Brock Lesnar on the Stone Cold Podcast

[Evil Gringo 279]

The Lesnar appearance on Austin's podcast was a bit poo really.

 

It confirmed that Lesnar is happy making money and then shooting stuff on his ranch, he likes guns, doesn't like pro wrestling, lucked into most things in life due to doing high school wrestling and working out a lot and doesn't answer big questions or if he does goes round the long way and so doesn't actually answer the question at all.

 

He is a weird man, one who I could see going up a clock tower one day once the kids have gone and Sable's passed on, seriously he came across as a tiny bit Sociopathic.

[Guest bigmatt]

He explicitly said he loves pro-wrestling and what he does. "Entertaining people" and all that. He also treats it as a business though and looks after his own interests. As he should?

 

How do you luck your way into being a world class athlete? Isn't lucking into success in athletic fields by "working out a lot" an oxymoron?

[Evil Gringo 279]

He loves being in the ring and entertaining sure, but he doesn't like the business as a whole and if he could be paid the same money to entertain people somewhere else, doing something else he would. I never said I disliked his viewpoint, just that it confirms that this is just a business to him which some detractors will no doubt spout against him - not that Lesnar would care

 

The position's he has landed after College are pretty much down to luck from the way he tells it. He worked hard to be a good Greco-Roman wrestler and then he didn't know what to do so he went with what paid the most and see where it took him. He admitted he had no plan so for everything to have worked out for him like it has it requires a large slice of luck on top of the natural talent and frame he was born with to get there.

 

Aside from his attempt to get in the NFL, when it was down to pride and again, no other option outside of wrestling, he has explored where he could earn money. Again don't disagree with it, it just seems to confirm the mercenary tag he gets labelled with - fact is, if Dana could have paid him more then the WWE after Mania when his last deal was up then he wouldn't be in the ring now, he'd be in the Octagon instead.

 

I was just summarising his comments on the show really, not judging - well at least on his business practices. I judged his personality type and I stand by it, he is a scary, scary man.

 

You know they believe there is 1 Psychopath for every 100 in the World Population? I believe Lesnar might be one - he just seems to lack a lot of empathy and emotion aside from anger, wants the world to abide by him, give him what he wants and doesn't really care for people (or at least has come across that way in interviews and such) plus he has no issue with shooting and killing animals... doesn't mean he is a killer, just a possible psychopath...

Edited October 25, 2015 by Evil Gringo

[Guest bigmatt]

He loves being in the ring and entertaining sure, but he doesn't like the business as a whole and if he could be paid the same money to entertain people somewhere else, doing something else he would. I never said I disliked his viewpoint, just that it confirms that this is just a business to him which some detractors will no doubt spout against him - not that Lesnar would care

 

The position's he has landed after College are pretty much down to luck from the way he tells it. He worked hard to be a good Greco-Roman wrestler and then he didn't know what to do so he went with what paid the most and see where it took him. He admitted he had no plan so for everything to have worked out for him like it has it requires a large slice of luck on top of the natural talent and frame he was born with to get there.

 

Aside from his attempt to get in the NFL, when it was down to pride and again, no other option outside of wrestling, he has explored where he could earn money. Again don't disagree with it, it just seems to confirm the mercenary tag he gets labelled with - fact is, if Dana could have paid him more then the WWE after Mania when his last deal was up then he wouldn't be in the ring now, he'd be in the Octagon instead.

 

The last point is factually untrue. Brock (and I think Dana) has confirmed that in the end the UFC offered the most money but Brock didn't have the motivation to fight, so he chose WWE. If I recall correctly the story was that he had a great deal offered by both, The WWE was the more money, he did an MMA camp at some point in late-2014 early 2015 (remember the shape he was in at the Rumble?) and he wasn't feeling it, he rang Dana up to tell him he was taking the WWE offer, Dana promised to beat any WWE offer but Brock said he had already decided his future was in wrestling and not fighting. In his ESPN interview he also said that he'd been very satisfied with what he is doing.

 

I don't understand how you can say he doesn't like the business as a whole when he has explicitly said he does. What evidence is there to say that? He absolutely doesn't like the travel and the grind of making towns, the politics, sleeping in hotels and finding gyms and all that but he loves the actual wrestling part and the spectacle and the performance. In this very interview he said this, he said something like "I'm great once I get out there, if you can just export me from ring to ring" or something like that.

 

You're conflating treating the business as a business and therefore not doing favours or freebies for the love of it as evidence he doesn't love it which isn't an accurate conflation. He chooses to look after his own interests first. But he should? That's what all the top stars do. If you were to say he doesn't love the business because he treats it like a business that means that you're saying guys like Stone Cold, The Rock, Hogan, Piper, Triple H etc don't love it either. They all look after number 1 first, but they would all say (or would have said in Piper's case) that they love the business.

 

I wish a lot more guys would treat it like a business and be less interested in "stealing the show" and being excessively flattered to just be working for WWE etc. I think this business would be better off.

[Evil Gringo 279]

The last point is factually untrue. Brock (and I think Dana) has confirmed that in the end the UFC offered the most money but Brock didn't have the motivation to fight, so he chose WWE. If I recall correctly the story was that he had a great deal offered by both, The WWE was the more money, he did an MMA camp at some point in late-2014 early 2015 (remember the shape he was in at the Rumble?) and he wasn't feeling it, he rang Dana up to tell him he was taking the WWE offer, Dana promised to beat any WWE offer but Brock said he had already decided his future was in wrestling and not fighting. In his ESPN interview he also said that he'd been very satisfied with what he is doing.

 

I don't understand how you can say he doesn't like the business as a whole when he has explicitly said he does. What evidence is there to say that? He absolutely doesn't like the travel and the grind of making towns, the politics, sleeping in hotels and finding gyms and all that but he loves the actual wrestling part and the spectacle and the performance. In this very interview he said this, he said something like "I'm great once I get out there, if you can just export me from ring to ring" or something like that.

 

You're conflating treating the business as a business and therefore not doing favours or freebies for the love of it as evidence he doesn't love it which isn't an accurate conflation. He chooses to look after his own interests first. But he should? That's what all the top stars do. If you were to say he doesn't love the business because he treats it like a business that means that you're saying guys like Stone Cold, The Rock, Hogan, Piper, Triple H etc don't love it either. They all look after number 1 first, but they would all say (or would have said in Piper's case) that they love the business.

 

I wish a lot more guys would treat it like a business and be less interested in "stealing the show" and being excessively flattered to just be working for WWE etc. I think this business would be better off.

 

I just said in my last post that he loves to wrestle and entertain the fans, which is true and that he dislikes everything else, which as you said is the travel, the grind, the backstage politics and such which is along with the actual wrestling and entertaining IS the business.

 

That's the thing with professional wrestling, rightly or wrongly the actual wrestling and being there in front of a live crowd is only a small part of the actual industry hence why I said he doesn't like the business, meaning the business as a whole, not that he doesn't like wrestling. I believe that his actual words at one point where that he was born to be in the ring, its just getting from ring to ring that gets to him.

 

As for people like HHH, Piper, Hogan, Rock and Stone Cold - well some of them loved the business coming in and turned into number 1 first later on and some where always like that. Rock for instance, loved the in-ring side of it and was a fan because of his family but he wanted to do Football first and when that didn't work he wisely cashed in on his attributes and family name to get a foot in the door and make money wrestling instead, which with hard work he became bloody good at. He was about making money and making a name for himself and he did what he could to do just that - and he passed that advice down to Brock as well as he stated in the podcast.

 

So yeah, Brock is just like them, but whilst the others are clever and hide their me first attitude behind some BS and make up their little stories to justify it and spin Brock doesn't - he tells you straight up he is doing this to make a living, clock in and clock out. I never said there was anything wrong with that either, just that some people within the company might not like it and try and use it against him. Wrestling is this weird thing where not being a mark for the business or at least pretending to be one can work against you with the little snipes and crap in the back.

 

What we can both agree it would be better if there was less politics and more realisation that ambition or not, love or not at the end of the day its not peoples whole life it is a job at the end of the day.

[Guest bigmatt]

I just said in my last post that he loves to wrestle and entertain the fans, which is true and that he dislikes everything else, which as you said is the travel, the grind, the backstage politics and such which is along with the actual wrestling and entertaining IS the business.

 

That's the thing with professional wrestling, rightly or wrongly the actual wrestling and being there in front of a live crowd is only a small part of the actual industry hence why I said he doesn't like the business, meaning the business as a whole, not that he doesn't like wrestling. I believe that his actual words at one point where that he was born to be in the ring, its just getting from ring to ring that gets to him.

 

As for people like HHH, Piper, Hogan, Rock and Stone Cold - well some of them loved the business coming in and turned into number 1 first later on and some where always like that. Rock for instance, loved the in-ring side of it and was a fan because of his family but he wanted to do Football first and when that didn't work he wisely cashed in on his attributes and family name to get a foot in the door and make money wrestling instead, which with hard work he became bloody good at. He was about making money and making a name for himself and he did what he could to do just that - and he passed that advice down to Brock as well as he stated in the podcast.

 

So yeah, Brock is just like them, but whilst the others are clever and hide their me first attitude behind some BS and make up their little stories to justify it and spin Brock doesn't - he tells you straight up he is doing this to make a living, clock in and clock out. I never said there was anything wrong with that either, just that some people within the company might not like it and try and use it against him. Wrestling is this weird thing where not being a mark for the business or at least pretending to be one can work against you with the little snipes and crap in the back.

 

What we can both agree it would be better if there was less politics and more realisation that ambition or not, love or not at the end of the day its not peoples whole life it is a job at the end of the day.

 

So the tens of thousands of wrestlers that worked in the same building every week, didn't travel, lived at home, worked out in the same gym weren't in the pro wrestling business?

 

The (infamous) WWE national and international touring schedule is not the entirety of the professional wrestling business. Brock can not like being on the road 300 days a year, sleeping in hotels, finding gyms, trying to eat healthily etc. and still love professional wrestling. And he said he does.

 

I doubt Brock had many problems with the backstage politics. When you look like him, have his reputation and they want to push you like hell anyway, you don't have a lot to worry about. And now he's back he has the power and the protective contract, so as he said in the podcast, he doesn't have to deal with politics.

[Guest Aniel95]

I think they could have talked more about Undertaker's streak, his title run, him busting Cena open etc. More insight into his professional life rather than his personal life

[Evil Gringo 279]

So the tens of thousands of wrestlers that worked in the same building every week, didn't travel, lived at home, worked out in the same gym weren't in the pro wrestling business?

 

The (infamous) WWE national and international touring schedule is not the entirety of the professional wrestling business. Brock can not like being on the road 300 days a year, sleeping in hotels, finding gyms, trying to eat healthily etc. and still love professional wrestling. And he said he does.

 

I doubt Brock had many problems with the backstage politics. When you look like him, have his reputation and they want to push you like hell anyway, you don't have a lot to worry about. And now he's back he has the power and the protective contract, so as he said in the podcast, he doesn't have to deal with politics.

 

He had issues with Austin not willing to job to him, HHH and the World Title creation, someone putting him up to the Shooting Star Press at Mania XIX for his 'Wrestlemania Moment' (something he mentioned briefly in the podcast but wouldn't name names) and he got pretty sick of Vince too (he was flipping him off during Mania XX as confirmed on the podcast). The fact he is in such a better bargaining position because of his achievements outside of wrestling helps now of course because he is really, the only truly mainstream star they have but back then, with the old boys of the time having to make room for this young rookie, you can bet he got politicked.

 

Plus travel, even for indie guys, is part of the wrestling business - if you don't travel then you stagnant because you lack exposure and at best you will be a biggish fish in a tiny pond. You need to travel, go to different promotions and spend some time away from home if your ever going to be big and dare I say it a proper pro-wrestler.

 

I wrestled when I was younger, for one company outside of back-yarding when I started, a tiny tribute one who taught us how to bump and be safe and it was local area only. I travelled tops maybe 15 miles for a show and I was at home at night and could use my local gym and for its worth I don't consider that I was ever a pro-wrestler. I was a weekend warrior at best even though I got paid (a tiny amount but I expected that).

 

The grind IS part of professional wrestling at all levels in some way. Has been since the territory was, it is if you want to have a decent following and make a living on the indies and we all know its a huge part of the WWE. Plus backstage sniping and politics occur in every workplace where more then two people work because of human nature and therefore that is part of the business as a result too.

 

I'm not saying Brock doesn't love wrestling but he doesn't like the rest of what comes with the business of wrestling. He just wants to be in the ring and do his thing. I don't think that's wrong but I am saying some people will and will always try and s**t talk him because of it.

[Guest bigmatt]

Brock said on this very podcast that he didn't give a shit about Austin not wanting to job to him, he agreed to do the shooting star press, he wasn't made to do it. He'd done them willingly in developmental but someone (I think JR) told him to save it for the big moment. It was John Laurinaitis that suggested it for WrestleMania reportedly. I don't know what you're referring to with Triple H. And he flipped Vince off because Vince was furious Brock was leaving after he gave him such a big push. That wasn't backstage politics, that was pure business. Believe me, Brock will have been one of the least fucked with guys in the history of that company.

 

You seem to have misunderstood the other part. Thousands of wrestlers worked the same territory every week in the territory days. By your definition lots of great pro wrestlers weren't real pro-wrestlers. It's a bizarre line of argument to say that you have to love the road life, the hotels, the gyms, the travel, the flights, the hire cars and being away from your family constantly and all that entails to really love pro-wrestling. That covers hardly anyone at all.

[DC 536]

Thousands of wrestlers worked the same territory every week in the territory days.

The same territory usually meant a state or two, not just a local city or two.

 

Working the Carolinas, for example, could have you wrestling in five different cities over the course of the week (and "twice on Sundays"), so you wouldn't be home all that much.

 

You hear the old-timers talk about it all the time, being on the road virtually every night of the year because you only got paid when you worked a show.

[Evil Gringo 279]

Exactly, even in the old days, even people that work full time for one company that has several shows a month will need to travel and grind.

 

If you want to make a decent living, or any living at all just wrestling then you need to work show after show because unless you are in TNA and WWE then you don't get a contract. Hell it wasn't until WCW in the 1990's that guaranteed downside contracts existed, even in the WWE in the early to mid 90's you where paid when you appeared on a sliding scale for how big an act you where which is why Nash and Hall left.

 

Even then there is the bonus scheme based on PPV appearances and merch sales and if your not constantly out there then your merch will suffer too.

 

The only people that get a deal like Brock all work or did work in the WWE. People like Taker, Sting, Brock and such are the only people in wrestling who get to do the kind of working schedule that Brock is on now and Batista and Rock when they pop in and out. If your not bigger then wrestling or been around forever then you don't get that deal - end of and have to work the full 300 day a year or so grind that other people have to do in other jobs. They just probably get health insurance, dental and some of their travel expenses back unlike WWE stars.

 

Plus end of it all I am saying people, other workers in the WWE and outside of it, will deride him for it - pointing out they do the grind, the travel, the make-a-wishes, they will say they are more committed, love the company and the business as a whole more because they do things he doesn't. Do they love them? No, it burns them out most of the time (like CM Punk) but they will state they love the business as a whole more because they are prepared to do these things. They say or have said the same things about Rock (like Cena did until they played make nice) and all the rest as well.

 

Does Brock love being in a ring? Yes. He doesn't like everything else. It's a proven fact. Do I think anything less of him, no but other people in the business will and will use his comments as ammunition not that I don't think it will get them very far given his status and also because Brock won't give a damn.

[Omega 354]

The grind isn't the business, the show is the business. The grind is what you put up with to be part of the business. Don't get ti twisted. Musicians feel the same thing, love making music and playing to crowds but hate touring and promoting.

 

When the grind gets too much then you quit, when you don;t love the business then you leave. If you want to crucify Lesnar as being some business guy who hates wrestling you'll need to try harder than "well he dislikes the shitty parts of being a wrestler so he;s not really a wrestler".

[Evil Gringo 279]

For the last time, I'm not saying I think any less of him or he's not a proper wrestler or any of that -I am saying other people in the business will try and twist it to say it about him because they and 98% of all other wrestlers who are not weekend warriors go through stuff he doesn't have to.

 

The way he says it, which is just Brock being Brock, doesn't help his case at all because he just blunt and to the point - other wrestlers in his position try and sugar coat it but he says it like it is - he likes being in the ring and nothing else - which someone, wrestling being wrestling after all, will try and stab him in the back with.

 

Don't think they'll get very far as I said before, but someone will be grumbling.

[etz 78]

People always bitch, fact is Lesnar has held more quality gold than anyone on the roster. By that I mean both that he held wrestling gold when that still meant something (admittedly, right near the end of that era), and that he held UFC gold, something the people who bitch dare not even dream about. Simple as this, Lesnar does what he wants to, because he doesn't need to do any more. Anyone who says they love the road is either a newbie or straight up lying. I did a similar thing (and by similar, I mean probably half as much driving and hotel rooms, which is still twice as much as you'd want) in a different industry for almost 5 years. I loved the job itself, but the constant travel and staying away was the drizzling shits.

[DC 536]

Is Lesnar's WWE / UFC championships more impressive than Kurt Angle's WWE / Olympic championships?