Young Brock Lesnar: Glimpse At WWE Star’s Athletic Career Accomplishments From His Early Days

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Brock Lesnar is a generational athlete in combat sports and professional wrestling. Looking at his gigantic size weighing nearly 300 pounds, it’s inconceivable how he moves like a lightweight. His impressive strength is integrated with amazing agility making him an explosive athlete.

Today, Brock Lesnar is 46 years old. He is not exactly young anymore, but he is still physically capable of going toe-to-toe with any younger individual in the squared circle. Brock Lesnar’s young career had tons of achievements. He also had accomplishments beyond the squared circle, placing him among the greatest athletes ever.

1) 23-year-Old Brock Lesnar Won The NCAA Divison I Heavyweight Champion

The cornerstone of Brock Lesnar’s athleticism was built due to his success in amateur wrestling, making it a key factor in his recruitment to WWE through the University of Minnesota.

He played two sports in high school, football, and amateur wrestling, taking the latter more seriously. After Brock Lesnar moved to the University of Minnesota,  he finished as the runner-up in NCAA Division I Heavyweight wrestling.

He, however, improved his performance the following year, winning the NCAA Divison 2000 Heavyweight Championship. His amateur wrestling career has an impressive record of 106-5. 

2) 25-Year-Old Brock Lesnar Was The Youngest WWE Champion By Beating The Rock 

With a visually striking back and traps, Brock Lesnar looked like a monster who could wreak havoc on the WWE roster. As he was paired with Paul Heyman during his debut, the savvy mouthpiece of Brock Lesnar hyped him up by mentioning him as ‘ The Next Big Thing’. 

Following his debut in March 2002, he rose to the main-event scene, winning the King of the Ring 2002 tournament and getting a title shot against then-WWE Champion, The Rock.

They locked horns at SummerSlam, with The Beast Incarnate dominating a majority of the encounter against The Great One to win the most coveted prize in WWE at the age of 25. With that victory, Brock Lesnar became the new face of the new Ruthless Aggression Era.

3) WrestleMania 19 Mainevent At The Age Of 26

WrestleMania’s main event is a prestigious honor that every wrestler yearns to achieve one day to establish the main event status. For example, CM Punk longed for the WrestleMania main event spot for years but failed to get it.

Lesnar got the opportunity to headline the wrestling’s grandest show within a year after his debut in WWE, making it one of his most significant achievements. A 26-year-old Brock Lesnar wrestled in the main event of WrestleMania 19 and won a place among the biggest stars of WWE.

He wrestled Olympic Gold Medalist Kurt Angle, then the WWE Champion, and beat him in a highly competitive and grueling physical match, which was evenly matched between two elite-level wrestlers with a background in amateur wrestling. Lesnar’s botched Shooting Star Press caught everyone’s attention.

4) Signing For An NFL Team At 27

Brock Lesnar’s WWE career came to an abrupt end in 2004 when he decided to part away from the company, citing his unhappiness due to excessive workload, travel, and hectic schedule. Given his prior experience as a football player in high school, he decided to pursue a career in the NFL.

Minnesota Vikings signed the former WWE Champion. Despite showing promise as a football athlete, Lesnar did not go far in the NFL after he suffered injuries due to a motorbike accident.

Even though he featured in some pre-season games of the Vikings, he was eventually released by the team. The young Brock Lesnar at 27 tested his potential as an athlete, making it to a top-tier NFL team.

5) Secured A UFC Contract At 30 Years Old

The career feat that changed the trajectory of Brock Lesnar’s career was his prosperity as an MMA fighter. With a great background in amateur wrestling, UFC offered Lesnar a contract in 2007 when he was 30 years old.

From the scripted world of professional wrestling to the real deal of UFC inside the cage, Lesnar was the first former WWE Superstar to be signed by the MMA promotion.

Initially, he had a one-fight contract to fight Frank Mir. Despite losing the debut UFC match, The Beast Incarnate showed promise by dominating the battle. Seeing his talent, UFC finally offered him a long-term multi-fight contract.

6) Brock Lesnar Won The UFC Heavyweight Championship At 31

The Most noteworthy accomplishment of a young Brock Lesnar’s career was winning the MMA’s most coveted crown, the UFC Heavyweight Champion. It happened when he was 31 years old at UFC 91. Brock challenged Randy Couture.

He asserted his dominance inside the Octagon, winning the fight by Technical Knockout. Following the victory, The Beast had two successful title defenses against Frank Mir and Shane Carwin.  

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