"It was very, very scary" - Matt Hardy speaks about the incident that changed Brock Lesnar forever
Brock Lesnar is an indomitable beast in the ring and one of the most formidable workers out there. Matt Hardy recently commented on a moment that changed Lesnar's pro wrestling style.
During the early 2000s, Brock Lesnar faced some of the top names in the industry, delivering stellar performances. One such bout came at WrestleMania 19 when he locked horns with Kurt Angle. The Beast famously attempted a Shooting Star Press during the contest, leading to him suffering from a concussion.
On a recent episode of his The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy podcast, Hardy called the abovementioned sequence 'very, very scary.'
"It was very, very scary, I applaud Brock for attempting that to create a WrestleMania moment — I understand why he did it. But the fact that that happened, and he just decided, 'I'm not gonna do that anymore, and I can just work smarter, and' (...) I almost feel like that [incident] changed the way he worked." (H/T WrestlingInc)
Following the botched spot, Lesnar stopped attempting the maneuver in his bouts. Matt Hardy is himself known for executing some high-risk moves during matches. Hence, he understood The Beast's intention behind delivering the Shooting Star Press at The Show of Shows.
Matt Hardy says Ron Simmons thought Brock Lesnar took advice from Shelton Benjamin
In the same podcast, Matt Hardy revealed that Ron Simmons told him Lesnar was taking too much input from his long-time friend, Shelton Benjamin. The two worked together in OVW and are still close in real life.
Here's what Simmons allegedly told Hardy about Lesnar taking inputs from Benjamin regarding his in-ring work.
"Ron Simmons — who I love — was like, 'I don't know, man. He was listening to Shelton [Benjamin] too much. At OVW, they had this big monster flipping out, and he went there and flipped up (...) and flipped out.'" (H/T WrestlingInc)
Numerous heavyweight performers have adopted a high-flying wrestling style in today's time. However, Lesnar is now known for using a brawler-like approach inside the squared circle.
What do you think about Lesnar's botched move at WrestleMania 19? Sound off in the comments section below.