By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
Brock Lesnar is hanging up his boots and gloves, and this time he says he means it. Lesnar announced on Tuesday’s Pat McAfee Show that he is officially retired from WWE. “I’m here today to do this interview to let the world and everybody know that I am retired,” Lesnar said. “And I wanted to say a big thank you to everybody. Saturday was a very emotional day for me. It’s kind of weird. My heart… When Oba Femi slammed me at WrestleMania, I was like, I can’t do this again, I think I’m done. I still had some fuel in the tank, but Saturday, for Brock Lesnar, that’s it. That’s it for me in the squared circle and for everything else too. I just want to give a shout-out to everybody in this universe that has followed me since I was a little kid all the way until Saturday.
“I was just a farm kid from South Dakota with a big dream and a big heart and a big ass chip on my shoulders. Yeah, I’m just grateful, grateful to be 49 years old. And to be able to do what I did in this lifetime, I think God and everybody that supported me. I want to thank all my coaches. And I want to especially say to the little kids, I was just a farm kid with a bunch of lint in my pocket, and I had big dreams, and I just worked. I think a lot of people nowadays platform athletes for doing things, but they leave out the hard work. And if a kid just stays focused on work and putting the time in, good things will happen.” Check out Lesnar’s appearance below or via The Pat McAfee Show YouTube Channel.
Powell’s POV: Lesnar said his retirement plans include hunting and supporting his two sons in hockey, as well as his daughter, who is eyeing the 2028 Olympics. He said he plans to spend more time with his kids and in the woods. He said he’s 49 and spent the last two days in bed after being run over by a Nigerian Nightmare dump truck on Saturday. He said it’s time, and he still wants to be able to get around and move. He said Oba Femi was great. Brock also thanked WWE, TKO, UFC, the Minnesota Vikings, the University of Minnesota, and everyone who believed in him. “I’m just grateful, Pat, I’m so grateful,” he said. “Thanks, I just can’t believe it.”
We all know that you never say never when it comes to pro wrestlers coming out of retirement. But Lesnar seems sincere in the moment, and it was cool to see him so grateful and humble during this segment. While it would have been nice if he announced his retirement on WWE television, I’m not surprised that he decided to take a different approach. Lesnar had an amazing pro wrestling career, not to mention his amateur wrestling success, his run as the UFC Heavyweight Champion, and the preseason he spent playing for the Minnesota Vikings. Brock felt real in an era of pro wrestling that doesn’t emphasize realism. He’s among the top ten best pro wrestlers I’ve seen in my lifetime. On a personal note, I’m also appreciative of the kindness he showed when I interviewed him and attended a public sparring session before his August 2008 fight with Heath Herring. Here’s wishing Brock the best in his retirement.
(Jason Powell, founder and editor of ProWrestling.net, has covered pro wrestling full-time since 1997. He hosts the weekly podcast, Pro Wrestling Boom, and also appears regularly on the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Podcast. Reach him via email at dotnetjason@gmail.com and on social media via @prowrestlingnet.bsky.social or x.com/prowrestlingnet. For his full bio and information on this website, click here.)
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