Brock Lesnar has main evented Wrestlemania five time. The first was in 2003 when he went head-to-head with Kurt Angle for the WWE Undisputed Championship. That bout also has the distinction of being the only Wrestlemania main event to feature two wrestlers performing under their real names.
His trilogy of main events with Roman Reigns are also the first time that two wrestlers have faced each other in three separate Wrestlemania main events, albeit with matches of varying quality.
Brock Lesnar Wrestlemania Main Events
Brock Lesnar vs Roman Reigns – Wrestlemania 34
Possible the worst Wrestlemania main event of all time is the second of three (no, seriously) matches between Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar. Yes, both men were the top stars in the company at the time and there really could be no other. Sadly, that didn’t matter and absolutely nobody cared. Fans had already rejected the match three years prior but they didn’t have a Seth Rollins cash in to fix this match.
The match perfectly serviceable. As a professional wrestling match, it was fine, Both men hit their moves and executed everything well. Technically, they did nothing wrong. Not that the fans cared, as they chanted for anything but the two men inside the ring for the whole match, including throwing a beach ball around the arena to quell their boredom.
Then came the end of the match. To understand how bad it was, we have to go back a year to analyse Brock Lesnar’s Universal Championship reign. He held the belt for the past year, since beating Goldberg at the previous year. Over that time he had defeated big stars like Braun Strowman, Samoa Joe and Roman Reigns in impressive fashion.
However, most important was the way in which he won his title defences. All his victim fell to a single F5 – Lesnar’s finisher. You knew that once he hit it, the match was over. It had been build up as the most deadly move in the WWE and the expectation was the Reigns would probably kick out of one of them for a big pop at Wrestlemania.
Did I say “a” F5? I meant he would kick out of FIVE. Yes, you read that correctly. A move which had been built up as the un-kick-outable finisher over the past year, Roman Reigns just went and took a steaming dump over the last year. Even worse, he didn’t even win the match, finally falling to the sixth F5 and losing the Wrestlemania main event against Brock Lesnar for the second time.
Cage Match Rating – 2.70
Wrestling Observer Star Rating – 3 Stars
Brock Lesnar vs Drew McIntyre – Wrestlemania 36
Drew McIntyre vs Brock Lesnar should have been one of the biggest main events in Wrestlemania. However through no fault of their own, the match was put on in front on zero fans during the recent pandemic. What should have been McIntyre’s crowning moment was turned into a nice little day for him, but not the celebration and fanfare that he would have expected.
The set-up for the match was as old as time. Drew won the Royal Rumble that year and chose to challenge WWE Champion Brock Lesnar for his World Championship. McIntyre had even eliminated Lesnar from the rumble that year, with The Beast very arrogantly entering himself at number one in the match, despite holding the WWE Championship.
The match was okay. It was mainly German Suplexes and F5s from Lesnar’s side, with Drew hitting little more than his own finishing move. It took three Claymore Kicks to finally pin The Beast, but the moment was dampened significantly due to the absolute silence coming from the WWE Performance Centre. The match was okay but would have been so much better with 70,000 fans screaming for Drew to nail him with one last Claymore and watching him triumphantly raising the WWE Champion above his head as the first ever British world champion.
Cage Match Rating – 2.70
Wrestling Observer Star Rating – 3 Stars
Brock Lesnar vs Roman Reigns – Wrestlemania 38
Finally, at the third time of asking Roman Reigns defeated Brock Lesnar in the Wrestlemania main event. After the disaster-filled bouts at both Wrestlemania 31 and 34, it seemed like the third encounter could not get any worse. The pair had wrestled so much over the past six years that something had to give – they couldn’t ruin every Wrestlemania, could they?
Well, they finally did send the fans home miserable. This match between the two was actually good. Very good, in fact. It was your typical Brock Lesnar match since 2014 – big moves, Suplexes and F5’s were the main part of his moveset. However, this time was different because Lesnar was the good guy and Reigns was the bad guy. Fans were not just allowed to boo Reigns – they were encouraged.
The match was shorter than expected, with Reigns winning a match marred by an anticlimactic finish, which had fans worrying that Roman Reigns injured himself during the match. However it later came out that he was not injured and the match was bizarrely just structured that way. This definitely took away from the match, but the excitement prior to that part made up for it.
Cage Match Rating – 8.80
Wrestling Observer Star Rating – 4.5 Stars
Kurt Angle vs Brock Lesnar – Wrestlemania XIX
Many would put this at the top of Brock Lesnar’s Wrestlemania matches, and you’d be well within your right to do so. However, the match at Wrestlemania XIX between Lesnar and his rival Kurt Angle ranks in second on this list, although that should take nothing away from how good it was – despite the gruesome ending.
Lesnar had won the 2003 Royal Rumble less than a year into his career. He was a prodigy not seen in wrestling before and was well on his way to being the biggest face in the company, in his early 20s. He just had to beat Kurt Angle, the Olympics Gold Medallist who also held the WWE Championship, in the main event of Lesnar’s first ever Wrestlemania in the main event.
Angle was working through a neck injury and at one point was even doubtful for the match. Nevertheless, the pair put on a technical classic that also didn’t leave out the big suplexes that both men were known for. The match was excellent, one of the best matches ever, but was brought down significantly by the ending of the bout.
Brock Lesnar attempted a shooting star press onto Angle to end the match. He jumped from the top rope to hit the move, which was his finisher in developmental. For a man his size, hitting that move seemed like a dream. It soon turned into a nightmare.
Lesnar was short of Angle after hesitating on the top rope, landing on his head and breaking his neck. He still managed to get Angle onto his shoulders for the F5 to win the match, but the damage was done and the end of the match was remembered for the horrific botch.
Cage Match Rating – 8.58
Wrestling Observer Star Rating – 4.25 Stars
Brock Lesnar vs Roman Reigns – Wrestlemania 31
Brock Lesnar’s Wrestlemania main event that impressed fans the most was the main event of Wrestlemania 31.
While this being above the Kurt Angle match is contentious, it is very fair to argue that the match against Roman Reigns at Wrestlemania 31 is Brock Lesnar’s best Wrestlemania main event. The event had a very, lets say, difficult build toward it, with absolutely nobody wanting to see the babyface challenger Reigns going against Lesnar at Wrestlemania.
Roman Reigns won the right to challenge for the WWE Championship by winning the 2015 Royal Rumble. The match was Daniel Bryan’s to win, having just returned from a year out after vacating his hard won WWE Championship. The fans could not be more behind the American Dragon. However, when he was eliminated from the match early, fans turned on everybody in the match (except Dolph Ziggler) and booed everybody in sight.
Even The Rock, who came out toward the end to help Reigns overcome Kane and The Big Show, received his share of abuse from the fans. It was the most hilarious Royal Rumble ever and a must-see for those wanting a laugh on the run up to this years event.
To make it even worse, WWE had the bright idea to have Roman Reigns beat Daniel Bryan at Fastlane that year. They once again dangled the chance to see Bryan in the main event before taking it away from him, all to placate the Roman Reigns project. The fans were furious and were fully intent on ruining the Wrestlemania 31 main event.
However, the match was actually quite good. Both men laid the punches in, working very snuggly and very real. Lesnar hit some dangerous looking suplex and some dirty knees into the stomach of Reigns. It was also the match where “Suplex City” was born, with Lesnar thinking up the name on the fly after hitting Reigns with another German Suplex.
However, the match went from good to great when both men were down in the ring and the familiar music of Seth Rollins blared through the speakers. The Mr Money in the Bank ran down the ramp as fast as he could to cash in his money in the bank contract. He added himself to the match, making it a triple threat match for the WWE Championship. One curb stomp to Roman Reigns later, he was the champion for the first time in his career.
Cage Match Rating – 8.80
Wrestling Observer Star Rating – 4.5 Stars
