WWE history: Brock Lesnar hangs out with JBL in rare photo

The backstory

Brock Lesnar made his way to WWE's main roster on the Raw after WrestleMania 18. Lesnar soon turned into one of the biggest Superstars on the roster, as former greats like Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock had left the company by SummerSlam 2002. He won the King of the Ring tournament and bagged a shot at the WWE title at SummerSlam 2002. The ending to the match saw Lesnar hit The Rock with a thunderous F-5 and become the youngest WWE Champion in history.

Be it the Attitude Era, or the Ruthless Aggression Era, Bradshaw never made it to the top, and was a mid-card tag team Superstar at best. Although it all changed after WrestleMania 20, Bradshaw's main event push didn't come easy for him.

The Beast meets The Wrestling God

A rare photograph has surfaced online, featuring Brock Lesnar and Bradshaw. WWE went on a tour of Helsinki back in October 2002, with Brock Lesnar being the WWE Champion at that time. This was a time when Bradshaw was sporting his old look, and was still a long way from becoming WWE Champion.

Brock Lesnar and JBL hanging out

The aftermath

At WrestleMania 20, Brock Lesnar wrestled his final WWE match that resulted in a loss to Goldberg. Lesnar left the company immediately after, and WWE was left with no credible top heel on the blue brand. The authorities decided to turn Bradshaw heel and thus JBL was born. He feuded with Eddie Guerrero over the WWE title, winning the same at The Great American Bash 2004.

JBL kept the title on his waist for almost a year, before John Cena defeated him at WrestleMania 21 to win his first WWE Championship.