10 Wrestlers Who Crossed Vince McMahon For Real

5. Brock Lesnar

In spite of being offered a mammoth contract, Brock Lesnar decided WWE wasn’t for him in early 2004. Determined to pursue a career in the NFL while he was still young enough, Lesnar left the promotion after his infamous bout with Goldberg at WrestleMania XX. Lesnar’s departure included a non-compete clause that would last until June 2010. Having pushed Lesnar relentlessly as the main star of WWE’s Ruthless Aggression Era, Vince McMahon was furious.

Despite a promising start, Lesnar’s NFL ambitions were badly hampered by a motorcycle crash from which he suffered a broken jaw, broken left hand, a pulled groin and a bruised pelvis. His groin injury derailed much of his athletic prowess when he returned to work out with the Minnesota Vikings.

With his NFL dreams no more, Lesnar filed a lawsuit against WWE after return negotiations fell through between the two parties. WWE filed a counterclaim thanks to Lesnar appearing at an NJPW show in 2004. Claims were dropped so the two could re-enter negotiations but these ultimately failed also and Lesnar would not return until 2012.

Lesnar’s departure proved to be catastrophic for SmackDown in 2004. As the lead character on the show, Lesnar’s absence left WWE scrambling to fill the star power void he left behind. Despite various complaints made about WWE and Vince McMahon in interviews and in his Death Clutch memoir, Lesnar has become the promotion’s go to world champion in recent years.