8 Times WWE's Rules Didn't Apply To Brock Lesnar

6. Demanding His Own Call-Up

Brock Lesnar Wellness Policy
WWE.com

Today's NXT call-ups are well-planned affairs, with the company usually taking care to ensure that the departing star puts a bow on any ongoing stories before jumping to Raw or SmackDown. This isn't always reflected on the main roster, where new performers after often made to wait weeks before diving into anything significant, but WWE's developmental writers at least take the time to ensure the call-up doesn't come in the middle of an angle.

This wasn't always the case, though. OVW call-ups often came without warning, forcing the team to re-write swathes of stories at a time. Such instances usually came from WWE managed, who often decided which prospects to call-up on a whim, but Lesnar took matters into his own hands in 2002.

The story goes that 'The Next Big Thing' decided he knew better than his teachers, and that he'd learned as much as he was ever going to in OVW. He'd only been there a year, but he quit developmental, demanded the company promote him, and got ready to move back to his native Minnesota.

WWE's response? To debut him on Raw only a few days later, and make him WWE Champion within five months.

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Andy has been with WhatCulture for six years and is currently WhatCulture's Senior Wrestling Reporter. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.