Brock Lesnar has announced his retirement from professional wrestling after losing to Oba Femi in a Hell in a Cell match at WWE SummerSlam on August 1. The 49-year-old confirmed on The Pat McAfee Show that the bout against Femi was the final match of his in-ring career.
Lesnar’s decision closes a career that included major accomplishments in WWE, mixed martial arts and amateur wrestling. His final WWE programme saw him face the 28-year-old Femi across several high-profile events, with the SummerSlam result bringing their rivalry to a conclusion.
SummerSlam defeat ends Lesnar’s in-ring career
Lesnar said he had first considered ending his career after a loss to Femi at WrestleMania 42 in April. Following that match, he removed his gloves and boots and left them in the ring, a gesture that suggested he believed his time as an in-ring performer was over.
However, Lesnar returned to compete again and defeated Femi at Clash in Italy in May. Their next meeting came inside Hell in a Cell at SummerSlam, where Femi defeated Lesnar. After the match, Lesnar raised Femi’s hand in a sign of respect and described his opponent as “the future of WWE,” while referring to himself as “the past.”
Speaking on The Pat McAfee Show, Lesnar made his position clear: “I am here today to let the world know that I am retired.” He described the SummerSlam date as emotional and revisited the moment at WrestleMania 42 when he felt he could no longer continue.
“Saturday, for Brock Lesnar, that is it,” Lesnar said. “That is it for me in the squared circle and everything else.”
The announcement makes the SummerSlam loss significant beyond the result itself. Femi’s victory was the final chapter of Lesnar’s wrestling career, and Lesnar publicly endorsed the younger performer after their match.
A career across wrestling and combat sports
Before entering professional wrestling, Lesnar was a two-time All-American and two-time Big Ten champion. He won the NCAA Division I national championship for the University of Minnesota in 2000 before signing a professional wrestling contract.
In WWE, Lesnar won his first of 10 WWE Championship titles by defeating Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in 2002. His listed WWE achievements also included Royal Rumble victories in 2003 and 2022, the 2002 King of the Ring tournament and the 2019 Money in the Bank ladder match.
Lesnar stepped away from WWE in 2004 and later pursued opportunities in other sports. He had a brief spell with the Minnesota Vikings, appearing in preseason games before his release. He then moved into mixed martial arts, winning the UFC Heavyweight title against Randy Couture in 2008 in his fourth bout.
After ending his first UFC stint in 2011, Lesnar returned to WWE in 2012. Among the major moments of that run was his victory over The Undertaker at WrestleMania 30 in 2014, ending The Undertaker’s 21-0 undefeated record at the event. Lesnar also returned for a final UFC bout against Mark Hunt at UFC 200 in 2016.
His final WWE run stretched from 2021 to 2026. Reflecting on his career, Lesnar said he was grateful for what he had achieved and encouraged young people to focus on hard work. His retirement announcement now formally ends a career that moved from collegiate wrestling to WWE and UFC competition.
