The Unauthorized Story of Randy Orton and The Viper's Strike on WWE (2 page)

Part 3: Bracing for Brock and Beyond

On March 14, 2004, WrestleMania - the twentieth annual edition - was broadcast on pay-per-view from the historic Madison Square Garden in New York City. On that fateful night, as Randy Orton wrestled in his first ever WrestleMania, Brock Lesnar wrestled what many thought would be his final match in a WWE ring.

And for nearly eight years, those suspicions held true.

Today, in an ironic twist of fate, Randy Orton and Brock Lesnar now seem destined to have their paths collide after spending years so far apart that few wrestling fans ever realistically considered the prospect of seeing both men wage war in the ring together.

Although many fans forget this reality, Brock Lesnar didn't leave the WWE in March of 2004 to become a UFC fighter. He left to pursue a career in the NFL. Despite playing during the preseason for the Minnesota Vikings, Lesnar was cut from the team. And just as quickly as his NFL aspirations began, they ended in flames.

After a successful stint in 2005 with New Japan Pro Wrestling, where he would claim the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, Lesnar moved on from the organization as rumors swirled that Lesnar was interested in fighting professionally with the UFC.

Around this time, McMahon was thought to have made a significant and very lucrative pitch to Lesnar in hopes of bringing the former WWE champion back. But Lesnar was said to have no interest. And he publicly took shots at WWE on several occasions. In addition to calling the WWE "fake," he famously told Maxim Magazine in 2009, "You get so brainwashed ... the guys who get out are the smart ones, really and truly.”

"I used Vicodin and vodka. That was where I saw my life going, you look around the locker room and you see all these other performers that have been doing it for twenty years and I didn't want to be one of those guys," he revealed, expressing concern for what his future may hold if he stayed with the WWE.

Lesnar was said to have admired The Rock for parlaying his wrestling career into a hugely successful Hollywood film career. And Lesnar wanted to do the same with regard to his own professional credibility. That is, he wanted to register on the map for achieving something outside of the WWE. After being cut from the NFL, Lesnar wasn't interested in returning to the WWE, where his last match left fans chanting: “You sold out!” and “This match sucks!”

So on February 2, 2008, Lesnar debuted in his first sanctioned UFC bout at “UFC 81: Breaking Point,” where he lost to former UFC Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir in the first round. Despite a rough start, Lesnar went on to secure the UFC Heavyweight Championship in a win over Randy Couture later that year.

"These guys were a part of my life years ago," Lesnar subsequently confessed during an interview when asked about the WWE, "and I think they see me having success outside of their universe that they can't do. There isn't one other pro wrestler that can do or make the change like I did. So I think there's some animosity there from the professional wrestling aspect of things. Because I can always go back and be a pro wrestler. They can't come and be an ultimate fighter."

Unfortunately for Lesnar, the UFC fighter's momentum was derailed in 2009 when he pulled out of the UFC 106 card over what was first described by some as a mysterious illness. Those close to the situation at the time described Lesnar as seriously ill.

UFC President Dana White would later determine that Lesnar "is not well and he's not going to be getting well anytime soon." Ultimately, it would be revealed that in addition to mononucleosis, Lesnar was afflicted by a serious case of diverticulitis, an intestinal disorder mandating surgery in May 2011. At that time, a foot of Lesnar's colon was removed in the operating room.

Brock Lesnar would never win another UFC fight.

Here Comes The Pain... Again

In the world of professional wrestling, rumors are every bit as prevalent as controversies. And by the close of 2011, rumors of Brock Lesnar coming back to the WWE were widely dismissed by many, including WWE insider, broadcast legend, and WWE hall of famer Jim Ross.

According to Ross, as of January 2012, Lesnar was not about to return to the company he left and subtly bashed eight years previously.

"Brock dislikes, putting it mildly, traveling," Ross said. "Plus, he doesn't need the money even though he's smart enough to not turn down a big payday if the lay of the land is to his liking. That's why the UFC thing was good for him because he could earn big money by traveling 2-3 times per year to fight."

"I could see Brock doing a major, one off WWE appearance ala a Wrestlemania, but not this year, and doing so while not even making the live Raw events that lead into it," Ross aded. "I could also see WWE traveling to Brock to shoot vignettes to build whatever match that he might be booked."

But as far as a major return to wrestling? Not happening, said Ross.

"For fans who think that Lesnar will return to make a significant amount of TV dates only and then only work a handful or so of PPV's, I hate to burst your bubble, but in my opinion that simply isn't happening," the Oklahoma icon concluded.

In the final analysis, of course, Ross likely wasn't wrong. Instead, he was simply throwing fans off the detectable scent of Lesnar back in WWE territory.

You see, WWE didn’t want fans to know that this rumor… was about to become reality.

Done with UFC

By late 2011, it was clear that Brock Lesnar was near the end of his days in UFC. The MMA fighter reportedly told his family that if he defeated Alistair Overeem on December 29, 2011, his final match would be for the UFC Championship.

But that championship bout would never take place. Overeem dominated and swiftly destroyed Lesnar with a first round technical knockout. And just that quickly, the WWE/NFL/UFC tough man was retired from mixed martial arts.

"This is the last time you'll see me in the octagon," Lesnar said.

"I had no idea he would do that, (but) am I surprised? No," UFC President Dana White revealed. "Brock Lesnar has made a lot of money in his career and has achieved a lot of things. ... He brought a lot of excitement to the heavyweight division. What he accomplished in a short amount of time is amazing, but I get it. It doesn't shock me."

But Lesnar’s retirement announcement on the night of his final UFC loss would represent an even bigger loss for the UFC. With UFC's ratings already struggling and pay-per-view buy rates dipping, the retirement of Brock Lesnar was not a healthy development for the company.

And yet the UFC's biggest loss was about to become the WWE's biggest gain.

The F5 Machine Returns

Hours before WrestleMania 28 got underway in Miami, the pro wrestling news-related websites were buzzing with chatter about Brock Lesnar. Initially, many readers dismissed the reports of Lesnar's "imminent return." But the blogosphere was advancing the idea that Lesnar would somehow be reintroduced to WWE viewers during the WrestleMania pay-per-view, most likely through outside interference in one of the evening's biggest matches.

The reports, however, proved wrong. Plans for Lesnar to appear at WrestleMania 28 were allegedly never on the table. In fact, speculation about Lesnar having been backstage at Sun Life stadium can also be dismissed.

Well-placed sources within the WWE say Lesnar was not even at the stadium on the night of WrestleMania 28, although he was in Miami negotiating a new one-year deal with World Wrestling Entertainment.

Based on what insiders have since revealed, Lesnar has secured one of the most lucrative deals in WWE history.

"Brock Lesnar’s contract with WWE is said to be a 1-year deal that pays $5 million and is for approximately 30-40 appearances, including matches," reports SE Scoops. "Even before Brock Lesnar’s final UFC fight against Alistair Overeem in December, there was talk in the MMA world that Lesnar had a $5 million deal waiting for him in WWE. Vince McMahon was said to be 'agreeable' on the idea of shelling out $5 million to bring Lesnar in, however there was a lot of negotiating before the two parties agreed on the number of appearances Lesnar would be obligated to make."

Only months before Lesnar's final UFC bout, ESPN “The Magazine” profiled the highest paid athletes based on base salary and earnings for the recent calendar year across more than two dozen sports. Brock Lesnar was the highest paid mixed martial artist, earning an estimated $5.3 million.

To have been offered roughly the same guaranteed money in return for a 12-month WWE engagement that would be less physically damaging than a calendar year in UFC was apparently too much for Lesnar to walk away from.

"Why's Brock Lesnar back?" Jim Ross tweeted after confirmation of Lesnar's deal, "I'd suggest 2 earn BIG money. He's done w/ UFC & still young. He's a complex, supreme athlete. Interesting times."

"I don't know of Lesnar's contractual matters w/ WWE," Ross added. "None of our business. I did his 1st few deals. Let's not over think this. Brock's back!... Never full time IMO. But enough to matter."

And, boy, did Brock "matter" on the first installment of Raw after WrestleMania 28.

"If his four-year UFC career did anything for him," says Chad Dundas of ESPN, "it established his credibility as a legitimate tough guy only while simultaneously undermining it. Lesnar garnered quick and arguably unparalleled success in the Octagon, but eventually proved unable to hang with MMA’s elite heavyweights, suffering embarrassing losses to Cain Velasquez and Alistair Overeem and twice seeing his path interrupted by reportedly life-threatening bouts with diverticulitis."

"Lesnar additionally used his time in the UFC to reveal himself as a personality who is not easy to cheer," Dundas adds. "For the duration of his MMA career he was surly and boorish; mocking his opponents, needling fans and acting by turns aloof and hostile toward the media. Though his crossover fame instantly made him the UFC’s biggest pay-per-view draw, many MMA fans never quite warmed up to him. Contrary to the mainstream stereotype, pro wrestling fans are smart enough to know all this. They understand both that Lesnar acted like a jerk throughout his UFC tenure and that he ultimately couldn't cut it at the sport's highest level.

Frankly, there was no telling how the wrestling faithful would react to that knowledge as a noticeably smaller, slightly doughier and far, far less tanned version of Lesnar showed his face during the final segment of 'Monday Night Raw' this week."

During the closing moments of Raw, a humbled and freshly defeated John Cena called out to The Rock one last time, inviting him to the ring for a handshake and a peaceful resolution to their yearlong feud.

But Cena didn't get The Rock. Instead, out came Brock Lesnar to an uproarious crowd response, so peppered with testosterone that viewers may have momentarily thought they were watching the blood sport of UFC, not the contrived sports entertainment content of WWE.

On that occasion, Lesnar would reach for John Cena's hand. But there would be no handshake. As the crowd erupted in a manner not seen since the previous night's moment of victory for The Rock, Lesnar devastated Cena with an F5 as the show faded to black and Lesnar mouthed the phrase: "I've been waiting a long time."

Brock Lesnar had returned to the WWE. And as broadcaster Michael Cole insightfully observed, the entire landscape of the WWE had changed in an instant.

"Watching Lesnar slam Cena with his signature 'F-5' facebuster, then prop himself up on the second rope to soak in the cheers, it was instantly clear that the big fella is back where he belongs now," writes Dundas.