The Best of Brock Lesnar: The WWE and UFC Star's 15 Career Highlights

Brock Lesnar. His name will ring long and loud through history. His exploits have made him immortal—NCAA champion, wrestling champion, cage fighting champion and possibly the biggest star in the world of professional wrestling, eight years after he last stepped in the WWE ring.

Part of Lesnar's unquestioned star power comes from his time in the Octagon. Everyone remembers Lesnar's UFC successes. Everyone remembers his UFC failures. Those events were recent enough to be etched into our collective consciousness as fans.

But what about the events that drove the UFC to sign Lesnar in the first place? Despite having minimal professional experience as a fighter, he inked a huge money contract. Who is Brock Lesnar? Why do people in the stands look like they are suffering convulsions after simply seeing his image on the TitanTron?

Come with me on a journey into Lesnar's past. It's a mirror into the soul of the hardcore fan. Not excited about Lesnar's return? After this slideshow, you will be. You will be.

15. Lesnar Wins NCAA Gold

In 1999, Brock Lesnar was crushed under the weight of enormous expectations. His loss to Stephen Neal in the NCAA championships not only cost him a title, it cost his team as well.

The next year, he was taking no chances. In 2000, he beat Iowa's Wes Hand in an incredibly cautious match to win the NCAA title. It may have thrilled no one, but Lesnar could honestly say he was the best collegiate heavyweight in the country.

14. Joining the WWE's Developmental League

There wasn't much doubt what Lesnar would do after college. Sure, he might have pursued an Olympic medal, but money talks. And at that time, Vince McMahon spoke the loudest.

As Lesnar said in 2008:

"

When I got out of college, after I won my NCAA title, I didn't have a lot of options. There aren't a lot of options for an amateur wrestler. You can go to the Olympics or you can become a coach. The bottom line was Vince had $250,000 waiting for me, a contract on the table and I was 21 years old and didn't have a pot to piss in. Come on! You make the decision!

"

13. Enter Paul E.

Lesnar, it turns out, was a natural in the ring. He could do it all—except work the mic. Lesnar is still a little awkward and stilted to this day. The storytelling aspect of wrestling doesn't come easily to him.

The WWE decided to give him a little boost in the form of legendary manager Paul Heyman. As Paul E. Dangerously, Heyman had revolutionized wrestling with his take-no-prisoners ECW brand.

He brought the same passion to his role as Lesnar's mouthpiece, and together they had the makings of a main-event team.

12. Lesnar Squashes the Hardys

The WWE often relies on parity booking. You win one, you lose one. It's a strategy that leads to mediocrity, preventing anyone from really getting over.

Lesnar wasn't portrayed as an equal when up against guys like the Hardy Boys. He was on another level—and the WWE wasn't afraid to make that clear to the audience. The Hardys were famous for their high-flying wackiness and extreme stunts. Brock Lesnar was famous for being a smashing machine.

WWE bookers made it clear they were no match for a living brick wall. The Hardys could go back and forth with almost anyone in the business. Brock Lesnar was another story.

Lesnar was put over strong from the jump, and it made all the difference. Heyman called Lesnar "The Next Big Thing," and the WWE did its best to have him live up to that moniker.

11. King of the Ring

When the King of the Ring was bestowed on guys in the 1980s, wrestlers like past-their-prime Don Muraco and Harley Race, it was a cute gimmick for the midcard. But by the time the WWE created a PPV built around the event, it was a way to springboard someone into title contendership.

That's why Lesnar's win in 2002 was so big. He dispatched Bubba Ray Dudley, Booker T, Test and Rob Van Dam and was ready to take on the promotion's best.

10. Brock vs. The Rock

After Stone Cold Steve Austin refused to put Brock over, citing his complete lack of experience and failure to pay his dues, the WWE turned to The Rock to do the honors.

The two promoted their match at SummerSlam 2002 with a series of great vignettes touting their real-life athleticism. It was compelling stuff. Fans bought in and Brock went from star to bona-fide superstar by pinning the Rock with his F-5 finisher to win WWE gold.

"You could tangibly feel the audience start saying 'Look at this. This is the real deal.' This guy is different, he's unique, he's special," Brock's manager Paul Heyman said. "It was a magical moment. During that match, you felt the entire audience flip over and realize they're witnessing history."

9. Hell in a Cell

The Undertaker was the undisputed master of Hell in a Cell. That's what made Lesnar's upset win so shocking. Lesnar reversed Taker's patented Tombstone Piledriver, turning it into his own signature move, the F-5.

Lesnar had grown by leaps and bounds by this point as a performer. He catapulted himself all over the cage for Taker, making the veteran look good before ultimately pinning his shoulders to the mat.

Sometimes a wrestler gets a big push but still doesn't make it. The audience simply rejects him. As Lesnar celebrated on top of the cage, it was clear that wasn't the case here. Lesnar was a star.

8. F-5's the Big Show

Everyone remembers Hulk Hogan slamming the iconic Andre the Giant at WrestleMania III. But what was more impressive? That tepid body slam or Lesnar's epic F-5 on the enormous Big Show?

"Big Show wasn't sure I could do it, and I wasn't sure I could do it," Lesnar said. "But I did it."

7. The Royal Rumble

There are two career milestones that every WWE legend has to meet: winning the world title and winning the Royal Rumble. Lesnar, amazingly, did both in his first year with the company.

He had to walk a rough road to get there, though. First, Lesnar had to beat the Big Show to earn his spot in the match. He tossed the giant man around like the proverbial sack of potatoes—or, more accurately, a pallet of bags of potatoes.

In the Rumble itself, he stood face-to-face once again with the Undertaker. Incredibly, Taker put him over once again, and Lesnar moved on to WrestleMania.

6. Lesnar Lands Square on His Noggin at Mania

WrestleMania XIX featured one of the most controversial matches in WWE history. I write about it extensively in my new book Shooters, due out in June.

Suffice to say, Kurt Angle was in bad physical shape entering the match, in dire need of neck surgery. But by the end of the match, everyone watching worldwide was equally concerned about Lesnar.

The big man attempted a shooting star press, a reverse somersault from the top rope. It's a move even cruiserweights struggle to pull off. Lesnar tried—and failed miserably. He landed on his head and was in a daze, barely able to finish the match.

It was an epic fail. But at least it was epic.

5. Lesnar and Big Show Break the Ring

It's not easy to wrestle the Big Show. He's so enormous that it's tough to look credible next to him. Fans have to work hard to suspend disbelief and convince themselves anyone could slam the giant.

Lesnar made it easy. You could imagine Lesnar picking up a compact car or wrestling an elephant into submission. Lesnar tossed the Big Show with German suplexes, F-5s and belly-to-belly suplexes that never once looked less than believable.

At a random June SmackDown in 2003, Lesnar upped the ante, superplexing the behemoth Show off the top rope. The ring sighed and gave in. It simply wasn't up to the task. It's a highlight few in attendance will ever forget.

4. Men of Iron

The WWE had tried to make Lesnar a babyface. It's in the promotion's DNA to push the good guy on top, and it tried to fit everyone who might be a long-term draw into that slot.

But Lesnar was born to be a heel. There's something that's just not likable about him. That perma-sneer? That corn-fed look? The fact that he could literally rip you in half if you made him angry? Whatever it was, it was real and evident.

Instead of fighting the fans, McMahon and company turned Lesnar back to the dark side. He challenged his friend and former ally, Kurt Angle, to an Iron Man match on television. The two wrestled for 60 minutes, with Lesnar beating Angle 5-4 to become the new champion.

3. Latino Heat

By 2004, Lesnar's star had dimmed. Meanwhile, Eddie Guerrero was on the rise. The Hispanic star was a big hit with an audience demographic that was important to the WWE's bottom line.

The decision was made not only to have Lesnar job to Guerrero, but to leave Eddie as the SmackDown brand's primary star.

Guerrero beat Lesnar for the belt in a great match at No Way Out. It wasn't clear what was next for Lesnar. He only wanted one thing—to go home. Tired of the wrestling grind and its effect on his family and health, Lesnar began considering life after wrestling.

2. And the Crowd Boos

Bill Goldberg and Brock Lesnar were like mirror images. Both were legitimate athletes who were propelled to the top of the sport. Both were built like comic-book super heroes. And neither was in love with the wrestling business.

When they went at it in one of the most heavily promoted matches at WrestleMania XX, the crowd booed lustily. Both men had announced they intended to leave the WWE, and the audience wasn't happy.

The crowd was merciless, and finally guest referee Stone Cold Steve Austin put them both out of their misery with his Stone Cold Stunner.

And like that, Brock Lesnar was gone from the WWE for almost eight years.

1. The Return

The crowd went wild when Brock Lesnar's music played at RAW on Monday. They were waiting for him, you see, hoping the rumors were true. Everyone in Miami had expected him at WrestleMania. But when he didn't show up, they didn't give up hope.

Lesnar was a man of few words on RAW. He said a few, but not into a microphone, so only John Cena knows exactly what was spoken. Actions, however, speak louder. Lesnar shook Cena's hand—and then planted him on his back with an F-5.

And like that, Brock Lesnar was back.

Jonathan Snowden is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained first-hand.