Brock Lesnar tattoos: What does the ink on his chest and back mean?

Lesnar sports a scary sword tattoo. What is the significance of it?

Brock Lesnar is considered one of the most dominant athletes in combat sports history. UFC commentator Joe Rogan has even gone to the extent of saying he simply has “superior genetics”.The context of the comment was Lesnar’s botched shooting star press against Kurt Angle at Wrestlemania XIX, and Rogan said that had it been anyone else, they would’ve either been dead or paralyzed. But Lesnar being the freak athlete that he is, managed to finish the match by lifting Angle up and hitting him with an F-5.

Also read: Roman Reigns tattoos – what do they mean? 

Lesnar grew up in Webster, South Dakota, where he was raised on a dairy farm. As a result, he was no stranger to physical activity, and this was perhaps where his immense athletic abilities originated. He was a football player and an amateur wrestler in high school. He got a wrestling scholarship at the University of Minnesota, where he was roommates with Shelton Benjamin. 

Lesnar won the NCAA(National College Athletic Association) Division I heavyweight wrestling championship at one point in his final year of college. In 2000, he went to Ohio Valley Wrestling, which was WWE's developmental territory. There, he was in what is considered by many to be the greatest batch in wrestling developmental history. He was paired with the likes of John Cena, Randy Orton, Batista, and Shelton Benjamin, among others. 

Also read: Randy Orton’s tattoos – what do they mean? 

All of the names he went to developmental with made their debuts in 2002 and Lesnar got the biggest push of them all, winning the Undisputed WWE Championship within just 4 months of the debut. He steamrolled through the entire roster and defeated The Rock to become Undisputed champion.

Lesnar left after just two years in WWE, primarily due to his distaste for life on the road, a constant for a full-time performer in WWE. he also pursued a career in the NFL after that. Due to a motorcycle accident he obtained in 2004, it hampered his chances at the NFL. 

Also read: Finn Balor’s paint – what do they mean? 

He joined new Japan Pro Wrestling in 2005, and he won their top prize, the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in his first match there. However, due to Visa issues, he was stripped of the title the next year. This period of time was one of the toughest times of Lesnar's life, and it was what inspired one of his tattoos, something we will get to shortly. June 2007, when he faced Kurt Angle was the last time Lesnar wrestled for the next 5 years.

Some months after that, it was announced that he had signed with the UFC, and he made his UFC debut in 2008, losing to Frank Mir(who he would later defeat at UFC 100 in the main event). Lesnar went on a win streak after that, even winning the UFC Heavyweight Championship from UFC legend Randy Couture.

Also read: Kevin Owens’ tattoos –  what do they mean? 

Lesnar is a very private person. He lives on a farm in Maryfield, Saskatchewan with his wife Sable and two kids. He has admitted that he simply "doesn't like people" and prefers an extremely private life. Hunting is one of Lesnar's passions. This was his exact words regarding his private life. 

Also read: The Undertaker’s tattoos – what do they mean? 

"It's very basic for me. When I go home, I don't buy into any of the B.S. Like I said, it's pretty basic: Train, sleep, family, fight. It's my life. I like it. I was a star at the University of Minnesota. I went on to World Wrestling Entertainment. Wannabe NFL player. And here I am, the UFC heavyweight champion. I just don't put myself out there to the fans and prostitute my private life to everybody. In today's day and age, with the Internet and cameras and cell phones, I just like being old school and living in the woods and living my life. I came from nothing, and at any moment, you can go back to having nothing."

Lesnar sports several impressive tattoos as well. On his chest, he has a sword that points upwards towards his neck. In his 2011 autobiography titled Death Clutch: My Story of Determination, Domination, and Survival, Lesnar explained the meaning behind his tattoo:

“I felt like life was holding a sword right up against my throat, so I went under the ink gun because I never wanted to forget exactly how I felt at that time. The tattoo on my chest has so much meaning to me. In some ways, it’s funny, because the period of my life that I’m talking about is a time I so want to forget, but I know I can use this memory as motivation.”

He was referring to the period he was embroiled in a legal dispute with WWE, when they prevented him from competing in New Japan Pro Wrestling due to his Non-Compete clause. Because Vince McMahon wasn't allowing him to work for NJPW, Lesnar felt as if a sword was being held to his throat, and on a drunken night, he decided to get the tattoo.

For viewing pleasure, New York artist Jimmy DiResta recreated the tattoo into real life. Here is how it looks. Skip to the end of the video to see the legitimacy and scariness of the sword:

The next interesting tattoos of Lesnar are on his back. Here is a look at them:

Lesnar has been ambiguous about his back tattoos

The first tattoo as seen above is a large demonic skull. While Lesnar has not revealed the true meaning of the demonic skull tattoo on his back, it can be assumed that it is a symbol for himself and his persona.Below that is a tattoo we barely get to see as it’s generally covered up by Lesnar’s trunks. It’s a simple yet strong message that reads ”Kill ‘Em All”.  While some have suggested it is self-explanatory with reference to the man himself, given that Metallica’s song “Enter Sandman” was his UFC entrance music, the tattoo may also be a tribute to the band’s first album in 1983 titled Kill ‘Em All.

One of his rivals The Undertaker is fully tattooed up as well. The man who's Wrestlemania undefeated streak he ended had a famous tattoo of his ex-wife "Sara" on his neck, which he had removed some years ago. When asked about the pain he underwent when getting that tattoo, he said that it "tickled a little". He said that he was lucky that he has a high threshold for pain, and such tattoos are not for the weak-hearted. The Phenom said that to a degree he even enjoys some of the pain.

The Undertaker has both his arms done. He has one on his stomach which reads B.S.K and under it PRIDE. The B.S.K PRIDE stand for "back stage krew", which was a group comprising of The Undertaker, Mideon, Rikishi, and another person. The word is that the tattoos on one of the Undertaker's arms stands for the future and his other arm stands for the past.

Brock Lesnar and The Undertaker faced many times, out of which The Phenom only defeated Lesnar once. Their rivalry permanently closed at Hell In A Cell 2015 when Lesnar defeated The Phenom once and for all.

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