Brock Lesnar

Early life

Brock Edward Lesnar was born in Webster, South Dakota, on July 12, 1977, the son of Stephanie and Richard Lesnar. Even though his surname is Slovenian, he is of Polish descent, and grew up on his parents' dairy farm in Webster. He has two older brothers named Troy and Chad, and a younger sister named Brandi. At the age of 17, he joined the Army National Guard and was assigned to an office job after his red–green colorblindness was deemed hazardous to his desire to work with explosives. He was discharged after failing a computer typing test and later worked for a construction company.

Amateur wrestling

Lesnar attended Webster High School, playing football and competing in wrestling, placing third in the state championships his senior year. He then went to Bismarck State College where in 1997, his freshman year, he placed 5th in the 275 lb. division of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA). In 1998, his sophomore year, he won the 275 lb championship. After two years at Bismarck State College, Lesnar transferred to the University of Minnesota on a wrestling scholarship, where he was roommates with future WWE colleague Shelton Benjamin, who was also his assistant coach.

Lesnar won the 2000 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I heavyweight wrestling championship his senior year after being the runner-up to Stephen Neal the year prior. He finished his amateur career as a two-time NJCAA All-American, the 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.

Professional wrestling career

World Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling Entertainment (2000–2004)

In 2000, Lesnar signed a developmental contract with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and was assigned to its Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) territory. There, Lesnar met Paul Heyman, who would later become his on-screen manager. Under the direction of OVW booker Jim Cornette, Lesnar was paired with his former University of Minnesota teammate Shelton Benjamin. Competing as the Minnesota Stretching Crew, the duo held the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship three times. Lesnar also took part in numerous dark matches in 2001 and early 2002 before being called up to the main roster.

Brock Lesnar, accompanied by Heyman, made his television debut on the March 18, 2002, episode of Raw, interfering in a Hardcore Championship match by attacking Al Snow, Maven, and Spike Dudley. Heyman began referring to Lesnar as "The Next Big Thing," a nickname that would be integrated into Lesnar's character presentation. During the WWF's 2002 brand extension, Lesnar was initially assigned to the Raw roster.

Lesnar was quickly featured in a storyline feud with the Hardy Boyz. At Backlash on April 21, he had his first televised match, defeating Jeff Hardy via referee stoppage. The following night, he secured a similar victory over Matt Hardy on Raw. Although he and Shawn Stasiak lost to the Hardy Boyz at Insurrextion on May 4, Lesnar and Heyman scored a win over them at Judgment Day on May 19, held shortly after the company transitioned from WWF to WWE. In June, Lesnar won the 2002 King of the Ring tournament, defeating Rob Van Dam in the finals at King of the Ring on June 23. As part of the tournament's stipulations, the win earned him a WWE Undisputed Championship match at SummerSlam on August 25. Leading into the event, he lost to Van Dam by disqualification at Vengeance on July 21 in a match for the Intercontinental Championship. On July 22, Lesnar was moved to the SmackDown brand, where he continued to be positioned as a dominant competitor. On the August 8 episode of SmackDown!, he became the second wrestler to defeat Hulk Hogan via submission.

At SummerSlam, Lesnar defeated The Rock to capture the WWE Undisputed Championship, becoming the youngest WWE Champion at age 25. His win also marked one of the fastest title ascensions in company history, reaching the top championship 126 days after his televised debut. Following his victory, storyline authority figures divided the championship between brands, with Lesnar declared exclusive to SmackDown and Raw introducing the World Heavyweight Championship. The WWE Undisputed Championship was subsequently renamed the WWE Championship.

New Japan Pro-Wrestling / Inoki Genome Federation (2005–2007)

After leaving professional football, Lesnar returned to wrestling in 2005 by debuting in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). On October 8, he won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in his first bout, defeating Kazuyuki Fujita and Masahiro Chono in a three-way match at the Tokyo Dome. Lesnar used the name The Verdict for his finishing move—previously known as the F-5—as a reference to ongoing legal disputes with WWE, who unsuccessfully sought to prevent him from competing in sports and entertainment elsewhere.

Lesnar defended the IWGP title against several opponents, including Shinsuke Nakamura at the January 4, 2006 Tokyo Dome event, Akebono in March, and Giant Bernard in May. However, in July 2006, NJPW stripped Lesnar of the championship, citing visa issues that prevented him from returning to defend it. Despite this, Lesnar retained physical possession of the belt for nearly a year.

On June 29, 2007, Lesnar lost the IWGP title to TNA World Heavyweight Champion Kurt Angle at the debut event of the Inoki Genome Federation (IGF). This marked Lesnar's final professional wrestling match until his return to WWE in 2012.

Return to WWE (2012–2020)

Lesnar returned to WWE on the April 2, 2012, episode of Raw, confronting John Cena and reestablishing himself as a heel. He was presented as a destructive force brought in to "legitimize" WWE, leading to a match against Cena at Extreme Rules on April 29, where Lesnar was defeated despite dominating much of the contest.

Shortly afterward, Lesnar entered a storyline dispute with WWE COO Triple H over contractual demands, leading to a physical altercation that resulted in a kayfabe arm injury to Triple H. Paul Heyman returned as Lesnar's legal representative, escalating the angle with a lawsuit and Lesnar's declared departure. The feud culminated at SummerSlam on August 19, where Lesnar defeated Triple H by submission. The following night on Raw, it was announced that Lesnar had seemingly quit WWE.

He returned on the January 28, 2013, episode of Raw, attacking WWE chairman Vince McMahon, resulting in a scripted pelvic injury. A confrontation with Triple H reignited their rivalry, leading to a match at WrestleMania 29 on April 7, where Lesnar was defeated in a No Holds Barred match with Triple H's career at stake. The feud concluded at Extreme Rules on May 19, where Lesnar won their final encounter inside a steel cage.

In mid-2013, Lesnar began a feud with CM Punk after attacking him on the June 17 episode of Raw, following tension between Punk and Paul Heyman. After Heyman turned on Punk at Money in the Bank on July 14, the rivalry escalated, leading to a no disqualification match at SummerSlam on August 18, where Lesnar defeated Punk.

Lesnar returned on the December 30 episode of Raw, positioning himself as a contender for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. After attacking Mark Henry and engaging in a brief feud with Big Show, which ended in a dominant win at the Royal Rumble on January 26, 2014, Lesnar was granted an open contract for a match at WrestleMania XXX on April 6. On the February 24 episode of Raw, The Undertaker returned and accepted the challenge, setting up their match for the event. At WrestleMania, Lesnar defeated The Undertaker, ending his 21–0 undefeated streak. The result received widespread media attention and is often cited as one of the most shocking moments in WWE history.

At SummerSlam on August 17, Lesnar defeated John Cena to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in dominant fashion, delivering sixteen suplexes and two F-5s with little offense from Cena. In their rematch at Night of Champions, Lesnar retained the title after Seth Rollins interfered, causing a disqualification. Rollins later aligned with The Authority and was added to Lesnar and Cena's title match at the Royal Rumble on January 25, 2015, which Lesnar won.

Second return to WWE (2021–2026)

Lesnar, now sporting a cowboy/farmer look with a beard and ponytail, returned as a face at SummerSlam and faced Reigns for the WWE Universal Championship at Crown Jewel, which Lesnar lost. On the December 3 episode of SmackDown, it was announced that Lesnar would once again face Reigns for the title, this time at the Day 1 event, but the match was canceled after Reigns contracted COVID-19, and Lesnar was instead added to Raw's WWE Championship match at the event, winning the title.

His title reign ended 29 days later at Royal Rumble, losing it to Lashley. However, Lesnar won the Royal Rumble match. Lesnar regained the WWE Championship at Elimination Chamber and challenged Reigns for the Universal Championship at WrestleMania 38 in a title unification Winner Takes All match. Lesnar lost the match at the event. On the June 17 episode of SmackDown, Lesnar once again returned, renewing his rivalry with Reigns. Lesnar faced Reigns in a Last Man Standing match for the title at SummerSlam, where Lesnar failed to beat Reigns for the title, ending their feud.

After Lesnar returned in October 2022, he feuded with Bobby Lashley. Lesnar defeated Lashley at Crown Jewel, and caused Lashley to lose his United States Championship on Raw Is XXX. At Elimination Chamber on February 18, Lesnar lost to Lashley by disqualification after he hit Lashley with a low blow and attacked both the referee and Lashley, ending their feud. At WrestleMania 39, he defeated Omos. After WrestleMania, Lesnar turned heel and feuded with Cody Rhodes. Lesnar would lose against Rhodes at Backlash, defeated Rhodes at Night of Champions by submission, and lost to Rhodes again at SummerSlam to end their feud.

According to several reports, Lesnar was scheduled to make his return to WWE at the 2024 Royal Rumble event as a participant in the Royal Rumble match. During the match, he would have been eliminated by Dominik Mysterio, as part of the build to a match against Mysterio at Elimination Chamber: Perth. However, a lawsuit was filed a few days before the Royal Rumble by Janel Grant, a former employee at WWE global headquarters between 2019 and 2022. Grant alleged that WWE co-founder Vince McMahon had coerced her into a sexual relationship with WWE executive John Laurinaitis and an unnamed WWE wrestler "who was also a former UFC fighter" . The unnamed talent was identified by The Wall Street Journal as Lesnar; Grant explicitly named Lesnar as the UFC/WWE talent in question when she amended her complaint in January 2025. As a result of the lawsuit, he was removed from the Royal Rumble and replaced by Bron Breakker. It was later reported that he was removed from WWE's creative plans ahead of their WrestleMania XL event, despite originally being planned to have a match against WWE Intercontinental Champion Gunther at the event. In February, he was removed from the WWE SuperCard video game. He would also be removed from the cover of WWE 2K24's "40 Years of WrestleMania" edition, as well as the playable roster, only being accessible through the game's Showcase Mode. He was also removed from the introduction video of WWE's weekly programming, with LA Knight replacing him.

Professional wrestling style and persona

Since Lesnar's debut, he was portrayed as a powerhouse athlete. He is often called by his nickname "The Beast Incarnate" or simply "The Beast". During his initial run when he was consistently main-eventing, WWE was in what is labeled by the company and fans as the "Ruthless Aggression Era". His go-to finishing maneuver for his entire career has been a fireman's carry facebuster known as the F-5 (or The Verdict when he wrestled outside of WWE). After his return in 2012, Lesnar focused on an MMA-oriented gimmick, sporting MMA gloves during his matches and adding the Kimura lock as a submission hold. Lesnar is also known for performing several suplexes (especially German suplexes) on his rivals, with these often being described as the opponent being taken to "Suplex City", named after an ad-lib Lesnar delivered to Roman Reigns during their WrestleMania 31 match. Lesnar has been managed by Paul Heyman for the majority of his WWE career with Heyman being Lesnar's mouthpiece for storylines and feuds.

Throughout the second half of the 2010s, Lesnar began to receive an increasing amount of criticism for his character and performances. Many reporters thought his Suplex City character "jumped the shark" and his matches had "become formulaic". He was largely criticized due to his absences from television during his time as Universal Champion despite being on a part-time contract. It was pointed out that he had the longest world championship reign since Hulk Hogan at the time, but only defended the title 13 times, all on pay-per-views, with Tim Fiorvanti from ESPN commenting that he had "removed the top title on Monday Night Raw from circulation". The short length of his matches was also criticized by journalists and fans. Former WWE Champion Bob Backlund criticized the fact that Lesnar used mostly suplexes during his matches, saying "it gets old to do the same thing over and over and over again".

Professional football career

After his match at WrestleMania XX, Lesnar sidelined his career in WWE to pursue a career in the National Football League (NFL) despite not playing American football since high school. The WWE issued this statement on their official website, WWE.com, following his departure:

Brock Lesnar has made a personal decision to put his WWE career on hold to prepare to tryout for the National Football League this season. Brock has wrestled his entire professional career in the WWE and we are proud of his accomplishments and wish him the best in his new endeavor.

Lesnar later told a Minnesota radio show that he had "three wonderful years" in WWE, but had grown unhappy and always wanted to play pro football, adding that he did not want to be 40 years old and wondering if he could have "made it" in football. In an interview about the NFL, he stated:

This is no load of bull; it's no WWE stunt. I am dead serious about this. I ain't afraid of anything and I ain't afraid of anybody. I've been an underdog in athletics since I was five. I got zero college offers for wrestling. Now people say I can't play football, that it's a joke. I say I can. I'm as good an athlete as a lot of guys in the NFL, if not better. I've always had to fight for everything. I wasn't the best technician in amateur wrestling but I was strong, had great conditioning, and a hard head. Nobody could break me. As long as I have that, I don't give a damn what anybody else thinks.

Lesnar had a great showing at the NFL Combine. On April 17, 2004, a minivan collided with his motorbike; he suffered a broken jaw and left hand, a bruised pelvis, and a pulled groin. Several NFL teams expressed interest in watching Lesnar work out. The Minnesota Vikings worked out Lesnar on June 11, 2004, but he was hampered by the groin injury suffered in the April motorcycle accident. On July 24 it was reported that he was nearly recovered from his groin injury. He signed with the Vikings on July 27 and played in several preseason games as a defensive tackle. He was released by the Vikings on August 30, 2004. Lesnar received an invitation to play as a representative for the Vikings in NFL Europe but declined due to his desire to stay in the United States with his family. He had several official football cards produced of him during his time with the Vikings.

Mixed martial arts career

Hero's (2007)

On April 29, 2006, after the final match of the K-1 World Grand Prix 2006 in Las Vegas, Lesnar stated his intent to join K-1's mixed martial arts league, Hero's. He trained with Minnesota Martial Arts Academy under Greg Nelson and Minnesota assistant head wrestling coach Marty Morgan. Lesnar signed the deal in August. His first fight was scheduled against Hong-man Choi of South Korea on June 2, 2007, at the Dynamite!! USA show. Prior to the match, Choi was replaced by Min-soo Kim. Lesnar submitted Kim with strikes in 1:09 of the first round to win his first official MMA match.

Ultimate Fighting Championship (2008–2011)

During UFC 77 on October 20, Lesnar joined Ultimate Fighting Championship with a one-fight contract. On February 2, 2008, Lesnar made his debut with the promotion at UFC 81 against former UFC Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir. Due to his large hands, Lesnar was wearing 4XL gloves for the fight, making him the second man in Nevada's combat sports history to wear such gloves, after Hong-man Choi. Lesnar secured an early takedown and began landing numerous punches, but was docked a point, after a punch hit Mir on the back of the head. He scored another takedown and continued landing ground and pound, before Mir secured a kneebar and forced a submission at 1:30 of the first round.

Despite losing on his debut, he was offered a new contract and at UFC 82 on March 1, former UFC Heavyweight Champion and Hall of Famer Mark Coleman was announced to fight Lesnar at UFC 87. Coleman withdrew from the fight due to an injury and was replaced by Heath Herring. In the first round Lesnar scored an early knockdown and went on to dominate the fight winning via unanimous decision by 30–26 on all three judges' scorecards.

Lesnar then faced Randy Couture for the UFC Heavyweight Championship at UFC 91 on November 15. He denied Couture's takedown attempts and outstruck him on the feet, eventually knocking him down and landing ground and pound until he was awarded the technical knockout and UFC Heavyweight Championship.

On December 27 at UFC 92, Mir defeated Antônio Nogueira for the Interim Heavyweight Championship and was to face Lesnar for the Undisputed UFC Heavyweight Championship at UFC 98. Immediately after winning the Interim Heavyweight title, Mir found Lesnar in the crowd and shouted, "You've got my belt". Due to a knee injury to Mir, the title unification match with Lesnar that was originally slated to be the UFC 98 main event was postponed. Lesnar instead fought Mir at UFC 100 on July 11, 2009. Mir attempted to grab ahold of Lesnar's leg early in the fight but was denied and Lesnar held top position landing punches for the rest of the round. In the second round, the two traded blows but Mir hurt Lesnar with a knee and a punch, leading him to take Mir down and land heavy ground and pound winning the fight via technical knockout. During his post-match celebration, Lesnar flipped off the crowd who had been booing him. Lesnar also made a disparaging comment about the pay-per-view's primary sponsor Bud Light, claiming they "won't pay me nothin'" and promoted Coors Light instead. Lesnar later apologized for his remarks at the post-fight press conference, where he held a bottle of Bud Light and endorsed their product.

Return to the UFC (2016–2018)

Though Lesnar said he was "closing the door on MMA" in March 2015, UFC announced on June 4, 2016, that he would return at UFC 200 on July 9. WWE confirmed it had granted Lesnar "a one-off opportunity" to compete at UFC 200 before he returned to the company for SummerSlam on August 21. Lesnar dominated the first and third rounds, battering Hunt with ground and pound in the third to secure the unanimous decision win. He also was paid a UFC record $2.5 million purse. This record was broken at UFC 202 by Conor McGregor, who was also the previous holder.

On July 15, 2016, Lesnar was notified of a potential anti-doping policy violation by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) stemming from an undisclosed banned substance in an out-of-competition sample collected on June 28. On July 19, a second test sample taken in-competition on July 9 was revealed as positive for the same banned substance discovered in the previous out-of-competition sample. On August 23, the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) confirmed that Lesnar had twice been tested positive for clomiphene and was suspended.

On December 15, it was confirmed that Lesnar was fined $250,000 and suspended from competition for one year by the NSAC. He would be eligible to return in July 2017. As a result of the suspension, the result of his fight with Mark Hunt was overturned to a no contest. As of January 2019, Lesnar has yet to pay the fine.

On February 14, 2017, it was reported that Lesnar had notified UFC he was retiring from MMA for the second time. On July 7, 2018, Lesnar stormed the cage after the main event fight at UFC 226 and challenged the new UFC Heavyweight Champion, Daniel Cormier. On July 8, USADA confirmed that Lesnar had begun the process to get back into their drug-testing pool. UFC officials were reportedly targeting a bout between Lesnar and Cormier for the UFC Heavyweight Championship, but Dana White claimed Lesnar told him he was "done" with MMA and the bout ultimately did not occur.

In September 2020, White said he could organize a fight between Lesnar and Jon Jones if both men wanted it. That same month, Bellator president Scott Coker expressed interest in booking Lesnar to fight Fedor Emelianenko. Lesnar did not respond to either man's comments, and once again confirmed in March 2022 that he would stay retired.

Other media

In 2003, WWE Home Video released a DVD chronicling Lesnar's career entitled Brock Lesnar: Here Comes the Pain. It was re-released in 2012 as a three-disc DVD and two-disc Blu-ray collector's edition to tie in with Lesnar's WWE return. It was also expanded to include new matches and interviews. In 2016, a new home video was released on DVD and Blu-ray, as well as a collector's edition, called Brock Lesnar: Eat. Sleep. Conquer. Repeat. and includes accomplishments from his second run in WWE.

Lesnar was featured on the covers of Flex and Muscle & Fitness magazine in 2004 and Minneapolis' City Pages in 2008. He is the cover athlete for the WWE SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain, UFC Undisputed 2010 and WWE 2K17 video games.

In 2009, Lesnar signed an endorsement deal with Dymatize Nutrition. A CD containing footage of Lesnar training was included with Dymatize's "Xpand" product.

Lesnar co-wrote an autobiography with Paul Heyman, titled Death Clutch: My Story of Determination, Domination, and Survival, which was published by William Morrow and Company in 2011.

In a 2013 post on his blog, Attack on Titan author Hajime Isayama revealed that he drew inspiration from Lesnar for the character of the Armored Titan.

Personal life

Lesnar married fellow WWE performer Rena Greek, better known as Sable, on May 6, 2006. They relocated in 2014 to Canada, where they reside on a farm in Maryfield, Saskatchewan. Together, they have two sons named Turk (born 2009) and Duke (born 2010), both of whom play ice hockey. With his former fiancée, Nicole McClain, Lesnar also has twins who were born in 2002: a daughter named Mya Lynn, who competes in track and field, and a son named Luke, who also plays ice hockey. He is also the stepfather of Greek's daughter with her first husband.

Lesnar is an intensely private individual who has expressed his disdain for the media; he rarely participates in interviews and avoids questions pertaining to his private life. He is a supporter of the Republican Party and a member of the National Rifle Association of America (NRA). He made an appearance at the NRA's annual meeting in May 2011 to discuss his passion for hunting and his role as a spokesman for the Fusion Ammunition company. He is a fan of the Winnipeg Jets ice hockey team and the Saskatchewan Roughriders Canadian football team. In 2016, Lesnar acquired Canadian citizenship, after representing the country in his latter UFC matches.

Lesnar developed addictions to alcohol and painkillers during his first run in WWE, later claiming that he would drink a bottle of vodka per day and take hundreds of Vicodin pills per month to manage the pain caused by wear and tear on his body. He cited the incident in which he botched a shooting star press at WrestleMania XIX and landed on the top of his head as a primary source of pain. As a result of the addiction and mental exhaustion, he says that he cannot remember the entire two years that made up his first WWE tenure.

Legal issues

In January 2001, Lesnar was arrested in Louisville, Kentucky, for suspicion of possessing large amounts of illegal substances. The charges were dropped when it was discovered that the substances were legal hormones. His lawyer described it as a "vitamin type of thing".

Lesnar had previously signed a non-compete clause in order to be released from his contract with WWE, which prohibited him from working for any other professional wrestling companies before June 2010. He challenged this ruling in court. WWE responded with a counterclaim after Lesnar breached the agreement by appearing at a New Japan Pro-Wrestling show in 2004. In July 2005, the two sides dropped their claims and entered negotiations to renew their relationship. WWE had offered Lesnar a contract, but on August 2, their official website reported that Lesnar had withdrawn from any involvement with the company. The lawsuit began to enter settlement talks on September 21, but did not get solved.

On January 14, 2006, Judge Christopher Droney stated that unless WWE gave him a good argument between then and the 25th, he would rule in favor of Lesnar, giving him a summary judgment. This would have enabled Lesnar to work anywhere immediately. WWE was later granted a deadline postponement. On April 24, both parties reached a settlement. On June 12, a federal judge dismissed the case at the request of both legal parties.

On December 15, 2011, Lesnar was charged with hunting infractions on a trip to Alberta on November 19, 2010. Two charges were dropped, but Lesnar pleaded guilty to the charge of improper tagging of an animal. He was fined $1,725 and given a six-month hunting suspension.

Pay-per-view bouts

Championships and accomplishments

Collegiate wrestling

National Collegiate Athletic Association

NCAA Division I All-American (1999, 2000)

NCAA Division I Heavyweight National Runner-Up (1999)

NCAA Division I Heavyweight Champion (2000)

Big Ten Conference Champion (1999, 2000)

National Junior College Athletic Association

NJCAA All-American (1997, 1998)

NJCAA Heavyweight Champion (1998)

North Dakota State University Bison Tournament Champion (1997–1999)

Bismarck State College

Bismarck Athletics Hall of Fame (2005)

University of Minnesota

M Club Hall of Fame (2026)

Mixed martial arts

Ultimate Fighting Championship

UFC Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

Two successful title defenses

Submission of the Night (One time) vs. Shane Carwin

Fewest MMA bouts to become a UFC champion (4)

UFC.com Awards

2008: Newcomer of the Year, Ranked #7 Fighter of the Year & Ranked #8 Upset of the Year vs. Randy Couture

2010: Ranked #4 Fight of the Year vs. Shane Carwin

Inside Fights

Biggest Draw (2008)

Rookie of the Year (2008)

Sherdog

Beatdown of the Year (2009)

Sports Illustrated

Top Newcomer of the Year (2008)

World MMA Awards

Breakthrough Fighter of the Year (2009)

Wrestling Observer Newsletter

Best Box Office Draw (2008–2010)

MMA Most Valuable Fighter (2008–2010)

Bloody Elbow

Breakout Fighter of the Year (2008)

Professional wrestling

Guinness World Records

World record: Youngest person to win the WWE Championship (aged 25 years, 44 days)

Inoki Genome Federation

IWGP Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

New Japan Pro-Wrestling

IWGP Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

New York Post

Best OMG Moment (2022) Brock Lesnar arriving on a tractor and lifting the ring at SummerSlam

Ohio Valley Wrestling

OVW Southern Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with Shelton Benjamin

Pro Wrestling Illustrated

Feud of the Year (2003) vs. Kurt Angle

Feud of the Year (2015) vs. The Undertaker

Match of the Year (2003) vs. Kurt Angle in an Iron Man match on SmackDown! on September 16

Most Hated Wrestler of the Year (2018)

Most Improved Wrestler of the Year (2002)

Wrestler of the Year (2002, 2014)

Ranked No. 1 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2003

Rolling Stone