Brock Lesnar starred in one of the most emotional moments of the latest edition of WWE SummerSlam. "The Beast" completed his trilogy of matches with Oba Femi in a Hell in a Cell in the main event of the first night of the PLE. After the match, Lesnar completely dropped his character to congratulate his opponent, whom he described as the future of the business. He, on the other hand, stated that he was already part of the past.
These statements sparked a lot of discussion in the following days, with many assuming that Lesnar had retired for good. WWE itself aired a tribute video to his career last Monday, always avoiding talking about a definitive retirement. This afternoon, "The Beast" granted an interview to The Pat McAfee Show to clarify his future as a professional.
"I am here today to do this interview and let everyone know that I have retired. I wanted to sincerely thank everyone. Saturday was a very emotional day for me. When Oba Femi hit me with that slam at WrestleMania, I thought, 'I can't do this again.' So I told myself, 'I think it's time to walk away,'" Lesnar said with a laugh.
"Still, I felt that both this business and I still had some fuel left in the tank. But Saturday was the end for Brock Lesnar. It's over for me in the ring and in everything else. I just wanted to send a greeting and a huge thank you to all who have followed my career from when I was a kid until last Saturday."
"I was just a kid from a farm in South Dakota with a big dream, a big heart, and a lot of determination. And yes, I feel deeply grateful. Grateful to be 49 years old and have been able to do everything I did throughout my life. I thank God and all the people who supported me. I also want to thank all my coaches."
"And, especially, I want to address the kids. I was just a farm boy with practically empty pockets, but I had big dreams and worked very hard to achieve them. I think nowadays many people, especially on social media, see athletes for what they do, but they forget about the effort behind it. If kids stay focused on the work and dedicate the necessary time, good things will eventually come," he concluded.
Brock Lesnar will go down in history as one of the biggest stars in professional wrestling and combat sports of the 21st century. After becoming a phenomenon in collegiate amateur wrestling, Lesnar debuted in WWE in 2002, quickly capturing the company's world championship. After his departure in 2004, Brock embarked on a successful career in mixed martial arts, where he became the UFC Heavyweight Champion.
Lesnar returned to WWE in 2012 to establish himself as one of the most dominant figures in history, starring in some of the most important matches of the modern era (including his victory over The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXX) and accumulating multiple reigns as world champion.
"The Beast" hinted at retirement after his crushing defeat against Oba Femi in the most recent edition of the grand event. However, he ended up returning a few weeks later to continue his rivalry with the Nigerian. With his statements this afternoon, it seems that his retirement is now definitive.
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