Main event match moved for surprising reason, dream match cancelled - 3 times Brock Lesnar forced WWE to change plans
Brock Lesnar is one of the biggest stars in WWE. He was a top guy almost immediately upon joining the main roster after WrestleMania in 2002. He spent the next two years building a legacy, only to disappear in the pursuit of other goals.
The Beast returned less than a decade later, however, and was instantly a top star. He has feuded with the likes of Roman Reigns, John Cena, AJ Styles, Triple H, Seth Rollins, and Randy Orton, and has typically dominated everybody he's faced.
While he's an incredible athlete, Brock is a difficult beast to tame. He comes with a high price tag. As a major draw and an all-business attitude, Lesnar can come and go as he pleases while mostly doing whatever he wants to do.
Sometimes, Brock's right to do whatever he wants leads to some challenges in WWE. Booking decisions often have to be centered around what The Beast wants, and this has, at times, caused World Wrestling Entertainment to have to pivot its plans.
Below are three times Brock Lesnar forced WWE to change plans.
#3. Brock Lesnar allegedly refused to work with Bray Wyatt
The Beast allegedly changed WWE's plans in a big way this year. In the build-up to Elimination Chamber 2023, Bray Wyatt announced that he'd fight the winner of Brock Lesnar vs. Bobby Lashley.
Allegedly, Brock was meant to win the bout and then fight Bray at The Show of Shows, but he ultimately refused to do so. This then changed direction, leading to Bray challenging The All Mighty instead while Brock Lesnar is fighting Omos.
According to Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer, The Beast refused to work with Bray Wyatt. This is allegedly due to their vastly different gimmicks. Lesnar reportedly believes that his authenticity would be damaged by a feud with The Eater of Worlds. You can check out Meltzer's comments below.
''With Wyatt’s supernatural gimmick and total lack of “believability,” it hurts a believe real-life tough-guy to have to sell the magic stuff. At that point Omos was brought into the picture to face Lesnar, who didn’t turn down that suggestion.''
There's no denying that Bray's spooky persona and Brock's legitimate aura as a fighter could be an odd contrast. Sometimes style clashes make for the most memorable matches, but sometimes they can damage both stars. Was Brock Lesnar right in rejecting a match against Wyatt? Fans have differing opinions, but will ultimately never know for sure.
#2. Lesnar supposedly adjusted the match order at WrestleMania
3 years ago today, WWE presented WrestleMania 35.
- Seth Rollins defeated Brock Lesnar to become Universal Champion
- KofiMania became a reality
- Becky Lynch became double champion in the main event
What. A. Show. https://t.co/adNTACY81I
WWE WrestleMania 35 was an epic & historic event. The show has the distinction of being the first-ever WrestleMania where the women's division was the main event of the program. Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, and Ronda Rousey made history.
Another major world title bout was on the show. Brock Lesnar and Seth Rollins clashed after The Visionary won the Men's Royal Rumble. The match surprisingly opened the show and Seth won the bout in epic fashion, thus becoming The Beastslayer. The more interesting part of the story, however, is that the match wasn't meant to open the show. Instead, Brock allegedly pushed for it.
While this story has been told before, the news is making the rounds again. Former WWE writer Dave Schilling tweeted numerous inside details while watching WrestleMania back and included this nugget, which you can see below.
"Brock and Seth was supposed to semi-main and last minute Brock changed it to the opener so he could go home early. That pushed Lashley and Finn to a spot when the crowd was flatter than a plate full of pi**."
Lesnar wanting to go home early may have doomed Bobby Lashley and Finn Balor's bout, but it did allow fans to get an immediate thrill at WrestleMania. It set the tone for an epic night.
#1. The Beast left WWE in 2004
On March 14th 2004, Goldberg defeated Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania XX with Steve Austin as special referee.
The match is infamous for the negative crowd reaction towards both men, who were leaving the company after the event. https://t.co/QTma6gpvw0
WWE WrestleMania XX was an epic event filled with memorable moments, but one match that didn't live up to expectations was Brock Lesnar vs. Goldberg. News leaked that both stars were set to leave the company and the vocal audience tore them both to shreds during the bout.
Goldberg ultimately won the clash, but the guest referee Stone Cold Steve Austin left them both laying in the end. The Beast leaving the company was a fairly recent development prior to the big show, and thus changed a lot moving forward.
Bruce Prichard spoke about the match on the Something To Wrestle podcast. He denied the theory that Goldberg went over because the office was "more mad at Brock," but had Goldberg left and Lesnar remained with the company, The Next Big Thing would have surely won the bout.
Lesnar's decision to pursue a career in the NFL ultimately shook up how the bout would end, but more importantly, WWE lost one of its biggest stars and had to adjust its creative moving forward. Thankfully, Brock would become an ever bigger name courtesy of the UFC and later return home to WWE, where he's remained for a decade-plus.