Brock Lesnar’s name commands a ton of attention, and Vince McMahon has been known to back his money truck up to the Beast Incarnate’s house on more than a few occasions. That being said, there was a time when Lesnar was actually interested in making a trip to TNA.
Kurt Angle left WWE, after a very messy incident with Vince McMahon. He simply couldn’t work WWE’s full-time schedule anymore and his body was taking a ton of punishment in the process.
Brock Lesnar’s highly anticipated pro wrestling comeback almost happened much earlier, but not with WWE. According to Kurt Angle on his podcast, Lesnar expressed interest in joining TNA in 2007. However, the company hesitated to offer him a contract befitting his status as a top star.
“OK, Brock calls me. He is not in the WWE. He says, ‘Listen, man. Can you get me in TNA?’ I probably shouldn’t even be saying this now. But you know what? Brock doesn’t care. He said, ‘Hey, what are you making?’ And I said what I was making. He said, ‘If you can get me that, I’ll come.’ I approached TNA, and they said, ‘No, we’re not going to give him that kind of money.'”
This all went down before Brock Lesnar’s successful four-year run in the UFC. So, his star power wasn’t quite as high, but he was undoubtedly a natural athlete in his prime. Sadly, TNA didn’t see it in him, but others obviously did.
What makes the decision even more baffling is the fact that TNA later cut substantial paychecks to the likes of Hulk Hogan, Mick Foley, and other stars who were well-past their prime. They did not have an eye for Brock Lesnar’s potential, which is quite interesting.
We will have to see what is next for Brock Lesnar as he faces Cody Rhodes at SummerSlam. After a career in the stratosphere, Brock Lesnar is probably well past any point where he would entertain any paycheck from Impact Wrestling.
Impact Wrestling made a lot of mistakes over the years, but was passing on Brock Lesnar their biggest? Sound off in the comments to let us know what you think!