Stephen Matthew Neal (born October 9, 1976) is a former American football guard who played his entire career for the New England Patriots of the National Football League. He is a former national champion amateur and collegiate wrestler at Cal State-Bakersfield. He was signed by the Patriots as an undrafted free agent in 2001, and won three Super Bowl rings with the team.

Neal attended San Diego High School in San Diego, California and was a letterman in football, wrestling, swimming, tennis, and track and field. In wrestling, as a senior, he posted a 45–2 record and placed fourth at the California State Wrestling Tournament in the 189-pound weight class. In 1998, he wrestled and defeated future NFL running back Ricky Williams.

Neal attended California State University, Bakersfield and became one of the top wrestlers in the nation, compiling a 151–10 record with four All-American seasons. He placed fourth in NCAA Division I as a freshman and second as a sophomore before winning titles his junior and senior year. His final title in 1999 came via a win over future NCAA wrestling champion, WWE Champion, and UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar. In 1999, Neal won the Dan Hodge Award following a year in which he won the U.S. Freestyle Championship, the Pan-American Games title and the World Championship. at 286 pounds. In 1999, he won the FILA outstanding wrestler award, an honor given to the best wrestler in the world. His 1999 season led up to the 2000 Summer Olympics trials where Kerry McCoy edged him for the trip to Sydney, Australia. After the trials, Neal retired from wrestling.

Brock Edward Lesnar (/ˈlɛznər/; born July 12, 1977) is an American professional wrestler, actor, former mixed martial artist and amateur wrestler, signed with WWE and appearing on its Raw brand. 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. 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.

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. After leaving WWE, Lesnar pursued a career in the NFL. He played during the preseason for the Minnesota Vikings, but ended up being a late cut. 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. 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.