10 Fascinating WWE Backstage Facts About Brock Lesnar
They don't make them like the Beast Incarnate anymore.
Brock Lesnar’s current run with WWE has lasted more than a decade; not bad for somebody who decided to leave 729 days after he debuted.
In his eight years outside of the Fed, Lesnar took his talents to New Japan Pro Wrestling, won the UFC Heavyweight Championship in just his fourth match, and even battled a life-threatening illness.
You know this; WWE takes every opportunity to list the once Next Big Thing’s credentials. They talk about it almost as much as they make him face Roman Reigns. So much has been said about the career of WWE’s prize fighter, yet Brock’s done the best job of keeping his private life as quiet as possible. He’s married to Sable and lives in Saskatchewan, but he isn’t the kind of person to appear in the public eye. It must be quite the balancing act; it made writing this list far more difficult too!
The clip of Brock throwing the Universal Championship at Vince McMahon after his match at WrestleMania 33 has been shown so much that it’s almost kayfabe. Likewise, his rise through Ohio Valley Wrestling with the likes of John Cena, Randy Orton, and Batista is a story so well told that it hasn't made the list.
From reminders of his first run, to quirks of his second, let's take a look at the man behind Suplex City...
10. He Won His First Matches By TKO
It's been over 20 years since a rookie Brock Lesnar debuted in WWE.
He walked out on the Raw after WrestleMania X8 to attack Al Snow, Maven, and Spike Dudley. They were fighting for the Hardcore Championship at the time, but despite the 24/7 rule being in effect, Lesnar was only there to make a statement.
With Paul Heyman by his side, Brock started to focus on the Hardy Boyz, which eventually lead to a match between him and Jeff Hardy at Backlash 2002.
In what could be the strongest debut match of all-time, the Next Big Thing destroyed Jeff and won by technical knockout. It's a finish that WWE rarely uses, so fans knew that Lesnar was a big deal backstage.
The next night on Raw it was up to Matt to avenge his brother. Nope. Another TKO finish. For some reason, Shawn Stasiak decided to challenge Brock a week later; that one ended with a TKO as well. Lesnar didn't even need to pin his opponents, he could destroy them and take the W instead. WWE was building up somebody special and fans could tell.
On May 6th, the Beast Incarnate finally got his first pinfall victory; Stasiak decided to have another go and he paid the price. After an F5, Brock placed his foot on Shawn's chest to get the 1-2-3.