Nobody knows for sure if this is a work or a shoot. Lesnar can walk out on his contract whenever he wants — he won’t get paid, and he can’t wrestle for a competing promotion, that’s all. Vince can’t make him stay and can’t make him work.
As for not letting him work on Sunday if he really was leaving, know that this will be Goldberg’s last WWE match as well. His contract is up, and they have not come to terms on a new one.
The match has been too heavily promoted to cancel. It will be interesting to see how WWE books it, if in fact Lesnar is serious about giving notice. I bet special ref Steve Austin has a huge role in the finish and ends up looking better than both Goldberg and Lesnar.
They projected buy rate is low right now. How do you get more interest without buying air time? Fabricate a story that can/will make most sports news casts.
Your ass, no doubt. The only people who even might have a clue on those numbers are in the WWE and the cable industry, and they’re not talking.
And the Brock Lesnar “leaving” story will get minimal mainstream media attention. It is beyond a non-story, what with all the legitimate sports news to report on a daily basis.
George The Animal Steele & The Junkyard Dog should take out Lesnar, Goldberg or any 2 other present day pretty boys - and do it with humor and in great character.
Thats a match I might watch. Imagine the buy rates for an old school legend vs. new school Wrestlemania.
Jesse the Body with a feather boa and Bobby the Brain. Less bullshit and more funny- thats what we need.
And whatever happened to the midgets? Throw some midgets in the mix and they’d have a winner. Afterall we all know that nobody fights like a midget, but nobody - and who doesn’t enjoy the wacky but slightly sad sight of the little ones in the squared circle.
(I apologize to any lurking midget wrestlers - please address any angry letters or steaming piles in a brown paper sack to a Mr. Cupcake)
“Mancrush”! That’s funny shit!
(But I would add most of the guys on this board have a mancrush on a bodybuilder or powerlifter or strength coach.)
Yeah I am in awe of his athletic ability, I guess that comes through pretty clearly. BUt more than that, I am amazed at how good he has gotten, in such a short period of time.
I’m getting back in shape and will restart my wrestling training in the summer, so all I think about is how do I match up against so-and-so, could I do this, could I do that…and Lesnar is making me feel like the top of the mountain is Mt. Everest,like I’ll never get there- if that makes sense.
I’ll just have to change my negative thought patterns re: wrestling…
Re: the merchandising, I don’t think I’m off base saying he would sell more merchandise than all but the top players. No, I’m not going to run out and buy a Raiders jersey, you beeotch!
well…if lesnar goes we have a plethora of huge ripped monsters (batista, o’haire, jindrak, nathan jones, the list goes on.) lesnar’s a tremendous athlete with the amateur background to back it up but his mic skills are worthless though and in my opinion, he won’t ever be great on the mic. so if he goes, big deal. wwe has more talent than they know what to do with right now anyway.
well…if lesnar goes we have a plethora of huge ripped monsters (batista, o’haire, jindrak, nathan jones, the list goes on.)
–Jones quit a few months back and nobody knows where O’Haire is. He’s got potential but honestly I read wrestling websites quite often and I have not read one thing about him for months. Weird, I wonder if he was let go.
Batista is 2 quiet and has little personality. He needs a non-speaking gimmick ala Kane or UT.
lesnar’s a tremendous athlete with the amateur background to back it up but his mic skills are worthless though and in my opinion, he won’t ever be great on the mic. so if he goes, big deal.
—Wow. I think he is very solid and confident on the mic and gets his point across well-and he sounds like an asshole. All good things. He will never be Flair or Rock but…who will? Not many
wwe has more talent than they know what to do with right now anyway.
–Amen. ANd the wrestling still sucks, because the few great wrestlers have very few opponents who can keep up with them. And the entertainment part is boring, not that I really give a crap about the entertainment outside the confines of a match.
Kuri, I agree with you. Not so much the midgets, they’re aight, but just the comedy matches in general. THey make the show more fun, add variety, and make the serious matches look more technical and the brawls look more violent.
I miss La Parka and Norman SMiley from WCW and hell, even the Oddities froma few years back.
But The WWE doesn’t feel there is money in that area, and they know more than we do. If they could make bucks off comedy, they would have it.
If you ever check out Ring of Honor tapes or shows, which I highly recommend, you’ll see the Christopher St. COnnection, a group that does a gay gimmick and has tons of gay spots. Hilarious! ANd ROH is all about serious wrestling, which is why the CSC does what I talked about, it makes other styles look better.
It’s too bad Lesnar is leaving. The thing I do not understand is, even if they did want to “feed” him to the Undertaker for this one feud, and by feed I mean Lesnar comes up on the loosing end, what’s so bad about that? Throughout their rivalry, Lesnar has come up with the majority of the victories, and the Undertaker, along with the Rock were the two big victories that helped to put Lesnar on the map. Taker sold big time for him during their Hell in A Cell match. Now all of the sudden he’s too good to help a guy who’s been wrestling for 20 years get himself over during his comeback? Come on. Lesnar is 26, a three time WWE Champion. If he would have stuck it out, he honestly might have accumulated Ric Flair like numbers in terms of title reigns. I completely agree there would be a big problem if he were to be booked with Taker and made to look weak, that would just be dumb. The WWE needs to start focusing on younger guys, like Sean O’Haire, that haven’t gotten a chance to step up yet.
-Greg
o’haire needs a huge push when he comes back…his “satan” gimmick would have worked well had they not screwed it up with roddy piper.
anyway, to say that brock has solid mic skills is ridiculous. he stumbles on words, he’s not believable, and if i were a little kid, i wouldn’t be scared of him. and i don’t care how many shooting stars he pulls, how much amateur experience he has…he’s nowhere near the caliber professional wrestler that the undertaker is, and if working a new storyline that doesn’t have him at the top is a big problem for him, i say get him outta there.
Did some research, and the true story is that Lesnar was simply tired of the traveling and injuries- he’s been wrestling with a torn knee ligament,a mong others.
This led him to become a whiner and complainer.
He also has made a lot of money in a short time, which obviously makes this an easier decision.
He’ll prob be back at some point.
And other wrestlers have become succesful in the NFL- Carlton Haselrig became a Pro Bowl OG w/ the Steelers and stephen Neal made it to the NFL as well but was injured last year.
FrontFaceLock- I agree, I think Pride or UFC is a good option if he can learn the submissions and triking, since wrestling won’t automatically give you an edge like it did for Severn, Kerr and Coleman.
BTW, just picked up the Smashing Machine DVD- can’t wait to watch it.
Lesnar would have to get clean and get schooled if he were to enter MMA.
Some olympic wrestlers have been able to make the jump, some haven’t. Gold Medalist Kevin Jackson had a short run but ultimately didn’t learn whats required.
Who knows if Brock could - but it’d be fun to see him throw his hat in.
Nobody now can touch the campy humor of classic guys like the Crusher, Baron von Rashke etc… hilarious.
This sounds like hype to me, and a a way to give him some time off as well as extra publicity. The idea that any wrestler wants to win more… WTF? Does he know that wrestling is fixed? He is a villain and villains lose more. Anybody know what the top guys make? I’d bet Lesnar is making a lot more now than he would in the NFL.
There is a definite lack of good gimmicks nowadays. The WWF started taking itself a little too seriously. Who wants to watch a guy named “Barry Anderson” wrestle? I would much rather watch wrestlers with good gimmicks like The Missing Link or whatever. Undertaker had a pretty good gimmick with the supernatural themes, when they changed him into a biker it became ‘ho-hum’… totally ordinary theme that has been done to death.
Also, why is Vince McMahon actually on the show, or any of the McMahon family? Is that popular with the fans? Any time I see the McMahons in the ring I immediately turn the channel.
“This sounds like hype to me, and a a way to give him some time off as well as extra publicity.”
-Absolutely not. THere is nothing to be gained by lesnar or VInce by faking this. FOr what? to fool the locker room? WHat’s the point of that. Lesnar was obviously unhappy and most of the boys were sick of him. This would only piss everybody off more than they already are.
Also, Lesnar gave an emotional speech in the locker room thanking everyone and saying his goodbyes. Very much against his personality to do that.
FOr publicity? HEll no. Have you head anything about it on TV? On the website? If they were doing it for pub it would be a huge storyline,to set up the big comeback.
" The idea that any wrestler wants to win more… WTF? Does he know that wrestling is fixed? He is a villain and villains lose more."
-Huge egos my man. Most all the top guys have them and hate “losing”. They want to look “Strong”. Not everyone has the confidence in their ability to remain popular like Flair, ROck and FOley.
“Anybody know what the top guys make? I’d bet Lesnar is making a lot more now than he would in the NFL.”
-Yeah, but he’s made a lot so this makes it easier for him. Plus football is easy compared to what he’s doing now to his body.
“There is a definite lack of good gimmicks nowadays. The WWF started taking itself a little too seriously. Who wants to watch a guy named “Barry Anderson” wrestle? I would much rather watch wrestlers with good gimmicks like The Missing Link or whatever. Undertaker had a pretty good gimmick with the supernatural themes, when they changed him into a biker it became ‘ho-hum’… totally ordinary theme that has been done to death.”
-I hated gimmicks and like more intense wrestling but to each his own. I personally would relegate gimmicks to comedy-type matches.
“Also, why is Vince McMahon actually on the show, or any of the McMahon family? Is that popular with the fans? Any time I see the McMahons in the ring I immediately turn the channel.”
-BLess you!! Everybody has that same opinion! Get them the hell off my TV! I feel like sending you some tapes to show my appreciation!
One of Lesnar’s good friends is Mike Morris, former long snapper for the Minnesota Vikings. He currently hosts a radio show on KFAN here in Minneapolis. Lesnar often shows up on Fridays to be on the show with him.
Thursday Mike Morris confirmed the rumor, but he said that there would be a more formal announcement later because they don’t want to make this look like a publicity stunt. Brock is going to come on the show and explain to everybody why he has decided to make the move.
Morris still has a large number of NFL contacts and has even thrown his hat in to be the strength and conditioning coach for the Vikings. He said that he and Lesnar have contacted and lined up an agent for him and that he will be pursuing an NFL contract.
Lesnar did not play any football in college (University of MN). He was strictly a wrestler. That being said, I would have serious questions about his technique and ability to read the game at the speed that must be done in the NFL. Nevertheless, I have a feeling that many teams would be willing to at least give him a shot as a offensive tackle or guard. Who knows, maybe he could at least be a monster on special teams.
Okay, that’s my word. Look for a more formal announcement in the week after Wrestlemania.