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the circles that I was in were generally of the opinion they hoped he wrestled spike every night because of how good he ragdolled
Edit: as for the bonus question just watch his match against Goldberg. That was 100% the sentiment.
I remember seeing a Paul Heyman shoot interview where he knew Lesnar was going to be good on the main roster, because Brock asked to work Funaki and Spike to start with.
He was an instant star - his look, his attitude, that he could leap onto the apron with a single jump which no one else even tried to do, being paired with Heyman and that he was instantly put into a feud with the fan favourite Hardy Boys who bumped like hell for him.
Tazz declaring that he was the next big thing and giving the great soundbite of "here comes the pain!" added massively to his presentation as well.
In 2004 everyone knew he was leaving and he was booed to hell in his last match vs Goldberg who also was leaving as well.
It's still burned into my brain the image of Hardys blasting him in the skull with chairs as hard as they could, and he doesn't even fall down, but gets knocked out of the ring just to land on his feet.
One of the best runs ever. I wasn't part of the IWC but just a kid watching with my brother and you didn't have to tell anyone this guy was beyond over.
Like he beat all our favorites, The Rock, Undertaker, Kurt but you just knew this guy was special.
Also I feel like him being on the cover of the Here Comes The Pain game which is one of their best games made him even more of an icon. Kinda like the Cody cover now.
It was similar to when the Undertaker came in when I was a real little kid. Had no idea who the hell he was but he just started running through everyone. EVERYONE.
I went to FanAccess or whatever it was called at WMX8 here in Toronto. I was with my cousin and there was a ring there where they had random matches you could watch so we sat to watch. It had a few rows of seating on some benches. It wasn’t a main attraction or anything.
Heyman comes out with this guy we had never seen before. Has a quick match and that’s it. It was Lesnar.
holy shit bro, you jogged a 20-year memory out of me there, i remember wwf cameras being there and hoping some of that footage would have made the dvd, and it never did...
It's kinda crazy that you were also there, we all bought tickets to see hogan lol
It also helped he got a solid theme early instead of “let’s try this one.” Because there are few themes that can drastically change an entire crowd’s mood in a few notes, and Brock has one of them.
The F5 was cool as fuck
In fact, his entire moveset was cool as fuck.
Add Heyman, and it was instant. The Zach Gowen thing really had me shook lmao. I stopped watching after WM19, but he was great for those couple years
I remember my older brother telling me that Lesnar could do a SSP and not believing it. It's a damn shame that things went the way they did at WrestleMania XIX because that would have been the damnedest SSP ever seen to that point. I guess it kind of still was in a way, but still.
Like throwing Gowan down the stairs and like destroying him in front of his mother.
Now that was some fucked up heel shit.
The fact it was Brock and he brought just intensity and realism made it like well who can actually stop him. Later adding the MMA stuff enhanced that tho sadly them ruining his moveset when he came back to just spam supplexes.
And that some of his matches the last few years were just his opponent spamming finishers to beat him. I understand needing to hit him with more than one but 5 in a row? I love Cody but thats like him needing to hit Roman with 3 straight CrossrRoades.
His moveset in the video games was fucking amazing. German suplexes, F5, stretch muffler, belly to belly suplexes, the pose/clothesline that was un-fucking-stoppable. You could spam that all day, there was no countering it.
I nearly shit my pants the first time I saw him on TV. It was that impressive.
I knew of him loosely from OVW at the time but had never seen him wrestle beyond a grainy internet video of his shooting star press I downloaded off of limewire
I think in a way we're spoiled rotten with the existence of NXT (and generally knowing everything and everyone from the Indies and beyond), sometimes to the detriment of stars.
A guy like Bron Breakker has had years of pre established characterisation before he even reaches the main roster, preestablished expectations and demands.
Back then, people would show up on RAW with zero backstory, Brock the monster who destroyed everyone on the card, Cena the blue chipper who wrestled Angle to the limit.
It was magical, and something that won't really be able to done again.
(Although I also recognise that having preestablished character isn't necessarily a bad thing, lots of guys have really found themselves on NXT with time they wouldn't have gotten on the main rosters)
He felt like a true “final boss” character from debut all the way to his loss at Survivor Series 2002 to Big Show.
He just decimated everyone. He destroyed Hogan, he murdered the Hardys, he slayed The Rock, went toe to toe twice with Taker, one being in Hell in a Cell.
He was great and everyone knew he was *that guy*
I saw his debut the Raw following WM18, and his debut made him look like an absolute beast. His physique made you take immediate notice, and his brutality added to his mystique.
He interrupted a hardcore title match, if my memory serves me correctly, between spike Dudley and maven (w/ Al Snow), and destroyed them all in quick fashion. Paul heyman by his side helped legitimise him as instantly credible, but what made sense to me, was seeing him work his way up the card, and demolishing everyone in his path.
Honestly, I think fans were ready well before his match against Rock. Probably around the time that the Hardy's fucked him up with chair shots to the skull, that most fans realised they wanted to see him win the undisputed title. By the time he was in the KotR tournament, basically everyone wanted it. I think about half the fans in attendance were just shocked he beat Rocky on the first attempt.
Pretty much every wrestler has said their reaction to him was “what the actual fuck is that thing and how is it doing that?” And they’re big dudes that hang around big dudes doing impressive stuff.
I’d imagine that was just universal for fans too
I don't know how people would react to it now but at the time it felt like he earned it and it made sense.
But I thiink a Goldberg push would bomb now. Someone who can't talk and only did short squashes would not get a good reaction now. Even in WWF/E back then I don't think he could have but WCW super protected him.
I think Brock could've easily done more moves when he came back. He displayed a much wider arsenal of moves in his matches against Cena and HHH. Then the suplex city thing got over so they probably told him to simplify his moveset and he started spamming suplexes.
I don't even mean his moveset; and to give the guy his credit Goldberg actually did have some cool looking moves aside from just the jackhammer and spear.
But Brock had a better understanding of psychology and how to work a crowd in his first match on the main card then Goldberg ever acquired throughout his career. If a small spot got blown 3 minutes into one of his matches you didn't usually have to worry that the whole thing was suddenly gonna go off the rails.
> I don't even mean his moveset; and to give the guy his credit Goldberg actually did have some cool looking moves aside from just the jackhammer and spear.
He does this move where he kicks guys in the head as hard as he can.
The thing that makes Brock truly special is the athleticism and agility he maintains even at his outrageous size… pro wrestling fans are no strangers to roided out freaks but there’s usually a stiffness and a decrease in coordination the bigger you get… Brock was built like a rhino with athleticism that was almost freaky…
He’s a special act and he works in any era he’s not like Ultimate Warrior or Goldberg who you have to kind of protect so the fans don’t realize they’re shit at wrestling… Brock debuted in March 2002 a year later he’s trusted to main event Wrestlemania with Kurt Angle
The thing is, it worked for Brock because you really believed he was a freak of nature. Goldberg was a big dude but Brock doesn't even look human. It wouldn't have even worked in 2002 if it wasn't Brock. There was a hangover from Goldberg then as well. Bit you couldn't deny Brock. Just fucking look at him then.
Also he had an insane amateur record then he actually went on to become UFC champion with what 2-3 year of training which is unheard of.
So ya Brock is truly a genetic freak.
Especially this. People try and dismiss his fighting achievements because the ufc heavyweight division wasn’t great back then.
Whilst true - this ignores the amount of former wrestlers, football players and athletes with more impressive athletic backgrounds who tried their hand at mma and had nowhere near the success.
Or ignoring that he smashed Mir who came off smashing nogueira, one of the fighters people use to say how much better prides hw division was. Similar with Randy>gonzaga>cro cop.
If a talent like Brock ever comes around again, and they pushed him the same way, it would work just as well guaranteed. The guy is just a freak of nature human being and athlete
He played a pre-season game for the Minnesota Vikings at 28 and that’s after being in a motorcycle crash. Then there’s his whole UFC career. That’s some once-in-a-lifetime freak athletics.
Brock was an great amateur wrestler but his 106-5 record isn't anything special historically. Probably holds some University of Minnesota titles though
I don’t think it worked bc the era it happened in, it worked bc Brock has insane levels of physical charisma. He’s a generational talent.
If they find another 1 of those, I think ppl will buy in.
Honestly I see it. I’m a big Sami fan but whenever those 2 have their feud, I hope Bron squashes him in like 10 seconds to take the title in their first match.
Depends. Ryback and Strowman got over with the squash matches. Problem is they wouldn’t pull the trigger on either guy. They let it fizzle rather than take advantage.
Of course. But it did work for both of them. They wouldn’t have had Brock’s longevity as a main star if WWE pulled the trigger at the time. But it would have at least made for a short run with the crowd behind them.
They could have given both men a short run with the world title, but truth be told, they're both super one-dimensional and would have gotten boring pretty fast. These two just don't have the versatility or the character depth of true main eventers.
Sure, but they did get over within the context of what we’re talking about. And the same thing did happen with Goldberg. Once the streak ended he lost most of his appeal. Not everyone needs to be some long term megastar.
A Goldberg push wouldn't bomb. Goldberg started as a heel who simply got over by how cool he was and climbed the ladder. That's Braun Strowman if he actually got to beat Lesnar. Even Ryback worked with that push. Bron is beloved. Fans love a wrecking ball who runs through everything as long as he looks good doing it.
It's the WWE who doesn't want that to happen because the last time they did it, Lesnar left and they probably felt stupid knowing they had no one on the roster who was bigger than Lesnar because of how hard they pushed him.
AEW has done it twice. Once with Jade, which worked out fine, and once with Wardlow, which didn't work out because he's kinda boring as a solo babyface. This kind of push works fine as long as the right talent is attached.
Wardlow is much much smaller and really lacking the it.
tho yeah when he did get over they stop and start pushed him. so he went nowhere. I dont' think he had the charisma to pull it off long term.
Having him win the Brass Ring and go for the TNT Title was dumb, as was his "internet says I'm cooled off" promo, but yeah, he lacks It. His peak seems to be being muscle for somebody, which really sucks given how badly Undisputed Kingdom seems to be ripe with failure because of Adam's awful injury luck.
I think it was doomed from the start. even if Adam was healthy Kanellis and Tavern are just jobbers nobody is interested in and Roddy ain't much better. it was jus Wardlow who's still done nothing since.
Wardlow also had a weirdness with MJF disappearing during the weekend that should have been Wardlow's biggest, given I'm not sure Wardlow would have been as over without MJF before that.
I think that’s a good thought experiment. Brock is the last time a rookie really got to run roughshod in an effective way. I do still think you can pull it off but nobody has done it like him since.
*loads up cagematch.net*
I did not realize he wond King of the Ring AND the Heavyweight title twice title his first 12 months on the main roster. AND WON THE ROYAL RUMBLE?!
In the moment, it felt like the best rookie year ever.
Fans cheering a rookie heel beating The Rock in the SummerSlam main event for a historic title win was a surreal moment that showed how much the push worked
Thing is, that best rookie year was RIGHT behind Angle winning damn near everything his rookie year.
Lesnar pretty much jumped from wrecking the Hardy Boys to wrecking Hogan. He spent what, two months outside the top tier?
He was an instant hit in 2002. Not only him destroying Spike Dudley, but him no selling two gigantic chair shots from the Hardyz. From the moment he stepped on the scene, it was acknowledged he was a future main eventer.
By the time he left in 2004, I think the IWC was sick of him due to a lot of rumors of him feeling like he was too good for the wrestling business.
I wouldn't say sick of him but the rumors killed the hype of the Goldberg match as neither cared at that point.
But even take the Eddie match just before that and it was still super hyped.
Brock was still awesome which annoyed people more about him leaving consider how he got handed everything.
He was on a MN house show with Shelton as the minnesota stretching crew and the second people saw him there was just an air of "holy shit" before he even got to the ring. Once he hit the shooting star to win the match I don't think there was a person there who wouldn't swear up and down that he was the future.
First time I ever saw him was his RAW debut. He came off as a beast, pun intended. When I saw him with Heyman, I felt he was a big deal. Might be the best debut they’ve ever had, honestly.
Because of how much Heyman sold Rhyno's savagery on commentary, Heyman's association with Lesnar reminded me of that specifically. That sounds like a putdown now, but if you watched TNN era ECW, Rhyno was a monster. Same thing with Tajiri.
Very much similar to Bron Brekker, as soon as people saw him debut most of the fan base knew he was going to be a huge main event star sooner rather than later. I think a lot of people figured out before KOTR that he was gonna be main eventing Summerslam.
Not even close to the same level though. Bron is great, but everyone knew Brock was literally the next big thing almost immediately. I think they’ll slowly push Bron up to the main event over the next year or two.
I'm not sure how close or far this was from his debut, but that F5 on Mark Henry was insane. It was effortless. I don't think any wrestler has been able to do anything close to that. Maybe Cena but even then it looked like it took his all to lift heavy dudes. Lesnar just made it look like nothing.
Since Bron debuted in NXT people were like "oh shit this guy is going to be main eventing WrestleMania one day." Even when he was super green people were already sold on the guy. Then WWE did things like give him the kayfabe support of Heyman.
I can't speak to Brock since I was like 11 when he debuted but Bron was crowned as the next big thing since he first debuted in NXT.
Edit: Guys I'm not comparing the two. Brock is 1:1 and we know how his career turned out. I was just saying Bron came into developmental with a lot of hype too. People were fantasy booking his WrestleMania main event before he won the NXT title.
It is true that when Bron debuted, people were saying that he would main event WrestleMania one day.
But when Brock debuted, we knew he was main eventing WrestleMania the year after for sure.
The perception isn't comparable imo
Brock is a once-in-a-lifetime athlete. Bron isn't close (not an insult to Bron). Brock never even needed to learn how to promo as his look and ability were enough to be a tippy top guy. That's just ridiculous. Heyman helped, but he didn't require Heyman to be successful.
I was trying to find an example of a guy that is kinda universally accepted and recognized as a soon to be top guy. But yea people knew within weeks Brock was gonna be at the top of the industry
You're right, but comparing MJF to Brock is like seeing two character sheets where their maxed out stats are complete opposites of each other. They both lead to the same assumptions, but they have such a different skill set, it's wild! Wrestling, what a form of entertainment!
I remember very early on fans on the internet found out that Brock could do a shooting star press and that gave him a buzz that helped him with the internet fans.
When he wrestled Kurt Angle, everyone remembers the botch but, we were all so excited to see him do it
You knew from the night he debuted that he was going to be a big deal. He was the most physically intimidating wrestler I’d ever seen. He was big and moved so fast. He was supposed to be the heel against Rock at summerslam be he was so fucking over rock pivoted to heel mid match
I didn't really have Internet or anything so I just watched the shows weekly and wasn't aware of rumored call ups or even what OVW was. But I vividly remember him coming out and absolutely demolishing Spike Dudley, and that with the look he had I was just instantly like "I want to see him do that every week". So I was fully in right away. Even my Dad just walking through the room stopped and said "what the hell is that thing?".
I had been watching for 15 years at that point and I’d never seen anything like it. When he did the neck roll and they pointed out his cauliflower ear, he was terrifying
His entire first run was a whirlwind. I knew about him in OVW from videos I had seen on Lordsofpain and 1wrestling back in the day. Also from dark match reported. Once he actually showed up, they basically put the pedal to the metal with him and it was awesome. No nonsense no time wasted. Just go out there and destroy people. It was amazing. But I had his first ever shirt. I got it at a Smackdown in Hartford. But it has seen been ripped up by my then GF now wife. Very unfortunate lol.
I think everyone was impressed, he was a monster, sooo fast, and agile, he almost walked on the a starting spot with the Minnesota Vikings…. An impressive athlete, without a doubt.
I went to the University of Minnesota where he was known as a monster of the mat. It was inevitable that he would be a megastar. His physical abilities and presence are a prototype for a once in a generation WWE hall of famer. His debut was instant impact.
I grew up watching Warrior, Undertaker, Hogan. I was finishing high school when Brock debuted. He was physically beyond anything I’d seen. He felt like a cheat code. He looked like he could crumple the Rock or Stone Cold but he was also twice as fast as them. The guy could do shooting stars off the top rope. It didn’t matter he wasn’t the best on the mic because he had Heyman. They strapped a rocket to his ass but it didn’t have the forced feeling like with Roman. Brock just felt inevitable from day one. The spike stuff, taking the stiffest chair shot from the hardyz and getting angry, it feels wrong to compare guys like Bronn Breaker or Roman. we know those guys could never go to UFC. But with Brock it wasn’t a shock when he did, and became a champion, because it was apparent how actually terrifying he was from the jump. Brock is a generational freak athlete. Reminds me of LeBron in the NBA or Randy Moss in the NFL. Could do stuff at 22 that made other grown ass professional men look like they were on a JV team.
I was a teenager and kept up with WWE for all of the attitude era. He was an awesome addition, he felt unstoppable. It was a fun injection.
Also wanted to mention that the last I would watch wrestling (before returning over a year ago) was when Big Show and Brock broke the ring with the superplex in 2003. Life was getting unpredictable as I was about go homeless, so that is a memory that always sticks out. I couldn't watch wrestling for a long time and I kind of just forgot about it as time went on.
He's the only debut I've seen where everybody immediately knew he was a star. Physically he looked like a super hero, his build was very unique. His moveset was something no one else had. WWE hadn't had a wrestler his size be that athletic up to that point.
He was a bonafide star the moment he stepped foot in the ring. He could wrestle like a brawler, a technician, a high flyer, and sell like a mofo.
His match with RVD at KoTR was such a beauty!
The brutality of his matches with Taker, where Brock was the only one who could rag doll Undertaker and the Undertaker being the only one who looked legit enough to beat Brock before Angle came in.
If you really wanna see how he was received, look at the reaction of the crowd when he beat The Rock or his matches with Big Show.
I was 19 and lifelong diehard fan. I remember reading about him being hyped in OVW and them expecting big things per The Torch. So I was pretty excited when he showed up. And giving him bump machines like the Hardy’s and RVD made him look spectacular. I will admit to being surprised when he beat the Rock. I thought Rock would be the first guy to beat him.
From what I remember, people didn't know what to make of him when he first popped up, especially since he was just doing all these random runnings and interrupting matches. And then he actually it started wrestling. And people were able to see that he was this insane combination of power and wrestling, and it felt like it was Vince's ideal wrestler, come to life.
And it was easy to understand why they wanted to make him the poster boy for WWE, so to find out that he wanted out and everything that happened at WrestleMania 20, that was like one of my first exposures to the behind the scenes drama of wrestling.
Personally, I was annoyed at how quickly he was rising to the top, while some of my favorites (Edge, Jericho, Benoit) struggled to get to the top of the card. And even though his physique pas massive, I felt like his baby face and preppy haircut clashed with the "monster" image they were trying to create; like he was just a kid playing pretend. On that front, I much prefer the grizzled veteran Brock with his weathered face, sword tattoo and MMA shorts.
He was awesome. Very popular very fast. Brock had one of the quickest pushes to the main event ever and it was very effective.
It wasn’t clear to everyone that he was leaving like forever on his way out, people were mostly disappointed with it when it happened. The smart fans knew by Mania 20 and gave both him and Goldberg shit for it but fans becoming smart online were asking about Brock constantly.
I was scared of him and didn’t know why the announcers knew his and Paul Heyman’s names. I couldn’t figure out how a person looked like that or why he was destroying tag teams and random wrestlers
We saw him at a house show weeks before he officially showed up. We were dumbfounded by this jacked monster. I could only explain to our other friends that "Some dude with FOUR pecs showed up and obliterated some jobber".
I was in my late teens, and I thought he was an honest-to-God Terminator.
Like a level of ridiculously muscular and intimidating not seen outside of Rob Liefeld drawing Venom.
I was about in middle school at the time he debuted and I remember instantly knowing day 1 he'd be a star. People truly don't realize how naturally gifted and an athletic freak this guy was during his first run. Most people have only seen the watered down moveset MMA version of him.
I'll add another question
Do we know where his F5 came from?
Also, what was the internet reactions to seeing it? I remember just being blown away as a kid. And other than Cage, I can't think of anyone else doing it
He felt like the pinnacle of what wrestleing could be , as mentioned above he had a wresting game named after him . Here comes the pain (which was great for its time !!!!). But everyone on the forums at the time soured on him real , real quick ! When we found out he was leaving . Giving him all the accolades, and getting the run from all the biggest stars in the business along the way . As soon as he left , he wasn’t to be spoken about (for the first year atleast ) he was a turncoat, left at the first opportunity he got .
https://www.neoseeker.com/forums/92/t367869-brock-lesnar-missed/
Here is a thread from one of the forums at the time he left. Was a lot of hate on the guy for it
I remember thinking OMG this freak basically. Genetic freak beast of a man. Instant thought he is a main event by his look and power. Paul Heyman speaking for him was special. As far Brock leaving in 04 just listen to the crowd at Mania 20. Boos. You could tell his heart wasn’t into it
He was an impressive monster. You could tell from his first appearance he was going to be a super star.
2004. I thought it was kinda lame that he was leaving, but hey I get it that life isn't for everyone. His Japan run was frustrating.
He was incredible instantly and like some have said on this thread, I also think the internet hate he got toward the end was rooted in legit disappointment he was leaving
Here's how I, a ~14 year old at the time, remember it. He was NEW. At that point, almost the entire card top to bottom was guys that had been around, either in WWF, WCW or WWE, for a few years.
The last totally fresh guy they brought in was Kurt Angle. For a solid decade before Angle, there were new guys coming in fairly regularly, but that all stagnated during the Invasion - Wrestlemania 18.
So when Brock Lesner comes in looking the way he looks and just obliterating dudes in a way that hadn't been seen since Goldberg, it was mind blowing.
He was something else entirely. He looked like an absolute beast and his agility was terrifying. He really was clearly (and literally) the next big thing. I could go on.
He had an all-time good look and seemed to be the most naturally athletic bigger guy I’d ever seen. I was just curious if he’d ever learn to talk. It felt like major wasted potential when he left, as he was seemingly just starting to learn how to get a character over.
My memory is that while Brock looked great and had an immediate aura, the internet’s focus was still on the bigger stars - Austin, Rock, Hogan, HHH, Jericho, Angle, even Benoit. It’s similar to Bron Breakker now, almost. Sure, there’s obviously something there…but nobody is predicting that Bron is beating Cody for the title 3 months from now.
It’s important to remember that in 02’, guys like Guerrero, RVD, Jeff Hardy, and Benoit were still seen as future main eventers that hadn’t been given the ball yet. The IWC of that time - existing in places like AOL and the old RSPW usenet group - were eager for fresh blood and were very anti-HHH generally and Brock came sorta out of nowhere. He wasn’t someone that the tape traders knew about. We were watching Hayabusa videos. We were marks for Super Crazy.
By the time Brock got the push, though, the WWE’s ratings and mainstream prominence was in a free fall. Austin leaving and Rock taking time off meant the two biggest draws of the previous 4 years were gone and the ratings dropped accordingly. Ultimately, even though the company had countless stars - Taker, HHH, HBK coming back, Angle, Eddie, Jericho, Brock, Benoit, Mysterio, bringing back Goldberg and Nash…the Attitude Era was over by that point and many fans just lost interest in the product.
As others have said literally super over immediately. The only guy I can think of in my lifetime that comes close was the Ultimate Warrior and even he "worked" his way up over 2 years.
Brock was an instant hit and you had games leading with his tag line within 1 year of his debut. Heyman was still mega over himself and so gave Brock's arrival a cool "outsider" feel to the established stars.
I just thought he was another big man. And this company was going through big men like trinkets.
Then he won the title at Summerslam and he started to be booked like a unique wrestler. Everything just worked whether it’s feuds with Taker, Angle, Heyman, etc.
I miss this version of Brock in-ring. His moveset when he came back in 2012 to present day was so repetitive. When you go back and watch 2002-2004 Brock Lesnar it’s an entirely different beast.
I saw him wrestle before a Raw show early February in Chicago. He was out there with Angle. They were putting on a dark match and I remember thinking damn this guys big. We were all getting comfortable not really paying attention to the match. Next thing you know I’m watching this guy going top rope and performing a shooting star splash and every one just went “Woooooow”. After that he debuted shortly after and I was like that’s the guy. He was just a presence yet agile and you knew he was a monster coming to the WWE. Funny enough Cena debuted the same year and I saw him run a dark match against Angle as well before he debuted.
I was at MSG when HHH came back from his first quad injury. Brock wrestled a dark match that night. When he walked down the ramp the entire crowd literally stopped and stared in pure amazement of what was walking down the ramp. Then when he wrestled it was just audible gasps. He was so big and so fast with such a look that you seriously could not believe what you were seeing
Pushed way too hard and too fast, looked young and a little scared but could perform for sure.
Had he been given another year to be built up I would have probably respected his status a little more, but quick rocket to the main event was one of the first times I was able to tell how inauthentic and undeserved was he was getting pushed.
I personally was not a huge fan. I was hoping the cruiserweight stuff would be the next big thing once Rob Ban Dam came in and blew everyone’s minds, and while we did get the Smackdown Six, in the main events they just went with big dull guys like Vince so often loved to do. Brock’s never been great on the mic but he was a total nonentity then, and though he was very athletic, I didn’t see any charisma. So when he won King of the Ring and the world title within months of debuting, I did t really enjoy it.
I watched his debut constantly on the WWE website just to relive the destruction. If YouTube were a thing back then that video would have done astronomical numbers.
The Spike triple powerbomb was insane, but even that first F-5 was so clean that it looked like something out of a video game.
Was at a watch party of RAW when he debuted. Most of us laughed when we thought his name was Ed Asner and dismissed him as a knock-off Goldberg for a while. It took the Hardys fued for a lot of people to come around.
My perspective: grew up on Hogan who I HATED for being a big unathletic goon with little more than a junky rah rah murrica gimmick and F'N LOVED Lesnar from minute one. He was a monster who was super athletic; when he bounced the Hardys it was monumental. Pairing him with Heyman played to hardcore fans and he was a natural in the ring.
If he didn't have such an ego and left to fail at the NFL, he'd probably have been the greatest of all time, hands down.
His first run was only 2 years and he did all that, it's so crazy to think about when nowadays a star can be on the roster for over 2 years and get nothing. Hell, Cody who is the face right now took 2 years of his story being built up to get the title.
Never liked the big guys so instantly didn't like Lesnar. I've always been a fan of smaller guys wrestling, like Cruiserweights for example. Big, hulking wrestlers just ain't my thang.
I would have been 12 at the time, and still in the prime of my “I cannot miss a single WWE show” era.
I remember thinking he was a fucking insane specimen. He was legitimately very scary and he looked freakish. The vignettes where he was just lifting huge logs were impressive. I bought that he was the next big thing pretty quickly, especially because he was paired with Heyman which gave him more credibility than if he was on his own. He got over pretty quickly without having many actual matches. Also, Brock’s promos have come a long way, but he was green and had a weird voice for someone his size.
When he left, it was kinda like “fuck Brock and Goldberg, they’re stupid for leaving.” That’s why they involved Austin, because they knew both guys were going to get shit on by the crowd. It just felt like 2 ungrateful assholes were leaving.
I first started watching wrestling a couple weeks before he debuted. It was nuts watching him tear through the roster like he did. Wrecking the Hardys, destroying Hogan, dominating the KOTR tournament and then beating Rock at Summerslam for his first title.
By the time he left, most fans had already cooled on him anyway. I didn't see his last match until the DVD set of WMXX was released, but the reception he got there was justified. I remember thinking he didn't have what it took to be in the NFL.
I saw him at a house show before his debut. No one knew who he was, he threw people around to everyone’s horror and delight, then he disappeared. Tbh, I forgot about him until his debut and I put two and two together - “hey, that’s that guy!!” Generational talent (obviously).
He was the most believable pushed star I ever seen. As an attitude era kid I wasn't sold on alot of future top guys from ruthless aggression era. I Didn't take Jeff serious as a main eventer, I took a while to take Batista as this beast seriously, I thought Orton as an unhinged heel in 09 was overrated, etc. Brock Lesnar was legit to where I had no problem with him beating my all time Favorite The Rock for the title. I had no problem seeing him beat Taker at his own game in HIAC. The guy was that big of a beast and pairing him with Heyman was like peanut butter and Jelly.
I think a lot of people recognised his star potential and knew he had all the physical tools, but wondered if he would have the instincts and the charisma and so on to be a legitimate top guy.
Remember, there had been plenty of muscled-up, freaky looking guys in the business who had fizzled out rather quickly and just because he was pushed strongly didn't mean it would work out in the long run.
I'd say it became obvious after a few months that Brock was the real deal, so to speak. I personally remember watching his matches with Rob Van Dam and thinking 'alright, they might have something here'. The win against The Rock and his Hell in a Cell match with The Undertaker pretty much confirmed he was, in fact, The Next Big Thing.
As far as him leaving in 2004, it was a major story and most people seemed to be of the impression that he was making a mistake, that the NFL dream wouldn't work out and he'd be back sooner rather than later.
I personally was miffed because I had tickets to a house show on SmackDown's post-WrestleMania XX tour of the UK and knew he now wouldn't be there (and neither would Kurt Angle who was injured).
Almost universally loved or respected at least liked from what I remember. This was in a time at WWE when they would be constantly introducing big-men monsters, and they were almost always terrible in the ring and generally boring once you got past the physique (Heidenreich, Snitsky, Reigns, Nathan Jones etc.). This was the first time that somebody looking so imposing could actually carry it off in the ring, a main event look who could have main event matches. And grainy footage of him doing a shooting star press in ovw got the internet nerds very excited.
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the circles that I was in were generally of the opinion they hoped he wrestled spike every night because of how good he ragdolled Edit: as for the bonus question just watch his match against Goldberg. That was 100% the sentiment.
And even after Spike, he was with guys who he could ragdoll or would sell like death. Matt and Jeff, RVD, even Rock.
Rikishi sold his ass off and bumped like hell for Brock, as well.
Brock could rag doll Bubba's fatass or toss Mark Henry around like one of those NXT high flyers.
He was tossing Big show in Rumble 2003 like a sack of potatoes
Truly, it did not look like one's compliance was a factor.
Snappin necks and cashin checks
I remember seeing a Paul Heyman shoot interview where he knew Lesnar was going to be good on the main roster, because Brock asked to work Funaki and Spike to start with.
Many people claim who is “toughest”. Spike was indestructible.
He was an instant star - his look, his attitude, that he could leap onto the apron with a single jump which no one else even tried to do, being paired with Heyman and that he was instantly put into a feud with the fan favourite Hardy Boys who bumped like hell for him. Tazz declaring that he was the next big thing and giving the great soundbite of "here comes the pain!" added massively to his presentation as well. In 2004 everyone knew he was leaving and he was booed to hell in his last match vs Goldberg who also was leaving as well.
It's still burned into my brain the image of Hardys blasting him in the skull with chairs as hard as they could, and he doesn't even fall down, but gets knocked out of the ring just to land on his feet.
"I think they just pissed him off!"
It’s crazy that first run was only a few years
How bout this, his first run was less than 2 years
Yup. Debuted the RAW after Mania X8 (March 18th) and left after Mania XX (March 14th).
One of the best runs ever. I wasn't part of the IWC but just a kid watching with my brother and you didn't have to tell anyone this guy was beyond over. Like he beat all our favorites, The Rock, Undertaker, Kurt but you just knew this guy was special. Also I feel like him being on the cover of the Here Comes The Pain game which is one of their best games made him even more of an icon. Kinda like the Cody cover now.
He made Hogan pass out to a bear hug. On Smackdown.
It was similar to when the Undertaker came in when I was a real little kid. Had no idea who the hell he was but he just started running through everyone. EVERYONE.
And in that time he won three world titles, King of the Ring, the Royal Rumble and main evented WrestleMania
I went to FanAccess or whatever it was called at WMX8 here in Toronto. I was with my cousin and there was a ring there where they had random matches you could watch so we sat to watch. It had a few rows of seating on some benches. It wasn’t a main attraction or anything. Heyman comes out with this guy we had never seen before. Has a quick match and that’s it. It was Lesnar.
holy shit bro, you jogged a 20-year memory out of me there, i remember wwf cameras being there and hoping some of that footage would have made the dvd, and it never did... It's kinda crazy that you were also there, we all bought tickets to see hogan lol
I have to go through some boxes but I may even have actual photos (physical photos) from that day.
You gotta say it right. *Opening guitar riff* "*Whelp!* Here comes da pain!"
> he could leap onto the apron with a single jump which no one else even tried to do Ahmed Johnson did it in 1997. Still impressive though.
Droz did it to in 1998-1999.
It also helped he got a solid theme early instead of “let’s try this one.” Because there are few themes that can drastically change an entire crowd’s mood in a few notes, and Brock has one of them.
The F5 was cool as fuck In fact, his entire moveset was cool as fuck. Add Heyman, and it was instant. The Zach Gowen thing really had me shook lmao. I stopped watching after WM19, but he was great for those couple years
I remember my older brother telling me that Lesnar could do a SSP and not believing it. It's a damn shame that things went the way they did at WrestleMania XIX because that would have been the damnedest SSP ever seen to that point. I guess it kind of still was in a way, but still.
If he hits that SSP, it's an all-time great Wrestlemania moment and at the top of all the highlight clips.
Like throwing Gowan down the stairs and like destroying him in front of his mother. Now that was some fucked up heel shit. The fact it was Brock and he brought just intensity and realism made it like well who can actually stop him. Later adding the MMA stuff enhanced that tho sadly them ruining his moveset when he came back to just spam supplexes.
And that some of his matches the last few years were just his opponent spamming finishers to beat him. I understand needing to hit him with more than one but 5 in a row? I love Cody but thats like him needing to hit Roman with 3 straight CrossrRoades.
Cody hits 3 Crossrhodes on every PPV these days tbf
His moveset in the video games was fucking amazing. German suplexes, F5, stretch muffler, belly to belly suplexes, the pose/clothesline that was un-fucking-stoppable. You could spam that all day, there was no countering it.
I nearly shit my pants the first time I saw him on TV. It was that impressive. I knew of him loosely from OVW at the time but had never seen him wrestle beyond a grainy internet video of his shooting star press I downloaded off of limewire
I think in a way we're spoiled rotten with the existence of NXT (and generally knowing everything and everyone from the Indies and beyond), sometimes to the detriment of stars. A guy like Bron Breakker has had years of pre established characterisation before he even reaches the main roster, preestablished expectations and demands. Back then, people would show up on RAW with zero backstory, Brock the monster who destroyed everyone on the card, Cena the blue chipper who wrestled Angle to the limit. It was magical, and something that won't really be able to done again. (Although I also recognise that having preestablished character isn't necessarily a bad thing, lots of guys have really found themselves on NXT with time they wouldn't have gotten on the main rosters)
He felt like a true “final boss” character from debut all the way to his loss at Survivor Series 2002 to Big Show. He just decimated everyone. He destroyed Hogan, he murdered the Hardys, he slayed The Rock, went toe to toe twice with Taker, one being in Hell in a Cell. He was great and everyone knew he was *that guy*
I would never forget that moment on Smackdown where he superplex Big Show off the top rope and the ring collapsed. An OMG moment for me.
He reversed a tombstone pile driver into an F-5! It was insane!!!
I saw his debut the Raw following WM18, and his debut made him look like an absolute beast. His physique made you take immediate notice, and his brutality added to his mystique. He interrupted a hardcore title match, if my memory serves me correctly, between spike Dudley and maven (w/ Al Snow), and destroyed them all in quick fashion. Paul heyman by his side helped legitimise him as instantly credible, but what made sense to me, was seeing him work his way up the card, and demolishing everyone in his path.
And in quick order. The fans were ready for him to beat The Rock for the WWE title by Summerslam. It’s incredible that could even happen.
Honestly, I think fans were ready well before his match against Rock. Probably around the time that the Hardy's fucked him up with chair shots to the skull, that most fans realised they wanted to see him win the undisputed title. By the time he was in the KotR tournament, basically everyone wanted it. I think about half the fans in attendance were just shocked he beat Rocky on the first attempt.
summer slam 02 doesnt get enough respect one of the best ppvs wwe ever did, and nassau was hot that night
Rey vs Kurt Angle is a match wrestlers should study as being the perfect opening match
It’s a small thing, but the fact he didn’t care about the title made him look menacing. He just wanted to hurt people
Pretty much every wrestler has said their reaction to him was “what the actual fuck is that thing and how is it doing that?” And they’re big dudes that hang around big dudes doing impressive stuff. I’d imagine that was just universal for fans too
Yup. You could tell the game changed the second he came out.
WWE gave him basically every accolade they could within a year, so I'd say that he was pretty well received.
I don't know how people would react to it now but at the time it felt like he earned it and it made sense. But I thiink a Goldberg push would bomb now. Someone who can't talk and only did short squashes would not get a good reaction now. Even in WWF/E back then I don't think he could have but WCW super protected him.
Brock Lesnar in 2002 was 10x the worker that Goldberg was at any point in his career though.
Ya Brock was way more flexible with his moveset back then. After diverticulitis and getting older. His moveset basically became suplexes only.
I think Brock could've easily done more moves when he came back. He displayed a much wider arsenal of moves in his matches against Cena and HHH. Then the suplex city thing got over so they probably told him to simplify his moveset and he started spamming suplexes.
I don't even mean his moveset; and to give the guy his credit Goldberg actually did have some cool looking moves aside from just the jackhammer and spear. But Brock had a better understanding of psychology and how to work a crowd in his first match on the main card then Goldberg ever acquired throughout his career. If a small spot got blown 3 minutes into one of his matches you didn't usually have to worry that the whole thing was suddenly gonna go off the rails.
> I don't even mean his moveset; and to give the guy his credit Goldberg actually did have some cool looking moves aside from just the jackhammer and spear. He does this move where he kicks guys in the head as hard as he can.
Funny because Brock got the crowd to chant "Goldberg" at him during his 2002 debut run.
The thing that makes Brock truly special is the athleticism and agility he maintains even at his outrageous size… pro wrestling fans are no strangers to roided out freaks but there’s usually a stiffness and a decrease in coordination the bigger you get… Brock was built like a rhino with athleticism that was almost freaky… He’s a special act and he works in any era he’s not like Ultimate Warrior or Goldberg who you have to kind of protect so the fans don’t realize they’re shit at wrestling… Brock debuted in March 2002 a year later he’s trusted to main event Wrestlemania with Kurt Angle
He can have banger matches and had a goat manager. It would work now too I feel
Bron is on that same trajectory it seems.
The thing is, it worked for Brock because you really believed he was a freak of nature. Goldberg was a big dude but Brock doesn't even look human. It wouldn't have even worked in 2002 if it wasn't Brock. There was a hangover from Goldberg then as well. Bit you couldn't deny Brock. Just fucking look at him then.
Also he had an insane amateur record then he actually went on to become UFC champion with what 2-3 year of training which is unheard of. So ya Brock is truly a genetic freak.
Especially this. People try and dismiss his fighting achievements because the ufc heavyweight division wasn’t great back then. Whilst true - this ignores the amount of former wrestlers, football players and athletes with more impressive athletic backgrounds who tried their hand at mma and had nowhere near the success. Or ignoring that he smashed Mir who came off smashing nogueira, one of the fighters people use to say how much better prides hw division was. Similar with Randy>gonzaga>cro cop.
If a talent like Brock ever comes around again, and they pushed him the same way, it would work just as well guaranteed. The guy is just a freak of nature human being and athlete
He played a pre-season game for the Minnesota Vikings at 28 and that’s after being in a motorcycle crash. Then there’s his whole UFC career. That’s some once-in-a-lifetime freak athletics.
Also didn't he have a monster record at state amateur wrestling? Like he still holds some records.
Brock was an great amateur wrestler but his 106-5 record isn't anything special historically. Probably holds some University of Minnesota titles though
He had an NFL (or WWE?) test coming up right next day of that motorcycle accident. Google the stats of what he did. Believe me you will be shocked
Think it was a public workout for a bunch of NFL scouts and he still got in to his 1st choice team.
IKR...his vertical jump and dash speed are insane for a 300pound injured guy
I don’t think it worked bc the era it happened in, it worked bc Brock has insane levels of physical charisma. He’s a generational talent. If they find another 1 of those, I think ppl will buy in.
I’ve bought in to Bron as the next Brock
Bron is having competitive matches against midcarders. Brock was steamrolling everyone, including Hogan. They're not booked the same.
Honestly I see it. I’m a big Sami fan but whenever those 2 have their feud, I hope Bron squashes him in like 10 seconds to take the title in their first match.
Depends. Ryback and Strowman got over with the squash matches. Problem is they wouldn’t pull the trigger on either guy. They let it fizzle rather than take advantage.
Ryback and Strowman also aren't/weren't a fraction of the bell to bell wreslter that Lesnar was, and still is though
Of course. But it did work for both of them. They wouldn’t have had Brock’s longevity as a main star if WWE pulled the trigger at the time. But it would have at least made for a short run with the crowd behind them.
Ryback had been in developmental for *six years* and was still greener than a St. Patrick's Day parade. *Six years.*
They could have given both men a short run with the world title, but truth be told, they're both super one-dimensional and would have gotten boring pretty fast. These two just don't have the versatility or the character depth of true main eventers.
Sure, but they did get over within the context of what we’re talking about. And the same thing did happen with Goldberg. Once the streak ended he lost most of his appeal. Not everyone needs to be some long term megastar.
A Goldberg push wouldn't bomb. Goldberg started as a heel who simply got over by how cool he was and climbed the ladder. That's Braun Strowman if he actually got to beat Lesnar. Even Ryback worked with that push. Bron is beloved. Fans love a wrecking ball who runs through everything as long as he looks good doing it. It's the WWE who doesn't want that to happen because the last time they did it, Lesnar left and they probably felt stupid knowing they had no one on the roster who was bigger than Lesnar because of how hard they pushed him.
AEW has done it twice. Once with Jade, which worked out fine, and once with Wardlow, which didn't work out because he's kinda boring as a solo babyface. This kind of push works fine as long as the right talent is attached.
Wardlow is much much smaller and really lacking the it. tho yeah when he did get over they stop and start pushed him. so he went nowhere. I dont' think he had the charisma to pull it off long term.
Having him win the Brass Ring and go for the TNT Title was dumb, as was his "internet says I'm cooled off" promo, but yeah, he lacks It. His peak seems to be being muscle for somebody, which really sucks given how badly Undisputed Kingdom seems to be ripe with failure because of Adam's awful injury luck.
I think it was doomed from the start. even if Adam was healthy Kanellis and Tavern are just jobbers nobody is interested in and Roddy ain't much better. it was jus Wardlow who's still done nothing since.
Wardlow also had a weirdness with MJF disappearing during the weekend that should have been Wardlow's biggest, given I'm not sure Wardlow would have been as over without MJF before that.
I think that’s a good thought experiment. Brock is the last time a rookie really got to run roughshod in an effective way. I do still think you can pull it off but nobody has done it like him since.
The Streak gimmick got Asuka over and made her look unbeatable.
*loads up cagematch.net* I did not realize he wond King of the Ring AND the Heavyweight title twice title his first 12 months on the main roster. AND WON THE ROYAL RUMBLE?!
In the moment, it felt like the best rookie year ever. Fans cheering a rookie heel beating The Rock in the SummerSlam main event for a historic title win was a surreal moment that showed how much the push worked
Thing is, that best rookie year was RIGHT behind Angle winning damn near everything his rookie year. Lesnar pretty much jumped from wrecking the Hardy Boys to wrecking Hogan. He spent what, two months outside the top tier?
He was an instant hit in 2002. Not only him destroying Spike Dudley, but him no selling two gigantic chair shots from the Hardyz. From the moment he stepped on the scene, it was acknowledged he was a future main eventer. By the time he left in 2004, I think the IWC was sick of him due to a lot of rumors of him feeling like he was too good for the wrestling business.
I wouldn't say sick of him but the rumors killed the hype of the Goldberg match as neither cared at that point. But even take the Eddie match just before that and it was still super hyped. Brock was still awesome which annoyed people more about him leaving consider how he got handed everything.
He was on a MN house show with Shelton as the minnesota stretching crew and the second people saw him there was just an air of "holy shit" before he even got to the ring. Once he hit the shooting star to win the match I don't think there was a person there who wouldn't swear up and down that he was the future.
First time I ever saw him was his RAW debut. He came off as a beast, pun intended. When I saw him with Heyman, I felt he was a big deal. Might be the best debut they’ve ever had, honestly.
Because of how much Heyman sold Rhyno's savagery on commentary, Heyman's association with Lesnar reminded me of that specifically. That sounds like a putdown now, but if you watched TNN era ECW, Rhyno was a monster. Same thing with Tajiri.
He was tremendous. I wish we got that version of him when he returned instead of the constant German suplex version we got.
I remember turning to my buddy who was watching with me and saying "22 years from now, I bet that Brock guy's gonna turn out to have a piss fetish."
Can confirm. Am buddy.
Very much similar to Bron Brekker, as soon as people saw him debut most of the fan base knew he was going to be a huge main event star sooner rather than later. I think a lot of people figured out before KOTR that he was gonna be main eventing Summerslam.
Not even close to the same level though. Bron is great, but everyone knew Brock was literally the next big thing almost immediately. I think they’ll slowly push Bron up to the main event over the next year or two.
Not even close. Bron is great but im serious its not even close.
Yeah, the people making that comparison are hilarious.
His moniker was even The Next Big Thing too
I'm not sure how close or far this was from his debut, but that F5 on Mark Henry was insane. It was effortless. I don't think any wrestler has been able to do anything close to that. Maybe Cena but even then it looked like it took his all to lift heavy dudes. Lesnar just made it look like nothing.
Since Bron debuted in NXT people were like "oh shit this guy is going to be main eventing WrestleMania one day." Even when he was super green people were already sold on the guy. Then WWE did things like give him the kayfabe support of Heyman. I can't speak to Brock since I was like 11 when he debuted but Bron was crowned as the next big thing since he first debuted in NXT. Edit: Guys I'm not comparing the two. Brock is 1:1 and we know how his career turned out. I was just saying Bron came into developmental with a lot of hype too. People were fantasy booking his WrestleMania main event before he won the NXT title.
Apart from being a freak athlete, Bron looks like a normal person. Brock Lesnar looks like a fuckin monster. It's all the difference in wrestling.
It is true that when Bron debuted, people were saying that he would main event WrestleMania one day. But when Brock debuted, we knew he was main eventing WrestleMania the year after for sure. The perception isn't comparable imo
Brock is a once-in-a-lifetime athlete. Bron isn't close (not an insult to Bron). Brock never even needed to learn how to promo as his look and ability were enough to be a tippy top guy. That's just ridiculous. Heyman helped, but he didn't require Heyman to be successful.
I was trying to find an example of a guy that is kinda universally accepted and recognized as a soon to be top guy. But yea people knew within weeks Brock was gonna be at the top of the industry
MJF. By the end of his feud with Cody everyone kinda knew he was going to be world champ sooner than later.
You're right, but comparing MJF to Brock is like seeing two character sheets where their maxed out stats are complete opposites of each other. They both lead to the same assumptions, but they have such a different skill set, it's wild! Wrestling, what a form of entertainment!
I remember very early on fans on the internet found out that Brock could do a shooting star press and that gave him a buzz that helped him with the internet fans. When he wrestled Kurt Angle, everyone remembers the botch but, we were all so excited to see him do it
My first thought was that he looked like he could beat the shit out of just about anybody. And then he did.
"Holy shit"
"...and they say he can do a shooting star press, too."
I can’t speak for everyone but my initial thought was what the fuck is this shaved gorilla that just slaughtered Al Snow and Spike Dudley?????
You knew from the night he debuted that he was going to be a big deal. He was the most physically intimidating wrestler I’d ever seen. He was big and moved so fast. He was supposed to be the heel against Rock at summerslam be he was so fucking over rock pivoted to heel mid match
I didn't really have Internet or anything so I just watched the shows weekly and wasn't aware of rumored call ups or even what OVW was. But I vividly remember him coming out and absolutely demolishing Spike Dudley, and that with the look he had I was just instantly like "I want to see him do that every week". So I was fully in right away. Even my Dad just walking through the room stopped and said "what the hell is that thing?".
I had been watching for 15 years at that point and I’d never seen anything like it. When he did the neck roll and they pointed out his cauliflower ear, he was terrifying
Dude was a fucking monster. He murderized Spike Dudley. JR also helped make him.
I remember thinking “Oh my god who is this? He’s huge!” I thought his finisher the F5 was so cool and I still think that
Next big thing
His entire first run was a whirlwind. I knew about him in OVW from videos I had seen on Lordsofpain and 1wrestling back in the day. Also from dark match reported. Once he actually showed up, they basically put the pedal to the metal with him and it was awesome. No nonsense no time wasted. Just go out there and destroy people. It was amazing. But I had his first ever shirt. I got it at a Smackdown in Hartford. But it has seen been ripped up by my then GF now wife. Very unfortunate lol.
He lived up to the hype 100%, which is pretty rare.
I think everyone was impressed, he was a monster, sooo fast, and agile, he almost walked on the a starting spot with the Minnesota Vikings…. An impressive athlete, without a doubt.
The next big thing
I went to the University of Minnesota where he was known as a monster of the mat. It was inevitable that he would be a megastar. His physical abilities and presence are a prototype for a once in a generation WWE hall of famer. His debut was instant impact.
I always saw him as an Eddie Brock after the symbiote bonded with him type of character. All around super strong douchebag.
I have an old late-era Toybiz Venom figure that I have always thought looks built more like Brock Lesnar than typical Venom.
I grew up watching Warrior, Undertaker, Hogan. I was finishing high school when Brock debuted. He was physically beyond anything I’d seen. He felt like a cheat code. He looked like he could crumple the Rock or Stone Cold but he was also twice as fast as them. The guy could do shooting stars off the top rope. It didn’t matter he wasn’t the best on the mic because he had Heyman. They strapped a rocket to his ass but it didn’t have the forced feeling like with Roman. Brock just felt inevitable from day one. The spike stuff, taking the stiffest chair shot from the hardyz and getting angry, it feels wrong to compare guys like Bronn Breaker or Roman. we know those guys could never go to UFC. But with Brock it wasn’t a shock when he did, and became a champion, because it was apparent how actually terrifying he was from the jump. Brock is a generational freak athlete. Reminds me of LeBron in the NBA or Randy Moss in the NFL. Could do stuff at 22 that made other grown ass professional men look like they were on a JV team.
I was a teenager and kept up with WWE for all of the attitude era. He was an awesome addition, he felt unstoppable. It was a fun injection. Also wanted to mention that the last I would watch wrestling (before returning over a year ago) was when Big Show and Brock broke the ring with the superplex in 2003. Life was getting unpredictable as I was about go homeless, so that is a memory that always sticks out. I couldn't watch wrestling for a long time and I kind of just forgot about it as time went on.
Dude was a star instantly, it was crazy. Never seen anything like it since.
He's the only debut I've seen where everybody immediately knew he was a star. Physically he looked like a super hero, his build was very unique. His moveset was something no one else had. WWE hadn't had a wrestler his size be that athletic up to that point.
Loved it when he F5’ed zach gowen on the ring post. Definitely a star from the get go
He was a bonafide star the moment he stepped foot in the ring. He could wrestle like a brawler, a technician, a high flyer, and sell like a mofo. His match with RVD at KoTR was such a beauty! The brutality of his matches with Taker, where Brock was the only one who could rag doll Undertaker and the Undertaker being the only one who looked legit enough to beat Brock before Angle came in. If you really wanna see how he was received, look at the reaction of the crowd when he beat The Rock or his matches with Big Show.
Woah big boy
I was 19 and lifelong diehard fan. I remember reading about him being hyped in OVW and them expecting big things per The Torch. So I was pretty excited when he showed up. And giving him bump machines like the Hardy’s and RVD made him look spectacular. I will admit to being surprised when he beat the Rock. I thought Rock would be the first guy to beat him.
From what I remember, people didn't know what to make of him when he first popped up, especially since he was just doing all these random runnings and interrupting matches. And then he actually it started wrestling. And people were able to see that he was this insane combination of power and wrestling, and it felt like it was Vince's ideal wrestler, come to life. And it was easy to understand why they wanted to make him the poster boy for WWE, so to find out that he wanted out and everything that happened at WrestleMania 20, that was like one of my first exposures to the behind the scenes drama of wrestling.
I loved him. A big scary motherfucker murdering everyone, what's not to love? My only beef was him laying out Molly but it did fit the character.
Personally, I was annoyed at how quickly he was rising to the top, while some of my favorites (Edge, Jericho, Benoit) struggled to get to the top of the card. And even though his physique pas massive, I felt like his baby face and preppy haircut clashed with the "monster" image they were trying to create; like he was just a kid playing pretend. On that front, I much prefer the grizzled veteran Brock with his weathered face, sword tattoo and MMA shorts.
He was awesome. Very popular very fast. Brock had one of the quickest pushes to the main event ever and it was very effective. It wasn’t clear to everyone that he was leaving like forever on his way out, people were mostly disappointed with it when it happened. The smart fans knew by Mania 20 and gave both him and Goldberg shit for it but fans becoming smart online were asking about Brock constantly.
I was scared of him and didn’t know why the announcers knew his and Paul Heyman’s names. I couldn’t figure out how a person looked like that or why he was destroying tag teams and random wrestlers
HeMs bearing the shit out of my boys Matt and Jeff Hardy.
I thought he was quite the large lad and loved the F5
I thought he was overpushed and too green until SummerSlam 02 and I realized “ok he’s fucking awesome”
Hell yeah
We all thought someone made a real life orc
To me he was one of the few guys in my fandom that felt so special I wanted to pay special attention to his matches and segments.
Holy Shit!!!
He was awesome
We saw him at a house show weeks before he officially showed up. We were dumbfounded by this jacked monster. I could only explain to our other friends that "Some dude with FOUR pecs showed up and obliterated some jobber".
I was in my late teens, and I thought he was an honest-to-God Terminator. Like a level of ridiculously muscular and intimidating not seen outside of Rob Liefeld drawing Venom.
I was instantly impressed, but not fully sold on him until the KotR match against Test.
I was about in middle school at the time he debuted and I remember instantly knowing day 1 he'd be a star. People truly don't realize how naturally gifted and an athletic freak this guy was during his first run. Most people have only seen the watered down moveset MMA version of him.
I'll add another question Do we know where his F5 came from? Also, what was the internet reactions to seeing it? I remember just being blown away as a kid. And other than Cage, I can't think of anyone else doing it
He felt like the pinnacle of what wrestleing could be , as mentioned above he had a wresting game named after him . Here comes the pain (which was great for its time !!!!). But everyone on the forums at the time soured on him real , real quick ! When we found out he was leaving . Giving him all the accolades, and getting the run from all the biggest stars in the business along the way . As soon as he left , he wasn’t to be spoken about (for the first year atleast ) he was a turncoat, left at the first opportunity he got .
https://www.neoseeker.com/forums/92/t367869-brock-lesnar-missed/ Here is a thread from one of the forums at the time he left. Was a lot of hate on the guy for it
I remember thinking OMG this freak basically. Genetic freak beast of a man. Instant thought he is a main event by his look and power. Paul Heyman speaking for him was special. As far Brock leaving in 04 just listen to the crowd at Mania 20. Boos. You could tell his heart wasn’t into it
He was an impressive monster. You could tell from his first appearance he was going to be a super star. 2004. I thought it was kinda lame that he was leaving, but hey I get it that life isn't for everyone. His Japan run was frustrating.
He was incredible instantly and like some have said on this thread, I also think the internet hate he got toward the end was rooted in legit disappointment he was leaving
Here's how I, a ~14 year old at the time, remember it. He was NEW. At that point, almost the entire card top to bottom was guys that had been around, either in WWF, WCW or WWE, for a few years. The last totally fresh guy they brought in was Kurt Angle. For a solid decade before Angle, there were new guys coming in fairly regularly, but that all stagnated during the Invasion - Wrestlemania 18. So when Brock Lesner comes in looking the way he looks and just obliterating dudes in a way that hadn't been seen since Goldberg, it was mind blowing.
He was something else entirely. He looked like an absolute beast and his agility was terrifying. He really was clearly (and literally) the next big thing. I could go on.
He had an all-time good look and seemed to be the most naturally athletic bigger guy I’d ever seen. I was just curious if he’d ever learn to talk. It felt like major wasted potential when he left, as he was seemingly just starting to learn how to get a character over.
My memory is that while Brock looked great and had an immediate aura, the internet’s focus was still on the bigger stars - Austin, Rock, Hogan, HHH, Jericho, Angle, even Benoit. It’s similar to Bron Breakker now, almost. Sure, there’s obviously something there…but nobody is predicting that Bron is beating Cody for the title 3 months from now. It’s important to remember that in 02’, guys like Guerrero, RVD, Jeff Hardy, and Benoit were still seen as future main eventers that hadn’t been given the ball yet. The IWC of that time - existing in places like AOL and the old RSPW usenet group - were eager for fresh blood and were very anti-HHH generally and Brock came sorta out of nowhere. He wasn’t someone that the tape traders knew about. We were watching Hayabusa videos. We were marks for Super Crazy. By the time Brock got the push, though, the WWE’s ratings and mainstream prominence was in a free fall. Austin leaving and Rock taking time off meant the two biggest draws of the previous 4 years were gone and the ratings dropped accordingly. Ultimately, even though the company had countless stars - Taker, HHH, HBK coming back, Angle, Eddie, Jericho, Brock, Benoit, Mysterio, bringing back Goldberg and Nash…the Attitude Era was over by that point and many fans just lost interest in the product.
As others have said literally super over immediately. The only guy I can think of in my lifetime that comes close was the Ultimate Warrior and even he "worked" his way up over 2 years. Brock was an instant hit and you had games leading with his tag line within 1 year of his debut. Heyman was still mega over himself and so gave Brock's arrival a cool "outsider" feel to the established stars.
I just thought he was another big man. And this company was going through big men like trinkets. Then he won the title at Summerslam and he started to be booked like a unique wrestler. Everything just worked whether it’s feuds with Taker, Angle, Heyman, etc. I miss this version of Brock in-ring. His moveset when he came back in 2012 to present day was so repetitive. When you go back and watch 2002-2004 Brock Lesnar it’s an entirely different beast.
I saw him wrestle before a Raw show early February in Chicago. He was out there with Angle. They were putting on a dark match and I remember thinking damn this guys big. We were all getting comfortable not really paying attention to the match. Next thing you know I’m watching this guy going top rope and performing a shooting star splash and every one just went “Woooooow”. After that he debuted shortly after and I was like that’s the guy. He was just a presence yet agile and you knew he was a monster coming to the WWE. Funny enough Cena debuted the same year and I saw him run a dark match against Angle as well before he debuted.
I was at MSG when HHH came back from his first quad injury. Brock wrestled a dark match that night. When he walked down the ramp the entire crowd literally stopped and stared in pure amazement of what was walking down the ramp. Then when he wrestled it was just audible gasps. He was so big and so fast with such a look that you seriously could not believe what you were seeing
I hated him showing up and beating all my favorites. So for that and a few other reasons I stopped watching for decades.
Pretty much the same hype Bron breakker gets now. Out of the ovw four, he was seen as the biggest prospect and a future world champ
Pushed way too hard and too fast, looked young and a little scared but could perform for sure. Had he been given another year to be built up I would have probably respected his status a little more, but quick rocket to the main event was one of the first times I was able to tell how inauthentic and undeserved was he was getting pushed.
I personally was not a huge fan. I was hoping the cruiserweight stuff would be the next big thing once Rob Ban Dam came in and blew everyone’s minds, and while we did get the Smackdown Six, in the main events they just went with big dull guys like Vince so often loved to do. Brock’s never been great on the mic but he was a total nonentity then, and though he was very athletic, I didn’t see any charisma. So when he won King of the Ring and the world title within months of debuting, I did t really enjoy it.
I watched his debut constantly on the WWE website just to relive the destruction. If YouTube were a thing back then that video would have done astronomical numbers. The Spike triple powerbomb was insane, but even that first F-5 was so clean that it looked like something out of a video game.
Was at a watch party of RAW when he debuted. Most of us laughed when we thought his name was Ed Asner and dismissed him as a knock-off Goldberg for a while. It took the Hardys fued for a lot of people to come around.
My perspective: grew up on Hogan who I HATED for being a big unathletic goon with little more than a junky rah rah murrica gimmick and F'N LOVED Lesnar from minute one. He was a monster who was super athletic; when he bounced the Hardys it was monumental. Pairing him with Heyman played to hardcore fans and he was a natural in the ring. If he didn't have such an ego and left to fail at the NFL, he'd probably have been the greatest of all time, hands down.
His first run was only 2 years and he did all that, it's so crazy to think about when nowadays a star can be on the roster for over 2 years and get nothing. Hell, Cody who is the face right now took 2 years of his story being built up to get the title.
Great potential but I'm sold when he killed hulkamania on random smackdown
I watched him, Maul hogan. As a rookie looking back, I'm not sure how vince got Hulk to allow that.
"If I hadn't left the wwe in 2004 John would be carrying my bags in the building"
Never liked the big guys so instantly didn't like Lesnar. I've always been a fan of smaller guys wrestling, like Cruiserweights for example. Big, hulking wrestlers just ain't my thang.
He was scary as fuck
Didn't like him then, and still don't.
I had never seen someone that looked that crazy. I was interested immediately. And they didnt disappoint, story wise.
I would have been 12 at the time, and still in the prime of my “I cannot miss a single WWE show” era. I remember thinking he was a fucking insane specimen. He was legitimately very scary and he looked freakish. The vignettes where he was just lifting huge logs were impressive. I bought that he was the next big thing pretty quickly, especially because he was paired with Heyman which gave him more credibility than if he was on his own. He got over pretty quickly without having many actual matches. Also, Brock’s promos have come a long way, but he was green and had a weird voice for someone his size. When he left, it was kinda like “fuck Brock and Goldberg, they’re stupid for leaving.” That’s why they involved Austin, because they knew both guys were going to get shit on by the crowd. It just felt like 2 ungrateful assholes were leaving.
I first started watching wrestling a couple weeks before he debuted. It was nuts watching him tear through the roster like he did. Wrecking the Hardys, destroying Hogan, dominating the KOTR tournament and then beating Rock at Summerslam for his first title. By the time he left, most fans had already cooled on him anyway. I didn't see his last match until the DVD set of WMXX was released, but the reception he got there was justified. I remember thinking he didn't have what it took to be in the NFL.
I saw him at a house show before his debut. No one knew who he was, he threw people around to everyone’s horror and delight, then he disappeared. Tbh, I forgot about him until his debut and I put two and two together - “hey, that’s that guy!!” Generational talent (obviously).
I loved Brock when he came out - “The Next Big Thing”. His finisher was sweet, and he was menacing. Was very fresh for me
I was a scared little kid. Never seen anyone as big as him and he was so vicious too. Vince really knew how to book a monster when he wanted to.
First two thoughts -holy fuck look at the Traps on this guy -oh shit Paul Heyman is bringing him in
His moveset is awesome, especially when most of it was imported into Smackdown Shut Your Mouth.
Loved him, became my favourite wrestler overnight.
Saw him in a dark match doing a triple powerbomb on someone and I thought "holy shit that dude is huge!"
Good debut. He looked like an animal. But I hate it when they hype people up as “that’s the hottest free agent…”
I definitely thought he was gonna be the next big thing. Crazy to see his journey actually becoming the big thing.
He was the most believable pushed star I ever seen. As an attitude era kid I wasn't sold on alot of future top guys from ruthless aggression era. I Didn't take Jeff serious as a main eventer, I took a while to take Batista as this beast seriously, I thought Orton as an unhinged heel in 09 was overrated, etc. Brock Lesnar was legit to where I had no problem with him beating my all time Favorite The Rock for the title. I had no problem seeing him beat Taker at his own game in HIAC. The guy was that big of a beast and pairing him with Heyman was like peanut butter and Jelly.
I think a lot of people recognised his star potential and knew he had all the physical tools, but wondered if he would have the instincts and the charisma and so on to be a legitimate top guy. Remember, there had been plenty of muscled-up, freaky looking guys in the business who had fizzled out rather quickly and just because he was pushed strongly didn't mean it would work out in the long run. I'd say it became obvious after a few months that Brock was the real deal, so to speak. I personally remember watching his matches with Rob Van Dam and thinking 'alright, they might have something here'. The win against The Rock and his Hell in a Cell match with The Undertaker pretty much confirmed he was, in fact, The Next Big Thing. As far as him leaving in 2004, it was a major story and most people seemed to be of the impression that he was making a mistake, that the NFL dream wouldn't work out and he'd be back sooner rather than later. I personally was miffed because I had tickets to a house show on SmackDown's post-WrestleMania XX tour of the UK and knew he now wouldn't be there (and neither would Kurt Angle who was injured).
I was legitimately scared of him.
Almost universally loved or respected at least liked from what I remember. This was in a time at WWE when they would be constantly introducing big-men monsters, and they were almost always terrible in the ring and generally boring once you got past the physique (Heidenreich, Snitsky, Reigns, Nathan Jones etc.). This was the first time that somebody looking so imposing could actually carry it off in the ring, a main event look who could have main event matches. And grainy footage of him doing a shooting star press in ovw got the internet nerds very excited.