10 Things WWE Wants You To Forget About Brock Lesnar

1. He Walked Away From WWE And Sued Them

"Brock Lesnar has made a personal decision to put his WWE career on hold to prepare to tryout for the National Football League this season. Brock has wrestled his entire professional career in the WWE and we are proud of his accomplishments and wish him the best in his new endeavor." That's what WWE posted on their website one day after Lesnar walked out after WrestleMania 20 in March of 2004. It's actually not a bad message on WWE's part. They certainly could have ripped on him a bit more, but instead they chose to say they were proud of him while also stating that he was "putting his WWE career on hold." It turns out that he put his WWE career on hold for what amounted to eight years. In a 2005 article on PWTorch.com, it went into details about Lesnar's departure from WWE: "Lesnar signed a talent contract extension with WWE in 2003 that took effect July 1, 2003 and was set to last until June 30, 2010. Less than a year later, with a desire to attempt to play in the NFL, he asked to get out of his contract. WWE agreed to let him out of his contract, but only if he signed a non€“compete clause." The no compete meant he couldn't sign on for pro wrestling or ultimate fighting anywhere else until the contract expired. Lesnar was happy to sign the deal because at that point in 2004, he likely figured he was going to make it in the NFL and he wouldn't have to worry about doing pro wrestling or any other form of fighting to make a living. Although we don't know because Lesnar's a very private guy, it's likely that he regrets that decision. Once the NFL plan didn't work out, Lesnar ended up suing WWE because he needed to make a living doing something. Due to the non-compete, he didn't have that many options. There was even a point in 2005 where it appeared as though Lesnar would return to WWE. A WWE.com article had comments from Lesnar talking about his comeback: "I'm excited about getting my working boots on and getting back to business, I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow in the meeting, I don't know if I'm returning to WWE, I really don't. In order for this to happen, it has to work for both Vince and myself. I had some maturing to do. There comes a time in everybody's life when you have to grow up. But professional wrestling is in my blood. I may have second guessed it in the past, but I know it now." Everybody was excited. Brock Lesnar was coming back to WWE! Nope. It turned out he wasn't. There was this statement on WWE.com announcing that it wasn't going to happen: "After verbally agreeing to terms with WWE, Brock Lesnar has decided to withdraw from any involvement with the company." In June of 2006, WWE and Lesnar reached an agreement to settle the lawsuit and Lesnar was free to do what he wanted with his life. He did some wrestling for New Japan and then in 2007 started his MMA career. The rest is history. You won't hear WWE mention the fact that Lesnar not only voluntarily walked out of WWE, but he also sued the company that made him a millionaire. In the end, it all worked out because Lesnar's back home in WWE and all of his mistakes from the past, storyline or otherwise, are completely forgotten at least in the eyes of WWE television. Who do you want to see next in the "things WWE wants you to forget about" series? I've already covered Undertaker, Kane, Vince McMahon, Triple H, John Cena and Randy Orton. Let me know by adding a comment below. Thank you for making this series such a hit!