WWE history: Brock Lesnar defends Pro-Wrestling in old UFC interview
The backstory
It has been almost two decades since Brock Lesnar made his debut in WWE. The Beast quickly became the biggest Superstar in the company and won the Royal Rumble, plus the WWE title in his first year itself. He left WWE in 2004, and came back in 2012 after becoming a major mainstream attraction in UFC. Lesnar's UFC popularity was a big plus for WWE. This run was way bigger than his first as Lesnar remained a mainstay on WWE's main event scene for a long time. He recently lost the Universal title to Seth Rollins at SummerSlam 2019, and hasn't been seen since.
Lesnar gets a lot of flak for not caring enough about wrestling. This was even made into a storyline back on the road to WrestleMania 34 as he refused to come out in front of the fans, despite Paul Heyman's consistent pleas. But is Lesnar really here only for the money? Or does he also get a kick out of performing in front of a crowd and wowing them with his presence?
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The interview
This interview featuring Brock Lesnar was published on January 17, 2008, mere days before his UFC debut. Pro Wrestling sometimes gets a bad rap in mainstream media for not being "an actual sport". Lesnar defended the business in the interview, as best as he could. Here are some of the things he said in this interview:
"Yeah, there's still human beings in the ring, flying around, risking their lives, is what's going on. I mean, if you can't see that, you're ignorant.
"There's a high risk in Pro Wrestling, that ring is not just, you know... mom's California king size bed.
"Even though the outcomes may be pre-determined, or even though it is "entertainment", these guys are going out and putting up a show, they're getting hurt. Not every night, but it happens."
The aftermath
Lesnar might not be the one to regularly talk about it, but he does respect how demanding and unforgiving the squared circle is, and how it propelled him to the top early on in his career. 17 years later, he is still going strong and is one of the major draws in WWE.
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