10 Wrestlers Who Turned Down WWE Contracts

1. Brock Lesnar

Sting Darby Allin
NFL.com

Brock Lesnar has a reputation as a mercenary these days, wringing as much out of WWE as possible for the bare minimum of work, but once over, he said boo to all that cash in pursuit of one of his personal sporting dreams.

Back in 2004, Lesnar was fairly fed up with the wrestling lifestyle, and in particular, the hectic travel schedule. Though just two years into his run, and already one of the industry's biggest new stars, Brock decided to jack it all in, and instead embark on a career in professional football.

WWE weren't about to let one of their hottest commodities leave without a fight, however, and furnished Brock with a then astonishing seven-year contract worth approximately £36.5 million. No amount of money could persuade him, and word soon slipped that he was on his way out - leading to the WrestleMania XX farce against the similarly departing Goldberg, during which fans voraciously jeered both men.

A motorcycle accident curtailed Lesnar's NFL ambitions, and he was left to rue those uncollected cheques in the bank. He would not make that mistake when the opportunity arose once more in 2012.

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Benjamin was born in 1987, and is still not dead. He variously enjoys classical music, old-school adventure games (they're not dead), and walks on the beach (albeit short - asthma, you know). He's currently trying to compile a comprehensive history of video game music, yet denies accusations that he purposefully targets niche audiences. He's often wrong about these things.