Flashback: Brock Lesnar Defeated Biggest WWE Superstar 20 Years Ago

Alongside the likes of John Cena or Randy Orton, WWE hadn’t celebrated the 20-year anniversary of Brock Lesnar. Perhaps, this is because the superstar himself wants to stay away from the limelight. But it should be noted that the top box office attraction belonged to the same bunch of superstars that produced superstars like Cena or Orton.

Unlike the two top cornerstone figures, Brock Lesnar took the least time to get to the main event spotlight. 20 years ago today, he defeated the legendary Hulk Hogan on an episode of SmackDown. Via distraction from Paul Heyman, Hogan was easily pinned by the next big thing in the WWE with a massive F-5.

Roman Reigns To Move Forward With An Old-Brock Lesnar Storyline In WWE

This win eventually set The Beast up for the massive title win against The Rock at the 2022 edition of Summerslam. On that night, he also became the then youngest WWE Champion in the history of the company. Meanwhile, check out the match card for the above-mentioned episode of Smackdown,

1. John Cena vs. Kurt Angle

2. Mark Henry vs. D-Von Dudley

3. Rikishi vs. Deacon Batista

4. Hurricane Helms & Shannon Moore vs. Bully Gunn & Chuck Palumbo

5. Edge, John Cena & Rey Mysterio vs. Kurt Angle, Eddie Guerrero & Chris Benoit

6. Jamie Noble & Nidia vs. Billy Kidman & Torrie Wilson

7. Hulk Hogan vs. Brock Lesnar

Brock Lesnar will return to the WWE in 2023

Brock Lesnar lost to Roman Reigns in the main event of the 2022 Summer Slam for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship in a Last Man Standing bout. Afterward, several WWE fans considered that to be the Beast Incarnate’s final match. But that’s not the case as he’s already booked to make his return to WWE programming in early 2023 or even prior to that.

Atlanta’s State Farm Arena is advertising Brock Lesnar as the marquee name for the WWE Day 1 premium live event that will happen on January 1, 2023. Just like the inaugural event, the six-time WWE Champion is likely to be the main event attraction.

Additionally, WWE has also been promoting the upcoming Wrestlemania 39 launch party with Brock Lesnar heavily featuring in it. The Biggest Event of the Year also has Raw Women’s Champion Bianca Belair, Undisputed Champion Roman Reigns, Becky Lynch, and more on it, implying that each of them will be in action on the April PLE.