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Former WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar hasn't been seen on WWE television for well over a calendar year.
The last time the WWE Universe saw The Beast Incarnate on their television screens was during the main event of WrestleMania 36 Night Two. In his final appearance, Brock Lesnar lost the WWE Championship to Drew McIntyre in a short, yet impactful match.
Brock Lesnar hasn't been seen at all on WWE television since. It was subsequently reported late last year that Brock Lesnar's contract had expired with WWE.
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Despite no new agreement being reached as of writing, it is largely expected by WWE officials and members of the WWE Universe that Lesnar will eventually re-sign and return to WWE programming.
With WWE's return to touring in front of live fans in July and SummerSlam being announced to emanate from Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, rumors of Brock Lesnar's return to WWE have increased over the course of the last few weeks.
Now that the former WWE Universal Champion's return is on the horizon, let's take a closer look at the five best WWE Brock Lesnar matches.
#5 Brock Lesnar vs Daniel Bryan (WWE Survivor Series 2018)
WWE Survivor Series is one of the longest running events on WWE's annual pay-per-view calendar. The show is largely centered around the traditional 5-on-5 Survivor Series elimination tag team matches.
However, since the brand extension of 2016, the Thanksgiving tradition has largely featured the theme of "Monday Night RAW vs. Friday Night SmackDown." This includes RAW vs SmackDown traditional Survivor Series tag team matches and the respective champions of RAW and SmackDown squaring off in in-ring competition.
At 2018's Survivor Series event, Monday Night RAW's Universal Champion Brock Lesnar faced off against SmackDown LIVE's WWE Champion Daniel Bryan. Bryan had only captured the WWE Championship days prior on SmackDown LIVE, defeating AJ Styles and turning heel in the process. The bout against Lesnar would also mark the 'first time ever' meeting between the two superstars.
Despite the lack of build to the match, the bout between Brock Lesnar and Daniel Bryan was an absolute classic. Largely dominated by The Beast throughout, Daniel Bryan sold a barrage of suplexes and power moves by Lesnar. However, the WWE Champion was eventually able to get some near falls and close finishes on several occasions.
However, Brock Lesnar was able to leave Survivor Series victorious after hitting his devastating F5 for the victory, continuing RAW's dominance at the event.
#4 Brock Lesnar vs Kurt Angle (WWE WrestleMania XIX)
WWE WrestleMania XIX saw Brock Lesnar compete in his first ever WrestleMania main event during his WWE career.
After winning the 2003 Royal Rumble match, Lesnar earned the right to challenge for the WWE Championship at the Showcase of the Immortals, facing off against then-WWE Champion Kurt Angle.
The match is arguably best remembered for the closing moments of the bout, which saw Brock Lesnar come within inches of catastrophe. Seemingly with the match won, Brock Lesnar scaled to the top turnbuckle and attempted a breathtaking Shooting Star Press.
Lesnar had executed the move to perfection several times during his time at Ohio Valley Wrestling, WWE's developmental territory at the time. Unfortunately, this time Brock Lesnar hesitated slightly before jumping. This caused Lesnar to not rotate all the way and land directly on his head and neck.
Onlookers were immediately concerned that Brock Lesnar had broken his neck, or perhaps even worse. Kurt Angle, who was scheduled to undergo surgery for a legitimately broken neck immediately after WrestleMania, was able to communicate with his opponent. He told Lesnar to call an audible and hit the Olympic Gold Medallist with an F5 to end the match.
The Beast was able to power through to the end and capture the WWE Championship for the second time in his career. The WrestleMania XIX bout is best remembered for the Shooting Star Press botch which overlooks what is one of the best Brock Lesnar matches of his WWE career.
#3 Brock Lesnar vs Kurt Angle (WWE SmackDown 60 minute Iron Man match- September 2003)
The WWE Championship feud between Brock Lesnar and Kurt Angle continued in mid-2003 after Kurt Angle's return from neck surgery.
After the now babyface Olympic Gold Medallist once again captured the WWE Championship at Vengeance 2003, Brock Lesnar turned heel during a subsequent edition of SmackDown.
After Kurt Angle forced Lesnar to submit during a WWE Championship match at SummerSlam, a WWE Championship rematch was scheduled for a September edition of SmackDown.
This time, the match would be a 60-minute Iron Man match. Iron Man bouts are notoriously difficult matches to execute due to the lengthy time frame. Maintaining the crowd's interest and ensuring the competitors keep their "wind," Lesnar and Angle delivered an all-time classic.
Brock Lesnar sacrificed the first fall of the encounter by attacking Kurt Angle with a steel chair, causing a disqualification. However, this strategy paid off by allowing Lesnar to gain several quick falls in a row, causing the challenger to gain the numerical advantage on the scoreboard.
In a race against time, Kurt Angle attempted to reduce the deficit but was ultimately unsuccessful as Lesnar left victorious and became WWE Champion for the third time in his career.
#2 Brock Lesnar vs CM Punk (WWE SummerSlam 2013)
WWE SummerSlam saw the first ever meeting between former WWE Champion Brock Lesnar and former WWE Champion CM Punk.
Two WWE Superstars with such close associations to Paul Heyman, the WWE Universe was fascinated to see how a rivalry between Lesnar and Punk would play out.
The Heyman and Lesnar pairing goes all the way back to Brock Lesnar's debut in 2002, with Paul Heyman largely remaining as The Beast's advocate, on and off-screen, ever since.
Paul Heyman became CM Punk's "consultant" mid-way through the Second City Saviour's history-making 434 day WWE Championship reign. However, after being defeated by The Undertaker at WrestleMania 29, Punk decided to take an extended hiatus away from WWE.
Once CM Punk returned, he turned babyface and decided he no longer wanted Heyman to be is "advocate" or accompany him to matches. This led to Paul Heyman turning on his former friend, setting up a match between Brock Lesnar and CM Punk at SummerSlam.
The no disqualification encounter between the two WWE Superstars lasted over 25 minutes and tore the house down inside the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Ultimately Brock Lesnar was able to leave victorious after hitting the F5 onto a steel chair, allowing The Beast and his advocate to defeat Heyman's former client.
#1 Brock Lesnar vs John Cena (WWE Extreme Rules 2012)
Brock Lesnar's WWE return came in 2012 during the post-WrestleMania 28 edition of Monday Night RAW.
The stunning return saw Lesnar attack former WWE Champion John Cena after an eight-year absence from WWE. During his time away from the promotion, Brock Lesnar had transformed himself into one of the biggest box-office attractions in combat sports by competing in the UFC and becoming UFC Heavyweight Champion.
Now in post-MMA retirement, Lesnar signed a new deal with WWE to compete inside a professional wrestling ring for the first time since his brief run in New Japan Pro Wrestling several years earlier.
Brock Lesnar's first WWE match in eight years came at the Extreme Rules 2012 pay-per-view event as he faced off against John Cena in an Extreme Rules match.
The match was certainly atypical for WWE programming at the time. Early into the match, Brock Lesnar took down John Cena and hit him with a series of legitimate elbow strikes, busting open Cena hard-way. This caused John Cena to bleed profusely during the match.
Ultimately, though, John Cena was able to come out victorious, hitting Brock Lesnar with the Attitude Adjustment onto the steel ring steps inside the ring for the victory. Despite fans' shock at seeing Brock Lesnar lose his WWE return match to Cena, it was without a doubt an absolute classic.
Ex WWE writer blasts Liv Morgan HERE
