Brock Lesnar, one of the most legendary WWE wrestlers in modern times, will be facing off against Bill Goldberg at WrestleMania 33 on Sunday.
Throughout his 17-year career with the WWE, Lesnar has certainly lived up to his nickname of The Beast Incarnate, tearing through the entire roster and earning a spot among some of the all-time greats. At WrestleMania 30, he famously became the first person to ever beat The Undertaker at the annual wrestling show. Some fans have speculated that Lesnar will defeat Goldberg on Sunday and Roman Reigns will defeat The Undertaker; this would then set up a Universal Championship match between Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns, the only two people to ever beat The Undertaker at WrestleMania.
Outside of wrestling, Brock Lesnar is also known for his work with UFC, and he is a one-time UFC Heavyweight Champion.
Brock Lesnar for 11 years has been married to Rena Marlette Lesnar, a retired professional wrestler with whom he has several children. Here’s what you need to know about Brock Lesnar’s wife.
1. She Performed in the WWE as Sable
Rena Marlette Lesnar is better known as Sable; that’s the name she performed under during her time with the WWE.
Brock Lesnar’s wife was actually involved with the WWE before he was, back when it was called WWF. She debuted as Sable at WrestleMania 12, and her first storyline was with Marc Mero, whom she was married to at that time.
In the storyline, Mero witnessed Hunter Hearst Helmsley mistreating Sable, and so Mero attacked Helmsley, and Sable eventually became Mero’s manager. Later, Mero would become jealous that Sable was becoming popular in her own right, and so he began to cover her up in very protective clothing and tried to keep her away from the fans.
At WrestleMania 14, Sable got involved in the action, having a mixed-tag-team match with Marc Mero against Goldust and Luna Vachon. Mero and Sable ultimately emerged victorious in that match.
Mero would soon betray Sable and take on a new woman, Jacqueline, as his manager. Sable and Jacqueline subsequently had a “bikini contest,” but Vince McMahon disqualified Sable because she wasn’t actually wearing a bikini. Jacqueline later won the WWF Women’s Title, but Sable defeated her a few months later and earned the title for herself.
2. She Was on the Cover of Playboy Three Times
In 1999, while Rena Marlette Lesnar was the WWF Women’s Champion, she was on the cover of Playboy. This magazine ended up becoming one of the highest selling issues in Playboy history.
Meanwhile, on screen, the fact that Sable was on the cover of Playboy was incorporated into the WWF storyline. Her character became incredibly egotistical, saying that she was doing everything “for all the women who want to be me and all the men who come to see me.”
Rena said at the time that she had received breast implants in the early 1990s and that she doesn’t see anything wrong with that.
“It was a conscious thing I did to feel better about myself,” she told Slam Sports. “I don’t think it’s anything different than colouring your hair.”
Sable would go on to get on the cover of Playboy two more times. She became the first woman to ever appear on the cover of Playboy twice in the same year.
3. She Sued the WWE, Alleging Sexual Harassment
In the late 1990s, Rena Marlette Lesnar sued the WWE, alleging that she was harassed in the workplace.
She said in the lawsuit, “Men would routinely walk into the women’s dressing room as if by accident; men would cut holes in the walls to watch the women dressing; extras were hired as WWF regulars to expose their breasts, big nipple contests were engaged in; men regularly bragged about their sexual encounters without regard to the women present.”
She also said that the company wanted her to participate in a lesbian storyline and even tried to get her to “accidentally” expose her breasts during a match.
“There is a time and place for that,” she told Entertainment Weekly. “…in the middle of a wrestling arena where they’re serving alcohol and there are screaming fans–including children–in the front row, I don’t feel like that is the proper place to be exposed.
Outside of sexual harassment, she also said that in general the WWF frequently pressured her to do dangerous things she didn’t want to do.
“I was asked to go in to the ring and perform things I was very uncomfortable with–doing jumps from high ropes in five inch heels,” she said.
Rena Lesnar sued the WWE for $110 million. Vince McMahon filed a counter suit, trying to get her to stop using the name “Sable,” and the two parties ultimately settled out of court. While this was happening, she left the company.
4. She Once Played Vince McMahon’s Mistress
Surprisingly, just a few years after the lawsuit and the public feud with the WWF, Sable returned to the company.
She portrayed a heel character again upon returning, and she soon took part in a storyline in which she was the mistress of Vince McMahon. This lead to a feud between Sable and Stephanie McMahon. Stephanie and Sable ended up having a match at a subsequent pay-per-view.
This storyline culminated at No Mercy, when Vince McMahon himself fought Stephanie McMahon in an “I Quit” match. At that event, Sable ended up brawling with Linda McMahon, who has since became the head of the Small Business Administration under President Donald Trump.
In August 2004, Sable left the WWE, and she has never returned.
5. She Married Brock Lesnar in 2006 & They Have Two Children
By the time Sable returned to the WWE in 2003, Brock Lensar had joined the company.
While many details about their relationship remain private, the two began to date around the time of her return. Rena was technically still married to Marc Mero at this time, but it sounds like they both knew that things would soon be over between them.
Mero said in an interview with Jim Ross, “We were still married at the time, but we weren’t really seeing….I don’t know, it was falling apart. I remember calling her and her not answering the phone and I got very upset. Here I am, assuming she was seeing another wrestler. I remember thinking ‘when i find out who this guy is, I’m gonna be the tar out of him!’ Well, when I found out it was Brock Lesnar, it gave forgiveness a new meaning.”
Rena got her divorce from Marc Mero in 2004, and that same year, she and Brock Lesnar became engaged. They were married on May 6th, 2006.
The Lesnars have two sons: Turk, who was born on June 3rd, 2009, and Duke, who was born on July 21st, 2010. They also both have children from previous marriages: Brock has a daughter named Mya Lynn, and Rena has a daughter named Mariah. Rena had Mariah with her first husband, who died in a car accident in the early ’90s.