Add The New York Post on Google WWE star Brock Lesnar is officially calling it quits after seemingly saying goodbye to wrestling at WrestleMania 42, only to return a month later.
But Lesnar is finally done for good, revealing his decision to retire from WWE to the world on Tuesday during an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show.”
The wrestling star los to Oba Femi in a Hell in a Cell match on Saturday during the first night of SummerSlam, which took place in Minnesota, where he wrestled in college and later pursued his NFL dream with the Vikings.
Brock Lesnar speaks during SummerSlam at U.S. Bank Stadium on August 1, 2026, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. WWE via Getty Images “I’m here today to do this interview to let the world and everybody know that I am retired, and I wanted to say a big thank you to everybody. Saturday was a very emotional day for me,” the 49-year-old Lesnar said.
“Saturday for Brock Lesnar, that’s it,” he added later. “That’s it for me in the squared circle and for everything else too. I just wanted to give a shoutout to everybody on this universe that has followed me since I was a little kid, all the way till Saturday. I was just a farm kid with a big dream and big heart and a big-ass chip on my shoulder. I’m just grateful.”
Tuesday’s announcement officially ends Lesnar’s WWE career, which began in 2002 and included being a 10-time world champion in WWE, winning the Royal Rumble twice and also King of the Ring.
“I spent the last two days in bed,” he said. “I got run over by a Nigerian Nightmare dump truck Saturday night. It’s time. I’m 49, and I still wanna be able to get around and move.”
Lesnar, who is married to former WWE star Sable and has three children, also ended The Undertaker’s legendary undefeated streak at WrestleMania in 2014.
He told McAfee that he thought he was done after WrestleMania 42 — where he left his gloves and boots in the ring after losing to Femi — but said that in the wake of that he “still had some fuel in the tank.”
Before WWE, Lesnar had a distinguished collegiate wrestling career and captured the NCAA Division I heavyweight title in 2000.
During Lesnar’s early WWE career, he walked away from the ring and attempted a career in pro football, appearing in a preseason game with the Vikings in 2004 as a defensive lineman.
Brock Lesnar hits Oba Femi with an F5 during Clash in Italy at Inalpi Arena on May 31, 2026 in Torino di Sangro, Italy. WWE via Getty Images He did not make the team and instead made his way to New Japan Pro-Wrestling, where he won the IWGP Heavyweight championship, and then later started an MMA career, fighting in the UFC in the late 2000s and early 2010s. There he won the UFC heavyweight championship and successfully defended the title twice before losing to Cain Velasquez.
Lesnar, who was long paired with manager and friend Paul Heyman on-screen, made it back to WWE in 2012.
Lesnar had an impressive pro wrestling career, but it wasn’t without controversy in his later years as he found himself caught up in former WWE employee Janel Grant’s lawsuit alleging sex trafficking and sexual assault by ex-WWE boss Vince McMahon.
Grant alleged McMahon offered Lesnar sexual encounters with her as a way to entice him to re-sign with the WWE. Lesnar was never charged or sued directly. The lawsuit against McMahon was voluntarily dismissed in July and will be settled in private arbitration
