10 Fascinating WWE WrestleMania 20 Facts

7. Brock Lesnar Announced He Was Quitting 12 Days Before WrestleMania

Chris Benoit Eddie Guerrero
WWE.com

Lesnar lamented what his life had become as a full-time WWE performer. Masking the pain and discomfort from the constant grind led to the beastly heavyweight turning to vodka and Vicodin, and it was all wearing on his psyche. Lesnar also believed he was traveling to distant places for little good reason or incentive. A brief tour of South Africa weeks before WrestleMania, where Lesnar would work middle of the show with Bob Holly, pushed him past his breaking point.

Upon returning to the States, Lesnar nearly walked out without any notice, but was convinced by future wife Rena to go to the SmackDown tapings in Savannah, GA to talk to Vince man to man. At that March 2 meeting, Lesnar agreed to stay on through WrestleMania (he coveted that big payday for his match with Goldberg), but otherwise, he'd made up his mind that he was done.

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Justin has been a wrestling fan since 1989, and has been writing about it since 2009. Since 2014, Justin has been a features writer and interviewer for Fighting Spirit Magazine. Justin also writes for History of Wrestling, and is a contributing author to James Dixon's Titan series.