Credits: “Phil Vinciullo, ISBC”
WrestleMania 42 weekend featured many big surprises: multiple title changes, including Roman Reigns defeating CM Punk to become the new World Heavyweight Champion; the surprise return of Paige on Night 1; and Bianca Belair announcing her pregnancy. However, one of the most shocking moments came from the aftermath of Oba Femi vs. Brock Lesnar.
Oba Femi and Brock Lesnar opened Night 2 of WrestleMania, and the bout was a great showcase of Femi’s power in under 5 minutes. He dominated the majority of the match, not getting knocked down by any of Brock’s offense until he was dragged to the outside, where Lesnar gained the upper hand. After multiple German suplexes and an F-5, it seemed Brock had the match won until Oba Femi was able to get back on his feet immediately and chokeslammed The Beast and finished with his final move, the Fall from Grace powerbomb, to defeat Lesnar. After the match, Brock Lesnar sat in the middle of the ring and began to take off his gloves and boots. He hugged his advocate and friend, Paul Heyman, and they left up the ramp, thanking the fans, signifying the end of his wrestling career.
Brock Lesnar leaves behind a decorated career in combat sports. He debuted in WWE in 2002, won the King of the Ring tournament, and became the youngest WWE Champion that year. He went on to win that title 6 more times, also winning the Universal Championship 3 times, a 2-time Royal Rumble winner, Money in the Bank winner in 2019, and became the first person to defeat The Undertaker’s undefeated Wrestlemania streak at Wrestlemania 30.
Retiring is not uncommon in pro wrestling, and so is coming out of retirement. Brock Lesnar might not be fully done yet, because this year’s SummerSlam is set to take place in Minnesota, his home state, and wrestling is a never-say-never sport. Multiple wrestlers have retired and come out of retirement: John Cena just recently retired in December 2025, CM Punk announced retirement in 2014 only to come back in 2021, Mick Foley, Ric Flair, and Terry Funk have retired and come back multiple times, Stone Cold Steve Austin returned to wrestling one last time in 2022 after retiring in 2003, and many more.
Do you think that Brock Lesnar is fully retired now, or will his final match be at SummerSlam this year in his home state of Minnesota?
