Brock Lesnar’s first meeting with Vince McMahon sparked huge WWE success after telling boss ‘I want to entertain’
BROCK LESNAR’S first meeting with Vince McMahon sparked his huge breakout success in WWE after telling his billionaire boss: “I want to be an entertainer.”
The former amateur wrestling champion became one of the stars of the company’s Ruthless Aggression Era after spending less than two years in developmental.
The Beast Incarnate was originally WWE’s youngest heavyweight titleholder before Randy Orton and part of the reason he was so fast-tracked was down to his initial meeting with owner McMahon.
Jim Ross worked as the company’s lead play-by-play commentator as well as the head of talent relations at the time of Lesnar’s 2000 signing.
He revealed on his podcast: “It was the first time Vince McMahon physically laid eyes on Brock Lesnar.
“You’re not going to hear that in a lot of places. Brock came to the event. We were recruiting him. Jerry Brisco was recruiting him heavily.
“He was on him. He was our number one target and we got him. We got our guy. And he came to the show because, Brock, I don’t think he had been to a pro wrestling event in his life.
I remember Brock saying something like ‘I want to be an entertainer,’ and Vince fell in love with him right there
“He was not a fan. It didn’t mean he hated it. He just was occupied with working on the farm, playing football, and wrestling at a high, high level. So I remember that.
“I remember Vince walking out of his office and down [the hall] and I said, ‘Brock Lesnar is here’ and I had to refresh his memory about who that was. No face, no name – Vince didn’t know.
“And so, I said, ‘he’s standing out here’ and when Vince walked by, he gave him a little wave. He saw, ‘wait a minute, is that what I think it is? Is that 6’3″, 280 [lbs.]? Is that blonde hair? Looks like an angry Viking or a heifer bull.’ So Vince made a little detour, shook Brock’s hand, the rest, as they say, is history.”
SmackDown’s lead writer Bruce Prichard also recalled McMahon falling in love with UFC star Lesnar.
He added: “I remember Brock saying something like ‘I want to be an entertainer,’ and Vince fell in love with him right there.
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“Vince would have married him right there.”
Lesnar has since become one of the wrestling industry’s biggest stars, with McMahon recently claiming his absence has been the reason for RAW’s drop in viewers.
The Beast dropped the WWE title to Drew McIntyre at WrestleMania 36 and hasn’t been seen since but still has a year left on his current deal.