When Lesnar made the jump up from OVW to the WWE's main roster and made that impactful debut live on Raw, he was professed to be the world's hottest free agent. This name tag seems to have stemmed from a real life situation and Brock's first developmental contract with the then WWF. Jim Ross told of how when The Beast Incarnate and WWE entered into negotiations, they found an unexpected stumbling block. It turned out that Brock demanded the company sign his roommate, and fellow Minnesota amateur wrestling teammate, Shelton Benjamin. Writing in an article for Fox Sports, Ross said: "The only catch was that we needed to also recruit and offer Brock's Minnesota teammate, Shelton Benjamin, as well. "Benjamin was an amazing athlete, and signing the South Carolina native was a blessing as he had a solid WWE career, arguably under-utilised in the opinion of some. Plus, he made Brock's transition from the amateurs to the pros much easier. "Robinson (Lesnar's wrestling coach) knew Brock could be a challenging athlete to manage, so having Benjamin in the same training camp was a major positive in the development of Lesnar." WWE obviously thought the world of the then world's hottest free agent when they first laid eyes on him. Why else would they take the financial hit sign a relative unknown and unproved wrestler in Benjamin?
