When Did Brock Lesnar Join WWE?

Brock Lesnar has been a dominant figure in WWE since his debut in 2002. Here’s a look at his career highlights.

Brock Lesnar’s Early Life and Career

Brock Lesnar was born on July 12, 1977, in Webster, South Dakota. He was a standout amateur wrestler in high school and college, winning the NCAA heavyweight championship in 2000. Lesnar signed with WWE in 2000 and made his professional wrestling debut the following year.

Lesnar’s early life and amateur wrestling career

Brock Edward Lesnar /ˈlɛznər/ (born July 12, 1977) is an American professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, and former amateur wrestler and professional American football player. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand and is the current WWE Universal Champion in his first reign.

Lesnar attended Webster High School, where he played football and participated in amateur wrestling, winning the state championship in his senior year. He then pursued a career in professional wrestling, joining Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) in 2000. After being placed on ECW’s inactive list in early 2001, Lesnar negotiated with Vince McMahon of World Wrestling Federation (WWF), who had purchased ECW’s parent company, Extreme Championship Wrestling Incorporated. He signed with the WWF that April and was assigned to its developmental territory Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW). He was promoted to the main roster in May 2002 wrestle at Judgment Day as “Brock Lesnar”. After a successful debut against Hulk Hogan at SummerSlam that August, he won his first WWE Championship at Survivor Series later that year with help from Mr. McMahon.

He became one of WWE’s main eventers throughout much of 2003 until 2006 due to injuries. The following year saw him move to SmackDown! as part of the Vince McMahon-led “brand extension”, which created a rivalry with fellow champion Kurt Angle. In 2008, he won two more WWE Championships while working part-time for the company. Upon his return to full-time competition in 2012 after an eight-year hiatus from mixed martial arts (MMA), Lesnar defeated Randy Couture at UFC 91 for the UFC Heavyweight Championship before losing it to Cain Velasquez six months later at UFC 121; this made him one of only three men (the others being Randy Couture and Tim Sylvia) who have held both the UFC Heavyweight Championship and WWE’s version of the world heavyweight title. Two years after returning to pro wrestling with WWE upon expiry of his one-year no compete clause from MMAFighting.com signing with Strikeforce in late 2011 (which was bought by Zuffa LLC – owner of Ultimate Fighting Championship – shortly afterwards), he won his third WWE Championship at SummerSlam 2014 after defeating John Cena; this made him one of only two men ever (the other being Kurt Angle) to have won both iterations of the world heavyweight title in pro wrestling while holding another major championship as well.[17] Still champion as 2014 came to an end, Brock ended 2014 as the longest reigning champion since The Rock held onto it for 380 days during his second reign.[18] At WrestleMania 31 on March 29th 2015, Brock lost his championship to Seth Rollins after Rollins cashed in Money In The Bank.[19]

Lesnar’s professional wrestling career

Brock Lesnar’s professional wrestling career began when he was recruited by WWE (then known as the World Wrestling Federation, or WWF) in 2000. Lesnar was assigned to the company’s developmental territory Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), where he was a three-time OVW Southern Tag Team Champion with Shelton Benjamin. He held the title for a total of 548 days, making him one of the longest-reigning champions in OVW history. Lesnar made his WWF television debut on the June 2002 episode of Raw, defeating Hulk Hogan to become the youngest ever WWE Champion at age 25. After being traded to the SmackDown! brand in 2003, Lesnar won the WWE Championship on two occasions, first defeating Kurt Angle at WrestleMania XIX in 2003, and then again defying The Rock at SummerSlam later that year.

Lesnar’s First WWE Stint

Brock Lesnar originally joined WWE in 2000 and was quickly pushed as a top star. He won the WWE Undisputed Championship in his first match on Raw and went on to hold it for nearly a year. Lesnar quickly became one of the most dominant stars in WWE history. However, he left WWE in 2004 to pursue a career in the NFL.

Lesnar’s debut and early matches

Brock Lesnar made his WWE debut at SummerSlam in 2002, defeating The Rock to become the WWE Undisputed Champion. He held the title for 84 days, before losing it to The Undertaker at WrestleMania XIX. Lesnar then feuded with Kurt Angle, with the two having several matches against each other, including a steel cage match at No Way Out and a 60-minute iron man match at Judgment Day, which Lesnar won. Lesnar then entered into a feud with John Cena, which led to a match between the two at Backlash, which Cena won.

Lesnar’s first WWE Championship

Brock Lesnar became the WWE Champion for the first time on August 25, 2002, defeating The Rock at SummerSlam. Lesnar held the title for 84 days before losing it to The Big Show at Survivor Series.

Lesnar’s Second WWE Stint

Brock Lesnar first joined WWE in 2000, after being scouted by the company while he was still in college. He was quickly signed to a developmental contract and sent to Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), WWE’s then-developmental territory. Lesnar became one of the top stars in OVW, winning the OVW Heavyweight Championship and the OVW Television Championship.

Lesnar’s return and matches

Brock Lesnar returned to WWE on April 2, 2012, at WrestleMania XXVIII, where he defeated John Cena to win the WWE Championship. His victory made him only the third person to have won both the WWE Championship and UFC Heavyweight Championship, after Cain Velasquez and Kurt Angle. In June, Lesnar successfully defended his title against Cena in a Extreme Rules match. After that Lesnar began a feud with Triple H, which resulted in a match between the two at SummerSlam, which Lesnar won. The following month at Night of Champions, Lesnar retained his title against CM Punk. In October at Hell in a Cell, Lesnar lost the WWE Championship to Punk in a Hell in a Cell match, thus ending his reign at 220 days.

Lesnar’s second WWE Championship

Brock Lesnar’s second run with WWE began in April 2012, when he made a surprise return at WrestleMania 28. Lesnar had not been seen in WWE since his loss to Goldberg at WrestleMania 20 in 2004.

Lesnar quickly re-established himself as a dominant force in WWE, winning the WWE Championship from John Cena at Extreme Rules in May 2012. Lesnar would go on to hold the WWE Championship for a total of 380 days, the longest reign since 1993.

Lesnar’s UFC Career

Brock Lesnar is an American professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist, Lesnar is currently signed to WWE. He is also a former NCAA Division I Heavyweight Wrestling Champion. Lesnar was an NCAA Division I All-American wrestler. He is the only person to have won a NCAA Division I wrestling championship, UFC Heavyweight Championship, and WWE’s World Heavyweight Championship.

Lesnar’s UFC debut and matches

Brock Lesnar made his UFC debut at UFC 81, defeating former heavyweight champion Frank Mir by technical knockout in the first round. Prior to the match, Lesnar was an NCAA Division I amateur wrestler and had no prior professional mixed martial arts experience. Lesnar’s victory over Mir was tainted due to the fact that he tested positive for hydrocodone and hydrochlorothiazide after the bout. He was fined $250,000 and suspended for one year by the Nevada State Athletic Commission as a result.

Lesnar’s next fight took place at UFC 87, where he defeated Heath Herring by unanimous decision. The fight was considered a lackluster performance by both fighters, with Lesnar later admitting that he “wasn’t in shape” for the bout. At UFC 91, Lesnar faced off against MMA legend Randy Couture for the UFC Heavyweight Championship. Couture controlled the majority of the bout before being knocked out in the second round by Lesnar, who thus became only the second man to ever defeat him inside the octagon.

Lesnar successfully defended his title against interim heavyweight champion Frank Mir at UFC 100 in what was one of the most highly-anticipated rematch in MMA history. Mir submitted to an arm-triangle choke in the second round, avenging his previous loss to Lesnar. However, lesnar would go on to lose his title in his very next fight against Cain Velasquez at UFC 121 by TKO in the first round. This would mark lesnar’s final MMA bout to date.

Lesnar’s UFC Heavyweight Championship

Lesnar captured the UFC Heavyweight Championship in November 2008, defeating Randy Couture at UFC 91. He then defended the title against Frank Mir at UFC 100 in July 2009. Lesnar lost the title to Cain Velasquez at UFC 121 in October 2010.

Lesnar’s Current WWE Stint

Brock Lesnar is an American professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist, currently signed to WWE. He is currently in his second stint with WWE. He originally joined WWE in 2002 and left in 2004 to pursue a career in the NFL. He returned to WWE in 2012.

Lesnar’s return and matches

Brock Lesnar returned to WWE at Extreme Rules in 2012, defeating John Cena to become the WWE Champion. Lesnar held the title for four months before losing it to The Rock at Royal Rumble in 2013. He defeated Triple H at WrestleMania 29, but lost to Cena at Extreme Rules.

At SummerSlam in 2014, Lesnar defeated The Undertaker, ending The Phenom’s undefeated streak at 21-0. Later that year, he regained the WWE World Heavyweight Championship by defeating Seth Rollins at Night of Champions. He held the title for six months before losing it to Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 31.

Lesnar’s current WWE Universal Championship

Brock Lesnar is an American professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist, currently signed to WWE on the Raw brand. He is a former UFC Heavyweight Champion, NCAA Division I Heavyweight Wrestling Champion, and is a one-time WWE Champion and a one-time WWE Universal Champion. He is also the longest-reigning UFC Heavyweight Champion of all time.

Lesnar joined WWE (then the World Wrestling Federation) in 2000 after graduating from college, where he had become a NCAA Division I Heavyweight Wrestling Champion. In his debut match at WrestleMania 2000, he defeated The Rock to become the WWF Championship. After being sidelined with an injury for almost a year, Lesnar returned to action in 2002 and won the Undisputed WWF Championship from The Rock at SummerSlam. However, he lost the title later that year back to The Rock at Survivor Series.

In 2003, Lesnar left WWE to pursue a career in mixed martial arts (MMA). He signed with defunct MMA promotion Hero’s in November 2007 but was released by early 2008 due to financial difficulties faced by the promotion. In August 2008, Lesnar signed with Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), making his debut against Frank Mir at UFC 81 in February 2009. After losing his first match in UFC history via submission shortly into the first round, Lesnar went on an undefeated run; he finished his next two opponents— Heath Herring and Randy Couture— via technical knockout and won the UFC Heavyweight Championship fromMir via stoppage in their rematch at UFC 100 nine months later. Lesnar successfully defended his title against Shane Carwin at UFC 116 six weeks later before vacating it due to another battle with diverticulitis that nearly killed him; heavyweight Cain Velasquez took over as champion as a result of Lesnar vacating the title belt due to illness.

Lesnar then took almost another year off from fighting before returning at UFC 141 in December 2011 against fellow heavyweight Alistair Overeem; despite being a heavy favorite leading up to the bout, Lesnar was knocked out in the first round. Afterward, it was revealed that Lesnar had once again been diagnosed with diverticulitis and as a result had undergone surgery not long before his return bout which removed twelve inches of his intestine; this caused him extreme weakness going into his fight against Overeem which led to him being knocked out early on. Following another lengthy absence from fighting due to diverticulitis and having intestinal surgery again in May 2013 which left him nearly dead once more according to doctors,[19] Brock Lesnar finally made his return to MMA competition at UFC 200 on July 9, 2016 against Mark Hunt; he won via unanimous decision although it was later revealed that he tested positive for clomiphene – an antiestrogenic substance – following his post-fight drug test which should have been flagged but wasn’t due to human error on USADA’s part as they did not cross-reference lists properly – causing Hunt to file an official complaint demanding half of Lesnar’s fight purse. The positive test also caused both of Lesnar’s wins during his second run in MMA (vs Frank Mir at UFC 100 & vs Shane Carwin at UFC 116) to be overturnedto no contests by NSAC (Nevada State Athletic Commission) & CSAC (California State Athletic Commission) respectively as those are commissions that were regulating both of those events where Lesvinar tested positive for PEDs following each contest which should have flagged him but were flagged as clean results due lesvinar’s special treatment given by NSAC & CSAC members resulting them allowing Brock lesvinar get away multiple times with testing positive for PEDs during & after fights without repercussions or even fines despite violating commission’s rules & regulations multiple times resulting lesvinar getting special privileges that other fighters don’t get away with while getting fined &/or suspended multiple times for violating commission rules & regulations