When it comes to a wrestling pedigree, it’s hard to argue with Brock Lesnar’s, much less the construction of the legend of a part timer. While he may not be a second or third generation wrestler, he has a proven amateur background and a pair of world championships at the college level. That alone puts him on a different level athletically than most of his peers, and is one of the reasons he was, and remains so coveted by Vince McMahon.
“The Next Big Thing” leapt into the fire early on. Teamed with Paul Heyman, Lensar gained instant credibility as fans knew and like Heyman from his days running ECW and basically saving the WWE during the Monday Night Wars. The affection for him has remained strong to this day, but not so much for his client.
While Paul Heyman’s life has been dedicated to professional wrestling, as is the case with practically everyone in the business, Lesnar wasn’t a fan of the daily grind WWE talent endures on the road for up to 300+ days a year. Wanting a change of pace, Lesnar left to pursue his dream of playing professional football — an interesting parallel to Bill Goldberg.
Beginning of the part timer label
While his dream fell short, he did appear in the Minnesota Vikings’ preseason games in 2004 before being cut. He was offered a position in NFL Europa to better hone his skills and remain an asset to the team, but he declined, saying he didn’t want to leave the United States and his family.
Again, a very understandable position to take. It was twice he walked away from a lucrative career to follow what he felt was right in his heart.
Over the years, he’s left and returned to the WWE in pursuit of his dreams, and none are more famous than his MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) career where he won the heavyweight championship twice, the latter unifying the championships in UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship).
A big box office draw in UFC, Lesnar’s career came to an end following his second bout of Diverticulitis (A gastrointestinal disease of inflammation of abnormal pouches that often develop on the large intestine’s wall). Had this not happened, he would most likely still be in UFC and the WWE an afterthought.
Since returning to the WWE, Lesnar has held the main championships numerous times, and nearly always at the groans of the fanbase.
Making of the beast
In every way, Brock Lesnar is what Vince McMahon looks for in a wrestler. He’s a throwback of the Golden Era while also a mix of the Attitude/Ruthless Aggression Era. He’s big and quick, with the skill set to dominate everyone he faces.
The biggest mark against him in the ring is he’s become a suplex machine that uses very few other holds. This is a change that happened following his early years. While many fans view it as phoning it in, I have to disagree.
Keeping it simple and relying on a handful of moves has become a WWE trademark as only a few are seemingly allowed to use a wide variety of skills. One reason for this could be to make him more vulnerable so smaller wrestlers that realistically wouldn’t stand a chance can beat him and make it look semi-legitimate. The fact not many of the big men that could take him on get a legitimate push despite being fan favorites plays a factor.
David vs Goliath has been a trademark of WWE since Shawn Michaels defeated Diesel. The problem is they do it in just about every single time. It doesn’t matter if it’s Samoa Joe, Braun Strowman, or Brock Lesnar. The smaller guys have to have a chance.
Blame it on McMahon
This is a mantra that gets thrown around a lot, and mostly it’s deserving since Vince McMahon calls the shots.
A perfect example of this was when “Stone Cold” Steve Austin “Took his ball and went home.”
Anyone remember the Monday Night Raw episode where Steve Austin “took his ball and went home?” Well, according to Austin in his book, and I believe this has been corroborated with others but I could be wrong, he was supposed to lose to Lesnar without any buildup, with no storyline. He said he responded to McMahon pitching the idea with a “Are you out of your mind okay,” but McMahon, and then others took it as he meant, “Sure, I’d love to do that okay.”
When they refused to listen to him, he decided to leave. In short, Austin stood up to McMahon and they did a hit piece on him.
Sure, this was because of Austin’s supposed loss to Brock Lesnar, but it was McMahon pulling the trigger (this is probably why so many hate Lesnar, even though it really wasn’t his fault). Since then and given how Lesnar’s not a fan of the daily WWE grind, it’s reasonable to assume McMahon wants him and is willing to give anything to have Lesnar remain, and Lesnar takes the opportunity to get what he feels works best for him.
Given his desire to remain close to his family, who can really blame Lesnar for doing what works best for him? I doubt creating the legend of a part timer bothers him.
