The WWE star announced the end of his storied wrestling career on Tuesday, Aug. 4 on “The Pat McAfee Show.” His decision comes after he wrestled Oba Femi in the main event of SummerSlam 2026 night one on Saturday, Aug. 1, which took place in his home state of Minnesota.
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“I’m here today to to to do this interview to let the world and everybody know that that I am retired, and I wanted to say a big thank you to everybody. Saturday was a very emotional day for for me,” he said. “Saturday for Brock Lesnar, that’s it. That’s it for me in the squared circle, and for everything else too.”
Brock Lesnar speaks during SummerSlam at U.S. Bank Stadium on August 1, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The announcement confirms what was heavily speculated to happen this year for the “Beast Incarnate.” After he first faced Femi and lost at WrestleMania 42 in April, he stood in the ring and took off his gloves and boots while he and longtime manager Paul Heyman emotionally embraced in a moment that indicated he was calling it a career.
He actually admitted to McAfee he figured he was done at that point but “he still had some fuel in the tank,” leading to his return a month later to reignite the feud with Femi, which led to a win in the second match at Clash in Italy.
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It all led to SummerSlam 2026 in Minneapolis, where Lesnar attended school and was a standout collegiate wrestler at the University of Minnesota. The third matchup against Femi was a Hell in a Cell match, and Femi conquered Lesnar to officially best the veteran in their trilogy.
There was belief Lesnar would want to end his career at home, and that was further cemented by what happened after the match. Lesnar returned to the ring and gave Femi a hug and took the microphone to tell the entire audience he was the future of WWE.
Nothing was officially confirmed immediately afterward by Lesnar or WWE until the announcement three days later.
“I spent the last two days in bed. I got run over by a Nigerian nightmare dump truck Saturday night, and yeah, it’s time,” Lesnar said, adding he is ending his career in all of combat sports with no desire to compete in anything else.
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A national championship-winning wrestler for the Golden Gophers and one-time preseason player with the Minnesota Vikings, Lesnar has had a decorated WWE career that began in 2002. Dubbed as “The Next Big Thing,” Lesnar immediately rose up the company with his high level intensity, power and athleticism. That same year, he won the WWE Undisputed Championship to become the youngest WWE Champion at age 25.
He remained a top name for the remainder of his career, transitioning to UFC in 2008 and succeeding there, becoming UFC Heavyweight Champion with a 5-3-1 mixed martial arts career. Lesnar returned to WWE in 2012 and had notable feuds with John Cena, Roman Reigns and The Undertaker, including one of the most shocking moments in wrestling history when he snapped The Undertaker’s 21-0 WrestleMania streak at WrestleMania 30 in 2014.
While he was undoubtedly one of the biggest stars of this generation, he did undergo some controversy. He was named in the Vince McMahon sex trafficking and sexual assault lawsuit filed in January 2024 by a former WWE employee Janel Grant. In the suit, she alleged McMahon offered Lesnar sexual encounters with Grant as an incentive to re-sign with the company. It is also alleged there were plans for an encounter, but it never happened. The suit was dismissed in July.
When the suit was filed, Lesnar was taken off of WWE programming and was away for two years before returning for his final run at SummerSlam 2025.
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In WWE, he is a 10-time WWE champion − one of eight wrestlers to ever reach that mark − a two-time Royal Rumble winner and winner of both King of the Ring and Money in the Bank.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ex-UFC champ Brock Lesnar announces retirement from WWE
