Who REALLY Carried WWE Every Year (1985-2026)
24. 2003 (Brock Lesnar)
Brock Lesnar saw what Kurt Angle did in 2000 and thought, 'I can top it'. That's up for debate amongst fans, but Brock had a sensational rookie year in 2002. He debuted on Raw with Paul Heyman as his manager, won King Of The Ring, snared the WWE Title from The Rock at SummerSlam and ended his year by working vs. The Undertaker then turning babyface.
Phew!
2003 only made Lesnar an even bigger deal. It was his true breakout year. He had his hand raised at the Rumble, won the title again from a suffering Kurt Angle (who worked the bout with a broken freakin' neck) at 'Mania XIX despite almost breaking his own neck with a Shooting Star Press, then largely hauled the company on his back whilst Raw suffered some of Triple H's worst work. SmackDown became the must see show under his watch, which carried on from the glory of the 'SmackDown Six' tag division in '02.
Few could best Brock's intoxicating mix of power, speed and intensity. He was like some kind of final boss version of Angle, which is one of the biggest compliments any fan can give a wrestler. Lesnar lacked the mic skills of other top names around him, but he more than made up for that elsewhere. WWE must've been counting their blessings, but they didn't know what was just around the corner.
Brocky boy was about to up sticks and leave, because he found the schedule too punishing and wanted to try his hand at something else. Namely, the NFL then UFC.