Vince McMahon's first words after meeting Brock Lesnar for the first time
ESPN recently posted a detailed piece on the life and times of WWE Champion Brock Lesnar, with several sporting personalities sharing their views on The Beast. WWE Hall of Famer and current All Elite Wrestling announcer Jim Ross had some interesting things to share in regards to Brock Lesnar, most notably The Beast's first meeting with WWE Chairman Vince McMahon.
Ross stated that he introduced Lesnar to McMahon in Minneapolis. The WWE Chairman had never met Lesnar. He was on his way to get to his position at broadcast, when he saw Lesnar talking to Gerald Brisco and a bunch of other backstage guys. Ross further said that he will never forget what happened next. McMahon did a double-take, turned around, strode over to Lesnar and introduced himself to the young gun.
Brisco had earlier told Lesnar to be on his best behavior while talking to the WWE Chairman. Ross knew that Lesnar wasn't a wrestling fan, and didn't grow up watching wrestling on TV. He had no clue as to who McMahon was.
After Vince met him, he said, "My god, he's a viking." I said to Vince, "I was thinking more like a Hereford bull." Then Vince started quizzing me about cattle: "What's a Hereford bull?" Never mind. Vince was amazed at the athletic specimen that Brock Lesnar was and is.
After a brief stint in OVW, alongside future Superstars like Batista, Randy Orton, and John Cena, Brock Lesnar was moved up to the main roster on the RAW after WrestleMania 18. Lesnar attacked a bunch of wrestlers in his debut segment, as fans watched with stunned silence.
Lesnar was holding the WWE title in a matter of months. After a 2-year stint, Lesnar left the company on bad terms and suffered a loss against Goldberg in his final WWE match at WrestleMania 20. He was involved in a bike accident weeks later, which destroyed his NFL dreams, and forced him to contact WWE again. Lesnar learned that McMahon wasn't interested in bringing him back, and he went on to compete in NJPW.
Lesnar would eventually make his return to WWE on the RAW after WrestleMania 28, where he hit an F-5 on John Cena, who had made a name for himself and turned into the biggest star in WWE in Lesnar's absence. Lesnar is widely regarded as one of the biggest Superstars of all time, and rightfully so. His achievements have guaranteed him a spot in the WWE Hall of Fame, somewhere down the line.