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It is official: Brock Lesnar will defend his WWE Championship against Rey Mysterio at the Survivor Series pay-per-view on November 24.
The rivalry between the two men began on the September 30 episode of RAW, where “The Beast” viciously attacked Mysterio and his son, Dominik, whose godfather happens to be one of Lesnar’s greatest UFC rivals, Cain Velasquez.
Paul Heyman’s client went on to defeat Kofi Kingston in a nine-second match on the first episode of SmackDown on FOX on October 4, prompting Mysterio to introduce Velasquez as WWE’s newest signing.
Four weeks later, Lesnar convincingly defeated Velasquez in a two-minute match at Crown Jewel, while it quickly became apparent that the storyline would continue when Mysterio attacked the WWE Champion post-match at Crown Jewel and on the November 4 episode of RAW.
As usual, Mysterio is the ultimate underdog heading into this match, not only because of Lesnar’s tendency to sweep aside his opponents in quick fashion but, at 5ft 6in, he is one of the shortest Superstars on the roster.
With that in mind – and to give Mysterio fans some Survivor Series hope – let’s take a look at the five shortest WWE Superstars who were able to pick up victories over Lesnar.
#5 Zach Gowen - 5ft 11in
The summer of 2003 was a very interesting time for Vince McMahon’s evil Mr. McMahon character.
After losing a Street Fight to Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania XIX, McMahon became involved in a storyline with a masked Hogan, known as Mr. America, before making one-legged wrestler Zach Gowen his next target.
Gowen was unable to defeat McMahon in three matches (two SmackDown arm-wrestles and a singles match at Vengeance), while he also lost one-on-one encounters against Shannon Moore and John Cena.
At the time, McMahon had become allies with Brock Lesnar, who made a promise to his boss that he would break Gowen’s leg in front of his family at ringside during their match on SmackDown.
Lesnar didn’t quite do that, but he did strike Gowen across the head with a steel chair to cause a disqualification, meaning the youngster picked up an unlikely victory over “The Next Big Thing”.
At 5ft 11in, Gowen is hardly short when you consider the height of Superstars in WWE these days, but it just goes to show how rare Lesnar losses are that he makes it into the top five.
#4 Chris Benoit - 5ft 10in
The only televised one-on-one match between Brock Lesnar and Chris Benoit ended in a TKO victory for “The Beast” on an episode of SmackDown in December 2003.
Around the same time, the two men were involved in several tag team matches against each other as members of the SmackDown roster, with Benoit teaming with different opponents to defeat Lesnar on four occasions between November 2003 and January 2004.
The first of those triumphs came on an episode of SmackDown when Benoit joined forces with Kurt Angle to defeat Lesnar, Matt Morgan, Nathan Jones and A-Train via disqualification in a 4-on-2 handicap match.
One week later, Benoit teamed with John Cena to pick up a statement victory over Lesnar and The Big Show ahead of the Survivor Series pay-per-view, where Team Angle (Bradshaw, Benoit, Hardcore Holly, Cena & Angle) went on to defeat Team Lesnar (Lesnar, Morgan, Jones, A-Train & The Big Show) in a five-on-five elimination match.
In January 2004, Benoit and Cena teamed together once again in a 3-on-2 handicap victory over Lesnar, Morgan and Rhyno on SmackDown, and “The Next Big Thing” would go on to leave WWE just two months later.
#3 The Brian Kendrick - 5ft 8in
Back in August 2003, Brock Lesnar turned heel on an episode of SmackDown by attacking Kurt Angle and aligning with the villainous Vince McMahon.
The following week, McMahon entered the catering area backstage and ended up getting involved in an unusual confrontation with The Brian Kendrick (aka Spanky), who accidentally squirted chocolate syrup on the WWE Chairman’s suit.
McMahon described Kendrick as “the stain on the underwear of life” and decided to punish the up-and-comer by forcing him to face Lesnar in a one-on-one match later in the show.
Lesnar could easily have defeated Kendrick after hitting him with multiple powerbombs at the start of their match, but he opted to go one step further by busting his opponent open with a huge steel chair shot to the head.
The youngest WWE Champion in the company’s history then wiped blood from Kendrick’s face and smeared it over his own chest – something that, needless to say, would not be allowed in modern-day WWE.
Once the brutality came to an end, the record books stated that Kendrick won the match via disqualification, but it is fair to say that Lesnar definitely won the war!
#2 Eddie Guerrero - 5ft 8in
One of the most memorable matches of Brock Lesnar’s first run with WWE came in February 2004 when he lost the WWE Championship against Eddie Guerrero in the main event of the No Way Out pay-per-view.
At the time, Guerrero was the ultimate babyface who fans were desperate to see as WWE Champion, while it was common knowledge that the villainous Lesnar was set to depart WWE after the following month’s WrestleMania XX event.
With the referee down, the finish to the match saw Goldberg jump over a barricade and plant an almighty spear on Lesnar, leaving both Superstars, plus the official, on the mat.
Guerrero almost stole a victory with a slow pinfall cover but Lesnar was able to kick out after a 2-count. The former WCW star then reversed an F-5 into a DDT onto a steel chair before following up with a frog splash to record the biggest victory of his career.
One month later, Lesnar went on to leave WWE after losing against Goldberg in a match that was hijacked by fans who knew that both men were on the verge of leaving. Guerrero, meanwhile, retained his WWE Championship against Kurt Angle and held the title for 133 days.
#1 Rey Mysterio - 5ft 6in
The 2019 storyline between Brock Lesnar and Rey Mysterio revolves around Mysterio seeking revenge for what “The Beast” did to Dominik on the season premiere episode of RAW on September 30.
Back in October 2002, the first televised meeting between the two men centred around something very, very different: The Undertaker’s personal life.
Ahead of the Lesnar vs. Undertaker Hell in a Cell match at the No Mercy pay-per-view, “The Next Big Thing” and Paul Heyman hired an actress to accuse “The Deadman” of having an affair with her.
Stephanie McMahon then forced Lesnar to team with Tajiri against Edge and Mysterio later in the night on SmackDown, with the added stipulation that the Hell in a Cell match would be cancelled if The Undertaker interfered.
In the end, Tajiri accidentally kicked Lesnar in the face, allowing Edge to pick up the win over “The Japanese Buzzsaw” following a spear.
The match was less about Mysterio and Lesnar and more about the ongoing rivalry between The Undertaker and Lesnar, but the record books still state that “The Master of the 619” defeated the eight-time World Champion.
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