7 Wrestlers Who Became Too Big For WWE

Former NCAA heavyweight wrestling champion Brock Lesnar made his WWE main roster debut in 2002 and, within six months, had become the youngest WWE Champion ever. He was a main-eventer and a superstar, but it was all a little too much for Lesnar. In 2004, the pro wrestling lifestyle (and a desire to try something different) led The Next Big Thing to quit the company.

Brock quickly proved that he was more than just a pro wrestler who could only achieve stardom under the auspices of WWE. He joined the NFL's Minnesota Vikings (a major achievement for someone who hadn't played football since high school), then when a football career didn't pan out, he started training in MMA.

By 2008, Brock was in UFC, and later that year, he won the company's Heavyweight Championship. That made him more famous than he ever was in wrestling, as the company was hitting its peak popularity. In 2009, Brock headlined UFC 100, which still holds the record as the most-purchased MMA pay-per-view of all-time (and, it should be noted, sold far more buys than any WWE show in history).

Brock retired from MMA in 2011, and the very next year, he was back in WWE. This time, though, he had the cachet to call his own shots, and he ended up with a very lucrative contract that only required minimal appearances. After becoming a legitimate superstar, Brock's WWE tenure was on his terms.