Brock Lesnar's 5 most memorable SmackDown matches

It has been more than 15 years since we last saw Brock Lesnar compete on SmackDown. For those who may be unaware, Lesnar was one of the key parts of the Blue Brand during the peak of the Ruthless Aggression Era (2002-2004). 'The Beast Incarnate' also spent the majority of his time on SmackDown as WWE Champion.

Ever since his return to WWE in 2012, Lesnar has primarily been a part-timer assigned to the RAW brand. With SmackDown moving to FOX, however a big name was needed to be pushed as the face of the network. This led to the 7-time World Champion finally switching brands after all these years.

Lesnar will be challenging Kofi Kingston for the WWE Championship next week on SmackDown’s FOX debut. The 2003 Royal Rumble winner is heading into the match as the clear favorite.

Before Lesnar's triumphant in-ring return to SmackDown, let us take a look at five of his most memorable matches on the Blue Brand.

#5. Lesnar's Last SmackDown Match: Brock Lesnar vs. Hardcore Holly (March 4, 2004)

Brock Lesnar vs. Kofi Kingston is being hyped up as Lesnar's first Blue Brand match in over 15 years. Does anyone remember 'The Beast's' final match on SmackDown before his departure from WWE in 2004? Lesnar squared off against the man he put on the injured list 18 months prior, Hardcore Holly.

The bout was held 10 nights prior to Wrestlemania XX. Lesnar made quick work of Holly and put him away with an F5 in under 3 minutes. What's memorable about the match is that Lesnar made his entrance on 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin's stolen ATV.

After the match, Lesnar continued to mock Austin by stealing 'Stone Cold's' celebration style.

#4. Steel Cage Match: Brock Lesnar vs. Paul Heyman (March 6, 2003)

Brock Lesnar finally got a chance to settle his score with Paul Heyman in a Steel Cage match.

Casual wrestling fans of the current era might think that Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar have forever been on friendly terms, but that isn't accurate. Even though Heyman successfully managed Lesnar throughout his early months, he turned on his client at Survivor Series 2002. The youngest WWE Champion ended up losing the Title to The Big Show, after Heyman sided with the giant.

In the following months, Heyman and Lesnar feuded with each other, but the former SmackDown GM always had someone to fight his battles for him. This prevented 'The Beast Incarnate' from fully extracting his revenge on his manager turned rival. The two finally squared off in a Steel Cage Match on the March 6th, 2003 edition of Smackdown.

Despite heavy interference from Team Angle (Kurt Angle, Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas) throughout the match, Lesnar managed to defeat Paul Heyman. This match wrote Heyman off WWE TV for the next several months.

#3 Brock Lesnar vs. The Big Show (June 12, 2003)

Even the ring failed to contain the action between Lesnar and Big Show.

With Kurt Angle on the injured list and John Cena out of the title picture, babyface Lesnar's next title feud would be against The Big Show. 'The World's Largest Athlete' had already defeated Lesnar for the Title at Survivor Series 2002, so the feud made sense. Even though a violent Stretcher Match took place between the two at Judgement Day 2003, their rivalry would continue. The highlight of this program was the ending to their singles match on the June 12th, 2003 edition of SmackDown.

Readers may have already guessed where this is all leading. Toward the end of this match, Lesnar superplexed Big Show from the top rope and the entire ring collapsed. The match was called off right away. This moment is still talked about and often shown in various WWE packages and compilation videos. It has also been re-enacted by other Superstars, such as Mark Henry and Braun Strowman, but the original still remains untouchable.

#2 Steel Cage Match: Brock Lesnar vs. Vince McMahon (August 7, 2003)

Lesnar didn't take kind to Angle dethroning him for the WWE Title and turned heel during this match.

After Paul Heyman turned on Brock Lesnar at Survivor Series 2002, Lesnar turned babyface. For a wrestler like Lesnar, who is the personification of a monster heel, he portrayed the "good guy" quite effectively. A heel turn, however was simply inevitable and came to fruition on the August 7th, 2003 episode of SmackDown.

Lesnar was supposed to battle Mr. McMahon in a steel cage with the WWE Champion Kurt Angle officiating the match. Lesnar and Angle had become friends after the latter's return in June of that year. However, the Olympic gold medalist dethroned his "friend" to win the WWE Championship at Vengeance 2003. This left a bad taste in the former champion's mouth.

In order to take this friendly rivalry to the next step, Lesnar ended up attacking Angle during the Steel Cage Match after initially pretending to be unconscious. This kicked off another chapter in their intense feud.

#1. Iron Man Match: Brock Lesnar vs. Kurt Angle (September 18, 2003)

Brock Lesnar defeated Kurt Angle in an Iron Man match to become a 3-time WWE Champion.

Only four people have won the WWE Championship on an episode of Smackdown and Brock Lesnar is one of them. After failing to recapture the Title from Kurt Angle at Summerslam 2003, 'The Beast Incarnate' once again challenged for the most prestigious prize in WWE. This time, however the arch-rivals squared off in a 60-minute Iron Man match.

The bout itself was quite impressive. Although both Lesnar and Angle were used to putting on incredible matches, they truly outdid themselves in this grueling contest. In the end, Lesnar emerged victorious 5 falls to Angle's 4 and became a 3-time WWE Champion.

While it was mentioned multiple times during the broadcast that additional time had been borrowed from the network in case of a tie, it wasn't needed. 'The Beast Incarnate' refused to tap out to the ankle lock during the match's dramatic closing moments.