'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Over the years, SmackDown has gone from being the certified ‘B show’, to the better of the two brands, back to being a forgettable ‘secondary’ brand, go back to being true competition for RAW. The star power on SmackDown changed considerably over the years, but there was a time when the blue brand was more important and worth watching than RAW.
One of the highlights of this period was when Brock Lesnar, WWE’s resident “Beast Incarnate” was a SmackDown-exclusive star and ran roughshod over that roster. Lesnar’s initial run from 2002-2004 featured him appearing almost exclusively on SmackDown, which helped him in a significant way. Lesnar was able to work with a wide variety of opponents, all of whom helped him improve as a performer overall.
Lesnar was so exciting to watch on SmackDown that the brand eclipsed RAW in many metrics during that period. In fact, many of SmackDown’s greatest moments involved Brock Lesnar in one way or another.
Below, we’ll look back at Brock Lesnar’s five greatest moments while he was a performer on the SmackDown brand.
#5 Beating Chris Benoit at his own game
Before he became persona non grata in WWE and his legacy was forever tarnished, Chris Benoit was well-known as one of WWE’s best submission wrestlers. He knew how to target a body part and use a variety of excellent holds that would gradually wear down his opponents. This made Benoit a dangerous force in any match where submissions were allowed, and usually spelled disaster for his opponents, as he had a huge advantage over them in such an environment.
Then there’s Brock Lesnar, who always seems to find a way to beat his opponents at their own game. Lesnar faced Benoit in a much-anticipated singles match which was centered on Benoit using his wide array of submission holds to wear down “The Beast”. But in the end, it was Benoit that lost, as Lesnar introduced his new submission hold finisher, the Bock Lock, also known as a Stretch Muffler.
This was a huge deal for Lesnar, as he was mostly known as a power-based wrestler at the time. So for him to beat a certified submission specialist with a submission hold of his own proved just how good of a wrestler Brock Lesnar really was.
#4 Brock Lesnar destroys Zack Gowen
In 2003, Zack Gowen was one of the most inspirational wrestlers in history. A young kid who had lost one of his legs to cancer, Gowen dreamed of becoming a WWE superstar. He got his wish in a way, as he actually got to wrestle a few matches on SmackDown and was involved in some high-profile feuds. His gutsy, never-say-die attitude made him an incredible underdog, which paired perfectly with the evil bully that Brock Lesnar had become.
During 2003, Lesnar’s mission was simply to ‘destroy all the small guys’, and Zack Gowen was one of the people unfortunate enough to fit into that category. In one memorable moment, bully Lesnar destroyed Gowen so utterly that he could not possibly be cheered by anyone (this was the goal, as WWE wanted Lesnar to be booed as a heel, but the audience was cheering him for his badassery).
Lesnar brutalized Gowen with vicious chair-shots, multiple F-5s, and other vicious-looking moves, all while Gowen’s mother looked on from the audience at ringside, horrified at what was happening to her son. Once the beating was (mercifully) over, Gowen lay in a bloody heap and Lesnar looked like the monster no one would care to cross.
#3 Brock Lesnar squashes Hulk Hogan
Shortly before Lesnar was scheduled to challenge then-champion The Rock for the WWE Championship, Brock Lesnar crossed paths with Hulk Hogan. Hogan, as you might recall, is arguably the most famous wrestler of all time, and has become famous both for his cross-cultural appeal and for alleged backstage politicking. But neither of those things could save him from the wrath of Brock Lesnar.
On August 8th, 2002, Lesnar confronted Hogan and proceeded to destroy “The Immortal One” like no one had ever done before. Lesnar pummeled Hogan with unrelenting fury, locked him in several painful-looking bearhugs, and left the legendary Hulkster lying in a pool of his own blood. To add gravitas to the moment, Lesnar took some of Hogan’s blood and wiped it on his chest, as if to put it on like a badge of honor.
In that moment, Lesnar did something so unbelievable that it convinced many people that he was a once-in-a-lifetime wrestler. In the span of a few short minutes, Lesnar did what few wrestlers, if any, were capable of doing in the past thirty years: making a name of themselves at the expense of the greatest wrestling icon the world had ever seen.
#2 His Ironman Match with Kurt Angle
Nowadays, few people watch a Brock Lesnar match and expect any real drama or suspense. After all, his move-set is more limited than it once was, and his matches tend to be shorter than they once were. This is why many people remember Lesnar’s initial WWE run with fond nostalgia, as he was – relatively-speaking – a much more exciting and unpredictable wrestler back then.
This was put on display during what many people consider the best wrestling match in SmackDown history: a 60-minute Ironman match between Lesnar and Olympic Gold Medalist Kurt Angle. It was an outstanding exercise in endurance and conditioning, as both men went for a full 60 minutes in an instant classic of a match. Up to that point, Lesnar hadn’t wrestled a match of that length, yet he was able to go a full hour with Kurt Angle, a man that’s famous for his endurance and conditioning.
The match solidified Lesnar’s status as a world-champion-caliber athlete and made him one of the most must-see stars on SmackDown during the early 2000s.
#1 Superplexing The Big Show
During his initial run, WWE’s bookers were determined to make sure Lesnar looked like a true juggernaut in as many different ways as possible. One of Vince McMahon’s favorite ways of accomplishing this was by having Brock show off his impressive strength, which he had already done on several occasions.
But this was SmackDown during the early 2000s, and creativity was still running rather high on the blue brand. As such, SmackDown’s bookers came up with a unique and astonishing way for Lesnar to show just how powerful he really was.
As Lesnar fought the Big Show in the ring, he somehow managed to get Show onto the top turnbuckle. Then, Lesnar went up to the same corner and performed the seemingly impossible: he superplexed the 500-pound Big Show so hard that the ring collapsed.
This prompted commentator Tazz to exclaim ‘Holy S**t’ as the ring fell apart and caused the audience to jump out of their seats. It was an outstanding moment that had never been done before and amplified the power with which Lesnar suplexed the Big Show to the ring canvas.
Although this same concept has since been done twice, Brock Lesnar’s original ring-destroying Superplex will always reign as arguably the greatest moment in SmackDown history.
