Brock Lesnar
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Wrestling career
Lesnar was an outstanding amateur wrestler and went to the University of Minnesota on a full wrestling scholarship, where he was roommates with the WWE's Shelton Benjamin, himself a talented amateur wrestler. He won two NCAA wrestling championships as a heavyweight.
In 1999 he signed with the WWE and was sent to Ohio Valley Wrestling for development, where he wrestled in a tag team named the Minnesota Stretching Crew with Benjamin (a reference to the Minnesota Wrecking Crew). During his time in OVW he became known for performing the Shooting Star Press, a move more commonly performed by smaller, lighter wrestlers and a rare feat for a wrestler of his stature. He was trained as a professional by Danny Davis. In 2002, Lesnar was called up to WWE and was immediately pushed. He debuted on Raw on March 18, 2002, beating down Al Snow, Maven and Spike Dudley. He was a heel at first on Raw and won both the King of the Ring tournament and the WWE Championship that year, becoming the youngest WWE World Champion ever (until the record was broken in 2004 by Randy Orton). He was drafted and remained on SmackDown! with the belt naming him also the last WWE Undisputed Champion. He later turned face when the Undertaker befriended him. He lost the championship in November at the Survivor Series pay-per-view to the Big Show. After winning the Royal Rumble match in January 2003, he regained the championship in the main event of WrestleMania XIX from Kurt Angle, despite blowing the spectacular final move, his famous Shooting Star Press, which he had never before performed on television in the WWE. But Angle was too far from the ring post and Lesnar under-rotated on the back flip, causing Lesnar to land almost directly on his head, stunning him and and forcing Angle to improvise the finish. Angle later turned face by befriending Lesnar, but Lesnar turned heel again by turning on then-babyface Angle. Lesnar and Angle traded the championship back and forth once, before Lesnar lost it to Eddie Guerrero at February 2004's No Way Out event.
After his final underwhelming match with Goldberg at Wrestlemania XX, Lesnar sidelined his career in the WWE to pursue a career in the NFL. He signed with the Minnesota Vikings, but he was cut during the preseason. Lesnar had suffered injuries in a motorcycle accident during the summer of 2004, which along with lack of football practice prevented him from performing well enough to remain in a Minnesota Vikings practice squad position.
Lesnar had previously signed a no-compete clause in order to be released from his contract with the WWE, which prohibited him from working for any other sports entertainment companies before 2010. Lesnar had anticipated leaving wrestling entirely, but his inability to secure a career in professional football led to him challenging this ruling in court. The WWE responded by demanding damages as a result of Lesnar allegedly breaching the agreement by appearing at a New Japan Pro Wrestling show in 2004.
Lesnar is considered an above-average wrestler for his size by many fans, and is known for his dominating physique.
Professional football career
After playing in a few pre-season games for the Minnesota Vikings, Lesnar was eventually cut from the team. Looking into other teams as well as arena football, he filed a lawsuit against the WWE due to signing a worldwide no-compete clause after leaving the WWE, and therefore being unable to find work after being cut from the NFL.
Physical statistics
- Height: 6'3" (190.5 cm)
- Weight: 295lbs (134 kg)
- Birthday: July 12, 1977
- Hometown: Webster, South Dakota
- Trained By: Ohio Valley Wrestling
- Professional Debut: October 2000
- Previous Manager(s): Paul Heyman
Finishing and signature maneuvers
- F-5
- Brock Lock (1) (Side Bearhug)
- Brock Lock (2) (Argentine Leglock)
- Overhead Belly To Belly Suplex
- Double / Triple / Spinning Powerbomb
- Shooting Star Press
Other talents
Championships and accomplishments
- February 13, 2001 - OVW Southern Tag Team Championship
- Defeated "Disciples of Synn" (with Shelton Benjamin)
- Defeated "Disciples of Synn" (with Shelton Benjamin)
- October 30, 2001 - OVW Southern Tag Team Championship
- Defeated Prototype and Rico Constantino (with Shelton Benjamin)
- Defeated The Rock - Uniondale, New York (at Summerslam)
- Note: On August 26, 2002, Lesnar refused to defend the title on WWE RAW, thus making the title exclusive to SmackDown! The Undisputed Championship became known simply as the WWE Championship
- March 30, 2003 - WWE Championship (2)
- Defeated Kurt Angle - Seattle, Washington (at WrestleMania XIX)
- September 16, 2003 - WWE Championship (3)
- Defeated Kurt Angle - Raleigh, North Carolina (on Smackdown!) in a 60-minute Iron man match
| WWE Championship | ||
| Preceded by: The Rock | First reign | Followed by: The Big Show |
| Preceded by: Kurt Angle | Second reign | Followed by: Kurt Angle |
| Preceded by: Kurt Angle | Third reign | Followed by: Eddie Guerrero |
Other accomplishments
- 2002 King of the Ring winner
- 2003 Royal Rumble winner
Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- PWI Most Improved Wrestler Award (2002)
- PWI Wrestler of the Year Award (2002)
- PWI Feud of the Year (2003) versus Kurt Angle
- PWI Match of the Year (2003) versus Kurt Angle
External links and references
Brock Lesnar Files Lawsuit Against WWE; Locked Out Until 2010 (http://www.rajah.com/base/2005/2458)