"It's money first, passion second" - WWE legend recalls Brock Lesnar trying to get a big rematch
Brock Lesnar is currently on hiatus, but he continues to be an active part of all the news in the world of wrestling.
The latest episode of "The Kurt Angle Show" on AdFreeShows.com focused on Judgment Day 2006, where Kurt Angle took on Mark Henry. Angle and Conrad Thompson also discussed other news and notes from 2006, and that's when Brock Lesnar's name came up.
Kurt Angle opened up about Lesnar's attitude towards the business. He discussed how the Beast Incarnate tried to secure a big match with Angle outside WWE in the mid-2000s.
Angle said that Brock Lesnar was an intelligent businessman who always prioritized money over his passions.
"So he brought me over (to Japan), right, and did the job for me, and then he wanted to have the rematch (laughs) because he wanted to make more money. Brock is all about money, and he is a very stern businessman. Everything is revolved around money for him. It's money first, passion, second," said Angle.
Brock Lesnar left WWE in 2004, and he had a very lucrative run in Japan before he turned his attention to MMA. Kurt Angle revealed that Lesnar approached him regarding wrestling a match in Japan.
Lesnar played a significant role in getting the Olympic gold medalist to Japan. The two grapplers faced each other at IGF (Inoki Genome Federation) Toukon Bom-Ba Ye in June 2007.
Kurt Angle defeated Brock Lesnar to become the IWGP Heavyweight Champion, and Lesnar had no qualms about doing the job for Angle as he had his eyes on the rematch.
The Beast pocketed a lot of money in Japan, which isn't surprising as foreign talent always got treated well in NJPW and the entire Japanese wrestling circuit.
"Well, Brock did approach me about working with him in Japan, and I ended up going over for NJPW, and I had a match with Brock. We had a phenomenal match over there, and I won the world title from him, NJPW, New Japan Pro Wrestling world title," Angle recalled.
I heard Brock Lesnar was making a ton of money on these matches: Kurt Angle
Brock Lesnar wouldn't just lose to anyone in Japan and requested officials to get his former WWE rival on board for a massive match. Lesnar also specifically asked Kurt Angle to discuss a rematch during the post-match press conference.
"You know, Brock, after the match, Brock said, 'Hey, when we do the press conference' because they always have huge press conferences before and after the matches," Angle added. "And he said, 'When you have the press conference, and we are sitting up there in front of the press, tell them you want a rematch with me.' Well, I didn't know at the time, but I heard Brock was making a ton of money on these matches. He was a remaining champion as long as he could, and then they wanted to take the title off of him. So, he wanted to do the match, but he wouldn't do it with just anybody. So, he told New Japan, 'Bring Kurt Angle over; I'll do the job for him.'"
Kurt Angle and Brock Lesnar put on a solid 10-minute title clash at the IGF event nearly 14 years ago. If you haven't watched the match already, you can check it out above.
If any quotes are used from this article, please credit The Kurt Angle Show and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling.