5 Things you didn't know about Brock Lesnar's relationship with Vince McMahon
Vince McMahon retired from WWE earlier this week, which seemingly led to quite the reaction from Brock Lesnar. The two men have worked closely together over the past two decades and in that time have been enemies and close friends.
Lesnar's reaction to the news that the former WWE Chairman had left his post was to walk out of SmackDown before allegedly being talked into making his return.
The Beast Incarnate is close friends with several stars in WWE, including Shelton Benjamin and Paul Heyman, but how close is he to former chairman Vince McMahon?
The following list looks at just five things you didn't know about Brock Lesnar's relationship with Vince McMahon.
#5. Brock Lesnar's first words to Vince McMahon
@bryanalvarez Vince McMahon is the only person in WWE, that gets Brock Lesnar.
Despite their ups and downs, they respect each other, I'm not sure what future "The Beast Incarnate" has in WWE without the former Chairman of the Board... #WWE #VinceMcMahon #BrockLesnar https://t.co/884FvgIGPz
Brock Lesnar has had two stints in WWE, and in that time, he has become one of their most successful stars. Before making a name for himself in sports entertainment, Lesnar won the NCAA Division-1 Heavyweight Wrestling Championship and was seen as a potential star.
As part of a recent interview with Sportskeeda, Gerald Brisco revealed the first thing that The Beast Incarnate ever said to Vince McMahon when they met in a corridor.
After McMahon came over to shake Lesnar's hand and congratulate him on his win, the former world champion had quite the response.
"Vince said, 'Young man, congratulations on winning your National Championship. Are you ready for showbiz?' And Brock Lesnar looks him right in the eye and says, 'I've been ready all my life for showbiz.' Boom. What an answer to give the boss," via Sportskeeda.
#4. Brock Lesnar's wife was once in an on-screen relationship with Vince McMahon
Brock Lesnar has been married to former WWE Superstar Sable since 2006, and the couple now has two sons together. In her early career, Sable was seen as one of the women who were close to Vince McMahon on-screen. However, this was before she met Lesnar and the couple began dating.
Sable had been married twice ahead of her relationship with Lesnar and was going through a divorce from Marc Mero when the duo first met.
Sable and McMahon have been part of several interesting backstage segments together in the past. However, following her exit from WWE in 2004, the former women's champion hasn't made any kind of return and doesn't have an online presence. It appears that Sable has put her wrestling life behind her to concentrate on her family.
#3. Vince McMahon once screamed at Lesnar in front of the locker room
Vince McMahon, Undertaker, Brock Lesner and Kurt Angle having dinner together in Saudi Arabia. Would love to have been able to hear that dinner conversation https://t.co/ponD7TCwAO
Vince McMahon and Lesnar have worked together for several years and now appear to have a certain level of trust. In Lesnar's early career, this wasn't the case, and given his amateur background, there was always the risk that he could hurt someone or get himself hurt when he competed inside the ring.
Doug Basham shared a story on Cafe De Rene about Vince McMahon screaming at Brock Lesnar and Kurt Angle for shoot wrestling in the ring in front of several locker room members.
"They [Brock Lesnar and Kurt Angle] started to take each other down. And very slowly, one by one, everyone just started dipping out of the ring. Everybody was just sitting there watching. They were starting to get really go after it. And then all of a sudden you hear Vince McMahon’s voice, ‘What the f**k are you doing? I don’t pay you to go out there and get hurt," via essentiallysports.
#2. Brock Lesnar and Vince McMahon were not close friends after WrestleMania 34
Brock Lesnar successfully defended his Universal Championship against Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 34, but it appears that The Beast was still unhappy, as seen from the footage above. Lesnar walked through the curtain and threw the world title at Vince McMahon, who then shouted that Lesnar was an "A**hole."
Fans booed heavily for most of the bout, which appeared to irk Lesnar and led to this angry reaction. Despite this, the two men were able to get back on the same page and have continued working together.
The footage was later shown as part of the documentary following WWE's biggest event of the year, which meant that the former chairman wanted fans to see that sometimes even Brock Lesnar can be overcome with emotion.
#1. Brock Lesnar sees Vince McMahon as a father figure
"My relationship with Vince McMahon is so different than it is with Dana White.. I have a lot of respect for both men but I look at Vince as more of a father figure" ~@BrockLesnar
#PatMcAfeeShowLIVE https://t.co/Wkwv2mB2xo
Brock Lesnar has worked for both WWE and UFC throughout his career and has answered to both Vince McMahon and Dana White. The former world champion was a guest on the Pat McAfee Show earlier this year, and in a rare interview, Lesnar shared his thoughts on Vince McMahon.
“I don’t know, I really can’t compare the two guys,” Lesnar said. “They’re just so… honestly my relationship with Vince is so different than it is with Dana over the years. Vince and I have had a love-hate relationship for the last 20 years, but it’s been good. We got a lot of water under the bridge. I have a lot of respect for both men but dealing with Dana… it’s just a totally different business approach.
The Beast went on to note that he sees Vince McMahon as more of a father figure and has learned much from the 77-year-old.
“I met Vince when I was younger. I look at Vince as more of a father figure actually, because I’ve learned a lot of things from him and I was able to carry those things over and handle business with Dana. Vince is a self-made person, so is Dana… you know, he took the company [UFC] and made it public, and made it big, big [money],” via WrestlingInc.
The former world champion is set to take on Roman Reigns in a Last Man Standing Match for the Undisputed Universal Championship at SummerSlam on July 30.