Brock Lesnar's shocking WWE retirement stuns fans after WrestleMania 42 defeat
On Sunday, Apr. 19, 2026, Brock Lesnar shocked everyone by retiring at WWE WrestleMania 42, including his longtime "advocate," Paul Heyman.
During the Apr. 20, 2026, edition of Monday Night RAW, the first episode after WrestleMania, Heyman took to the ring alongside The Vision's Austin Theory and Logan Paul to deliver a heartfelt speech about Lesnar. He claimed that Lesnar's sudden retirement "was so unexpected, it will live inside my heart" forever.
"This supposed greatest production team of all time, when they did the 'Then, Now, Forever,' [they] still [had] my Beast in the 'Now.' So these stupid b*s in the truck and in the production team just can't take the reality of what went down yesterday, so let me bestow upon you my wisdom. Please take him out of the 'Now' and put him in the 'Forever' because he's not the 'Now' and he will forever be the baddest [motherf**r] that has ever been in a WWE ring. And that Beast's name is Brock Lesnar!"
Paul Heyman was seemingly shocked when Lesnar began taking off his gloves and boots after his loss at WrestleMania 42. He has been with Lesnar since the start of his WWE career.
Paul Heyman was by Brock Lesnar's side during his retirement at WWE WrestleMania 42
At WrestleMania 42, Heyman proudly walked to the ring by Lesnar's side. He had been with Lesnar for most of his WWE career. Lesnar lost at WrestleMania to the "Next Big Thing," Oba Femi.
While that wasn't shocking, what happened afterward was. Lesnar emotionally sat in the ring after the bell rang, and he began taking his gloves and boots off. In professional wrestling, this is a symbolic gesture that usually indicates a Superstar retiring.
He then embraced Heyman in the ring, and they walked up the entrance ramp together. By all accounts, Lesnar truly seems done with WWE. They even aired a career retrospective during the Apr. 20 edition of RAW.
