What if Brock Lesnar hadn't left WWE in 2004?

Brock Lesnar is one of the biggest names in WWE and MMA history. Transcending the industries he represents, Lesnar is a household name globally.

However, quite how Lesnar's career would have panned out had he stuck with WWE, the company that made him a star between 2002-04 is a very interesting topic to ponder.

The landscapes of WWE and UFC would unquestionably be much, much different. The following slide show details how.

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#4 No John "Bradshaw" Layfield WWE title reign

John "Bradshaw" Layfield (left) as WWE Champion

This, without question would have been the first major difference, had Brock Lesnar continued his WWE career post-March 14, 2004.

At the pay-per-view event, No Way Out in February 15, 2004, Lesnar had lost the WWE Championship to the late Eddie Guerrero in a blinding battle which was also a colossal shock. The loss set up Lesnar's Wrestlemania XX battle with Goldberg, which preceded him heading out of the exit door.

The post-Wrestlemania plans for Lesnar, which did exist as he only gave the company five day's notice, before leaving, were for him to face and lose a program to The Undertaker. One of the reasons behind Lesnar leaving was the fact that after his title loss to Guerrero, there were no immediate plans for him to regain the belt.

However, if he had stuck around, that fourth WWE title reign would have occurred much sooner than expected.

This was because, unfortunately, new WWE Champion, Guerrero cracked under the pressure of being the Champion, and both he and WWE as a consequence were keen to relieve him of the title as soon as possible.

This created a problem for the company as it's Smackdown roster were deplete of main event heels who could conceivably reign as Champion. Kurt Angle was benched after Wrestlemania with neck trouble and with Lesnar also gone, there were no other obvious contenders. WWE in response rewarded one of it's most beloved employees, life-time mid-carder, Bradshaw with the most prestigious title in the company.

Repackaging Bradshaw as a JR Ewing style millionaire cowboy, John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL), he defeated Guerrero in a dreadful match at the Great American Bash to win the belt, and reigned as Champion for nine months in one of the worst title reigns in living memory.

The ageing and limited JBL could not wrestle long main event matches and although he displayed hitherto unseen promo skills during his reign, his matches were terrible. If Lesnar had been available, he would have got this spot and title reign instead and the world would not have known what a JBL Championship reign looked like.

#3 Goldberg would not have won at Wrestlemania XX

Goldberg - Defeated Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania XX

Brock Lesnar's final match in WWE for eight years came at Wrestlemania XX on March 14, 2004 versus former WCW Champion, Goldberg.

The original booking plans had Lesnar defeating Goldberg clean. However, plans changed when Lesnar gave his notice to WWE five days prior to the show.

WWE felt there was a greater chance of Goldberg re-signing for the company post-Wrestlemania than Lesnar, which is why they changed the result.

A win for Lesnar over a legendary name like Goldberg at WWE's biggest ever event would have further enhanced his young career that already featured three WWE Championship reigns and a King of the Ring and Royal Rumble victory to his name.

A Lesnar win here would have meant that WWE would have needed to find another selling point for their Survivor Series 2016 match-up between Lesnar and the returning Goldberg. Built around the fact that the unbeatable Lesnar had never defeated Goldberg led to huge interest in the WCW veteran's 2016-17 comeback.

This would have held nowhere near the same appeal if Goldberg had lost at Wrestlemania XX. In fact, it may have meant that the Goldberg return would not have occurred at all.

#2 Brock Lesnar would have never joined UFC

Brock Lesnar takes Frank Mir down at UFC 100 - UFC career would not have happened if Lesnar had remained with WWE in 2004

Four years after Brock Lesnar left WWE, he found his way to UFC, making his Octagon debut versus Frank Mir at UFC 81 in February 2008.

Had he remained in WWE, obviously his MMA career would not have happened.

This would have had a huge impact on UFC as a company. Lesnar's participation at UFC 81 and UFC 87 led to the events drawing over 600,000 pay-per-view buys.

His main event fights at UFC 91, 100 and 116 all drew over a million buys. His rematch with Mir at UFC 100 drew a colossal 1.6 million buys which was by far a UFC record. It is still second on UFC's all-time buy rate list, nearly a decade later.

It goes without saying that the UFC would have considerably less money in its coffers had Lesnar never fought for them. It is debatable whether they would be the global force they are today if it wasn't for Lesnar's incredible drawing power.

#1 John Cena would not have become the face of WWE

Brock Lesnar takes out John Cena on his WWE return in April 2012

Unquestionably the biggest impact from Brock Lesnar remaining in WWE in 2004 would have been the development of the man who would become the most famous wrestler in the company following Lesnar's departure, John Cena.

No-one benefitted more, long term from Lesnar leaving than Cena. At Lesnar's final event, Wrestlemania XX, Cena competed in the opening match wherein he defeated The Bigshow to win his first title in WWE, the United States Championship.

Cena competed in the mid-card throughout 2004, until he was positioned as a contender for JBL's WWE Championship at Wrestlemania 21; a match he won to claim his first of sixteen World titles.

Prior to Wrestlemania 21, there was significant debate over whether Cena would win the title or not. Leading up to the show, the likelier result appeared to be JBL retaining as WWE management felt that Cena needed more seasoning and wasn't ready for the pinnacle. However, with a dearth of main event stars, Vince McMahon in the days preceding the show, finally decided to go all the way with Cena.

Had Lesnar stayed, it's likely he would have been defending the WWE Championship at Wrestlemania versus Cena. Given that Lesnar was a far superior all round talent than Cena at that point (and for that matter, would ever be), it seems likely that McMahon would have stuck to his initial instincts and made Cena wait for his big moment.

This would likely have come at Wrestlemania 22 instead, given that the other big winner from Wrestlemania 21, Batista was injured when Wrestlemania 22 occurred.

That on its own would have seen Cena win two fewer WWE Championships and with Lesnar on the roster during Cena's entire WWE tenure, and as a more credible Champion, Cena today, would have a considerably lesser number of World title reigns on his resume. It's likely that The Rock's return in 2011 would have seen him challenge Lesnar, not Cena at Wrestlemania 28, the following year. Had Lesnar stayed, he would have been the biggest star of the modern WWE generation and Cena's current stardom and status would be more equivalent to that of Randy Orton. A big star in wrestling but not in the mainstream. Perhaps Lesnar would have married Nikki Bella too!