Brock Lesnar had a nearly perfect rookie year in WWE.

The former All-American wrestler from Minnesota debuted shortly after WrestleMania X-8 in 2002.

Lesnar quickly notched a major victory by winning the King of the Ring tournament. He beat Rob Van Dam in the final match.

That earned him a title match against The Rock at SummerSlam. Lesnar defeated The Great One to become the youngest WWE champion ever at age 25.

Lesnar’s title reign wasn’t a long one, as manager Paul Heyman turned against him and helped The Big Show win the title.

That set the stage for the Rumble. Lesnar drew the second-best number (29), only to see The Undertaker come out at No. 30.

The final four were Kane, Batista, Undertaker, and Lesnar. Taker took care of his little brother and Batista, but Lesnar dumped him to win the Rumble.

With the fans on his side, Lesnar defeated Kurt Angle at WrestleMania XIX to recapture the WWE title.

BENOIT WINS IN 2004

Chris Benoit turned in one of the greatest Royal Rumble performances ever in 2004.

Drawing No. 1, Benoit went all the way to victory. In the process, he broke Bob Backlund’s longevity record by staying in a for the entire 61 minutes and 35 seconds.

The fans had backed Benoit solidly since his failed challenge to Kurt Angle’s WWE title at the previous year’s Rumble.

After his victory, Benoit challenged Triple H for the World title at WrestleMania XX. Shawn Michaels joined the fray to make it a Triple Threat match.

Benoit defeated both legends to win the title, and then he repeated the feat one month later at Backlash in his hometown of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.