"You kidding me?" – WWE legend reacts to criticism of Brock Lesnar's quick losses
The defeats that Brock Lesnar suffered in the early days of his WWE career meant nothing, according to legendary commentator Jim Ross.
Ross was in charge of assembling the WWE roster in 2000 when Lesnar signed with the company. The Beast Incarnate lost a televised match against Rico Constantino during his time in the Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) developmental system. He also suffered defeats in untelevised main roster bouts with superstars including Lance Storm and Mr. Perfect.
On his Grilling JR podcast, Ross explained what up-and-coming talents can do when they are only given three minutes to perform. He also defended WWE's booking of Lesnar during that time:
"You can maximize your f***ing minutes," Ross said. "That's what you can do. Don't tell me about how much match time they gotta have and who's gotta go over and who's getting a push, brother, and all that s**t. I couldn't care less. I saw something, 'Well, Lesnar did a job on television.' He's 20 years old. He just learned how to tie his wrestling boots here a while back. You kidding me?" [1:21:10 – 1:21:37]
Lesnar quickly became one of WWE's biggest stars after joining the main roster in 2002. The following year, he defeated Kurt Angle in the main event of WrestleMania 19.
Why Jim Ross had no interest in Brock Lesnar's win/loss record
While some believe wins and losses matter in wrestling, Jim Ross felt that Brock Lesnar's match statistics would have no impact on his long-term appeal.
Brock Lesnar & Shelton Benjamin - OVW Tag Team Champions 2001 https://t.co/pkElehRJ4N
The AEW commentator added that he was more interested in knowing whether future superstars possessed the physical attributes to wrestle:
"You couldn't sell me yay or nay, his win/loss record didn't mean s**t to me," Ross continued. "It just didn't. I wanted to learn to block a tackle, not how pretty you are in the team picture, and we had some son of a b*****s who could block a tackle, brother." [1:21:48 – 1:22:05]
Ross also spoke about Brock Lesnar's financial struggles when he arrived in WWE.
Do you think wins and losses matter in wrestling? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
Please credit Grilling JR and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.