As we’ve been reminded since 2019, alternatives in wrestling is a good thing. It gives us more options as fans, and it also gives talent another option if they grow tired of working for one company or want to try something new.
In the mid to late 1990s WCW was the main alternative to the WWE, with ECW a good option for those that like things a little more hardcore.
Brock Lesnar Asked Kurt Angle to Get Him into TNA
In the 2000s, TNA rose up and was the WWE’s top competitor for a few years and, like WCW and WWE before them, they brought in talent from other companies.
Hulk Hogan, Kurt Angle, Sting, and more competed under the TNA banner, and according to Angle, Brock Lesnar asked if he could get him in TNA.
Looking for a new chance
Lesnar has always done his own thing and tried to make a name for himself in other sports from trying to make the Minnesota Vikings roster in the NFL to his MMA career.
On the latest Kurt Angle Show, Angle talked about how Lesnar was interesting in joining TNA in 2007. He’d been out of the WWE since 2004 and he wrestled some in New Japan Pro Wrestling.
At the time, Lesnar didn’t expect to work in the WWE again due to how his departure in 2004 went, and this was an opportunity for him to make some money.
Unfortunately, TNA didn’t have the budget space for him, as Angle explained:
“Brock called me and he’s not in the WWE. He said, ‘Listen, man, can you get me in TNA?’ I probably shouldn’t even be saying this stuff, but you know what? Brock doesn’t care. He said, ‘Hey, what are you making’, and I told him what I was making. He said, ‘If you can get me that, I’ll come.’ I approached TNA and they said, ‘No, we’re not gonna give him that kind of money.’
“So, it was amazing because I think that TNA at the time, I think they were at the top of their budget where they couldn’t give any more money out. You know, I was making a lot of money, Sting was making a good bit of money, and then you had a bunch of guys on the roster. TNA, you know, the Carter family funded it for a long time and then TNA started making their own money, but it just wasn’t enough to bring in another guy for seven figures a year. I just don’t think they were capable of doing that.”
Seeing Lesnar in TNA would’ve been so awesome. Just imagining the runs and matches he could’ve have then would’ve been fun to see, but TNA and budget have two things that rarely seemed to go smoothly.
AJ Styles has said if Dixie Carter hadn’t wanted to severely cut his salary he’d still be there, but that’s another story.
Who would you have liked to see Lesnar face in TNA, or would he not have been a good fit? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
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