10 Exact Moments Wrestlers Knew They Would Return To WWE

3. Brock Lesnar

Brock Lesnar UFC 141 WWE Return
YouTube/Ultimate Fighting Championship/WWE

The Moment: Brock Lesnar cut a figure oddly at peace with himself after losing by TKO to Alistair Overeem at UFC 141 on 30 December 2011. As he stood mid-Octagon and spoke to the Las Vegas crowd, Lesnar calmly told the world that he'd be walking away from MMA.

"Tonight is the last time you'll see me in the Octagon", he said.

The Return: That wasn't true (Brock fought again at UFC 200 in 2016), but Lesnar's UFC departure did open the door for a WWE return just four months later in April 2012. He launched his comeback and pasted John Cena with a thumping F-5 on the post-WrestleMania XXVIII edition of Raw, and fans ate it up.

Brock went from wounded MMA star struggling with diverticulitis to rampaging 'Beast' reborn. Few, if any, knew it then, but Lesnar was about to embark on a dominating run as a UFC-influenced wrecking ball who's still going strong as a WWE part-timer today.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.