WWE history: When Brock Lesnar met a young CM Punk in 2003

​

Punk and Lesnar in 2003

The backstory

Brock Lesnar debuted in WWE on the Raw after WrestleMania 18, and went on to have possibly the greatest rookie year of any WWE Superstar. By the time WrestleMania 19 was done and dusted with, Lesnar had become a two-time WWE Champion by defeating Kurt Angle in the main event of the PPV.

Unfortunately, Lesnar suffered a concussion during the final moments of the match, after he failed to execute a Shooting Star Press on an unconscious Angle. The botch almost ended up ruining Lesnar's career, but thankfully it didn't happen. A rare video sees Lesnar throwing a backstage fit after being surrounded by a crowd of EMTs and backstage officials.

​

The return

Lesnar returned on the April 10th episode of SmackDown. The video shows Lesnar arriving at a backstage area. He heads towards his locker room, but gets crowded by a bunch of jobbers and fans that WWE had planted before. In an incredible visual, Lesnar goes on to shake hands with a bunch of newcomers and backstage personalities, one of which is future WWE Champion CM Punk.

Here's the link of the rare clip.

After shaking hands with Punk, he moves ahead, and gets interrupted by another future Superstar, Mr. Kennedy! Kennedy was planted in this segment as a fan, who desperately wanted Lesnar's autograph. Lesnar went on to ignore Kennedy and signed an autograph for a girl who was standing beside the future Money In The Bank winner. In a hilarious moment, Kennedy is shown taking a quick picture while Lesnar signs the autograph for the girl.

The aftermath

Brock Lesnar soon left WWE, became a megastar in UFC, and came back to WWE for another dominant run. Kennedy enjoyed a short run in the company before he was let go, after backstage issues with Randy Orton. CM Punk became one of the biggest WWE Superstars of his generation and kick-started The Reality Era in WWE.

​