First of all I would like to apologize to all of my readers for the lack of new columns over the past few months. Due to the unfortunate circumstances surrounding the death of the Benoit family, a lack of entertaining programming, and some soul searching in my life, I simply haven't had the time or enthusiasm to watch much wrestling, let alone write any new columns. And for that, I apologize. But on the bright side, today marks the beginning of the triumphant return of the Shock Treatment! I've got some really original and big ideas coming your way with my next few columns, so keep on reading and sending in your feedback because things are going to start getting interesting!
The subject of today's column is a huge piece of news that has shook the foundation of the wrestling industry over the past few months. Before you ask, no, it doesn't involve Mr. McMahon's illegitimate child, steroids, or any upper mid-card WWE talent jumping to the competitor. In fact it doesn't involve WWE, TNA, or even Ring of Honor. Some would even argue that it doesn't involve pro wrestling at all. I present to you, the loyal readers of the Shock Treatment, "The Curse Of The Next Big Thing."
Many remember the WWE Raw on March 18, 2002 as the night after WrestleMania 18. 'The Immortal Hulk Hogan' will remember it as the night he was given a three-minute long standing ovation from the crowd of Hulkamaniacs in Montreal, Quebec. What I recall most of all was the monster that Paul Heyman led to the ring to interrupted Maven's Hardcore Title defense against Al Snow and Spike Dudley. The beast of a man put an exclamation on his debut by promptly destroying all three wrestlers. That man was the developmental standout and NCAA Wrestling Champion, Brock Lesnar. In the months following his arrival Lesnar brutalized the entire roster including high profile stars such as Rikishi, Matt and Jeff Hardy, Bubba Ray Dudley, Rob Van Dam, and Booker T. Keep in mind that Brock just walked through the OVW system into Raw and dominated immediately. The only explanation for this fact is that Vince and WWE creative saw an unbelievable amount of untapped potential in the 24 year old monster.
During Lesnar's first year as a pro wrestler he not only won his first World title, but also earned a decisive win by brutalizing the icon Hulk Hogan on WWE television. With less than twelve months in the WWE Brock was headlining pay-per-view events with opponents like The Rock, Big Show, Triple H, and Undertaker. Brock's defining moment came at WrestleMania 19 when he headlined the biggest event of the year against Olympic gold medallist, then WWE World Champion, Kurt Angle. However, his defining moment would also be the first misfortune in our story today. The athletic match was marred by an unpredictable ending. The 6-foot 3-inch, 295 pound monster went to the top rope in an attempt at the high risk Shooting Star Press and came up short. Lesnar's neck was injured badly, to the point where he could barely perform his F-5 finisher for the win. WrestleMania 19 ended unlike any other before it. As the event went off the air Lesnar stood up, supported by the ring ropes, holding his new title with blood leaking from his nose looking completely lost in space. The new champ celebrated his victory that night in bed at the local hospital.
Lesnar's second reign as World Champion was forgettable. After dropping the championship to Eddie Guerrero, Lesnar was on his way into a huge match with a departing Bill Goldberg at WrestleMania 20, which was to be refereed by Steve Austin. However on March 9th, just weeks prior to the big show, Brock quit WWE following that weeks Smackdown! tapings in Atlantic City, New Jersey. He agreed to perform at the pay-per-view, but what began as one of the most anticipated matches in WWE history ended up a disaster. By the time the event went on live it was no secret that both men were leaving the company. It was obvious neither wrestler wanted to be there, and the crowd in Madison Square Garden was vocal in letting them know they didn't want them there either. Throughout the entire match the crowd not only poured forth boring chants, but also cheered for the referee by chanting Stone Cold's name. In the end Goldberg won the not-so-memorable dream match, and both men were served with a Stunner as a goodbye gift.
Lesnar walked in the door and was greeted with everything he would've ever wanted as a pro wrestler during his first year in the business. WWE creative made the man look superior to every top talent they had, only for him to take his ball and walk home. During his short stint with the company Brock became the definition of an instant classic. Regardless of how bad anyone would like to, you cannot deny Brock's legacy. WWE won't ever point this out to you again, but Brock scored wins over Big Show, The Rock, Kurt Angle, RVD, Booker T, John Cena, and even a huge Hell in a Cell win over the Undertaker. What other former WWF superstar can lay claim to such accomplishments? Looks great on Lesnar's resume, but leaves WWE's top tier roster looking weak and in need of some updating.
From there Lesnar took his services elsewhere. Plan number one was a career with the National Football League. However, before he could hit the gridiron, Brock experienced another misfortune when his motorcycle collided with a minivan near Minneapolis, Minnesota on April 18, 2004. Brock was once again in the hospital in need of stitches and having glass removed from his forehead. Despite this setback, on July 27, 2004 Brock was offered a contract with the NFL's Minnesota Vikings provided he pass the team physical. Unfortunately one month later he was cut from the practice squad. This left Lesnar unemployed, and having burned his bridges in the WWE he opted to ply his trade as a wrestler in Japan. But there was still the matter of his no-compete clause that wouldn't end until January 2010. After litigation and several lawsuits he was eventually released of all obligations and debuted in New Japan Pro Wrestling on October 8, 2005.
In Brock's debut he won the IWGP Title in a triple featuring Masahiro Chono and Kazuyuki Fujita after giving both men the F-5, which he renamed "The Verdict" as a jab at WWE's constant legal attempts to stop him from wrestling. And despite WWE doing all they could to prevent it, including filing for a temporary restraining order, Lesnar excelled in New Japan defeating top talents Nakanishi, Yuji Nagata, and even former WWE talent Giant "A-Train" Bernard. Eventually WWE withdrew its attempts to prevent Brock from performing in Japan and the two sides reached an agreement. However, it seems that Brock never leaves the headlines for long because after a disagreement with management Lesnar left NJPW after dropping the championship to longtime friend and current TNA World Champion, Kurt Angle.
The National Football League weren't interested in the next big thing. He had already burned his bridges with Vince McMahon and WWE. And it seemed as if he had done so in Japan too. Lesnar refused to consider TNA an option, and instead began to explore an interest in Mixed Martial Arts fighting. This news set the entire wrestling industry on fire. Since UFC debuted the Ultimate Fighter program on Spike TV MMA had caught on in America like a wildfire. UFC PPV ratings and buy rates were coming dangerously close to competitive with World Wrestling Entertainment. Despite the obvious differences between pro wrestling and mixed marial arts, you can't deny the crossover appeal. Especially with a controversial former top level talent like Lesnar exploring his options in MMA.
On April 28, 2006 it became official. Brock Lesnar appeared inside the ring after the final match of K-1 Hero's Las Vegas event and announced that he intended to join the MMA promotion. The papers were drawn up and signed on August 12, and Brock was scheduled to fight at the K-1 Dynamite USA show against Korean fighter Choi Hong-man. However Hon-man was pulled from the match and replaced by Min Soo Kim who Lesnar defeated in less than two minutes by submission, via strikes.
From there Lesnar was ready to move on to the Ultimate Fighting Championship promotion owned by Dana White. At UFC 77 it was confirmed that Lesnar had reached a deal to fight for the company and wanted to fight someone with credentials right off the bat. Therefore it was inked, Lesnar and former UFC Champ Frank Mir at UFC 81. And if you're reading this now, I'm sure you're already aware of the results. Before a huge crowd including TNA World Champion Kurt Angle, The Undertaker, Steve Austin, and various other pro wrestling stars, Lesnar secured an early takedown but was deducted a point for hitting Mir in the back of teh head. After Lesnar scored another take down Mir managed to secure a leg-bar and force a submission less than two minutes into the first round.
Does this hurt Lesnar? No, not greatly. Not in my opinion at least. Granted he wasn't victorious in his first fight, but you don't win them all. Lesnar's inexperienced in the world of mixed martial arts fighting. He was fighting a submission expert who got the better of him. The real loser that night was pro wrestling as a whole. Once again, Brock had done damage to the industry which made him a star. One must only look at the spike in buy rates for UFC 81 to notice that wrestling fans were pulled in by the name Brock Lesnar. On live pay-per-view before not only fans, but before legends in the live crowd such as Steve Austin, The Undertaker, and Kurt Angle, Brock had failed. How is this supposed to look to WWE viewers? The man who dominated there heroes a few short years ago, couldn't last two minutes in the octagon? Of course there will only be more fights from there, possibly even rematches. But all this will serve to do is pull wrestling fans attention and focus into mixed martial arts instead. We all recall the Monday night wars fondly, but is this a battle pro wrestling can't win? Did World Wrestling Entertainment create the monster that would be there own undoing that night on Raw in 2002? Could Lesnar and the UFC be the biggest threat to the sports entertainment empire yet? Only time will tell.. Until next time, this has been the Shock Treatment!
The Shock Treatment is a column written by longtime fan of pro wrestling Travis Schaeff. All opinions expressed within the Shock Treatment are those of Schaeff alone. All questions, comments, and feedback should be directed to real.underground.baby@gmail.com. Your time is greatly appreciated.
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