Brock Lesnar’s tenure in WWE was split by a number of years after he left the company. His initial run in the early 2000’s was met with a lot of attention, but Jim Ross had no worry that Lesnar would sign elsewhere.
Ross was head of Talent Relations at the time of Lesnar’s signing and he knew what they had. He was also aware that he needed to keep Lesnar’s willingness to make a WWE jump a secret from Vince McMahon until the Beast Incarnate graduated college.
When it came to Brock Lesnar deciding to join WCW over WWE, that wasn’t a concern. Ross revealed that they had Lesnar committed and signed to a deal during the first week he was in OWV.
“We had Brock committed and on his way along with Shelton Benjamin, on their way to Louisville within days of the wrestling season being over literally that week. I wasn’t worried about it whatsoever. Brock was tired of being broke, and I remember he got the biggest rookie contract to that point. He was a no miss guy.
The Monday Night Wars would have been very different if WCW swooped in and signed Lesnar out from under WWE. We’ll never know how that story would have ended because Lesnar found his way to WWE instead.
By the time Lesnar left WWE following WrestleMania XX, WCW wasn’t an option. Football didn’t work out for him. He did spend some time in the UFC and NJPW before returning to Vince McMahon’s company. Brock Lesnar’s time in WWE isn’t over, but he is currently enjoying yet another hiatus at home.