot at the WWE Undisputed Championship at SummerSlam . At Vengeance on July 21, Lesnar lost to Van Dam in a WWE Intercontinental Championship match by disqualification. On July 22, Lesnar joined

9487-561: The Elimination Chamber match at Elimination Chamber on February 25 to become the number one contender to Lesnar's title at WrestleMania 34 . At WrestleMania on April 8, Lesnar pinned Reigns to retain the title in the main event. Rumors arose that Lesnar would leave WWE and rejoin the UFC. On April 9, Lesnar re-signed with WWE. At the Greatest Royal Rumble pay-per-view on April 27, he again defeated Reigns in

9666-628: The IWGP Heavyweight Championship on his debut match in a three-way match with Kazuyuki Fujita and Masahiro Chono at a New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) show in the Tokyo Dome . Lesnar is one of the few American wrestlers to have held this title. He won the match by pinning Chono after an F-5 , which he had renamed the Verdict since WWE owns the trademark on the F-5 name. After the match, Lesnar stated that this name

9845-625: 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

10024-519: The Kimura lock as a submission hold. Lesnar is also known for performing several suplexes (especially German suplexes ) on his rivals, with these often being described as the opponent being taken to "Suplex City", named after an ad-lib Lesnar delivered to Roman Reigns during their WrestleMania 31 match. Lesnar has been managed by Paul Heyman for the majority of his WWE career with Heyman being Lesnar's mouthpiece for storylines and feuds. Throughout

10203-653: 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

10382-624: The New Jersey State Athletic Control Board that professional wrestling is not a real sport because its matches have predetermined outcomes. Shortly thereafter, New Jersey deregulated professional wrestling. The WWF then rebranded itself as a " sports entertainment " company. In the early years of the 20th century, the style of wrestling used in professional wrestling matches was catch wrestling . Promoters wanted their matches to look realistic and so preferred to recruit wrestlers with real grappling skills. In

10561-600: The OVW Southern Tag Team Championship on three separate occasions. Lesnar wrestled several dark matches in 2001 and 2002 before being called up to the WWF's main roster. Lesnar debuted on WWF television on the March 18, 2002, episode of Raw as a heel , attacking Al Snow , Maven and Spike Dudley during their WWF Hardcore Championship match, while also being accompanied by Paul Heyman, who

10740-629: The Royal Rumble on January 24, Lesnar was the 23rd entrant, eliminating Jack Swagger and The Wyatt Family minus Bray Wyatt before being eliminated by the Wyatt Family members he had eliminated first. He later defeated Wyatt and Luke Harper in a two-on-one handicap at the Road Block pay-per-view event. On the January 25 episode of Raw , Stephanie McMahon scheduled a triple threat match between Lesnar, Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose for Fastlane to determine who would challenge Triple H's for

10919-423: The Royal Rumble , so instead he would enter the Royal Rumble match as entrant number one. At the Royal Rumble on January 26, Lesnar eliminated the first thirteen competitors he faced, tying the record for most eliminations in a Royal Rumble match, before being eliminated by Drew McIntyre , who won the match. After retaining the championship against Ricochet at Super ShowDown on February 27, Lesnar ultimately lost

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11098-550: The SmackDown! brand . After a quick feud with Hollywood Hulk Hogan in August 2002, Lesnar defeated The Rock at SummerSlam on August 25 to become the new WWE Undisputed Champion and youngest WWE Champion at age 25. He also became the second fastest professional wrestler to win the WWE Championship since his debut (126 days) behind only Ric Flair (113 days). At the time, the WWE Undisputed Championship

11277-493: The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States. UFC's first event, UFC 1 , took place on November 12, 1993. Each UFC event contains several fights. Traditionally, every event starts off with a preliminary card followed by a main card, with the last fight being known as the main event. UFC events are separated into nine different formats: Most of

11456-557: The independent circuit , to internationally broadcast events at major arenas. The largest and most influential promotions are in the United States , Mexico , Japan , and northwest Europe (the United Kingdom , Germany/Austria and France ), which have each developed distinct styles, traditions, and subgenres within professional wrestling. Professional wrestling has developed its own culture and community , including

11635-431: The spectacle . By at least the early 20th century, professional wrestling had diverged from the competitive sport to become an artform and genre of sports entertainment . Professional wrestling is performed around the world through various " promotions ", which are roughly analogous to production companies or sports leagues . Promotions vary considerably in size, scope, and creative approach, ranging from local shows on

11814-571: The "numbered" events have taken place on pay-per-view, though there have been a few exceptions for reasons such as tape-delay . Events such as UFC 72 , which took place in Belfast , Northern Ireland , were sold on pay-per-view, but due to tape-delay, purchase rates were not as high as events that aired at a traditional starting time. As such, events taking part in significantly different time zones, including UFC 70 , UFC 75 , UFC 89 , UFC 95 , UFC 105 , UFC 120 , UFC 122 , and UFC 138 , were given

11993-584: The 1920s, a group of wrestlers and promoters known as the Gold Dust Trio introduced moves which have since become staples of the mock combat of professional wrestling, such as body slams, suplexes , punches, finishing moves, and out-of-ring count-outs. By the early 1930s, most wrestlers had adopted personas to generate public interest. These personas could broadly be characterized as either faces (likeable) or heels (villainous). Native Americans, cowboys, and English aristocrats were staple characters in

12172-400: The 1930s and 1940s. Before the age of television, some wrestlers played different personas depending on the region they were performing in. This eventually came to an end in the age of national television wrestling shows, which forced wrestlers to stick to one persona. Wrestlers also often used some sort of gimmick, such as a finishing move, eccentric mannerisms, or out-of-control behavior (in

12351-460: The 1990s, WCW became a credible rival to the WWF, but by end it suffered from a series of creative missteps that led to its failure and purchase by the WWF. One of its mistakes was that it diminished the glamor of its World Heavyweight Championship . Between January 2000 and March 2001, the title changed hands eighteen times, which sapped fan enthusiasm, particularly for the climactic pay-per-view matches. In professional wrestling, two factors decide

12530-653: The Atlantic Athletic Corporation (AAC). The AAC shut down in 1960. In 1958, Omaha promoter and NWA member Joe Dusek recognized Verne Gagne as the world champion without the approval of the NWA. Gagne asked for a match against the recognized NWA champion Pat O'Connor. The NWA refused to honor the request, so Gagne and Minneapolis promoter Wally Karbo established the American Wrestling Association in 1960. This AWA should not be confused with Paul Bowser's AWA, which ceased operations just two months prior. Gagne's AWA operated out of Minnesota . Unlike

12709-447: The IWGP Heavyweight Championship as he did not return to defend it due to visa issues. A tournament was held on July 16 to determine the new champion, which was won by Hiroshi Tanahashi . Lesnar continued to possess the physical IWGP Heavyweight Championship belt until late June 2007. Approximately one year later on June 29, 2007, Lesnar defended his IWGP Heavyweight Championship against TNA World Heavyweight Champion Kurt Angle in

12888-515: The IWGP Heavyweight Championship, which was also not enforced as he went on to retain his championship against former Sumo Wrestling Grand Champion Akebono on March 19, at the Sumo Hall. Lesnar had another successful title defense against Giant Bernard on May 3. This was the first American vs. American title match in NJPW since Vader vs. Stan Hansen in 1990. On July 15, NJPW stripped Lesnar of

13067-530: The July 15 episode of Raw . The following week on Raw , Punk challenged Lesnar to a match at SummerSlam on August 18, where Lesnar defeated Punk in a no disqualification match. On the December 30 episode of Raw , Lesnar returned with Heyman to challenge the winner of the upcoming WWE World Heavyweight Championship match between Randy Orton and John Cena at the Royal Rumble . Lesnar then dared any wrestler who disapproved of that notion to challenge him, which

13246-549: The June 15 episode of Raw , being chosen by The Authority as the number one contender to Rollins' WWE World Heavyweight Championship at Battleground . On July 4, Lesnar made his first non-televised wrestling appearance for WWE since his 2012 return, defeating Kofi Kingston at The Beast in the East live event in Tokyo in a quick winning effort; he also delivered F-5 s to Kingston's New Day stablemates Big E and Xavier Woods after

13425-400: The March 4 episode of SmackDown! , Lesnar defeated Hardcore Holly in his last match on a weekly WWE televised show until 2019. Behind the scenes, it was widely known that the match was Goldberg's last in WWE. Only a week before WrestleMania, rumors surfaced that Lesnar too was leaving WWE to pursue a career in the National Football League (NFL). As a result, Lesnar's match with Goldberg became

13604-408: The NWA, at which point his territory became fair game for everyone. The NWA would blacklist wrestlers who worked for independent promoters or who publicly criticized an NWA promoter or who did not throw a match on command. If an independent promoter tried to establish himself in a certain area, the NWA would send their star performers to perform for the local NWA promoter to draw the customers away from

13783-488: The NWA, which only allowed faces to be champions, Gagne occasionally allowed heels to win the AWA championship so that they could serve as foils for him. In August 1983, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), a promotion in the north-east , withdrew from the NWA. Vince K. McMahon then took over as its boss. No longer bound by the territorial pact of the NWA, McMahon began expanding his promotion into

13962-410: The Royal Rumble by Janel Grant, a former employee at WWE global headquarters between 2019 and 2022. Grant alleged that WWE co-founder Vince McMahon had coerced her into a sexual relationship and, along with WWE executive John Laurinaitis and an unnamed WWE wrestler "who was also a former UFC fighter", sexually trafficked her and repeatedly sexually assaulted her in 2020 and 2021. The unnamed talent

14141-652: The Survivor Series match, stating that they underestimated Goldberg and that the match was a humiliation and embarrassment for him and Lesnar, who would also be in the Royal Rumble as he has something to prove. Lesnar returned on the January 16 episode of Raw to confront other Royal Rumble participants, attacking Sami Zayn , Seth Rollins, and Roman Reigns. At the Royal Rumble on January 29, Lesnar entered at number 26 and went on to eliminate Enzo Amore , Dean Ambrose and Dolph Ziggler before confronting Goldberg, who entered at number 28 and quickly eliminated Lesnar after

14320-555: 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

14499-469: The Universal Championship from Rollins at Extreme Rules on July 14 right after Rollins and Raw Women's Champion Becky Lynch had retained their respective titles against Baron Corbin and Lacey Evans in an Extreme Rules mixed tag team match . At SummerSlam on August 11, Lesnar lost the title back to Rollins, ending his third title reign at 28 days. Lesnar and Heyman returned on the September 17 episode of SmackDown to challenge Kofi Kingston for

14678-467: The Universal Championship in a triple threat match against Lesnar and Strowman at Crown Jewel on November 2. After Reigns relinquished the title due to a legitimate leukemia relapse, the match was changed to a singles match between Lesnar and Strowman for the vacant title. At Crown Jewel, Lesnar defeated Strowman in three minutes to become the first two-time Universal Champion, thanks to a pre-match attack from Baron Corbin . After his title win, Lesnar

14857-644: The WWE Championship against Velasquez at Crown Jewel on October 31. During the 2019 draft , Lesnar was drafted to SmackDown . At the Crown Jewel event, Lesnar defeated Velasquez in under five minutes via submission with the Kimura Lock. After the match, Rey Mysterio attacked Lesnar with a chair. On the November 1 episode of SmackDown , Lesnar and Heyman quit the brand in order to go after Mysterio, who had been drafted to Raw, thus transferring to Raw with

15036-447: The WWE Championship to McIntyre in the main event of WrestleMania 36 Part 2 (which was taped on March 25–26 and aired on April 5). This was his final appearance until 2021 – it was later reported by several sources that Lesnar was not under contract with WWE after the match. Lesnar confirmed in March 2022 that he had initially retired from professional wrestling after WrestleMania 36, until deciding to return in 2021. Lesnar, now sporting

15215-474: The WWE Championship. Kingston accepted and Lesnar proceeded to F-5 him. On SmackDown ' s 20th Anniversary on October 4, Lesnar quickly defeated Kingston in about eight seconds to win his fifth WWE Championship; this was Lesnar's first match on SmackDown in 15 years. After his victory, Lesnar was attacked by former UFC opponent Cain Velasquez , making his WWE debut. Lesnar was then scheduled to defend

15394-404: The WWE Championship. On the following episode of SmackDown! , Angle introduced Heyman as his manager and, despite promising Lesnar a title shot earlier in the evening, declared that Lesnar still would not get it. Lesnar's rivalry with Heyman and Big Show resumed, which culminated in a match at the Royal Rumble on January 19, 2003, with the winner being placed into the Royal Rumble match later in

15573-409: The WWE Championship. This led to Mysterio challenging Lesnar for the WWE Championship at Survivor Series on November 24, which was made official as a No Holds Barred match , where Lesnar retained, despite Mysterio's son, Dominik's attempt to aid Mysterio during the match. Lesnar returned on the January 6, 2020, episode of Raw to declare that no one deserved an opportunity at the WWE Championship at

15752-415: The WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 32 . In the following weeks, Lesnar was continuously provoked by Ambrose, with Reigns saving him from the subsequent attacks by Lesnar. At Fastlane on February 21, Lesnar dominated most of the match before he was put through two broadcast tables by Ambrose and Reigns; he lost the match after Reigns pinned Ambrose. Because of this, Lesnar attacked Ambrose in

15931-563: 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

16110-550: The WrestleMania card, as his match had opened Night 2 instead of being in a main event slot. Rhodes addressed the attack the following week and challenged Lesnar to a match at Backlash . On the April 17 episode, Rhodes appeared ready to fight despite not being medically cleared to compete. To keep Rhodes from fighting Lesnar that night, Adam Pearce made the match for Backlash official. Lesnar lost to Rhodes at Backlash , defeated Rhodes at Night of Champions by submission, and lost to Rhodes again at SummerSlam to end their feud. After

16289-401: The arena's loudspeakers, his being Pomp and Circumstance . He also wore a costume: a robe and hairnet, which he removed after getting in the ring. He also had a pre-match ritual where his "butler" would spray the ring with perfume. In the 1980s, Vince McMahon made entrance songs, costumes, and rituals standard for his star wrestlers. For instance, McMahon's top star Hulk Hogan would delight

16468-418: The art of staging rigged matches and fostered a mentality that spectators were marks to be duped. The term kayfabe comes from carny slang. By the turn of the 20th century, most professional wrestling matches were "worked" and some journalists exposed the practice: American wrestlers are notorious for the amount of faking they do. It is because of this fact that suspicion attaches to so many bouts that

16647-561: The audience by tearing his shirt off before each match. The first major promoter cartel emerged on the East Coast, although up to that point, wrestling's heartland had been in the Midwest. Notable members of this cartel included Jack Curley , Lou Daro, Paul Bowser and Tom and Tony Packs. The promoters colluded to solve a number of problems that hurt their profits. Firstly, they could force their wrestlers to perform for less money. As

16826-512: The best in his new endeavor. Professional wrestling 1970s and 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s and 2020s Professional wrestling (often referred to as pro wrestling , or simply, wrestling ) is a form of athletic theater that combines mock combat with drama , with the premise that the performers are competitive wrestlers. Professional wrestling is distinguished by its scripted outcomes and emphasis on entertainment and showmanship . The staged nature of matches

17005-424: The cartel grew, there were fewer independent promoters where independent wrestlers could find work, and many were forced to sign a contract with the cartel to receive steady work. The contracts forbade them from performing at independent venues. A wrestler who refused to play by the cartel's rules was barred from performing at its venues. A second goal of the wrestling cartels was to establish an authority to decide who

17184-418: The case of heels). The matches could also be gimmicky sometimes, with wrestlers fighting in mud and piles of tomatoes and so forth. The most successful and enduring gimmick to emerge from the 1930s were tag-team matches. Promoters noticed that matches slowed down as the wrestlers in the ring tired, so they gave them partners to relieve them. It also gave heels another way to misbehave by double-teaming. Towards

17363-423: The character in shows must be considered fictional, wholly separate from the life of the performer. This is similar to other entertainers who perform with a persona that shares their own name. Some wrestlers also incorporate elements of their real-life personalities into their characters, even if they and their in-ring persona have different names. Kayfabe is the practice of pretending that professional wrestling

17542-461: The commission. The Commission did on very rare occasions hand out such authorizations, such as for a championship match between Jim Londos and Jim Browning in June 1934. This decree did not apply to amateur wrestling, which the commission had no authority over. Wrestling fans widely suspected that professional wrestling was fake, but they did not care as long as it entertained. In 1933, a wrestling promoter named Jack Pfefer started talking about

17721-437: The cover star and Goldberg as the pre-order bonus. Heyman stated that Goldberg was the one blemish on Lesnar's WWE career, as Goldberg had defeated Lesnar at WrestleMania XX in 2004. On the October 17 episode of Raw , Goldberg returned to WWE after a twelve-year absence and accepted Lesnar's request for a fight with their match later scheduled for Survivor Series . On the final Raw before Survivor Series, Lesnar and Goldberg had

17900-540: The current fashion of wrestling is the universal discussion as to the honesty of the matches. And certainly the most interesting phrase of this discussion is the unanimous agreement: "Who cares if they're fixed or not—the show is good." Newspapers tended to shun professional wrestling, as journalists saw its theatrical pretense to being a legitimate sport as untruthful. Eventually promoters resorted to publishing their own magazines in order to get press coverage and communicate with fans. The first professional wrestling magazine

18079-507: The day after Night 2 of WrestleMania 39, Triple H introduced Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns, accompanied by Paul Heyman and Solo Sikoa . Cody Rhodes interrupted and challenged Reigns to a rematch, only for Reigns to decline. Rhodes then challenged Reigns and Sikoa to a tag team match later that night, and Reigns accepted under the condition that Rhodes' partner was someone who competed at WrestleMania 39 but also that person could not challenge Reigns for his title as long as Reigns

18258-436: The dissension between Lesnar and Heyman was revealed to be just a ruse when Lesnar returning on the August 13 episode of Raw to attack Reigns. At SummerSlam on August 19, Strowman was at ringside ready to cash in his Money in the Bank contract on the winner. Lesnar incapacitated Strowman, allowing Reigns to capitalize on the distracted Lesnar and win the Universal Championship, ending Lesnar's title reign at 504 days. As of 2018,

18437-405: The end of the 1930s, faced with declining revenues, promoters chose to focus on grooming charismatic wrestlers with no regard for their skill because it was charisma that drew the crowds, and wrestlers who were both skilled at grappling and charismatic were hard to come by. Since most of the public by this time knew and accepted that professional wrestling was fake, realism was no longer paramount and

18616-437: The evening. At the Royal Rumble, he defeated Big Show and entered the Royal Rumble match as the #29 entry. He eliminated Matt Hardy and Team Angle ( Charlie Haas and Lesnar's former OVW teammate Shelton Benjamin ), who at the time, were mentored by Angle as a three-man stable. He eliminated The Undertaker last and won the Royal Rumble match, which guaranteed him a WWE Championship match at WrestleMania XIX on March 30 since he

18795-603: The facade of kayfabe as best as they could. In 1989, Vince McMahon testified before the New Jersey government that professional wrestling was not a true sport and therefore should be exempted from sports-related taxes. Many wrestlers and fans resented McMahon for this, but Lou Thesz accepted it as the smart move as it gave the industry more freedom to do as it pleased, and because by that point professional wrestling no longer attempted to appear real. The demise of WCW in 2001 provided some evidence that kayfabe still mattered to

18974-551: The fifth and final spot for them after he attacked John Cena, who refused to accept an invitation to join Lesnar's team. Cena instead joined Angle's team and Angle added Hardcore Holly as the fifth member (Lesnar had legitimately injured Holly the year before and he had not wrestled since). On November 16 at Survivor Series, Lesnar was eliminated after Benoit forced him to tap out to the Crippler Crossface . His team lost

19153-414: The final match, Lesnar hugged Rhodes and shook his hand. According to several reports, Lesnar was scheduled to make his return to WWE at the 2024 Royal Rumble event as a participant in the Royal Rumble match . During the match, he would have been eliminated by Dominik Mysterio as part of the build to a match against Mysterio at Elimination Chamber: Perth . However, a lawsuit was filed a few days before

19332-448: The first man to have won both the WWE Championship and the Universal Championship. Lesnar also became the second person to kick-out from Goldberg's Jackhammer and gave him the first clean singles loss of his professional wrestling career. After several weeks of feuding, Lesnar's first title defense came at the inaugural Great Balls of Fire event on July 9, 2017, where he successfully retained against Samoa Joe , before defeating him

19511-470: The first place. "Double-crosses", where a wrestler agreed to lose a match but nevertheless fought to win, remained a problem in the early cartel days. At times a promoter would even award a victorious double-crosser the title of champion to preserve the facade of sport. But promoters punished such wrestlers by blacklisting them, making it quite challenging to find work. Double-crossers could also be sued for breach of contract, such as Dick Shikat in 1936. In

19690-464: The first time. Following Survivor Series, Heyman made it clear that Lesnar would not get a rematch, and had snuck a special clause saying so into his contract. To gain his revenge on Big Show and Heyman, Lesnar interfered in Big Show's first title defense, which came against Kurt Angle the next month at Armageddon on December 15, where Lesnar executed the F-5 on Big Show, which enabled Angle to win

19869-423: The following episode of Raw , Lesnar reunited with his advocate Paul Heyman. At Royal Rumble on January 29, he lost the WWE Championship to Lashley due to Reigns' interference and Heyman's betrayal (who realigned with Reigns), ending his sixth reign at 29 days, however later that night, he entered the Royal Rumble match as the surprise 30th entrant and won the match by last eliminating Drew McIntyre and becoming

20048-509: The fourth person to win from the #30 spot (after The Undertaker in 2007 , John Cena in 2008 , and Triple H in 2016 ). This made Lesnar the ninth two-time Rumble winner, after his first win in 2003, while also making him the first person to lose their world championship and then win the Rumble in the same night. Among the other multi-time Rumble winners, Lesnar also set a record for the longest time between Rumble wins at 19 years. He also set

20227-610: The game is not popular here. Nine out of ten bouts, it has been said, are pre-arranged affairs, and it would be no surprise if the ratio of fixed matches to honest ones was really so high. The wrestler Lou Thesz recalled that between 1915 and 1920, a series of exposés in the newspapers about the integrity of professional wrestling alienated a lot of fans, sending the industry "into a tailspin". But rather than perform more shoot matches, professional wrestlers instead committed themselves wholesale to fakery. Several reasons explain why professional wrestling became fake whereas boxing endured as

20406-460: The government. They pledged to stop allocating exclusive territories to its promoters, to stop blacklisting wrestlers who worked for outsider promoters, and to admit any promoter into the Alliance. The NWA would flout many of these promises, but its power was nonetheless weakened by the lawsuit. Paul Bowser's AWA joined the NWA in 1949. The AWA withdrew from the Alliance in 1957 and renamed itself

20585-526: The independent. By 1956, the NWA controlled 38 promotions within the United States, with more in Canada, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand. The NWA's monopolistic practices became so stifling that the independents appealed to the government for help. In October 1956 the US Attorney General's office filed an antitrust lawsuit against the NWA in an Iowa federal district court. The NWA settled with

20764-480: The industry was anything but a competitive sport. The first wrestling promoter to publicly admit to routinely fixing matches was Jack Pfefer . In 1933, he started talking about the industry's inner workings to the New York Daily Mirror , resulting in a huge exposé. The exposé neither surprised nor alienated most wrestling fans, although some promoters like Jack Curley were furious and tried to restore

20943-496: The industry's inner workings to the New York Daily Mirror , maintaining no pretense that wrestling was real and passing on planned results just before the matches took place. While fans were neither surprised nor alienated, traditionalists like Jack Curley were furious, and most promoters tried to maintain the facade of kayfabe as best they could. Not the least interesting of all the minor phenomena produced by

21122-445: The majority of the match. Lesnar's next appearance occurred on Raw Is XXX on January 23, 2023, where he caused Lashley to lose his United States Championship match. At the Royal Rumble , Lesnar entered the Royal Rumble match at #12 eliminating Chad Gable , Santos Escobar and Angelo Dawkins before being eliminated by Lashley. At Elimination Chamber on February 18, Lesnar lost to Lashley by disqualification after he hit Lashley with

21301-589: The match began with only seven of the scheduled eight participants. At the climax of the match, Lesnar ran in, took out Ali , who was on top of a ladder, and won the Money in the Bank contract, granting him either a Universal Championship or WWE Championship match at any time of his choosing within the next year. After teasing cashing in on Universal Champion Seth Rollins and WWE Champion Kofi Kingston and failing an attempt to cash-in on Rollins at Super ShowDown on June 7, Lesnar successfully cashed in his contract to win

21480-478: The match to win the title for a seventh time by single-handedly eliminating all other opponents (Seth "Freakin" Rollins, Riddle , AJ Styles , and Austin Theory ), except Lashley, who was removed early in the match due to a concussion protocol . This also converted his Universal Championship match against Reigns at WrestleMania into a Winner Takes All match . The following night on Raw , their Winner Takes All match

21659-484: The match. The following night on Raw SuperShow , WWE's Chief Operating Officer Triple H refused to give in to Lesnar's unreasonable contract demands (which included being given his own personal jet and having Raw SuperShow renamed to Monday Night Raw Starring Brock Lesnar ), resulting in Lesnar attacking him and breaking his arm with a kimura lock in storyline. The next week on Raw SuperShow , Paul Heyman returned as Lesnar's legal representative; he claimed that Lesnar

21838-565: The match. At Battleground on July 19, Lesnar dominated Rollins, delivering thirteen suplexes , but mid-pinfall, after performing an F-5 , he was attacked by The Undertaker (who incapacitated Lesnar with a chokeslam and two Tombstone Piledrivers ), thus ending the match with Lesnar winning by disqualification and Rollins retaining the championship. The following night on Raw , The Undertaker explained that he had attacked Lesnar not for ending his WrestleMania streak, but rather for Lesnar allowing Heyman to constantly taunt him about it, which led to

22017-542: The match. On the December 4 episode of SmackDown! , he defended the WWE Championship from Benoit after Benoit passed out to Lesnar's debuting submission hold , the Brock Lock . Survivor Series in November 2003 also marked the first time Lesnar met Goldberg from the Raw brand. After Lesnar claimed in a backstage interview that he could beat anybody in the world, Goldberg interrupted the interview and introduced himself to Lesnar, shaking hands with him before leaving with

22196-498: The members of wrestling cartels as the champion drew big crowds wherever he performed, and this would occasionally lead to schisms. By 1925, this cartel had divided the country up into territories which were the exclusive domains of specific promoters. This system of territories endured until Vince McMahon drove the fragmented cartels out of the market in the 1980s. This cartel fractured in 1929 after one of its members, Paul Bowser , bribed Ed "Strangler" Lewis to lose his championship in

22375-498: The new "King of Kings" and said that he would depart from WWE after his victory over Triple H, stating that he had conquered everything in the company. Lesnar returned on the January 28, 2013, episode of Raw , confronting Mr. McMahon who was about to fire Heyman, and despite Heyman's pleas, Lesnar attacked McMahon with an F-5 , breaking McMahon's pelvis in storyline. The following week during The Miz 's Miz TV talk show, Raw Managing Supervisor Vickie Guerrero revealed herself as

22554-477: The new champion. The feud ended in a match at Backlash on April 27, where Lesnar defeated Cena to retain the WWE Championship. On the following episode of SmackDown! , Lesnar resumed his rivalry with Big Show after, in the storyline, Big Show injured Rey Mysterio during their match at Backlash. Big Show's attack resulted in Mysterio being carried out on a stretcher and backboard, and Big Show took Mysterio off

22733-405: The number one contender later that same night. On the July 30 episode of Raw , Lesnar was at the arena but refused to appear in the ring. Angle threatened to fire Heyman if he could not persuade Lesnar to come to the ring. Throughout the broadcast, Heyman's attempts were unsuccessful. At the end of the show, after Angle had fired him, Lesnar appeared to attack Angle and choke Heyman. Two weeks later,

22912-472: The one who signed Lesnar to a new contract to impress McMahon. On the February 25 episode of Raw , Lesnar once again attempted to attack McMahon, only to get into a brawl with the returning Triple H, which resulted in Lesnar legitimately having his head split open and requiring eighteen stitches. The following week on Raw , Triple H issued a challenge to Lesnar, requesting a rematch with him at WrestleMania 29 , which Lesnar accepted but only after Triple H signed

23091-572: The organization's global expansion, the UFC began airing various international events exclusively on their subscription-based digital network, UFC Fight Pass. In July 2009, the UFC held its unofficial 100th "numbered event"; however, officially, despite being called UFC 100, it was actually the 101st numbered event (not to mention the 133rd event overall). The UFC signed a deal with Fox Sports Net , after Fox agreed to broadcast one fight in June 2002, during its "All-Star Summer" that month. UFC 37 and 38 had already been scheduled and promoted, but as UFC 38

23270-458: The parking lot as he was arriving at the arena. Ambrose returned later in the night, having hijacked an ambulance, and challenged Lesnar to a No Holds Barred Street Fight match at WrestleMania 32 on April 3, where Lesnar defeated Ambrose after an F-5 onto a pile of chairs. On the July 7 episode of SmackDown , it Lesnar was revealed as the returning Randy Orton 's opponent for SummerSlam . Two days later on July 9, WWE allowed Lesnar to have

23449-625: The primary vehicle for advancing storylines, which typically center on interpersonal conflicts, or feuds , between heroic " faces " and villainous " heels ". A wrestling ring , akin to the platform used in boxing , serves as the main stage ; additional scenes may be recorded for television in backstage areas of the venue, in a format similar to reality television . Performers generally integrate authentic wrestling techniques and fighting styles with choreography , stunts , improvisation , and dramatic conventions designed to maximize entertainment value and audience engagement. Professional wrestling as

23628-513: The process. At SummerSlam on August 24, Lesnar lost to Angle after submitting to the ankle lock . On the September 18 episode of SmackDown! , Lesnar defeated Angle in an Iron Man match to win his third WWE Championship by a final score of five to four, thus ending their long-standing feud. Lesnar successfully defended his newly won title against the debuting Paul London on the October 9 episode of SmackDown! . He returned to feud with The Undertaker, as Lesnar had previously cost The Undertaker

23807-717: The promotion's closing in 1991. In the spring of 1984, the WWF purchased Georgia Championship Wrestling (GCW), which had been ailing for some time due to financial mismanagement and internal squabbles. In the deal, the WWF acquired the GCW's timeslot on TBS . McMahon agreed to keep showing Georgia wrestling matches in that timeslot, but he was unable to get his staff to Atlanta every Saturday to fulfill this obligation, so he sold GCW and its TBS timeslot to Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP). JCP started informally calling itself World Championship Wrestling (WCW). In 1988, Ted Turner bought JCP and formally renamed it World Championship Wrestling. During

23986-660: 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 , and 38 ), 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

24165-465: The record for the least amount of time spent in the Rumble before winning it, being in the match for 2 minutes and 30 seconds and beating Edge 's 2010 record by 5 minutes and 7 seconds. On the following episode of Raw , Lesnar revealed he would challenge Reigns for the Universal Championship at WrestleMania 38 , and was also scheduled to compete in the Elimination Chamber match for the WWE Championship on February 19 at Elimination Chamber . Lesnar won

24344-486: The reign was the sixth-longest world championship reign in WWE history and the longest since 1988. Lesnar returned at Hell in a Cell on September 16, interrupting the Hell in a Cell match between defending Universal Champion Reigns and Braun Strowman, kicking in the door and attacking both men, thus rendering the match a no-contest and costing Strowman his Money in the Bank cash-in match. The next night on Raw , Acting General Manager Baron Corbin scheduled Reigns to defend

24523-411: The ring to collapse on impact. As Lesnar and Big Show continued their rivalry, Kurt Angle returned from his neck surgery and began to form a more friendly rivalry with Lesnar, as the two were allies, yet contenders for the title. At the first-ever SmackDown! brand-exclusive pay-per-view on July 27, Vengeance , Lesnar lost the WWE Championship to Angle in a triple threat match involving Big Show, after he

24702-683: 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 with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and was sent to its developmental territory Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), where he first met future friend and manager Paul Heyman . OVW booker Jim Cornette paired Lesnar with his former college roommate Shelton Benjamin in October 2000. They were known as The Minnesota Stretching Crew and won

24881-475: The same fashion. Lesnar and Shawn Stasiak lost to The Hardy Boyz at the UK-based Insurrextion on May 4 after Stasiak was pinned , but Lesnar attacked all the participants after the match. At Judgment Day on May 19, Lesnar and Heyman defeated The Hardy Boyz. This was also the first pay-per-view held after the WWF was renamed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). In June 2002, Lesnar won

25060-440: The second half of the 2010s, Lesnar began to receive an increasing amount of criticism for his character and performances. Many reporters thought his Suplex City character " jumped the shark " and his matches had "become formulaic". He was largely criticized due to his absences from television during his time as Universal Champion. It was pointed out that he had the longest world championship reign since Hulk Hogan , but only defended

25239-440: The stamina for an hours-long fight. Audiences also preferred short matches. Worked matches also carried less risk of injury, which meant shorter recovery. Altogether, worked matches proved more profitable than shoots. By the end of the 19th century, nearly all professional wrestling matches were worked. A major influence on professional wrestling was carnival culture. Wrestlers in the late 19th century worked in carnival shows. For

25418-403: The stretcher and swung the backboard into the ringpost, compounding the injury. Lesnar called out Big Show, who demanded that Lesnar put his title on the line against him. This led to a stretcher match for the WWE Championship at Judgment Day on May 18, which Lesnar won. During a rematch on the June 12 episode of SmackDown! , Lesnar lifted Big Show off the top-rope in a superplex which caused

25597-426: The territories of his former NWA peers, now his rivals. By the end of the 1980s, the WWF would become the sole national wrestling promotion in the U.S. This was in part made possible by the rapid spread of cable television in the 1980s. The national broadcast networks generally regarded professional wrestling as too niche an interest, and had not broadcast any national wrestling shows since the 1950s. Before cable TV,

25776-529: The title 13 times, all on pay-per-views , with Tim Fiorvanti from ESPN commenting that he had "removed the top title on Monday Night Raw from circulation". The short length of his matches was also criticized by journalists and fans. Former WWE Champion Bob Backlund criticized the fact that Lesnar used mostly suplexes during his matches, saying "it gets old to do the same thing over and over and over again". After his match with Goldberg at WrestleMania XX in March 2004, Lesnar sidelined his career in WWE to pursue

25955-428: The title at Crown Jewel on October 21, which Lesnar lost after interference from The Usos . On the following episode of SmackDown , he started a locker room-clearing brawl with Reigns, resulting in an indefinite suspension by on-air authority figure Adam Pearce , whom Lesnar attacked. On the November 26 episode of SmackDown , it was announced his suspension had been lifted. On the December 3 episode of SmackDown , it

26134-510: The title at SummerSlam , with WWE billing it as the ultimate finale to the feud. At the event on July 30, Lesnar failed to beat Reigns for the title after interference from The Usos and Heyman. On the October 10 episode of Raw , Lesnar made a surprise return, attacking United States Champion Bobby Lashley and injuring his shoulder before his scheduled title defense against Seth "Freakin" Rollins, resuming their feud. At Crown Jewel on November 5, Lesnar defeated Lashley despite Lashley dominating

26313-457: The title in a match against then-champion Kurt Angle on the September 4 episode of SmackDown! , which granted him a shot at Lesnar's title. At No Mercy on October 19, Lesnar defeated The Undertaker in a Biker Chain match after interference from The Full Blooded Italians and Vince McMahon . After Paul Heyman returned to WWE as SmackDown! General Manager, Lesnar aligned himself with Heyman. With Survivor Series coming up, he challenged Angle to

26492-477: The top rope. Lesnar defended the WWE Championship against Eddie Guerrero at No Way Out on February 15. Goldberg attacked Lesnar with a spear while the referee was unconscious, allowing Guerrero to get a near-fall on Lesnar. Lesnar then attempted an F-5 on Guerrero but Guerrero reversed it into a DDT on the title belt and executed a frog splash to win the WWE Championship. An angry Lesnar then began feuding with Goldberg, blaming him for losing his title, and

26671-519: The trial, witnesses testified that most of the "big matches" and all of the championship bouts were fixed. By the 1930s, with the exception of the occasional double-cross or business dispute, shoot matches were essentially nonexistent. In April 1930, the New York State Athletic Commission decreed that all professional wrestling matches held in the state had to be advertised as exhibitions unless certified as contests by

26850-471: The truth, their audiences would desert them. Today's performers don't "protect" the industry like we did, but that's primarily because they've already exposed it by relying on silly or downright ludicrous characters and gimmicks to gain popularity with the fans. It was different in my day, when our product was presented as an authentic, competitive sport. We protected it because we believed it would collapse if we ever so much as implied publicly that it

27029-702: The two brawling throughout the arena and a WrestleMania rematch being scheduled for SummerSlam on August 23, where The Undertaker controversially defeated Lesnar. The timekeeper rang the bell as The Undertaker had supposedly submitted to Lesnar's Kimura lock, though the referee had not seen any submission. In the ensuing confusion, The Undertaker hit Lesnar with a low blow and applied his Hell's Gate submission hold, in which Lesnar passed out. The following night on Raw , Lesnar and Heyman challenged The Undertaker to an immediate rematch, only to be confronted by Bo Dallas (who mocked Lesnar about his defeat); Lesnar responded with five German suplexes and an F-5 . At Hell in

27208-535: The way of proceedings: the "in-show" happenings, presented through the shows; and real-life happenings outside the work that have implications, such as performer contracts, legitimate injuries, etc. Because actual life events are often co-opted by writers for incorporation into storylines of performers, the lines between real life and fictional life are often blurred and become confused. Special discern must be taken with people who perform under their own name (such as Kurt Angle and his fictional persona ). The actions of

27387-584: The world, Lesnar is the only person to have won the primary heavyweight championships of 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

27566-420: The wrestlers quietly began faking their matches so that they could give their audiences a satisfying spectacle. Fixing matches was also convenient for scheduling. A real ("shoot") match could sometimes last hours, whereas a fixed ("worked") match can be made short, which was convenient for wrestlers on tour who needed to keep appointments or share venues. It also suited wrestlers who were aging and therefore lacked

27745-460: Was Big Show and Heyman was convinced more than anyone that Lesnar could not win, trying to talk him out of defending the title. Lesnar refused and defended the championship against Big Show at Survivor Series on November 17. At Survivor Series, Heyman turned on Lesnar, allowing Big Show to chokeslam him onto a steel chair and pin him to win the WWE Championship, resulting in Lesnar's first pinfall loss in WWE. This led to Lesnar turning face for

27924-425: Was Wrestling As You Like It , which printed its first issue in 1946. These magazines were faithful to kayfabe . Before the advent of television, professional wrestling's fanbase largely consisted of children, the elderly, blue-collar workers and minorities. When television arose in the 1940s, professional wrestling got national exposure on prime-time television and gained widespread popularity. Professional wrestling

28103-522: Was a SmackDown! wrestler. After the Royal Rumble, Lesnar and Chris Benoit defeated Angle, Haas and Benjamin in a three-on-two handicap match at No Way Out on February 23, despite Team Angle injuring their partner, Edge , backstage before the match. At WrestleMania, Lesnar defeated Angle to win his second WWE Championship; during the match, he botched a shooting star press (a move he had used numerous times in OVW) and landed on his head and neck, resulting in

28282-493: Was announced that Lesnar would once again face Reigns for the title, this time at the Day 1 event. The match was canceled after Reigns contracted COVID-19 , and Lesnar was instead added to Raw's WWE Championship match at the event to make it a fatal five-way match. At Day 1 on January 1, 2022, Lesnar won his sixth WWE Championship, defeating Bobby Lashley , Kevin Owens , Seth Rollins , and defending champion Big E , who he pinned. On

28461-458: Was answered by Mark Henry . The ensuing brawl ended with Lesnar delivering an F-5 to Henry. The following week on Raw , Henry challenged Lesnar again, only to have Lesnar dislocate his elbow with the Kimura lock in storyline, which led Big Show to confront Lesnar, thus starting a feud which was settled at the Royal Rumble on January 26, 2014, where Lesnar defeated Big Show after attacking him with

28640-477: Was attacked by Strowman. The subsequent title match at No Mercy on September 24 was won by Lesnar. Lesnar then defeated WWE Champion AJ Styles in an interbrand Champion vs Champion non-title match at Survivor Series on November 19. His next title defense was scheduled for the Royal Rumble on January 28, 2018, where he successfully defended the title in a triple threat match against Strowman and Kane . Lesnar then re-ignited his feud with Roman Reigns, who won

28819-492: Was being defended on both brands, so Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff expected Lesnar to return on Raw the following night. SmackDown! General Manager Stephanie McMahon declared that Lesnar was only required to defend the title on SmackDown! shows and events, prompting Bischoff to establish a new championship for the Raw brand (the World Heavyweight Championship ); the WWE Undisputed Championship

28998-488: Was challenges from independent wrestlers. But a cartelized wrestler, if challenged, could credibly use his contractual obligations to his promoter as an excuse to refuse the challenge. Promotions would sometimes respond to challenges with "policemen": powerful wrestlers who lacked the charisma to become stars, but could defeat and often seriously injure any challenger in a shoot match. As the industry trend continued, there were fewer independent wrestlers to make such challenges in

29177-407: Was champion. Lesnar answered, with the latter stipulation not applying to him as he was already banned from challenging Reigns for the title following their match at SummerSlam in 2022. However, the match never occurred due to Lesnar suddenly assaulting Rhodes before the match could begin, thus turning heel for the first time since 2020. It was later reported that Lesnar was mad due to his position on

29356-421: 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

29535-427: Was disqualified due to Seth Rollins interfering, but retained his championship. Later in the year, Rollins reunited with The Authority and was added to Lesnar and Cena championship match at the Royal Rumble on January 25, 2015, making it a triple threat match, which Lesnar won despite (storyline) breaking a rib during the match. Lesnar's next challenger was Roman Reigns , who had won the Royal Rumble match to earn

29714-625: 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. He is of German 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

29893-414: Was later identified by The Wall Street Journal as Lesnar. As a result of the lawsuit, he was removed from the Royal Rumble and replaced by Bron Breakker . It was later reported that he was removed from WWE's creative plans ahead of their WrestleMania XL event, despite originally being planned to have a match against WWE Intercontinental Champion Gunther at the event. In February, he was removed from

30072-426: 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

30251-486: Was pinned by Angle. Lesnar continued to aggressively pursue the WWE Championship despite his friendship with Angle. Mr. McMahon became involved in the angle, at first berating Lesnar, who had involved himself in McMahon's rivalry with Zach Gowen , for losing to Angle. This all turned out to be a swerve that came into focus on the August 7 episode of SmackDown! . That night, Lesnar and McMahon were to face each other in

30430-650: Was previously considered a niche interest, but the TV networks at the time were short on content and thus were willing to try some wrestling shows. In the 1960s, however, the networks moved on to more mainstream interests such as baseball, and professional wrestling was dropped. The core audience then shrunk back to a profile similar to that of the 1930s. In 1989, Vince McMahon was looking to exempt his promotion (the World Wrestling Federation ) from sports licensing fees. To achieve this, he testified before

30609-466: Was quitting WWE and was suing WWE for breach of contract. At No Way Out on June 17, Triple H challenged Lesnar (who was not present) to a match at SummerSlam , which Lesnar refused. Stephanie McMahon later goaded Heyman into accepting the match on Lesnar's behalf on July 23 at Raw 1000 . At SummerSlam on August 19, Lesnar defeated Triple H by submission after once again breaking his arm in storyline. The following night on Raw , Lesnar declared himself

30788-497: Was referring to his lawsuit against WWE, who filed a motion for a temporary restraining order to prevent Lesnar from continuing to work with NJPW on December 6, but the court did not grant it. Following that, he had two non-title victories against Manabu Nakanishi and Yuji Nagata . Lesnar successfully defended the championship on January 4, 2006, against former champion Shinsuke Nakamura . On January 13, WWE once again filed an injunction against Lesnar to stop him from defending

30967-527: Was scheduled to face WWE Champion AJ Styles at Survivor Series in another Champion vs Champion non-title match. Five days before, Styles lost the WWE Championship to Daniel Bryan on SmackDown . At Survivor Series on November 18, Lesnar overcame a late rally from Bryan to defeat him. Lesnar then successfully defended the title against Finn Bálor via submission at the Royal Rumble on January 27, 2019. The next night on Raw , Lesnar attacked 2019 Royal Rumble match winner Seth Rollins with six F-5s, setting up

31146-592: Was seen giving instructions to Lesnar. When the brand extension was introduced in the WWF, Lesnar was drafted to the Raw brand . Later, Heyman was confirmed to be Lesnar's agent and gave Lesnar the nickname "The Next Big Thing". Lesnar's first feud was with The Hardy Boyz . He defeated Jeff Hardy by knockout after Hardy did not respond to referee Theodore Long at Backlash on April 21, his first official televised match. The next night on Raw , Lesnar faced off against Jeff's brother, Matt Hardy , and defeated him in

31325-415: Was something other than what it appeared to be. I'm not sure now the fear was ever justified given the fact that the industry is still in existence today, but the point is no one questioned the need then. "Protecting the business" in the face of criticism and skepticism was the first and most important rule a pro wrestler learned. No matter how aggressive or informed the questioner, you never admitted

31504-417: Was the "world champion". Before the cartels, there were multiple wrestlers in the U.S. simultaneously calling themselves the "world champion", and this sapped public enthusiasm for professional wrestling. Likewise, the cartel could agree on a common set of match rules that the fans could keep track of. The issue over who got to be the champion and who controlled said champion was a major point of contention among

31683-571: Was the promotion's debut in the United Kingdom, they created UFC 37.5; an event that featured the first ever mixed martial arts fight available on cable television. As of UFC Fight Night: Yan vs. Figueiredo , which took place on November 23, 2024, there have been 714 UFC events held in 166 cities in 30 countries . In May 2017, the UFC announced White would hold Dana White's Tuesday Night Contender Series weekly on UFC Fight Pass (becoming, from January 2019 on, exclusive content on ESPN+ in

31862-446: Was then renamed the WWE Championship. Lesnar's rapid rise to the top of WWE in 2002 led to a feud with The Undertaker , which involved a match at Unforgiven on September 22. The match ended in a double disqualification , with Lesnar retained the title. Lesnar faced The Undertaker again at No Mercy on October 20, this time in a Hell in a Cell match . Leading up to the match, in the storyline , Lesnar broke The Undertaker's hand with

32041-509: Was then stipulated as a title unification match. Lesnar lost the WWE Championship to Reigns in the unification match at the event on April 3. On the June 17 episode of SmackDown , Lesnar once again returned to confront and attack Reigns after he successfully defended the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship against Riddle, renewing their rivalry. This resulted in a Last Man Standing match being made for

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