10 Wrestling Facts We Didn’t Know Last Week (July 26)

2. Verne Gagne Tried To Sell WCW On Brock Lesnar

Brock Lesnar OVW
WWE.com

Had WCW locked Brock Lesnar down to a guaranteed deal in 1999, he probably would've been part of Bash At The Beach's 'Junkyard Invitational' or been introduced as some musclebound part of The Natural Born Thrillers in 2000. The company, by Eric Bischoff's own admission on '83 Weeks', was a complete shambles.

That's why Bisch ignored pleas to sign Brock.

One day, he received a call from old AWA boss Verne Gagne. The ageing promoter had spotted a young wrestler in Minnesota he believed could be the future of the industry. All Eric had to do was agree to set up a meeting with Lesnar and see if he was interested in signing the amateur wrestling stand out.

Unfortunately for Verne (and, in retrospect, luckily for Lesnar), Bischoff was mired in all the politics of WCW around that time and wasn't up for bringing in new talent. He was fighting for his job, and so didn't really pay attention to what Gagne was recommending.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.