Dwayne Johnson and Brock Lesnar have only wrestled once, but that one match was an incredibly important moment in WWE history.
Heading into SummerSlam 2002 The Rock was the Undisputed Champion, but Brock Lesnar was a star on the rise. Since arriving on the main roster that March Lesnar hadn’t been pinned and demolished everyone before him, including Hulk Hogan.
Dwayne Johnson Paid Tribute To Brock Lesnar
At the summer spectacular Lesnar picked up the win and became the face of WWE, while Johnson quietly let his contract expire. His full time run with WWE was now effectively over.
In a post on Instagram to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the match, Johnson heaped praise on The Beast.
“20 years ago this week, we made history in New York and pro wrestling was never the same again 🔥💀🔥 The Rock vs Brock Lesnar WWE UNDISPUTED CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
I always had great chemistry with Brock as he was one of the greatest pure athletes I’ve ever danced with. We spent about 6 months wrestling around the world together, grooming Brock to become @WWE Heavyweight Champion. It culminated to this historic SUMMER SLAM PPV where the crowd was absolutely electric.
Historic for two reasons: #1) In wrestling terms, I “did the honors” of having Brock beat me right in the middle of the ring, 1-2-3. Brock is new champion. Brock is new face of WWE. #2) My contract was up in WWE and I quietly – and GRATEFULLY – retired as a full time pro wrestler after an incredible (and insanely short) 6 year career. It’s so wildly incomprehensible at times when I think back – that I only wrestled for 6 YEARS. How crazy is that irony? A 6 YEAR CAREER 🤯 What a journey. #hardestworkerintheroom#gratefulman#peopleschamp
* grace note *
I did return to wrestling from 2011 to 2013 as it was my way of giving back to the business that was so good to me + I just f’n love wrestling 😈💪🏾”
Although he hasn’t wrestled ‘proper’ match in a number of years, Dwayne Johnson will reportedly be back in action at WrestleMania 39 to take on Roman Reigns. To add to the speculation, fans recently picked up on a hint that the star would actually defeat Reigns at the spectacular which was featured in TV series ‘Young Rock.’