Reason why Brock Lesnar was put in a tag team with Shelton Benjamin
Pro-wrestling legend Jim Cornette recently opened up on Brock Lesnar's stint in Ohio Valley Wrestling and why he paired him up with Shelton Benjamin.
Brock Lesnar had a brief run in OVW in the early 2000s before he was promoted to the main roster in the spring of 2002. Jim Cornette was the head booker of the developmental promotion at the time and was responsible for pairing Brock Lesnar up with Shelton Benjamin. Here's what Cornette had to say on what led to him bringing the two together:
"From the start I could tell. He had no personality, because he was solemn, he wasn't outgoing, he wasn't a fan, he wasn't f****** cut up in the locker room, he had been catered to as a star athlete in these f****** cowtowns that he grew up in, South Dakota or whatever. He wasn't working as hard as the other guys were working because he was a natural genetic freak and didn't have to. But he was somewhat boring and not suited to the personality side of this business which is why I gave Shelton to him as a tag team partner 'cause Shelton could do everything and was exciting and was actually likeable." Said Cornette.
Brock Lesnar went on to become one of the biggest wrestling attractions of all time
Brock Lesnar moved to WWE RAW immediately after WrestleMania 18 and was paired up with Paul Heyman. Lesnar quickly became a major attraction and was given a big push on the road to SummerSlam 2002. Lesnar defeated The Rock to win the WWE title at The Biggest Party of the Summer.
Brock Lesnar would go on to headline WrestleMania 19 with Kurt Angle where he won his second WWE title. Lesnar left WWE a year later and returned to the company in 2012 to kick off a feud with John Cena. Lesnar's second WWE stint was far more successful than his first one. His mainstream popularity, courtesy of his UFC stint, turned him into a bigger WWE Superstar than he had ever been.