Five high-profile Brock Lesnar singles matches that never took place during his WWE run

Brock Lesnar announced his in-ring retirement after losing to Oba Femi in a Hell in a Cell match that headlined Night 1 of SummerSlam 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His retirement closed a career in which several widely discussed or planned singles matches ultimately did not occur.

Lesnar debuted in WWE in 2002 and was promoted early on as "The Next Big Thing." He went on to compete across professional wrestling and mixed martial arts and faced numerous top names during his career. Despite that, a number of potential marquee singles contests were never staged during his WWE tenure. This article outlines five such matches that were discussed, teased, or nearly booked but never happened.

Bron Breakker: Breakker was presented in some quarters as a rising star comparable to Oba Femi, and Brock Lesnar’s advocate Paul Heyman referred to Breakker as the "Next Big Thing." The two were teammates at Survivor Series: War Games 2025, but they never met in a major singles match, a pairing that promoters and fans had considered a potential main event for a WWE premium live event.

Shawn Michaels: During Michaels’ active years in the 2000s, he and Lesnar did not have a singles rivalry. The only time the two figures were part of the same storyline was during Lesnar’s feud with Triple H in 2012, where Lesnar famously broke his arm. A bout between Lesnar and Michaels in their respective primes was often mentioned as a marquee matchup that could have headlined major shows.

Stone Cold Steve Austin: A Lesnar versus Stone Cold Steve Austin match had been scheduled for an episode of Monday Night RAW in the early 2000s, but Austin walked out of WWE after Vince McMahon originally booked him to lose that match. The cancellation denied viewers a long-anticipated clash between the two names.

Batista: Both Lesnar and Batista emerged from the same class at OVW, yet they never completed a one-on-one match. The pair shared the ring on a single occasion in 2014, which produced a strong reaction, but a full singles contest between the two former OVW classmates did not materialize.

Gunther: Lesnar and Gunther were originally set to collide at WrestleMania 39, but Lesnar was taken off television after his name came up in the Vince McMahon-Janel Grant lawsuit. Subsequent reports suggested The Ring General might have been lined up as Lesnar’s final opponent at SummerSlam 2026, but WWE ultimately booked Oba Femi for that spot instead.

Lesnar confirmed his retirement during an appearance on the Pat McAfee show after SummerSlam 2026. His final match was the Hell in a Cell main event on Night 1 of SummerSlam 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.