Lesnar debuted on WWF television on the March 18, 2002, episode of Raw as a heel, attacking Al Snow, Maven and Spike Dudley during their WWF Hardcore Championship match, while also being accompanied by Paul Heyman, who was seen giving instructions to Lesnar. When the brand extension was introduced in the WWF, Lesnar was drafted to the Raw brand.[30] Later, Heyman was confirmed to be Lesnar's agent and gave Lesnar the nickname "The Next Big Thing". Lesnar's first feud was with The Hardy Boyz. He defeated Jeff Hardy by knockout after Hardy did not respond to referee Theodore Long at Backlash on April 21, his first official televised match. The next night on Raw, Lesnar faced off against Jeff's brother, Matt Hardy, and defeated him in the same fashion. Lesnar and Shawn Stasiak lost to The Hardy Boyz at Insurrextion on May 4 after Stasiak was pinned, but Lesnar attacked all the participants after the match. At Judgment Day on May 19, Lesnar and Heyman defeated The Hardy Boyz. This was also the first pay-per-view held after the WWF was renamed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).

In June 2002, Lesnar won the 2002 King of the Ring tournament, defeating Bubba Ray Dudley in the first round, Booker T in the quarter-finals, Test in the semi-finals and Rob Van Dam in the finals, earning him a shot at the WWE Undisputed Championship at SummerSlam. At Vengeance on July 21, Lesnar lost to Van Dam in a WWE Intercontinental Championship match by disqualification. On July 22, Lesnar joined the SmackDown! brand.[37] After a quick feud with Hollywood Hulk Hogan in August 2002, Lesnar defeated The Rock at SummerSlam on August 25 to become the new WWE Undisputed Champion and youngest WWE Champion at age 25. He also became the second fastest professional wrestler to win the WWE Championship since his debut (126 days) behind only Ric Flair (113 days). At the time, the WWE Undisputed Championship was being defended on both brands, so Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff expected Lesnar to return on Raw the following night. SmackDown! General Manager Stephanie McMahon declared that Lesnar was only required to defend the title on SmackDown! shows and events, prompting Bischoff to establish a new championship for the Raw brand (the World Heavyweight Championship); the WWE Undisputed Championship was then renamed the WWE Championship.

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