In what would have been one of the most remarkable stories in modern wrestling history, Brock Lesnar attempted to sign with TNA in 2007. However, the company turned him down.
After bursting onto the scene in 2002, Brock Lesnar quickly established himself as one of the biggest stars in WWE. The Beast feuded with some of the biggest names in the company and became the youngest World Champion in history. Despite this, Lesnar quickly fell out of love with WWE and more specifically their incredibly gruelling schedule and left the company in 2004.
Brock Lesnar Asked Kurt Angle To Get Him Into TNA
After leaving WWE, Lesnar attempted to launch an NFL career, and came incredibly close to doing so. This near-miss left the star at a loose end, so he headed to Japan and back to professional wrestling. In 2005, Lesnar won the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship, before later being stripped of the gold. During this period, before he headed to the UFC in 2008, Lesnar wrestled Kurt Angle in what would be his last match until 2012.
Speaking on a recent episode of his podcast, The Kurt Angle Show, the WWE Hall of Famer revealed that Lesnar asked him about joining TNA in 2007. Angle had joined the company a year earlier after leaving WWE. The WWE legend said that Lesnar asked him to “get him in,” but TNA management sensationally turned The Beast down for financial reasons.
“Brock called me and he’s not in the WWE. He said, ‘Listen, man, can you get me in TNA?’ I probably shouldn’t even be saying this stuff but you know what? Brock doesn’t care. He said, ‘Hey, what are you making’, and I told him 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 gonna give him that kind of money.’
So it was amazing because I think that TNA at the time, I think they were at the top of their budget where they couldn’t give any more money out. You know, I was making a lot of money, Sting was making a good bit of money, and then you had a bunch of guys on the roster. TNA, you know, the Carter family funded it for a long time and then TNA started making their own money, but it just wasn’t enough to bring in another guy for seven figures a year. I just don’t think they were capable of doing that.”
Finding his way into TNA blocked, Lesnar headed off to the UFC and became Heavyweight Champion in just his third fight. After an injury hit following three years, the star shockingly returned to WWE in April 2012.
H/t to WrestlingNewsCo