Brock Lesnar Biography: The Brock Lesnars New Japan Pro Wrestling pics

The Brock Lesnars New Japan Pro Wrestling pics

New Japan Pro Wrestling

On October 8, 2005, Lesnar won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in a three-way match with Kazuyuki Fujitaand Masahiro Chono at a New Japan Pro Wrestling show in the Tokyo Dome.^[58] Lesnar won the match by pinning Masahiro Chono after an F-5, which he had renamed the Verdict since WWE owns the trademark on theF-5 name.^[1] After the match, he stated that this name was referring to his lawsuit against WWE. The match was his first pro wrestling match since leaving WWE.^[1] Lesnar is one of the few American wrestlers to have held this title.^[58]

On December 6, WWE filed a motion for a temporary restraining order to prevent Lesnar from continuing to work with NJPW, but the court did not grant it. Following that, Lesnar had two non-title victories against Manabu Nakanishi and Yuji Nagata.^[59][60] Lesnar successfully defended his championship on January 4, 2006, against former champion Shinsuke Nakamura.^[59] On January 13, WWE once again filed an injunction against Lesnar to stop him from defending the IWGP Heavyweight Championship which was also not enforced as he went on to retain his championship against former Sumo Wrestling Grand Champion Akebono after Lesnar hit him with the championship belt and a DDT on March 19, at the Sumo Hall.^[61] Lesnar had another successful title defense against the winner of the New Japan Cup, Giant Bernard, on May 3, 2006, in Fukuoka. This was the first American vs. American title match in NJPW since Vader vs. Stan Hansen in 1990.^[62]

On July 15, 2006, New Japan Pro Wrestling announced Lesnar would not return to defend the IWGP Heavyweight Championship due to "visa issues" and had been stripped of the title. A tournament was held on July 16 to determine the new champion which was won by Hiroshi Tanahashi. Lesnar continued to possess the physical IWGP Championship belt until late June 2007.^[63]

Approximately one year later on June 29, 2007, Lesnar defended his IWGP Heavyweight Championship againstTNA World Heavyweight Champion Kurt Angle in a champion versus champion match. Inoki Genome Federationpromoter Antonio Inoki had stated Lesnar was the "proper" IWGP Champion as he was not defeated for the title. Angle would defeat Lesnar to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship as recognized by IGF and TNA.^[63][64]This was Lesnar's last match as a professional wrestler until 2012, when he re-signed with WWE.

Lawsuit

Lesnar had previously signed a no-compete clause in order to be released from his contract with WWE, which prohibited him from working for any other sports entertainment or mixed martial arts companies before June 2010. Lesnar had anticipated leaving wrestling entirely, but his inability to secure a career in professional football led to him challenging this ruling in court.^[65] WWE responded by demanding damages as a result of Lesnar allegedly breaching the agreement by appearing at a New Japan Pro Wrestling show in 2004.^[66] In July 2005, the two sides dropped their claims and entered negotiations to renew their relationship.^[67] WWE had offered Lesnar a contract, but on August 2, 2005, WWE's official website reported that Lesnar had withdrawn from any involvement with the company.^[68] The lawsuit was then entered into settlement on September 21, but talks broke down.^[69][70]

On January 14, 2006, Judge Christopher Droney stated that unless WWE gave him a good argument between then and the 25th, he would rule in favor of Lesnar, giving him a summary judgment. This would have enabled Lesnar to work anywhere, immediately.^[71] WWE was later granted a deadline postponement.^[72] On April 24, WWE announced on WWE.com that both parties had mutually come to a settlement and on June 12, a federal judge dismissed Lesnar's lawsuit against WWE after both parties requested the case be dismissed.