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BROCK LESNAR
Brock Lesnar was born on
7/12/77 in Webster, SD. While a student at the
University of Minnesota, he won the individual
heavyweight wrestling championship in 2000.
After graduation, he trained in the WWF’s Ohio
Valley Wrestling Facility.
The Next Big Thing:
He made his WWF debut the night after
WresleMania 18 by destroying Maven, Al Snow, and
Spanky. His manager was Paul Heyman who worked
out a secret deal with Vince McMahon. Lesnar
helped McMahon beat Ric Flair to regain
ownership of the WWE. On 6/23/02, Lesnar beat
Rob Van Dam to win the King of the Ring. After
the match, Heyman announced that Lesnar was
receiving a shot at the title at SummerSlam as
part of the deal with Vince.
A New Era Begins:
Prior to the big SummerSlam match, Lesnar
forced Hulk Hogan to submit to his bear hug.
After the match, he smeared Hulk’s blood on
himself. On 8/25/02, Brock beat The Rock to win
the title. These matches were the final
appearances for both of his victim’s for almost
a year. After taking the belt to SmackDown!, the
era of split champions in the WWE started.
A Surprising Turn:
One of the first men to go after the belt
was The Undertaker. Brock used Undertaker’s
pregnant wife as a pawn in this feud and tried
to convince her that UT was having an affair. He
also broke the hand of The Undertaker. The feud
ended when Brock beat UT in a Hell in a Cell
Match. His next victim was supposed to be The
Big Show, but Paul Heyman turned on Brock and
cost him the title at the Survivor Series.
The Man Behind it All:
The Big Show lost the title to Angle with
the help of Brock. It was later revealed that
Angle was behind everything. Brock won the Royal
Rumble to get a title shot. He beat Kurt Angle
at WrestleMania 19 but had to spend the night in
the hospital due to a botched shooting star
press. He then feuded with The Big Show again
and this was highlighted by the ring collapsing
during their SmackDown match and Brock winning a
stretcher match by using a fork lift.
Turns Heel Again:
Brock turned heel again after losing the
title to Angle in a 3 way match. He took his
frustrations out on a 1 legged Zach Gowan and
continually threatened Stephanie McMahon in her
feud with her father. He regained the title by
beating Angle in an Iron Man match on SmackDown!
At the Survivor Series he had bad words with RAW
star Goldberg and then cost him the Royal Rumble
a few months later. Goldberg got his revenge by
costing Lesnar the title to Eddie Guerrero.
One of the WrestleMania
Lowlights:
They were scheduled for a big
inter-promotional match at WrestleMania XX that
was officiated by Steve Austin. Before the
match, Lesnar quit the WWE but promised to
appear at the match. The MSG card was brutal to
both men (it was also known to be Goldberg’s
final appearance) and the crowd chants were the
highlight of this terrible match that ended with
Goldberg winning but the crowd only cheering for
Austin stunning both men.
The Vikings:
Brock tried out for the Minnesota Vikings in
the summer of 2004. He was cut by the team.
Since then, he has been in a legal situation
with the WWE due to a release he signed that
would keep him out of the ring till 2010. Lesnar
won the IWGP title in Japan on 10/8/05. In April
2006, Brock and the WWE settled their
differences out of court. Terms of the agreement
have not been disclosed. In July 2006, he was
stripped of the IWGP title due to “visa
problems”.
WWE Title History:
WWE Championship
8/25/02 SummerSlam – beat The Rock
11/17/02 Survivor Series – loses title to The
Big Show when Paul Heyman turns on Brock
3/30/03 WrestleMania 19 – beat Kurt Angle
7/27/03 Vengeance – loses title to Kurt Angle in
a match that also features The Big Show
9/18/03 SmackDown! – beat Kurt Angle in an 1
hour Iron Man Match
2/15/04 No Way Out – loses title to Eddie
Guerrero due to Goldberg’s interference
Sources: PWI Almanac,
IMSD.com, Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal,
and Obsessed With Wrestling.com
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