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Dan Severn
Severn in the ring at a 2010 event
Born	(1958-06-08) June 8, 1958 (age 54) Coldwater, Michigan, United States
Other names	The Beast
Nationality	American
Height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight	250 lb (113 kg; 17 st 12 lb)
Division	Heavyweight (265 lb)
Style	Wrestling
Fighting out of	Coldwater, Michigan
Rank	5th degree black belt in Judo(citation needed)
Wrestling	NCAA Division I Wrestler
Years active	1994 - 2012
Mixed martial arts record
Total	127
Wins	101
By knockout	17
By submission	60
By decision	24
Losses	19
By knockout	3
By submission	9
By decision	7
Draws	7
Other information
University	Arizona State University
Website	http://www.the-beast.com/
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog
last updated on: March 10, 2010 (2010-03-10)

Daniel DeWayne Severn (born June 8, 1958) is an American mixed martial artist and professional wrestler, notable for his success in the early years of Ultimate Fighting Championship tournaments. Severn has fought and wrestled for many mixed martial arts and professional wrestling promotions, including King of the Cage, PRIDE FC, Cage Rage, WEC, RINGS, and the World Wrestling Federation. He holds a professional MMA Record of 100–18–7 and is a UFC Hall of Famer and a former UFC Superfight Champion.

In professional wrestling Severn is a two-time world champion, having won the NWA World Heavyweight Championship twice. As of January 2011, at age 52+, Severn still competes in MMA Competition and pro wrestling. Along with competition, Severn also makes special appearances and autograph signings. He also travels the globe instructing seminars in MMA, grappling, and amateur wrestling. More importantly, Severn is focused on getting his Law Enforcement Training (Danger Zone: LET) developed into more police departments, corrections facilities and the military.

Career[link]

Wrestling[link]

Severn has a long history in Greco-Roman and freestyle wrestling. He was a two time All-American at Arizona State University,^[1] the original Sunkist Kid of the Sunkist Kids,^[2] and a wrestling coach at both his alma mater Arizona State and Michigan State. In addition to his home country, he has wrestled in Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Japan, England, and several other countries.

Severn failed to win in Olympic trials in 1984 and 1988 (he was a finalist in the trials). In his long career, he has held many national and international titles. He was often introduced to the UFC Octagon as holding more than 100 in total. Severn also held the US national record for victories by pin from 1976 to 1992.

Severn began his career in the fight game as a Greco-Roman and freestyle wrestler. He quickly became a top high school and collegiate wrestler capturing many titles, honors, and several national and world titles. As a high school wrestler Severn was a two-time national champion and set eight national records in his career. Severn was inducted into Arizona State University's wrestling hall of fame at the end of his collegiate career.

After completing his degree program and graduation Severn entered numerous competitions from 1982 to 1994 that took him to Japan, Hungary, Cuba, France, and Turkey. On each trip, Severn captured another title. He also secured 13 National AAU wrestling championships during those years. The Beast also tried his hand at coaching wrestling at ASU and Michigan State University as he continued to compete and excel after his collegiate career.

Severn has been profiled in the press around the world in such publications as USA Today, People, Karate and Kung Fu Illustrated, Black Belt Magazine, MAD, Full Contact Fighter, and many of the pro wrestling publications. Severn also runs a wrestling product company and holds annual wrestling clinics for kids of all ages. He has appeared on 48 Hours, 20/20, The Gordon Elliot Show, Nash Bridges, and many commercials.

Severn has developed a 10,000-square-foot (930 m²) training facility on his property called "Michigan Sports Camps" in Coldwater, Michigan. This facility is able to house and train individuals for mixed martial arts, boxing, kickboxing, amateur wrestling and professional wrestling.

Mixed martial arts[link]

In 1994, Severn started competing in the Ultimate Fighting Championships. He was the first world-class wrestler to enter the UFC, foreshadowing the period of dominance by wrestlers such as Don Frye in UFC 8 and 9 and Mark Coleman in UFC 10 and 11. Severn entered the UFC in 1994 at UFC 4: Revenge of the Warriors, where he impressed many UFC fans by executing two impressive back suplexs on Anthony Macias. In the finals of UFC 4, Severn was defeated by Royce Gracie who secured a triangle choke for the victory. The submission loss came after Severn was in Gracie's guard for almost 15 minutes.

He soon returned to mixed martial arts competition, defeating several opponents to capture the tournament championship at UFC 5: Return of the Beast. Severn's first fight was with Russian Oleg Taktarov at UFC 5. He won by TKO after the referee stopped the fight due to a cut.

After winning UFC 5, Severn was matched up with Ken Shamrock at UFC 6 to determine the first UFC Superfight Champion, but was defeated by Shamrock early in the fight via submission.

Severn then entered the UFC's Ultimate Ultimate 1995, which at the time was the toughest and most competitive tournament in UFC history, consisting of past UFC tournament champions and runner ups. Severn defeated Paul Varelans, David "Tank" Abbott, and UFC 6 tournament winner Oleg Taktarov all in the same night to capture the tournament title.

With this win, Severn earned a rematch and title shot against then current UFC champion Ken Shamrock for the UFC Superfight Championship. Severn won a split decision in what most fans regard as one of the worst fights in MMA history, mainly due to legal issues surrounding the event. With the win, Severn captured his third title for the promotion.

Severn managed his friend and fellow UFC champion Don Frye during UFC 8. In 1999, Severn founded a new mixed martial arts promotion intended to provide a platform for amateur fighters, called The Danger Zone, in which Severn has also fought. Severn has also trained and became a mentor to notable mixed martial artists including former UFC light-heavyweight champion Rashad Evans, The Ultimate Fighter competitor Luke Zachrich, Sean Sherk, and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson.^{[citation needed]}

Severn was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame at UFC 52.^[3]

Dan Severn, one of the earliest and most legendary stars of the UFC, continued his MMA career on 29 January 2011 by racking up his 97th, and 8th straight, victory in a win over Scott Fraser. In doing so he won the Elite 1 Heavyweight championship. The end came at 4:59 of Round 2 as Fraser tapped to Severn’s arm triangle which he has used to secure his last three victories. The event took place at the Casino New Brunswick in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada.^[4]

Former NWA World Champion and current UFC Hall of Famer Dan Severn successfully defeated Cal Worsham again, this time via unanimous decision in the main event of Legends Collide 2 on 20 February 2011. Held under the long running Gladiator Challenge promotion in San Jacinto, California, Severn picked up his 9th straight win to improve his record to 98-16-7.^[5]

MMA legend, Dan "The Beast" Severn, earned his 100th career victory on April 16, 2011 with a submission victory over Aaron Garcia at KOTC: Texas.^[6]

Professional wrestling[link]

Severn is an accomplished professional wrestler, having worked for UWF International in Japan, the National Wrestling Alliance, and the World Wrestling Federation.

He entered the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) in 1995, and defeated Chris Candido for his first NWA World Heavyweight Championship on a Smoky Mountain Wrestling card. Severn would go on to win the UFC Superfight Heavyweight Championship that year, making him the first and only man to hold an MMA and a professional wrestling championship simultaneously. Severn would go on to hold the NWA Championship for four years, the longest reign in over two decades and currently the third-longest reign in the belt's history.

As NWA champion, Severn appeared in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) during a storyline where the NWA invaded the WWF. During his one year tenure, he competed in the Brawl for All tournament, beating The Godfather in the first round. However, he withdrew prior to the quarterfinals, allowing The Godfather to advance by default. He would also take part in the 1998 King of the Ring tournament, only to lose to The Rock in the Semi-Finals. Later that year he was involved in a storyline with Owen Hart, where Hart caused an injury to the neck of Severn, via a piledriver.^[7] He was part of the 1999 Royal Rumble being the 8th entrant lasting almost 6 minutes before being eliminated by Mabel. He feuded with old MMA rivial Ken Shamrock, where the WWF played up their history in UFC.

Severn appeared in 2000 in the short-lived WXO promotion. In 2001, he again won the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, this time from Shinya Hashimoto in Japan. This title reign was controversial and short-lived, as the title was stripped from Severn when he was unable to appear on the inaugural NWA-TNA pay-per-view to defend his title; the belt was won that evening by Ken Shamrock.

Severn founded Price of Glory Wrestling based out of Coldwater, Michigan in June 2004. Utilizing the many students at his pro wrestling school Michigan Sports Camps, they created the now popular promotion running on a monthly basis. Severn has competed many times on Price of Glory Wrestling against the likes of Jimmy Jacobs, N8 Mattson, CJ Otis, Johnny Dynamo and more.

It was revealed on November 15, 2011 that Severn was (in kayfabe) training Eddie Edwards for his match with Davey Richards at Ring of Honor's Final Battle 2011, to take place on December 23, 2011 at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City.

Retirement[link]

On October 20, 2011, Severn announced he would retire from fighting in 2012. Wanting to finish his long career on a win he is looking for one last fight in 2012 against a larger named fighter hopefully Royce Gracie or Tim Sylvia.^[8]

Personal life[link]

Severn has a son named David Severn, who is a two-time state wrestling champion at Bronson High School.

In professional wrestling[link]

• Finishing moves
  • Armbar
  • Beast Choker (Dragon sleeper with body scissors)

• Signature moves
  • Back to belly piledriver, sometimes transitioned into an armbar
  • Belly to belly suplex
  • Guillotine choke
  • Heel hook
  • Key lock
  • Rear naked choke

• Nicknames
  • The Beast^[7]

• Managers
  • Jim Cornette^[9]

Championships and accomplishments[link]

Amateur wrestling[link]

• Arizona State University wrestling Hall of Famer
• 1980 Summer Olympic team alternate
• 13 National AAU wrestling championships from 1982 to 1994
• 1984 Summer Olympic team alternate
• 1985 Canada Cup Gold Medalist^[10]
• 1988 Summer Olympic team alternate

Mixed martial arts[link]

• Elite-1 MMA
  • Elite-1 MMA Heavyweight Championship (one time, current)
• Continental Freefighting Alliance
  • CFA Super Heavyweight Championship (one time, current)
• Gladiator Challenge
  • Gladiator Challenge Superfight Heavyweight Championship (one time, current)
• The Danger Zone
  • Undefeated in Danger Zone single bout competition
• Ultimate Fighting Championship
  • UFC 5 Tournament Winner
  • Ultimate Ultimate 1995 Tournament Winner
  • UFC Superfight Championship (one time, last)
  • UFC 4 Tournament Runner Up
  • UFC Hall of Fame
  • UFC Viewer's Choice Award ^[11]
• World Extreme Cagefighting*
  • Headlined and Won the main event of WEC 1

Professional wrestling[link]

• Great American Mat Endeavors
  • GAME Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[12]

• Global Wrestling Alliance
  • GWA Heavyweight Championship (3 times)^[12]

• National Championship Wrestling
  • NCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[12]

• National Wrestling Alliance
  • NWA United Kingdom Heavyweight Championship (one time)
  • NWA World Heavyweight Championship (two times)

• Price of Glory Wrestling
  • PoG Heavyweight Championship (one time)

• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • PWI ranked him #35 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 1995^[13]
  • PWI ranked him #252 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003^[14]

Mixed martial arts record[link]

References[link]

1. ^ http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/asu/sports/m-wrestl/auto_pdf/allamericans.pdf
2. ^ "Mat Stars Open Quest Of Olympics". The Sunday Oklahoman. 18 March 1984. 
3. ^ Dan Severn to Join UFC Hall of Fame, UFC, 14 April 2005, http://modules.ufc.com/index.cfm?fa=news.detail&gid=1214 
4. ^ http://insidefights.com/2011/01/31/52-year-old-dan-severn-wins-8th-straight-fight/
5. ^ http://www.wrestleview.com/viewnews.php?id=1298557579
6. ^ http://www.mmanews.com/forums/general-mma-forum/48237-dan-severn-picks-up-his-100th-career-win-past-weekend.html
7. ^ ^{a b} Shields, Brian; Sullivan, Kevin (2009). WWE Encyclopedia. DK. p. 73. ISBN 978-0-7566-4190-0. 
8. ^ "UFC Hall of Famer Dan Severn Battling Bullies, Will Call It Quits After 2012". MMA Weekly. http://mmaweekly.com/ufc-hall-of-famer-dan-severn-battling-bullies-will-call-it-quits-after-2012. Retrieved 2011-10-20. 
9. ^ "Jim Cornette". Online World of Wrestling. http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/columns/managerscorner/01.html. Retrieved 2009-11-20. 
10. ^ McHale, Stephen (25 November 1985). "Canadian wrestlers third, Cubans grapple to victory". The Globe and Mail. 
11. ^ http://www.fighttimes.com/magazine/magazine.asp?article=856
12. ^ ^{a b c} Royal Duncan & Gary Will (4th Edition 2000). Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4. 
13. ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated Top 500 - 1995". Wrestling Information Archive. http://www.100megsfree4.com/wiawrestling/pages/pwi/pwi50095.htm. Retrieved 2008-07-14. 
14. ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated's Top 500 Wrestlers of the PWI Years". Wrestling Information Archive. http://www.100megsfree4.com/wiawrestling/pages/pwi/pwi500yr.htm. Retrieved 2010-09-15. 

External links[link]

Professional wrestling portal

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Dan Severn

• Official website
• Professional MMA record for Dan Severn from Sherdog
• Website of the film 'Catch - the hold not taken', featuring Dan Severn, a documentary on the impact of Wrestling in the UFC
• Interview on Genickbruch.com
• Dan Severn at the National Wrestling Hall of Fame
• Dan Severn's interview with John Kline of Elevation Radio
• MuscleSport Radio interview with Joe Pietaro, 6/16/09

Achievements
Preceded by Ken Shamrock	2nd UFC Superfight Champion May 17, 1996 - February 7, 1997	Final Superfight

v t e NWA World Heavyweight Champions Orville Brown · Lou Thesz · Leo Nomellini · Whipper Billy Watson · Édouard Carpentier · Dick Hutton · Pat O'Connor · Buddy Rogers · Bobo Brazil · Gene Kiniski · Dory Funk, Jr. · Harley Race · Jack Brisco · Giant Baba · Terry Funk · Dusty Rhodes · Tommy Rich · Ric Flair · Kerry Von Erich · Ron Garvin · Ricky Steamboat · Sting · Tatsumi Fujinami · Masahiro Chono · The Great Muta · Barry Windham · Shane Douglas · Chris Candido · Dan Severn · Naoya Ogawa · Gary Steele · Mike Rapada · Sabu · Steve Corino · Shinya Hashimoto · Ken Shamrock · Ron Killings · Jeff Jarrett · A.J. Styles · Raven · Rhino · Christian Cage · Abyss · Adam Pearce  · Brent Albright · Blue Demon, Jr. · Colt Cabana (current) · The Sheik

Persondata
Name	Severn, Dan
Alternative names	Severn, Daniel DeWayne (full name); The Beast (nickname)
Short description	American wrestler
Date of birth	June 8, 1958
Place of birth	Coldwater, Michigan, United States
Date of death
Place of death

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (March 2010)

Royce Gracie
Born	(1966-12-12) December 12, 1966 (age 45) Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Nationality	Brazilian
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight	176 lb (80 kg; 12.6 st)
Division	Catchweight
Fighting out of	Palos Verdes, California, United States
Team	Gracie Humaitá
Teacher(s)	Helio Gracie
Rank	7th degree red and black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu[1]
Mixed martial arts record
Total	19
Wins	14
By submission	12
By decision	2
Losses	2
By knockout	2
Draws	3
Other information
Notable relatives	Gracie family
Website	http://www.roycegracie.tv
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog
last updated on: March 10, 2011 (2011-03-10)

Royce Gracie (Portuguese: [ˈʁɔjsi ˈɡɾejsi], English: /ˈrɔɪs ˈgreɪsiː/; born December 12, 1966) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist, a UFC Hall of Famer and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. A legend and pioneer in the sport of mixed martial arts, he is widely considered to be the most influential figure in the history of modern MMA.^[2][3]

Gracie gained fame for his domination in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He became known for beating opponents much larger than he was, and between 1993 and 1994, he was the tournament winner of UFC 1, UFC 2, UFC 4, and fought to a draw with Ken Shamrock in the championship match in the Superfight at UFC 5.^[4] Gracie popularized Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and revolutionized mixed martial arts with his results contributing to the movement towards grappling and cross-training in the sport.

He holds the most submission victories in UFC history with 11, which he earned between UFC 1 and UFC 4.

Early life[link]

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Royce is a member of the Gracie family. He is the son of Hélio Gracie (Helio along with his older brother Carlos Gracie are the originators of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu—Modern Brazilian Jiu Jitsu) and spent his childhood in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. As a toddler, Gracie learned Jiu-Jitsu from his father and his older brothers Rorion, Relson, and Rickson Gracie. He began competing at the age of 8 and by the time he was 16 had attained the level of blue belt.

A year later he was invited by his brother Rorion to help teach Jiu-Jitsu from his garage in America. Despite not knowing English, Gracie accepted the offer and moved to California. He competed in a number of Jiu-Jitsu tournaments in Brazil and the United States and compiled an amateur record of 51–3. Gracie received his black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu at the age of 18. Gracie is now a 7th degree red and black belt.

Mixed martial arts career[link]

The Ultimate Fighting Championship[link]

Brainchild of Rorion Gracie and Art Davie, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) was an eight-man single-elimination tournament with very few rules that would award $50,000 to the winner. The basic premise was to find out how different styles of martial arts would fare against each other. Art Davie placed ads in martial arts magazines and sent letters to anyone in any martial arts directory he could find to recruit competitors for the event. Among the takers at the first event in 1993 were kickboxer Patrick Smith, Pancrase fighter Ken Shamrock, and Savate world champion Gerard Gordeau.

While Art Davie felt that Gracie's older brother Rickson Gracie, who was stronger and more skilled than Royce, was the obvious choice as the Jiu-Jitsu representative, Rorion Gracie chose the younger Royce to represent the family style.

In his first match, Gracie defeated journeyman boxer Art Jimmerson. He tackled him to the ground using a baiana (morote-gari or double-leg) and obtained the dominant "mounted" position, also pinning Jimmerson's left arm around the boxer's own neck. Mounted and with only one free arm Jimmerson conceded defeat.

In the semi-finals, Gracie fought Ken Shamrock, who showed excellent grappling skills in his first-round submission win over Patrick Smith. Gracie immediately rushed Shamrock, who sprawled effectively and got on top of Gracie. Shamrock then grabbed Gracie's ankle and sat back to attempt the same finishing hold he used to finish his first match, but Gracie rolled on top of him and secured a rear choke that forced Shamrock to tap the mat in submission. Shamrock later stated that Gracie used his gi suit as a tool for ligature strangulation to perform the submission, protesting the fact that he was not allowed to wear his wrestling shoes because the event organizers had stated that it could be used as a weapon, feeling that the rules for the tournament were created to favor Gracie. Royce disputed the claim and said he had used a no-gi choke, meaning that there is no need to use his gi to apply this choke.

In the finals, Gracie defeated Savate World Champion Gerard Gordeau, taking his opponent to the ground and securing a rear choke.

Over the next year, Royce Gracie continued fighting in the UFC, obtaining submission wins over fighters such as Patrick Smith, 250 pound (113 kg) European Judo Champion Remco Pardoel, and Kimo Leopoldo. His final UFC victory was in a match that lasted for 16 minutes (there were no rounds or time limits at the time), during which he was continuously pinned underneath 260 pound (118 kg) wrestler Dan Severn. To end the match, Royce locked his legs in a triangle choke for a submission victory. The match extended beyond the pay-per-view time-slot and viewers, who missed the end of the fight, demanded their money back.

Time limits were re-introduced into the sport in 1995 and Ken Shamrock would become the first fighter to survive Royce Gracie's submission attack and earn a draw. The match lasted for 30 minutes and a 6-minute overtime. The draw sparked much debate and controversy as to who would have won the fight had judges determined the outcome, or had there been no time limits, as by the end of the fight Gracie's right eye was swollen shut. However, the swollen eye was a result of a standing punch due to a sudden change of the rules in which both of the fighters were restarted on the feet.^[5] After this fight the Gracies left the UFC.

At UFC 45 in November 2003, at the ten year anniversary of the UFC, Ken Shamrock and Royce Gracie became the first inductees into the UFC Hall of Fame. UFC President Dana White said;^[6]

Gracie withdrew from a fight before it began with Harold Howard at UFC 3, due to dehydration after his fight with Kimo Leopoldo.

PRIDE Fighting Championships[link]

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Kazushi Sakuraba, a former amateur and professional wrestler who derived his foundation in submissions not from jiu jitsu but rather from catch wrestling, rose up in the year's stablemate Nobuhiko Takada, before finding himself matched up with Sakuraba. Gracie and Sakuraba battled for an hour and a half. Early in the fight, Sakuraba nearly ended things with a knee-bar towards the end of the first round. Later on, Royce returned the favor with a guillotine choke. Indeed, the Gracie's own no time-limit rules began to work against Royce when Sakuraba, displaying much better conditioning, kept punishing Royce instead of going for submissions, prolonging the match.

As the fight wore on however, Sakuraba's wrestling skills and balance nullified Royce's ability to score a takedown and—in some instances—even pull guard. Royce's ever-present jiu-jitsu gi became a weapon for the wrestler to use against him as Sakuraba used it to help him control Gracie on the instances the fight did come to the ground. However, with Sakuraba's control of the takedown, these instances of ground warfare became increasingly sporadic. After the 90 minute battle of punishing leg kicks, Royce's brother threw in the towel. Gracie could no longer stand and suffered a broken femur from accumulated damage. Sakuraba would go on to defeat other members of the Gracie family including Renzo Gracie and Ryan Gracie earning him the nickname "Gracie Hunter."

Gracie returned to PRIDE in 2002 to fight Japanese gold-medalist judoka Hidehiko Yoshida in a Judo vs. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu limited rules MMA match. Gracie lost that match when the referee stopped the match after Yoshida had sunk in a deep gi-choke. Almost immediately, he contested the loss stating that he was fully conscious when the match was stopped. Later backstage, the Gracies demanded it be turned into a no contest, and an immediate rematch be booked (with different rules for the next time). If not, the Gracie family would pull themselves from PRIDE FC, and never fight for them again. PRIDE, desperate to keep the Gracie family with them, accepted their demands. Afterward, Royce took Rickson's advice and started fighting without a gi so that his opponents could not stall by holding onto the gi. The grudge match between Yoshida and Gracie had rules more like the standard PRIDE MMA rules. This match took place at PRIDE's Shockwave 2003 event on December 31, 2003. The match had no judges' decision per Gracie's request, and it ended in a draw after two 10-minute rounds.

In September 2004 Pride had a disagreement with Gracie about his participation in the 2005 Pride Middleweight Grand Prix. Gracie had issues with the proposed opponents and rules (Grand Prix fights must have a winner and cannot end in a draw). He jumped to the competing K-1 organization. Pride sued Gracie for breaching his contract with them. The case was settled in December 2005, with Gracie issuing a public apology, blaming his actions on a misinterpretation of the contract by his manager.

Fighting and Entertainment Group[link]

On December 31, 2004 Gracie entered the K-1 scene at the "Dynamite!" card inside the Osaka Dome, facing off against former sumo wrestler and MMA newcomer Akebono Tarō aka. Chad Rowan under special MMA rules (Two 10-minute rounds; the match would end as a draw if there was no winner after the two rounds). Gracie made quick work of his heavy opponent, forcing Akebono to submit to a shoulder lock at 2:13 of the first round. The match was refereed by renowned MMA ref John McCarthy.

Exactly one year later, on the "Dynamite!" card of December 31, 2005, Gracie fought Japan's Hideo Tokoro, a 143 pound fighter, in a fight ending in a draw after 20 minutes. Gracie's original opponent was scheduled to be the tall Korean fighter Choi Hong-man, another MMA newcomer.

Return to UFC[link]

On January 16, 2006, UFC President Dana White announced that Royce Gracie would return to the UFC to fight UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes on May 27, 2006, at UFC 60. This was a non-title bout at a catchweight of 175 lb. under UFC/California State Athletic Commission rules. To prepare, Gracie cross-trained in Muay Thai and was frequently shown in publicity materials from Fairtex.^[7] In round one, Hughes hyperextended Gracie's arm in a straight armbar, but Gracie refused to tap^[8] and held on with a calm expression on his face.

Hughes has stated, in past interviews, that Gracie would rather let his arm break than submit.^[9] Hughes went on to win the fight by TKO due to strikes at 4:39 of the first round.

Royce said later after the fight with Hughes that he wanted a rematch and that he wasn't surprised by Hughes' performance, "No, we knew what he was planning to do. We worked out his gameplan before the fight, and he did exactly what we expected. I over-trained for the fight. That was all. I started training too much, too hard, for too long. He did exactly what we expected."^[10]

Rematch with Sakuraba[link]

On May 8, 2007, EliteXC announced that Gracie's opponent for the June 2 K-1 Dynamite!! USA event in Los Angeles, California, would be Japanese fighter Kazushi Sakuraba.

In a largely strategic and uneventful fight, Gracie defeated Sakuraba by a somewhat controversial unanimous decision, not only many viewers and MMA sites felt that Sakuraba won the fight, Sherdog scored it 29–28 in favor of the Japanese fighter,^[11] but also due to the fact that Royce was caught with huge levels of Nandrolone in his system, “Use of steroids is simply cheating,” said Armando Garcia, California State Athletic Commission executive director. “It won’t be tolerated in this state.”^[12]

Steroids[link]

On June 14, 2007, the California State Athletic Commission declared that Gracie had tested positive for Nandrolone, an anabolic steroid, after his fight with Sakuraba.^[13] According to the California State Athletic Commission, the average person could produce about 2 ng/ml of Nandrolone, while an athlete following "rigorous physical exercise" could have a level of around 6 ng/ml. Both "A" and "B" test samples provided by Gracie "had a level of over 50 ng/ml and we were informed that the level itself was so elevated that it would not register on the laboratory's calibrator," said the CSAC.^[14] Gracie was fined $2,500 (the maximum penalty the Commission can impose) and suspended for the remainder of his license, which ended on May 30, 2008. Gracie paid the fine.^[15] The California State Athletic Commission's Bill Douglas told MMAWeekly, "Currently, our rules do not support overturning a decision based off the drug test results. However, Armando Garcia and I are meeting with the Attorney General next month to begin the process of modifying the existing laws to incorporate those rules for the future. Should everything move along like I anticipate, I would expect to see the changes in place by the end of the year."

Royce Gracie decided to dispute the allegations during an online video interview on May 2009, more than two years after the fact, saying that his weight in the first UFC event was 178 lb and claiming his weight during his Sakuraba fight was 180 lb, thus only gaining 2 pounds.^[16] This was widely disputed by experts as his weight was actually 188 lb for the Sakuraba fight. According to ESPN "Gracie is hardly possessed of an exaggerated physique, but he was clearly more sculpted for his June 2 fight with Kazushi Sakuraba than he was for a May 2006 match with Matt Hughes. In the former contest, he weighed in at 175 pounds; for Sakuraba, he was 188. One may not need to be nutritionist to observe that a muscle gain of 13 pounds in one year at the age of 40 is a strikingly accomplished feat. Athletes nearing the half-century mark are often happy to maintain functional mass, let alone pack it on".^[17]

Possible return to UFC[link]

While Gracie does not consider himself officially retired, neither is he actively searching out matches, telling FanHouse, "I get approached all the time. I just have to say, 'Set up a show,' and I can fight. That's easy. But I don't really have that urge to fight, that anger to fight." In a recent interview in December 2010, he stated that he might go for a superfight, but he is negotiating his comeback for 2011.^[18][19]

On December 15, 2010 the UFC held a press conference in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil announcing an event August 27, 2011 at the HSBC Arena. During the press conference Royce stated: "This return of UFC to Brazil touched me, made me feel the wish of coming back to the Octagon. Everything is being negotiated with Dana White. Let's wait”. On March 11, 2011 Royce Gracie's profile was added back to ufc.com active fighters list as a middleweight. His manager stated that they were actively negotiating with the UFC for a return to the octagon and said it was just a matter of "getting it nailed down" and that there was plenty of time for it.^[20]

Championships and accomplishments[link]

Mixed Martial Arts[link]

• Ultimate Fighting Championship
  • UFC 1 Tournament Winner
  • UFC 2 Tournament Winner
  • UFC 4 Tournament Winner
  • Longest Fight in UFC History UFC 5 at 36 minutes
  • UFC Hall of Fame
  • UFC Viewer's Choice Award^[21]
  • Most submission victories in UFC history (eleven)
  • Second most consecutive victories in UFC history (eleven)
• Black Belt Magazine
  • 1994 Competitor of the Year [2]
• Wrestling Observer Newsletter
  • Fight of the Year (2000)- vs. Kazushi Sakuraba on May 1

Personal life[link]

Gracie and his wife Marianne have three sons, Khonry, Khor, and Kheydon and a daughter named, Kharianna.^[22]

He starred in the music video for "Attitude" by Brazilian band Sepultura.

In an interview in early 2009,^[23] Royce made a series of claims, including:

In an interview that took place January 2010^[24] Royce stated that he had adopted his father's stance on belt promotions and had gone back to wearing a dark blue belt, as opposed to the more widely accepted black belt.

Mixed martial arts record[link]

See also[link]

• Gracie family
  • Hélio Gracie (Father)
  • Carlos Gracie (uncle)
  • Rickson Gracie (Half-brother)
  • Carlos Gracie Jr. (Cousin)
  • Renzo Gracie (First cousin, once-removed)
  • Rorion Gracie (Half-brother)
  • Relson Gracie (Half-brother)
  • Royler Gracie (Brother)
  • Rolker Gracie (Brother)
  • Carlson Gracie (Cousin)
  • Rolls Gracie (Cousin)
  • Ralek Gracie (Nephew)
  • Kyra Gracie Guimarães (First cousin, twice-removed)
• List of sportspeople sanctioned for doping offences
• List of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioners

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Royce Gracie

• Official Website
• Professional MMA record for Royce Gracie from Sherdog
• Official UFC Profile

Brock Lesnar
Lesnar at a WWE Raw show in 2012.
Ring name(s)	Brock Lesnar
Billed height	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Billed weight	266 lb (121 kg)
Born	(1977-07-12) July 12, 1977 (age 34)[1] Webster, South Dakota, United States[2]
Resides	Alexandria, Minnesota, United States
Billed from	Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
Trained by	Ohio Valley Wrestling
Debut	October 2000

Brock Edward Lesnar^[1] (/ˈlɛznər/; born July 12, 1977) is an American professional wrestler, actor, former mixed martial artist and amateur wrestler,^[3] signed with WWE and appearing on its Raw brand.^[4] He is also a former UFC Heavyweight Champion and former #1 ranked mixed martial arts (MMA) Heavyweight by Sherdog; he was ranked #5 before he announced his retirement at the end of 2011.^[5] Lesnar is an accomplished amateur wrestler, winning the 2000 NCAA heavyweight wrestling championship and placing second in 1999, losing in the finals to 1999 world freestyle wrestling champion and future New England Patriots offensive lineman Stephen Neal.^[6]

He gained prominence in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) from 2002 to 2004, where he is a former three-time WWE Champion, becoming the youngest WWE Champion at age 25 with his first reign. Lesnar was the 2002 King of the Ring and the winner of the 2003 Royal Rumble.^[7][8] After leaving WWE, Lesnar pursued a career in the NFL.^[9] He played during the preseason for the Minnesota Vikings, but ended up being a late cut.^[10] Lesnar returned to professional wrestling at the end of 2005, and joined New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), where he won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in his first match.^[11] He was officially stripped of the title by NJPW in July 2006, and took the physical belt with him to Inoki Genome Federation (IGF), where he was still recognized as IWGP Champion until June 2007.^[12]

Lesnar started a career in MMA and won his first fight in June 2007.^[13] He then signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in October 2007. He lost his UFC debut against Frank Mir, but defeated Heath Herring in his sophomore fight. He subsequently captured the UFC Heavyweight Championship from Randy Couture on November 15, 2008, then avenged his loss to Mir at UFC 100 to become the Undisputed Champion. After being sidelined from fighting in late 2009 due to diverticulitis, Lesnar returned to defeat the Interim UFC Heavyweight Champion Shane Carwin at UFC 116. Lesnar lost the Heavyweight belt against Cain Velasquez at UFC 121. He was once again stricken with a bout of diverticulitis in May 2011 and had surgery to try to cope with the ailment.^[14] Lesnar returned at UFC 141 in December 2011, where he lost to Alistair Overeem and promptly retired from the UFC.^[15] In April 2012, Lesnar returned to WWE.

Early life[link]

Brock Lesnar was born in Webster, South Dakota. He attended Webster High School in Webster, where he had a wrestling record of 33–0–0 in his senior year.^[16] Lesnar admits he graduated last of 54 students in his class.^[17] Lesnar later attended the University of Minnesota on a full wrestling scholarship for his junior and senior years of college; his roommate was fellow professional wrestler Shelton Benjamin who served as Lesnar's assistant coach.^[18] Lesnar won the 2000 NCAA wrestling championship as a heavyweight after placing second in 1999.

Prior to joining the Minnesota Golden Gophers, Lesnar wrestled at Bismarck State College in Bismarck, North Dakota.^[2] Lesnar finished his amateur career as a two-time NJCAA All-American, 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.^[19]

Professional wrestling career[link]

World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment (2000–2004)[link]

Training and debut (2000–2002)[link]

In 2000, after leaving college, Lesnar signed up with the World Wrestling Federation. He was sent to its developmental territory, Ohio Valley Wrestling. There, he formed a tag team known as "The Minnesota Stretching Crew" with his former college roommate, Shelton Benjamin. Lesnar and Benjamin won the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship on three occasions.^[20] He wrestled several dark matches in 2001 and 2002 before being called up to the main roster.^[11]

Lesnar debuted on WWF television on the March 18, 2002 episode of Raw, the night after WrestleMania X8, coming through the crowd and attacking Al Snow, Maven, and Spike Dudley during the course of a match. He was accompanied by Paul Heyman, who was seen giving instructions to Lesnar.^[21] When the brand extension was introduced in the WWF, Lesnar was drafted to the Raw brand.^[22] Later, Heyman was confirmed to be Lesnar's agent and gave Lesnar the nickname "The Next Big Thing".^[23] Brock's first feud was with the Hardy Boyz. Lesnar and Jeff Hardy squared off at Backlash in Lesnar's first official televised match.^[11] He won the match by knockout.^[24] The next night on Raw Lesnar faced off against Matt Hardy, defeating him in the same fashion.^[25] At Judgment Day, Lesnar once again gained the upper hand on the Hardy Boyz before tagging his partner, Heyman, in to make the pin.^[26]

Main event status (2002–2003)[link]

Lesnar at a WWE show in 2003.

In June 2002, Lesnar won the King of the Ring tournament, defeating Rob Van Dam in the final round.^[7] This victory earned him a shot at the WWE Undisputed Championship at SummerSlam.^[26] On July 22, Lesnar joined the SmackDown! brand.^[27] After a quick feud with Hollywood Hulk Hogan in August 2002, Lesnar began feuding with the Undisputed Champion The Rock.^[28] At the main event of SummerSlam, Lesnar defeated The Rock to become the WWE Undisputed Champion.^[26] With his victory at age 25, Lesnar became the youngest WWE Champion in history (a record that was previously held by The Rock and stands to date).^[26] With the WWE Undisputed Championship being defended on both brands, Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff expected Lesnar to be able to return to Raw the following night. However, SmackDown General Manager Stephanie McMahon announced that Lesnar's contract only required him to defend the title on SmackDown!, forcing Bischoff to establish a new world championship for his brand. With the new World Heavyweight Championship on the Raw brand, the now disputed WWE Undisputed Championship simply became known as the WWE Championship.^[29]

Lesnar's rapid rise to the top of WWE in 2002 led to a feud with The Undertaker, which involved a match at Unforgiven.^[26] It ended in a double disqualification leading to Lesnar retaining the title. The next month, at No Mercy, he faced The Undertaker again, this time in a Hell in a Cell match. Leading up to the match, Lesnar broke the Undertaker's hand with a propane tank.^[30] 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.^[31] In a match that saw both wrestlers and even Heyman covered in blood, it ended when Lesnar reversed an attempted Tombstone piledriver into his finishing F-5 maneuver for the win.^[26] Six days after his Hell in a Cell match with The Undertaker, Lesnar successfully retained his WWE title in a Handicap match with Heyman at the Rebellion pay-per-view against Edge.^[32]

Lesnar's next opponent was The Big Show. Heyman was convinced more than anyone that Lesnar could not win, trying to talk him out of defending the title.^[33] Lesnar refused and lost the championship in Madison Square Garden at the Survivor Series pay-per-view to Big Show, Lesnar's first pinfall loss in WWE. When the champion tried to pin the 500-pounder following an F-5, he was betrayed by Heyman who pulled the referee out of the ring allowing Big Show to capitalize by chokeslamming Lesnar on a steel chair. Show went on to pin Lesnar and win the title. As a result, Lesnar became a fan favorite.^[34] Following Survivor Series, Heyman made it clear that Lesnar would not get a rematch, even going so far as to sneak a special clause in his contract.^[35] In order to gain his revenge on Big Show and Heyman, Lesnar interfered in his first title defense, which came against Kurt Angle the next month at Armageddon. Lesnar hit the F-5 on the champion, which enabled Angle to pin him and win the title. On the next edition of SmackDown, however, Angle introduced Heyman as his manager and, despite promising Lesnar a match for his title earlier in the evening, declared that Lesnar still would not get a title shot. Lesnar was then beaten down by Big Show and Angle following the main event, but the former champion got his revenge after the show went off the air. While getting attacked again and berated by Heyman, Lesnar recovered and began to fight off both men. He eventually clotheslined Big Show out of the ring and then knocked him out with a steel chair when he returned, leaving Angle alone with Lesnar. Lesnar then chased the champion, who had escaped to the outside, and resumed his assault that culminated when Lesnar used the F-5 to propel Angle's right knee into the steel ringpost. As paramedics tended to a screaming Angle, Lesnar finished off the assault with a kneebreaker on the ringside barricade, (kayfabe) breaking the champion's leg.

With Angle temporarily put out of action, Lesnar's rivalry with Heyman and the Big Show resumed, which culminated in a match at the Royal Rumble in January 2003. A spot in the Royal Rumble match was on the line, and winning the match would be Lesnar's only hope for a potential title shot. Lesnar defeated Big Show to gain entry into the match and entered at #29, the second to last competitor to enter the match. He eliminated Matt Hardy and Team Angle, which was composed of the debuting (at the time) Charlie Haas and his former OVW teammate, Shelton Benjamin who were mentored by the WWE champion. Lesnar made it to the final two, with the only remaining entry being a returning Undertaker who entered the match last. Lesnar went on to win the match by eliminating Undertaker, which now guaranteed him a title match which he would receive at WrestleMania XIX.^[34]

Lesnar suffered a concussion after botching a shooting star press at WrestleMania XIX.

After the Royal Rumble, Lesnar's feud with Angle, Heyman, and their allies continued as Angle retained the title at the Rumble by defeating Chris Benoit. Lesnar and Benoit faced off against Angle, Haas, and Benjamin at No Way Out the following month and Lesnar's team won the match. This helped to forward the feud leading into the main event at WrestleMania.^[34] During the match, Lesnar attempted and botched a shooting star press, a move typically done by cruiserweights but a move Lesnar knew how to perform, having done so in developmental matches. However, Lesnar overestimated the distance he could jump to execute the move. As a result, he did not get enough rotation on his leap and instead of landing with his body on top of Angle's, Lesnar jammed his head and neck by hitting Angle's side and ribcage. This stunned Lesnar and forced Angle to improvise the finish of the match. Lesnar suffered a severe concussion from the botched move, but still managed to pin Angle after an F-5 to win his second WWE Championship.^[34] The rivalry ended after this, as Angle was forced to undergo neck surgery and missed several months.

After WrestleMania Lesnar turned his attention to John Cena, who had returned from injury in February 2003 and who had been F-5'd into a ringpost in the same manner Angle had been. Cena claimed Lesnar nearly ended his career and even named his new finishing move the "FU" as a jab at the new champion.^[36] The feud ended relatively quickly in a match at Backlash when Lesnar defeated Cena. On the following SmackDown, Lesnar returned to his rivalry with Big Show after he injured Rey Mysterio badly during their match at Backlash. Show's attack resulted in Mysterio being carried out on a stretcher and back board and Big Show took Mysterio off the stretcher and swung the back board into the ringpost, compounding the injury.^[34] Lesnar called out the Big Show, who demanded that Lesnar put his title on the line against him. This led to a Stretcher match at Judgment Day for the title. Lesnar successfully retained his title with help from Rey Mysterio and a forklift.^[37] During the scripted rivalry, on SmackDown!, Lesnar lifted Big Show over in a Superplex, which caused the ring to collapse on impact.^[38]

As Lesnar and Big Show continued their rivalry, Kurt Angle returned from his neck surgery and he and Lesnar began to form a more friendly rivalry, as the two were allies yet contenders for the title. At the first ever SmackDown brand-exclusive pay-per-view in July, Vengeance, Lesnar took on Angle and Big Show in a No Disqualification Triple Threat match for his title, which ended after Angle hit his Angle Slam on both Big Show and Lesnar, pinning the champion to become WWE Champion for a fourth time.^[34]

Lesnar and Angle after their WWE Championship match at WrestleMania XIX

Lesnar continued to chase Angle's title, however, despite their friendship. Vince McMahon found his way into 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 huge swerve that came into focus on the August 7, 2003 SmackDown in Kelowna, British Columbia. That night, Lesnar and McMahon were to face each other in a steel cage match with Angle as the special guest referee as per McMahon's orders on the previous week's program. During the course of 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 rose to his feet, revealing the ruse to the crowd, and F-5'd Angle. He then brutally beat Angle in the cage while McMahon watched, and celebrated with the owner of the company afterward, turning heel in the process.

At SummerSlam, ^[39] Lesnar lost to Angle when Angle made Lesnar tap out to the ankle lock.^[40] After that, Lesnar began brutalizing smaller wrestlers and attacking his rivals on a more consistent basis. He returned to using the F-5 to propel his opponents' legs into the ringpost, as he did to Spanky and Gowen, and interfered in Angle's matches on two separate occasion.

On September 18, 2003, Lesnar received his third shot at Angle in as many months when he faced the champion in a sixty-minute Iron Man match for the title in what went down as one of the greatest matches in the history of SmackDown.^[41] Lesnar employed an early strategy where he assaulted the champion with a steel chair early in the match, getting himself disqualified to lose the first fall but allowing himself a chance to do a fair amount of damage. Lesnar won the next three falls by hitting Angle with the F-5 and pinning him, putting Angle's own ankle lock on him and forcing him to submit, and then getting Angle counted out after hitting a second F-5 on the floor. Angle recovered to pin the champion after an Angle Slam, but Lesnar won two additional falls by first leveling him with the championship belt while the referee's back was turned and then hitting a superplex from the top. That made it five falls to two in favor of the challenger with the match more than halfway over. In the final ten minutes of the match, Angle moved to within one fall after a pin and a submission with the ankle lock. For the final two minutes of the match, Lesnar tried to dodge Angle by leaving the ring on several occasions. Angle finally caught the champions with 1:12 left and hit a series of German suplexes, keeping Lesnar locked up for nearly 45 seconds. Lesnar, however, was able to hold on to the referee and kicked Angle below the belt with :35 left. However, since Lesnar was still holding the official he was not disqualified, and with nineteen seconds remaining Angle appeared to be out of it. However, Lesnar fell into a trap set by the champion and Angle locked in the ankle lock again. This time, Angle applied a grapevine hold to the lock, wrenching hard on Lesnar's ankle for the final fifteen seconds of the bout. However, Lesnar was able to withstand the hold for the remaining time and as a result, by a final count of five falls to four, won the match and his third WWE Championship.^[42]

With Angle finally out of his hair for the first time in nearly a year, Lesnar returned to feuding with The Undertaker. Lesnar had previously cost Undertaker the title in a match against then-champion Kurt Angle, which granted him a shot at Lesnar's title.^[43] At No Mercy, Lesnar defeated Undertaker in a Biker Chain match.^[44] However, the rivalry came to an end when Undertaker instead chose to focus on McMahon.

After Paul Heyman returned to WWE as general manager of SmackDown, Lesnar aligned himself with his former manager. Since he had also since been aligning himself with his former rival The Big Show for several weeks after his betrayal of Angle, this brought Lesnar almost full circle from the year prior, where Heyman and Big Show had conspired with each other to rid Lesnar of his title. With Survivor Series coming up, Lesnar decided to challenge Angle to a traditional Survivor Series elimination tag team match, with Lesnar picking four additional wrestlers and Angle doing the same. Lesnar chose Big Show as his first pick, with Heyman adding a returning Nathan Jones and a debuting Matt Morgan to bring the team number to four. Angle, in the meantime, chose Chris Benoit and The APA to join his team. However, Faarooq was injured during a match with Lesnar and Big Show and Angle's team was forced to not only find a replacement for him, but to fill the fifth spot. Lesnar's team picked A-Train to fill that 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 injured Holly the year before and he hadn't wrestled since.^[45] In the climax of the match, Chris Benoit became the second person to make Lesnar tap out.^[44]

Lesnar faced Benoit in a singles bout two weeks later for the WWE Championship on SmackDown!, where Lesnar won after Benoit passed out to Lesnar's debuting Brock Lock submission hold.^[46] He then began a brief feud with Hardcore Holly, defeating him at the Royal Rumble in January 2004 to retain his title.

Feuding with Goldberg and departure (2003–2004)[link]

Smackdown taping in Tacoma, WA, February 10, 2004

The Survivor Series event marked the first time Lesnar met Goldberg from the Raw brand, a man to whom Lesnar had been compared due to their similar physiques and undefeated streaks in wrestling. Lesnar claimed in a backstage interview that he could beat anybody in the world, leading to Goldberg interrupting the interview and introducing himself to Lesnar, shaking hands with him before leaving with a staredown.^[44] Lesnar followed this rivalry with a feud involving Hardcore Holly.^[47] 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 in 2004, Lesnar defeated Holly to retain the WWE Championship.^[48] Later in the Royal Rumble match, Lesnar attacked Goldberg and delivered an F-5, enabling Kurt Angle to eliminate him.^[44]

In February, Lesnar faced Eddie Guerrero for the title at No Way Out. Goldberg interfered in the match and was able to help Guerrero turn the tide in the match. Lesnar still had his chance to win by nailing an F-5 onto his title belt that Lesnar brought into the ring, but Guerrero countered with a DDT to drive the champion into the belt. After a frog splash, Guerrero pinned Lesnar to win the WWE Championship. An angry Lesnar then began feuding with Goldberg, blaming him for losing his title, and a match was set up between the two at WrestleMania XX.^[49] During the feud with Goldberg, Lesnar was at odds with Stone Cold Steve Austin, who was shown suggesting to Goldberg that he attack Lesnar at No Way Out.^[50] When Lesnar attacked Austin on Raw and stole his four-wheeler, Austin was inserted as the special guest referee for the Wrestlemania match.^[51] Behind the scenes, it was widely known that the match would be Goldberg's last in WWE.^{[citation needed]} Only a week before Wrestlemania, however, rumors surfaced that Lesnar, too, was leaving in order to pursue a career in the National Football League.^{[citation needed]} As a result, Lesnar's match with Goldberg became a fiasco as the fans at Madison Square Garden jeered and heckled both wrestlers vociferously.^[52] Goldberg gained victory after delivering a Jackhammer to Lesnar and both men subsequently received Stone Cold Stunners from Austin.^[52]

New Japan Pro Wrestling (2005–2007)[link]

On October 8, 2005, Lesnar won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in a three-way match at a New Japan Pro Wrestling show in the Tokyo Dome, which included the then-champion Kazuyuki Fujita and Masahiro Chono.^[53] He won the match by pinning Masahiro Chono after an F-5, which he had renamed the Verdict, since WWE owns the trademark on the F-5 name.^[11] After the match, he stated that this name was referring to his lawsuit against WWE. The match was his first pro wrestling match since leaving WWE.^[11] Lesnar is one of the few American wrestlers to have held this title.^[53]

On December 6, WWE filed a motion for a temporary restraining order to prevent Lesnar from continuing to work with NJPW, but the court did not grant it, and thus Lesnar had two non-title victories against Manabu Nakanishi and Yuji Nagata.^[54][55] Lesnar successfully defended his championship on January 4, 2006, against former champion Shinsuke Nakamura.^[54] On January 13, WWE once again filed an injunction against Lesnar to stop him from defending the IWGP Heavyweight Championship on March 19. Evidently this was not enforced (nor granted), as he went on to have a tag team match with Shinsuke Nakamura against Akebono and Riki Chōshū at the Sumo Hall on February 19, which was won after a Verdict to Chōshū.^[54][56] On March 19, at the Sumo Hall, Lesnar retained his championship against former Sumo Wrestling Grand Champion Akebono when Lesnar hit him with the championship belt and a DDT.^[57] Lesnar went on to successfully defend his title against the winner of the New Japan Cup, Giant Bernard, on May 3, 2006, in Fukuoka. This was the first American vs. American title match in NJPW since Vader vs. Stan Hansen in 1990.^[58]

On July 15, 2006, New Japan Pro Wrestling announced that Brock Lesnar had been stripped of the IWGP Heavyweight Championship as he would no longer be returning to defend the title due to "visa issues." A tournament was held on July 16 to determine the new champion, which was won by Hiroshi Tanahashi, the man Lesnar was originally scheduled to face. Lesnar continued to possess the physical IWGP Championship belt until late June 2007.^[12]

Approximately one year later on June 29, 2007, Lesnar defended his IWGP Heavyweight Championship (IGF promoter Antonio Inoki had stated he still viewed Lesnar as the "proper" IWGP Champion, as he was not defeated for the title) against TNA World Heavyweight Champion Kurt Angle in a champion versus champion match. Angle defeated Lesnar with the Ankle lock to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship as recognized by IGF and TNA.^[12] and challenged him to an MMA fight.^[59] This was Lesnar's last match as a professional wrestler until 2012 when he re-signed with WWE.

Lawsuit[link]

Lesnar had previously signed a no-compete clause in order to be released from his contract with WWE, which prohibited him from working for any other sports entertainment or mixed martial arts companies before June 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.^[60] 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.^[61] In July 2005, the two sides dropped their claims and entered negotiations to renew their relationship.^[62] WWE had offered Lesnar a contract, but on August 2, 2005, WWE's official website reported that Lesnar had withdrawn from any involvement with the company.^[63] The lawsuit was then entered into settlement on September 21, but talks broke down.^[64][65]

On January 14, 2006, Judge Christopher Droney stated that unless WWE gave him a good argument between then and January 25, he would rule in favor of Brock Lesnar, giving him a summary judgment. This would have enabled Lesnar to work anywhere he wanted immediately.^[66] WWE was later granted a deadline postponement.^[67] On April 24, World Wrestling Entertainment announced on their official website, WWE.com, that both parties had mutually come to a settlement and on June 12, a federal judge dismissed Lesnar's lawsuit against WWE after both parties requested for the case to be dismissed.^[68]

Return to WWE (2012)[link]

Brock Lesnar faces off with John Cena after his return in April 2012.

On April 2, 2012, Lesnar returned to the WWE at the end of Monday Night Raw, attacking John Cena.^[69] The following week, general manager John Laurinaitis introduced Lesnar as the new face of the WWE, he then announced Lesnar would face Cena at the Extreme Rules PPV. Cena then interrupted and slapped Lesnar in the face, the two then brawled which resulted in Cena getting a busted lip. On April 16, it was announced, via the official WWE website, that Lesnar would face Cena in an Extreme Rules match.^[70] At the pay-per-view, Lesnar bloodied Cena with MMA-style strikes, but would ultimately lose the match.^[71]

The following night on Raw, Chief Operating Officer Triple H returned to confront Lesnar over his new contract demands, saying wouldn't be authorizing any of them. Lesnar would then attack Triple H, apply a Kimura lock and break his arm.^[72] On the May 7 episode of Raw, Paul Heyman, serving as legal representative for Lesnar, announced that Lesnar had quit the WWE.^[73]

National Football League (2004–2005)[link]