Karl Malone wanted all the smoke on calling out WWE legend for comeback: "I like Brock Lesnar, I'm calling him out!"
During his NBA career, Karl Malone ended up making quite the impact in the WWE. In 1998, he and Diamond Dallas Page teamed up to form a tag team duo for the Bash at the Beach pay-per-view event. Opposite the two men in the "squared circle" was NWO superstar Hulk Hogan and the NBA's very own, Dennis Rodman.
The event lives on to this day as one of the most notable examples of NBA players making appearances for the WWE. The star power in the ring when Rodman and Malone clashed was out of this world, and Malone wanted more. Years later, after his playing career had finished, Malone boldly called out Brock Lesnar to a match.
The callout took place eight years ago on Fox Sports 1 when Malone took aim at Lesnar during an episode of "America's Pregame." After mention of Malone's famous clash with Rodman at Bash at the Beach, Malone called out Lesnar, a former UFC champion as well as WWE champion:
"I'm waiting on that call from (the) WWE, I'm waiting on them to call me, because I'm gonna get back in the ring with them, and if I make a comeback, I'll make a comeback with (the) WWE. How about that? I want Brock Lesnar. I love calling him out. I want Brock Lesnar."
Despite his entertaining callout, Malone never ended up making a return to the WWE with Lesnar seemingly ignoring the challenge.
Karl Malone was down to fight Kobe Bryant for real
Although the lighthearted callout of Brock Lesnar was highly entertaining on Malone's part, he was more than willing to fight for real. During his final year in the league, Malone joined Kobe Bryant on the LA Lakers during the 2003-04 season, when he landed himself in hot water.
As the story goes, Malone was wearing a cowboy hat, which prompted Vanessa Bryant to ask what he was hunting. Karl Malone responded by making an inappropriate suggestive comment towards Vanessa Bryant.
Nearly 10 years later, and less than two weeks after challenging Brock Lesnar, Malone spoke about his "standing offer" to fight Kobe Bryant over the situation. He spoke in an interview with HuffPost Live about the animosity between himself and Bryant:
"Back in the day when you had a beef, you didn’t go get guns and knives. We just go in the back with no cameras, no nothing, and let’s just knuckle up and get it over with."
When he was asked if he ever offered Kobe Bryant the opportunity to "knuckle up," he issued a challenge to the star guard:
"No, but it’s standing (offer). I'm 6-9, 272, I'm not hard to find. I don't want no trouble, but if something got to go down, I'm not playing fair."
As it turns out, that wasn't the only time that Malone hit on Vanessa Bryant, adding to his long list of controversies. Given the other horrific things Malone has done in his life, the controversy ranks pretty low on the list.
You can see his comments in the video below.