Former UFC champion, WWE star Brock Lesnar retires after losing at Wrestlemania 42

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - APRIL 19: Brock Lesnar takes off his gloves during WrestleMania 42: Night 2 at Allegiant Stadium on April 19, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Rich Freeda/WWE via Getty Images) | WWE via Getty Images

Is it real?

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Heavyweight champion and WWE megastar Brock Lesnar competed in the opening match of Night 2 of WrestleMania 42 last night (Sat., April 19, 2026), taking on rising powerhouse Oba Femi.

It didn’t last long.

Femi put Lesnar away in under five minutes, landing his “Fall From Grace” powerbomb and pinning “The Beast” clean in the center of the ring.

An emotional Lesnar removed his gloves and boots — a symbolic gesture in pro wrestling — and left them in the ring. He then hugged his longtime friend and manager, Paul Heyman, at ringside, fueling speculation that this could be the final chapter of his legendary career.

But… this is pro wrestling.

Rumors are already swirling that this may not be permanent, especially with WWE set to return to Lesnar’s hometown of Minneapolis, Minnesota, for SummerSlam later this year. Still, WWE Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque believes what fans saw was real.

It certainly seemed that way,” Levesque said of Lesnar’s retirement. “Brock is not a walk back through the curtain and have a long conversation guy. Brock is a walk back through the curtain very angry and go to his bus and that is the end of it. So, there was not a discussion had after.”

“I don’t think that was a planned [retirement],” Levesque added. “I think Brock went to the ring, he walked into a wall called Oba Femi. Brock walked up to the next big thing and ran into a brick wall. And the intelligence in him said, ‘Maybe I should call it a day.’ That is an intelligent man meeting something that cannot be stopped. It is as much of a statement of Oba Femi as it is Brock Lesnar. You witnessed a changing of the guard at the apex of our business.”