Brock Lesnar announces retirement from WWE

Brock Lesnar WWE
Brock Lesnar enters at WWE SummerSlam. (Image credit: WWE)

SummerSlam 2026 was the end of the line for Brock Lesnar.

Night one of the PLE was headlined by a passing-of-the-torch moment with Lesnar losing to Oba Femi. There was no official retirement announcement after the match, but Lesnar did call himself the “past” and said Femi is the future. It was an emotional night for Lesnar with SummerSlam taking place in his one-time home state of Minnesota.

Lesnar then made things official on Tuesday during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show. The 49-year-old Lesnar announced that he is retired from competing in WWE and “everythig else.” With this part of his life now over, Lesnar said he’s got some hunting plans coming up and wants to spend more time supporting his kids in their dreams. His sons are hockey players and his daughter — a shotputter — is hoping to compete in the Olympics.

“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,” Lesnar said. “Saturday was a very emotional day for me. Kind of weird because I did — my heart, when Oba Femi slammed me at WrestleMania, I was like, ‘I can’t do this again.’ I was like, I think I’m done. But the business, and 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.

Brock Lesnar expresses his gratitude —

Lesnar thanked everyone who has watched and supported him during his career, saying he’s “very honored and very grateful” for everything the fans have given him. He made sure to thank WWE, TKO, Dana White, the UFC, the University of Minnesota, and all of the coaches he’s worked with. Lesnar also praised Femi for being “great.”

“I just want to give a shoutout to everybody on this universe that has followed me from since I was a little kid all the way to 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 shoulder,” Lesnar said. “I’m just grateful. Grateful to be 49 years old and to be able to do what I did in this lifetime. I thank God and everybody that supported me.”

As for why he decided to retire, Lesnar said he wants to enjoy life and still be able to get around. There will naturally be some skepticism given the fake retirement tease did after losing to Femi at WrestleMania 42 in April, though it should be noted that Lesnar never actually said he was retired then like he did here.

Femi defeated Lesnar at WrestleMania and SummerSlam, prevailing in their rivalry with a 2-1 record. The SummerSlam match was contested inside of Hell in a Cell.

A Lesnar career retrospective aired on Raw this Monday.

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Joseph Currier
Joseph Currier

Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.

In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.