Brock Lesnar officially announced his retirement from WWE after SummerSlam 2026, concluding his career in a huge main event against Oba Femi. Lesnar was on Pat McAfee's show and talked about the emotional departure. He said that his physical journey in the squared circle has concluded after WrestleMania, and although he made it back with some fuel, Saturday marked the end of Brock Lesnar's professional wrestling career.
Tributes from across sports entertainment were abundant, with the best of them being from longtime rival and 17-time world champion John Cena, who paid tribute to his friend and all-time champion. Lesnar and Cena have been intertwined in WWE history since their simultaneous debuts in 2002.
The company immediately made Lesnar a dominant force and quickly led him to world championship gold, but Cena had a rocky path and was almost released. However, when Lesnar left the company for a brief period, WWE brought Cena to the fore and made him the face of the brand, leading to Cena winning his first world championship in 2005 and achieving unprecedented success.
Lesnar’s return to the company in 2012 revived one of the most intriguing rivalries in the history of wrestling. Lesnar dominated the main event scene, and at SummerSlam 2014, he defeated Cena to win multiple world titles despite making selective appearances. They met once more during Cena's farewell tour, with Lesnar returning after SummerSlam 2025 for a dominant match at Wrestlepalooza.
Lesnar is done with professional competition. He holds ten world titles, two Royal Rumble wins, and a Money in the Bank ladder victory. His accomplishments are similar to his greatest contemporary, John Cena, who won seventeen world titles, two Royal Rumble wins, and a Money in the Bank victory. The two titans defined sports entertainment for generations, and Lesnar’s retirement brings to an end a monumental chapter in professional wrestling history.
