- It’s the greatest combat athlete of all time
versus the greatest Sports Entertainer of all time.
- Reigns with a spear.
The Beast Incarnate.
Oh, my God.
Lesnar-
- No.
- -F5.
- One of the most physical and unpredictable rivalries
in history.
- What the hell is Lesnar doing?
- The surprises are so cool.
I felt like a little kid.
- I’m not a superstar.
I’m an ass-kicker, that’s it.
- After being in the ring with Brock,
I don’t fear any human physically.
- Brock Lesnar does not know what it’s like to be number two,
neither does Roman Reigns, and only one can be number one.
- This rivalry has just escalated to into a war.
- When two legends collide, their rivalries stays pinned
in our minds forever.
This is where we break down the legendary stories behind
the greatest rivalries of all time.
I’m Freddie Prinze Jr. and this is WWE Rivals.
- Brock not scared of anything.
- And Reigns going right after Lesnar.
And the fight is on.
- This rivalry is about the two alphas of the WWE,
and that’s Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns.
- Brock Lesnar is the biggest freak I’ve ever seen
on any level in any sport.
- I remember when I was in high school,
I saw this clip online of this freak athlete doing
a shooting star press in OVW.
And it was Brock Lesnar.
- Brock Lesnar on the top rope.
My God.
Shooting star press.
- This rivalry started right around 2012.
Brock had already sort of been established as this monster
from WWE.
- Who in the hell will be able to stop Brock Lesnar?
- On the other side, we saw what the WWE
hoped was their future.
- Roman Reigns reigning over the ring.
- I mean, Roman Reigns was the guy we knew was going
to be the man going forward, and this to me
is just the perfect matchup.
You’ve got the ordained one, you’ve got this freak of nature
that has walked into our business.
I think it’s just the perfect setup.
- See that rather large individual over there?
See him?
That’s Brock Lesnar.
Clearly, you look at the dude,
and he’s the Incredible Hulk, right?
So you know the look is there.
You put him in any era, and it’s going to work.
If you put him in the ’80s, yep.
Put him in the ’70s, yeah.
’60s, yeah.
’50s, my God.
They’d run.
Is King Kong walking in the building?
- When you have someone as massive as Brock Lesnar,
you see him just throwing Mark Henry,
you see him throwing the Big Show.
Being someone his size has its advantages, that’s for sure.
- The industry was looking for the next big thing.
Hogan’s time was over, and then it was The Rock and
"Stone Cold" Steve Austin and the Attitude Era.
And the Attitude Era ran its course.
Do you realize now what position you’re in, Brock?
And the next big thing was Brock Lesnar.
- And The Rock-
- Here we go. Here we go.
- -wasting little time-
- The Rock’s on the-
- -and the Brahma Bull rushing the ring.
And here we go.
The Rock and Brock colliding with the title on the line.
- Whoa-ho.
- And what a belly-to-belly by Brock Lesnar.
- There’s opportunities every day out there in life,
but you got to fight for ’em.
You got to take ’em because there might not be tomorrow.
- Ducked under.
- Brock Lesnar, he countered.
- Fireman’s carry.
Oh, man.
F5.
- Look out.
F5.
Brock Lesnar is champion.
- And that’s exactly what I did.
I went in and beat The Rock and became the youngest
WWE Champion in history.
Look like a killing machine, don’t I?
Born to fight, fight to kill, but ready to die,
but I never will.
- If an alien was to come down to earth and say,
"Hey, listen, I’m going to ruin this whole thing you guys got
going on unless one of your people can beat me up."
We’re sending Brock Lesnar.
That dude is the alpha male of our species.
- Brock Lesnar scratched and clawed his way to the top
of the mountain to become the WWE Champion.
- Paul Heyman is one of the greatest managers, advocates,
special counsels that wrestling has ever seen.
- When you see Paul Heyman hitch his wagon to any superstar,
you know that he’s got dollar signs in his eyes,
he sees what that person is going to bring to the table.
Paul Heyman is the best.
- The reason Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman made a perfect
pairing was because Brock Lesnar was the greatest athlete
on the face of the planet.
Brock Lesnar’s ambitions and dreams were not limited to WWE.
- You know, to be able to transition the way he did from
amateur to pro-wrestling to MMA.
- I left the WWE because I wanted more.
And I went out and challenged myself.
- The guy just takes over the WWE,
and then he leaves out of nowhere.
When you’re Brock Lesnar, you’re going to go fight.
- I got into the UFC, became the UFC Heavyweight Champion,
climbed that mountain, and here I am.
Why did I come back to the WWE?
I came back for one reason and one reason only,
and that’s to be the top guy, to be the same guy
that I was eight years ago when I left, to be the dominant
wrecking machine that I am.
- Brock Lesnar, he had come back and immediately been in the
position as one of the biggest stars in the WWE.
Roman Reigns, on the other hand, had to prove all that.
- If you really want to know who Roman Reigns is,
you have to understand who Joe Onoa’i is.
I was born and bred to be in that ring.
This is just what we come from.
- Roman Reigns is a part of the Onoa’i Samoan wrestling dynasty.
This dynasty is massive.
- My family is always obviously super engrained in the business.
- The Wild Samoans.
- My father, Sika, my Uncle Afa, my cousins, Yokozuna, Rikishi,
Umaga, the Usos, The Rock’s grandfather, Peter Maivia.
- He’s making his dream come true, and he’s making my dream
and also his family proud.
- He pulled the hair.
The first time I ever saw Roman Reigns was in 1988
in Panama City, Florida, when his father, Sika, was wrestling
for the Continental Wrestling Federation, and he brought Roman
into the locker room, holding his little boy by the hand,
and you could just tell the charisma of this three-year-old.
- First time I laid eyes on him, good-looking kid.
Sika was so proud of him, so proud of him.
- Joe was a big cousin, man.
Came up from the sandbox for real, like for real, grew up
together, like maybe three, four years old, met each other.
- We’re the best team here, the mini mites.
- That’s big cousin right there,
Roman Reigns is the big dawg, big cousin.
So I’m not surprised where he’s at today.
- Good Joe.
Hey, Joe.
- That was always my thing is, "I’m going to play football."
D1, that’s the step, and then NFL.
It didn’t go that way.
- From Pensacola, Florida, weighing 265 pounds,
Roman Reigns.
- And I did go right into the family business,
but the mindset was still the same, carve my own path
within the path of our family.
- Powerful throwdown.
[Crowd yells "One, two, three"]
- For the win.
- Roman Reigns very early on was felt as if he had that
chosen-one light placed upon him.
- When I talked to Triple H, you know, he was explaining
to me Roman’s background.
They had their eye on him to be the guy, if he could step
into that mold, you know, and find himself.
- 2015 all I cared about was being the last man standing.
[buzzer]
- In the Royal Rumble, every two minutes or so,
another superstar enters the match.
- When it comes down to it, you have to eliminate everyone.
If you are the last surviving superstar in the ring,
you win the Royal Rumble.
- The winner goes to WrestleMania to face
the WWE Champion.
- Roman Reigns has won the Royal Rumble.
- The crowd wasn’t digging me too much that night.
They booed me.
- There was tension in the room and it wasn’t the good tension.
They did not want Roman to win.
- And the energy in the arena was just so, I don’t know,
there was just something about that many people being angry
at the same time.
[crowd boos]
This is not what the crowd wanted.
- The last, uh, image of that Royal Rumble, though, is, like,
the show ending with The Rock raising Roman’s hand
and the crowd just booing
- To hell with the crowd.
There was a bigger plan going forward.
- Yeah.
- Yep, yep.
- It was a story about respect.
That’s been my whole career.
- That’s the prize that awaits Roman Reigns, Brock Lesnar.
- The same night that Roman Reigns wins the Royal Rumble,
Brock Lesnar successfully defends the WWE Championship.
- Lesnar is still champion.
- Whoa. [laughs]
- Brock has a just a completely different aura to him.
With Brock, you’re about to be in a really physical match.
- It’s like magic watching these two.
Roman believed in himself enough and he’s solid as a rock, man.
- I’m gonna beat you at WrestleMania.
I’m gonna take that title.
You know it, I know it.
- Everybody knows how dangerous Brock is, but Roman steps right
up to him and he’s more than an equal.
He’s more than an equal.
And, you know, they come at each other like two bulldozers,
two pit bulls.
- I don’t respect you.
- They both believe it.
- But you will.
- So I believe it.
- It’s funny because it started back in 2015 and-and we were
just completely different competitors at that point.
I was still so young.
I was still so fresh on the scene, trying to take,
earn respect.
- Roman Reigns is great.
Is he great enough to beat Brock Lesnar?
- And if I couldn’t get it from Brock that day,
I knew I wasn’t ever gonna be able to get it
from our audience.
- We’re always looking for a storied rivalry.
Hogan versus Macho.
Austin versus Rock.
Roman Reigns versus Brock Lesnar.
[bell rings]
- And here we go.
Brock Lesnar powering Reigns to the corner.
- When you’re in the ring with Brock,
if there’s any softness about you,
it’s going to be exposed real quick.
- Wow.
And now, again, German suplex to Roman Reigns.
Lesnar wants to punish Reigns.
- I don’t care who my opponents are.
I got one job to do and one job only, and that’s to kick ass.
- I think, going into it, I think we could all agree
a lot of people paid a lot of money to see Brock
kick the -- out of me.
- And Lesnar, and another German.
- Suplex city, bitch.
- Oh, no, and Roman Reigns drives Lesnar in to the post.
- Roman Reigns knows this is his chance.
- Superman punch.
Lesnar is in trouble.
- That was one of the first times
I could really feel the crowd turn.
But if you were out there in the middle of that storm,
we could feel that energy change.
I could feel that respect coming through the performance.
- Reigns.
Spear.
- No.
- For the championship.
Oh, and another two and a half.
Reigns caught, caught.
Lesnar a vicious F5.
Who can capitalize?
[Seth Rollins’ music plays]
- What the hell?
- Seth Rollins.
- We have a little something called Money in the Bank
which allows the winner of that match to cash in
for the World Championship whenever they’d like.
And in this instance, it was Seth Rollins running
in and making the match a triple threat.
- Mr. Money in the Bank.
- I’m watching Brock Lesnar beat the hell out of Roman Reigns.
- Ladies and gentlemen, Seth Rollins is cashing
in his Money in the Bank.
- I ran in made their first encounter at WrestleMania
a little bit better.
- Taking no chances here at all.
- Lesnar, Lesnar picked him out of the air.
Reigns with a spear.
A wicked spear.
- Look out.
- Stomp to Reigns.
Cover by Rollins.
[bell ringing]
Rollins with the heist of the century.
[clapping]
- I was in the ring with Brock Lesnar.
There’s not a lot of human beings who can say that.
Sorry.
And my only goal was to be able to show that
no matter the mountain, I’m willing to climb.
Did I get the job done tonight?
No.
Did I represent?
In my heart, I feel like I did.
It was hard to think like, oh, we’re about to do this
for a few years.
I was just extremely grateful for the opportunity
and then the outcome.
I think I saw Bret Hart like later that night and he was
like "instant classic."
I didn’t know if this was going to be what it has ended
up becoming, but I knew off of that it was special.
It was very special.
- This match doesn’t give you an end to their rivalry.
In fact, it’s the very beginning.
- I think they kind of knew that there’s legs to this.
This isn’t going to be the end of this story.
This is going to be the beginning of these
are our two guys, right?
We got Brock.
We got Roman.
We’re probably going to have a 10-year story here
they’re going to go after.
- In the years that followed their match at WrestleMania 31,
both Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns continued to grow.
Roman Reigns beating some of the top superstars in the WWE
Brock Lesnar becoming the Universal Champion,
beating guys like Goldberg.
But even with all this going on, you knew in the back of your
head that these two were bound to meet again.
- Bock Lesnar is an entitled piece of crap.
My family and my Bloodline is this business?
I don’t respect Brock Lesnar,
and I damn sure don’t fear that bitch.
You take a guy like Brock, who had done it all.
He brought so much knowledge and experience with him.
You put me with somebody like that.
Give it to me.
Give me it all.
You know what I mean?
I’m gonna take a lot of it.
- At WrestleMania, Roman Reigns isn’t man enough
to take the universal title away from the reigning,
defending heavyweight champion, Brock Lesnar.
- Oh, my God.
He’s here.
Roman Reigns is here.
- At the end of the day I knew, this is my time.
You know what I mean?
I’ve done everything the right way.
This is my time.
- And Lesnar and Reigns.
And Lesnar just cleaned Reigns’ clock.
Oh, and Reigns driving Lesnar face first into the post.
And Lesnar caught Reigns.
Oh, my God.
- No, no, no.
- And this time an F5.
Ribs first to the steps.
It comes down to this.
It is WrestleMania.
Will it be Reigns or will it be Lesnar?
- Tonight is the biggest night of the year because
this is WrestleMania.
- I’m not here to, uh, be lost in the mix.
I’m here to make a statement.
You can’t help but to get excited.
- The rivalry gets halted for a few years, then comes back full
speed at the biggest stage, WrestleMania 34,
where yet again Roman Reigns is able to get to the top
of the mountain, but there’s one guy there
and there’s only room for one.
- Brock Lesnar.
Oh, there was a lot of tension going into WrestleMania 34.
Brock with UFC calling, beckoning for his return.
Roman Reigns with the entire WWE Universe watching him.
- The following contest is for the Universal Championship.
- It comes down to that in the locker room as well.
Like, is Brock gonna win the title and then just
disappear for six months?
[bell rings]
- Is he gonna be a part-time guy that wants to go
do a UFC fights?
- And Brock Lesnar quickly goes to work.
- But when it comes to Roman, the anticipation is there,
and can this kid deliver against one of the best?
- Superman Punch.
Roman Reigns looking to put the Beast away.
- That might have been one of the most critical days
of my career, to be able to handle that adversity.
- I’ve always found in every Brock match,
there’s just a different feeling.
I don’t know what it is.
There’s just a certain element of danger that he brings
to the show and a match in general.
You just don’t know what can happen.
- What is Brock gonna do next?
Oh, my God.
- Brock Lesnar used his elbow and cut the head
open of Roman Reigns.
- It happens out there with Brock.
He’s a big old boy, sometimes you get split open.
- Lesnar--
- No.
- F5.
[crowd "one, two, three]
[bell rings]
- Everyone thought Roman Reigns was finally going to slay
the Beast, that he was finally gonna win
the Universal Championship.
And it didn’t happen.
The reign continues.
- That was one of those really ough days.
- Any neck pain or anything?
- Every inch of you physically, every fiber of you mentally.
That’s the only way to get to the top and stay on top.
And that’s why I do what I do.
And I’m not gonna stop.
I’m not gonna stop until I’ve earned that respect.
- Four years that Roman Reigns has tried to shake this burden
known as Brock Lesnar.
- It’s time for Brock Lesnar to go.
’Cause I’m sick of hearing about him.
I’m sick of talking about him.
I’m sick of looking at him.
I’m tired of it.
So, it ends this Sunday at SummerSlam.
- Welcome everybody to SummerSlam.
- For Roman, he’s sacrificed enough blood, enough sweat,
enough tears on that canvas, and it’s time for him to get
that the championship over the man he’s never beaten.
- How do you achieve the impossible?
How do you beat the Beast?
How do you take what belongs to Brock Lesnar?
- Oh, Roman Reigns with the Superman Punch
from outta nowhere.
- And another one.
- And another one to Lesnar.
And Lesnar is in trouble.
And now Roman Reigns with a Spear at Lesnar.
A Spear to the champion.
Brock is stunned
Brock’s in trouble.
A Spear to the champion.
Reigns did it.
Roman Reigns did it.
Reigns is the champion.
- Here’s your winner and the new--
- I can’t believe it.
- Roman Reigns finally did it.
- This really was that career-defining moment.
I think it was that culmination of the fans finally getting
on board with Roman Reigns and really having
that full circle moment.
- There was times where I was, "Why, why did I do that?"
"Why did I put my body through that?"
"Why do I continue to abuse myself?"
This is why.
This-- As crazy as it sounds, man.
And, you know, outside of my health, you know, my-my family,
this-this is-- this is the biggest thing in my world.
I mean, just that moment, highest of highs to--
None of this crap really matters anymore.
Real life is happening now.
- And we’re kicking things off with the Universal Champion.
- At that time, he is essentially the guy, right?
And no idea anything was wrong.
And then just in a blink of an eye just shows how quickly
things can change.
- I feel like I owe everybody an apology.
I’ve come out here and spoke as Roman Reigns.
That’s all lies.
My real name is Joe,
and I’ve been living with leukemia for 11 years.
And unfortunately it’s back.
[crowd chants "Thank you, Roman"]
- This story gets halted in the most brutal way possible,
as on national TV, Roman comes out
and he has that infamous promo where he says,
"I’m just a guy named Joe."
And he tells the world that he has leukemia.
This was brutal for whether you loved Roman or not.
You-you loved what he brought to the table.
And anyone you have love for, when they get sick, it hurts,
it feels personal and it takes him away from us
for quite some time while he’s dealing with that.
- The last thing I ever wanted to see was my white blood cell
count to be over 100,000 again.
Where I’m at now, the main thing is just
to continue to take my medication.
This is a lifelong medication.
It’s oral chemotherapy.
I know that I’m extremely lucky just based off the research
and the different advancements that we’ve made in medicine.
Whether I’m the face of the company or uh,
an integral part of this business, I--
that wasn’t necessarily concerned.
It was literally just, can I do my job again?
Can I be what I was or who I was?
And most importantly, can I continue to grow
from this huge chunk of adversity that’s in my way?
Anytime you have to relinquish the biggest title in our
business, you’re gonna want that back.
And, um, 100% I wanted my stuff back, you know.
[Roman Reigns’ music plays]
[crowd cheers]
- Please welcome, Roman Reigns.
- I’m probably gonna say this a lot, but I’m gonna start
off by saying, "Thank you."
When I made my announcement, I said that I was gonna
swing for the fences.
We did better than that, y’all.
[crowd cheering]
[crowd chants "Roman"]
I’m in remission, y’all.
[crowd cheers]
- And we echo the sentiments of WWE Universe, this is your yard.
Welcome back, Roman Reigns.
- Went kinda short, I think.
We’re short, right?
[clapping]
- Yeah.
Quite the talent.
- Big son of a gun you.
- Beautiful, wow, nice.
- When I came back, I was just floating, uh,
you know, still the big dog, still doing my thing.
There was almost like a honeymoon phase of like,
"Hey, wait, we can’t go hard on this guy."
And I was just not satisfied creatively.
- When he’s able to come back, we then have the pandemic,
and because of a compromised immune system,
he now has to step away again.
- I went into the hole, I went back to the lab.
You gonna sit here and be one of the boys
or you gonna be a megastar.
Let’s do something that’s never been done before.
- There’s this moment after Roman Reigns
returns that the camera pans out.
And we see the truth.
- Believe that.
- Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman had been aligned for something
like two decades at this point.
But Paul Heyman and Roman Reigns are now working together.
- Roman Reigns has won the Universal Championship.
- He went from the big dog to the Tribal Chief.
He went from being the best of this generation
to the greatest of all time just like that.
- Now, the whole world can acknowledge me.
- He doesn’t want affirmation, or love, or respect,
he wants it all.
- Man, it’s like putting a wild dog in a damn kennel.
Came back a different Roman, and you could see it too.
You could feel it.
- When he comes back, he’s not the same Roman Reigns,
and he’s not a Roman Reigns that wants you to cheer for him,
he’s a Roman Reigns that demands your respect.
The person that helped bring this together was Paul Heyman.
- As we had seen this reunion between Roman Reigns
and Paul Heyman, Brock Lesnar was nowhere in sight.
- Having Paul Heyman in my corner is a 100%
advantage for me.
I’m tough enough to deal with by myself, you put us--
There ain’t nobody back here that has a chance.
- The man who’s on a different level, The Tribal Chief.
- Roman Reigns with a spear.
And just like that, Roman Reigns will retain the championship.
[bell rings]
- Roman Reigns took John Cena’s best shot.
[Brock Lesnar’s music plays]
[crowd cheers]
- What?
- Oh, my God.
- Let’s go.
- Oh, my God.
Are you kidding me?
Brock, Brock, Brock is here.
- Yes.
- Holy --.
- Say it.
Brock Lesnar is back in WWE.
- The alpha male of our species.
- At SummerSlam after Roman Reigns defeated me,
I’m sitting there, and I hear Brock’s music play like,
"He’s not supposed to be here."
And you could hear it in the audience too.
- That was awesome.
I mean, what a moment that I’ll never, ever forget.
But had no idea what was happening,
almost passed out in that moment when it happened.
Like I was starting to say, "Oh, my--"
like losing my mind.
- Brock Lesnar staring a hole through Roman.
- That staredown was a different one than I had ever
experienced with him before.
It was finally like, "Respect.
I know exactly who you are, what you’ve done, and where you come
from, but, like, I’m the man now."
- This rivalry was back on and bigger than it had ever been.
It somehow got even grander
when Brock Lesnar went to the Day 1 event-
- And Brock Lesnar
now a part of the Fatal 5-Way here, live, tonight.
- -and captured the WWE Championship.
[bell rings]
- Brock gets the WWE Championship.
Roman Reigns is in possession of the Universal Championship, and
now, we have two champions, and it sets up the perfect match
which is a unification match.
- Why don’t we give everybody what they want?
[crowd cheers]
- Title versus Title.
- During that time, Brock comes out, and he loves the people.
He loves that they’re screaming his name.
He’s got the samurai knot, he’s got the cowboy hat,
he’s smiling, he’s feeling good.
- News flash, Paul, Brock Lesnar is doing just fine
without Paul Heyman.
[crowd cheers]
- For years, he was just this mute beast that Heyman
would bring out.
And because Heyman then switched sides, we got to see what Brock
was really like, and it gave him new life.
- At this point in his career, Brock felt it appropriate
to let people in on what he’s like at home,
and it’s a whole lot different than the Beast that we’ve all
come to know in the past 20 years.
- Real-life Brock Lesnar is just a flannel-wearing, jean-wearing,
cowboy-boot-wearing guy that loves to go out and farm
and be with his family.
That’s it.
- I’m -- gristled.
I’ve been through wars,
[horn blowing]
and it builds confidence and character.
So that’s who I am now.
I’m confident with who I am, and what I’ve accomplished.
Whoo.
This Sunday, at WrestleMania, they will chant,
"Your new reigning, defending Unified Heavyweight Champion
of the World, Brock Lesnar."
[fireworks]
- Welcome to the most stupendous live event in entertainment.
Welcome to WrestleMania.
- I’ve been in these situations many times,
but this one has a little more gravity to it.
This match is built as the greatest WrestleMania
match of all time.
It’s a Title versus Title unification match.
Everything that I’ve done, it’s not there if I don’t go out
there and showcase why I’m the greatest of all time,
showcase why I’m the very best in this industry.
[Roman Reigns’ music plays]
- Have you ever seen a champion-
[fireworks]
-as dominant as Roman Reigns?
- No, sir, I have not.
Roman Reigns has achieved and exists in god mode.
But this is beyond supremacy.
Tonight is a battle for immorality.
- And there is the Beast.
[fireworks]
- WrestleMania 38 gives Roman an opportunity to have
the kind of match that Brock would normally have.
It was his time to shine.
- Roman Reigns, spear.
And Roman Reigns now locked and loaded.
Now, Roman Reigns is rolling.
- I’m the greatest of all time.
- Lesnar driven into the official.
- This time, it was the last one, and it was going
for all the marbles.
- Oh, wait a second.
- Oh, low blow.
Official Patton was down.
Reigns took advantage with a low blow.
- So you wanted to see, "All right, this rivalry
has been through many years and many mash nations."
- Oh, on the skull of Lesnar.
- Now, one of them is going to come out as the man,
the Undisputed Unified Champion.
- And Reigns with another spear in survival mode.
Cover for the win.
He got it.
[bell rings]
- And Roman Reigns is the
Undisputed WWE and Universal Champion.
[clapping]
[laughing]
- I appreciate it, man.
Thank you.
- Nice work.
- Roman, what he was able to accomplish,
and what he was able to do, and how dominant he has been,
it immediately puts him in the onversation
of greatest of all time.
- Roman, spear.
- We’re lucky to be able to experience watching him
catapult to the top.
- For 657 days, Roman Reigns has been champion.
- Dominance personified.
- Wise Man- -
Yes, my Tribal Chief?
- -there is no one left.
- No one for you, my Tribal Chief.
No one.
- Nobody.
- And then there’s been this two-decade enigma almost
that is Brock Lesnar.
[Brock Lesnar’s music plays]
[crowd cheers]
- Holy hell.
- Roman Reigns has seen a ghost.
- It didn’t feel maxed yet.
It was almost one of those deals where like,
"Man, do we have one more?"
- The Beast is back.
- I knew there was still meat on the bone.
- An incredible atmosphere here tonight at Nissan Stadium.
For 680 days, Roman Reigns has been a champion.
He said, "It’s one last trip to the Island of Relevancy before
I send Brock back to the farm for good."
- Tonight, I’m approaching this like I approach anything
athletic in my life.
I’m coming out to win tonight.
I’m a fighter, I’m a farmer, and a badass -- cowboy.
Now, get the -- out of here.
- See in whatever generation you have a few guys,
when they come out, it’s different from everybody
else on the card.
Roman is like that, Brock is like that.
It feels different when they walk out.
It feels like a prize fight.
- Where is Lesnar going?
- Brock Lesnar is bringing the farm to SummerSlam.
Look at the smile on Lesnar’s face.
He is driving a tractor.
- The peanut butter needs jelly.
It feels like Roman and Brock are the two that have just been
running concurrently against each other.
Lucky to be a fan of this era.
[bell rings]
- The following contest is a Last Man Standing match.
[crowd cheers]
- Oh, my God.
- Brock Lesnar didn’t waste any time.
A Thesz Press off the tractor and we’re underway,
Last Man Standing.
- This is gonna be ugly.
The only rule, keep your opponent down
for the count of 10.
Lesnar is savoring the suffering of the Tribal Chief.
- We have Cowboy Brock, Tribal Chief--
I mean, we’re completely locked into who we are.
To be able to do it this many times, on--
in that many stadium shows.
To me this is where me and Brock showed them,
we’re so much better than everybody else.
- Who knows what sort of horrible ideas Lesnar
had in his mind.
- Lesnar just dumped them into that front loader.
And now Lesnar’s taking out the trash.
- God almighty, what the hell is Lesnar doing?
- Anything he wants.
- This isn’t my first -- rodeo.
You know, I wear a cowboy hat because I’m a -- cowboy.
I farm, I ranch.
This is -- Brock Lesnar.
- Lesnar’s lifting up the ring with Roman Reigns in it.
Brock Lesnar just lifted the ring 15 feet off the ground
with a damn tractor.
Heyman’s mouth cashed a check.
Look at this.
Oh, my God.
Heyman F5’ed through the table.
Reigns with a title off the face of Lesnar.
That’s gotta be it.
- And now the Usos burying the Beast beneath the rubble.
- We showcased what a Sports Entertainer looks like.
To be able to take that level of physicality,
that level of brutality and violence,
and then to entertain and- and have showmanship.
There’s just so many elements to it that just showcase
greatness in my opinion.
- It’s over.
Reign retains.
[bell ringing]
- Roman Reigns.
- It took the Usos, it took Paul Heyman, it took every piece
of equipment at ringside to bury the damn Beast.
And for Roman Reigns to continue his historic championship reign.
- To me it was by far their best match they’ve ever had.
They found a way to make all the chaos work, to really make it
seem like Brock overcame a lot and ultimately
couldn’t overcome anymore.
- The ring is a mess.
It’s still propped up from the bulldozer.
And Brock does something that I’ve never seen,
he climbs to the top of this broken ring,
up where the bucket of the tractor is and he thanks
the fans, puts on the cowboy hat and lets them know like,
"Yo, this was for you."
[crowd cheers]
- I think that that was Brock’s way of-of saying this chapter
may be closed for right now and, uh,
I’ll see you on down the road.
- I don’t think that there was anybody really except
for Brock Lesnar to make Roman Reigns the star that he is.
I can’t think of anybody else really that-that could have been
in that spot to get Roman Reigns
to catapult him to this superstardom.
- When this all first started with Roman, he was a young man.
You just know when somebody has it,
and-and I think he’s a special talent.
- I’m really proud of Roman for the work that he’s put in.
Obviously, the struggles that he’s had personally
with his health.
It’s really a testament to his-his passion
for this business.
- I think it’s really cool to see somebody become great.
Looking how Brock stepped up and figured this business out,
and so does Roman.
They both look dangerous, and I love watching.
If one of these guys are gonna wrestle,
I make sure I watch that match.
- No one will ever do what Brock has done.
And then you have someone like me who is just so focused
and locked in on this world, the WWE world, pro wrestling,
Sports Entertainment.
Two elite level, once in a lifetime, once in a generation
performers that have completely different backgrounds
and upbringings and different journeys.
But we are able to get to the same peak of the-the same
mountain, you know, just from different sides.
That’s our legacy.