It’s common knowledge that multiple-time reigning, defending, etc. Universal Champion Brock Lesnar doesn’t wrestle very often, and that his infrequent Raw appearances are usually him silently hopping in place while Paul Heyman extols his virtues. What you might find surprising, however, is exactly how long it’s been since The Beast competed in the ring on Monday Night Raw.
Today, July 22, marks an astonishing 17 years since Brock Lesnar competed in an actual match on Raw. Yes, 17 years. On July 22, 2002, Lesnar defeated Tommy Dreamer on Raw ahead of Lesnar’s WWE Championship match against The Rock at SummerSlam. Since then, the closest Brock’s come to wrestling on Raw is the occasional dedicated beatdown, like when he brawled with Mark Henry in 2014, or when he took Bo Dallas to Suplex City on Raw in 2015.
Please enjoy Lesnar vs. Dreamer below, if only to see how young everybody looks. Paul Heyman looks like a teenager out there.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1oJFRqnUC8
It’s pretty crazy to think that an entire generation of wrestling fans have grown up never seeing current Monday Night Raw top title holder Brock Lesnar compete on WWE’s flagship show. To put it into context, current NXT North American Champion Velveteen Dream was six years old when Lesnar took out Dreamer. I guess there’s something to be said for only working Sundays.