AEW announcer Jim Ross reveals why no other promotion could sign Brock Lesnar other than WWE
Jim Ross was not only an iconic WWE announcer but is now an icon in AEW. The man who is known as the voice of the Attitude Era recently spoke about King of the Ring 2000 on his podcast Grilling JR. On his podcast, JR talked about Brock Lesnar who was set to appear on OVW around that time. OVW was one of WWE's developmental territories during that era.
Jim Ross revealed that there was no chance of any other promotion picking up Brock Lesnar or signing him. WWE had him locked well.
"Absolutely not, we had him. We could've signed Brock after his junior year. I never told Vince this story because he would've wanted me to sign him right away, but we made a commitment that we would not try and steal Brock from them so he could come back his senior year and try to win a NCAA Championship at the Heavyweight division. And he did."
He further revealed that Brock Lesnar had been offered the biggest rookie contract up till that point and there was no way WWE would miss out on signing The Beast Incarnate.
"We had Brock committed and on his way along with Shelton Benjamin, on their way to Louisville within days of the wrestling season being over literally that week. I wasn't worried about it whatsoever. Brock was tired of being broke, and I remember he got the biggest rookie contract to that point. He was a no miss guy." (H/T Credit: WrestlingInc)
Brock Lesnar was part of the 'golden' batch of OVW which also included John Cena and Batista. All three men went on to become legendary Superstars and multi-time WWE Champions.
Brock Lesnar's return plans
Brock Lesnar recently lost his WWE Championship to Drew McIntyre at WrestleMania 36. While there have been some rumors regarding him returning at SummerSlam, those plans may be in trouble. With the chances of live audience at SummerSlam being grim, it is unlikely that WWE will have Lesnar return for an empty arena show.
Do you think Brock Lesnar could have been a bigger star if he joined some other promotion instead of WWE? Tell us below.