From the moment that Brock Lesnar put pen to paper with WWE in 2000, he was destined to accomplish great things in the wild world of professional wrestling.
The standout collegiate wrestler possessed freakish athleticism and strength, and it became the job of coaches and a number of veterans to bring those gifts to the fore.
One man tasked with getting the young star up to speed in the ring was Lance Storm. During early 2002, before The Beast arrived on Raw, he featured in a number of dark matches and picked up some all-important reps at live events. A series of these matches in January were against Storm who was told to “beat him but make him look good,” before Lesnar pinned him in a third match.
Posting on social media, Storm recalled working with Lesnar and being given a talking-to after their final match for it being too competitive.
“Great story about this loop. I was told to teach/coach Brock in these matches. The first two nights I was told to beat him but make him look strong and protect him on the finish by cheating. We had real good competitive matches and I cheated to win.
The third night I was told they wanted him to win. I said cool and we went and had another competitive good match and Brock beat me clean. I got to the back and another agent pulled me aside and reprimanded me and told me…
“All that back and forth stuff makes for a good match and all but we are looking to program him a certain way, we don’t need all that other stuff.” I was livid and replied with something to the effect of…
If you want him to squash me, you have to tell me that before I go out there. I was told to push him and to teach him, that’s what I did. I walked off shaking my head thinking, beating him twice was fine, but getting a nearfall tonight was too much?
Great story about this loop. I was told to teach/coach Brock in these matches. The first two nights I was told to beat him but make him look strong and protect him on the finish by cheating. We had real good competitive matches and I cheated to win. Cont.. https://t.co/hR1k5Xs7Sd
— Lance Storm (@LanceStorm) May 24, 2023
Brock Lesnar Was A “Great Guy To Work With”
In an earlier post reflecting on this period, Storm said that he was often paired with young stars at house shows, and praised Lesnar as a quick learner and someone who was easy to work with.
Lesnar’s rise to the top was meteoric and just five months after making his debut on Raw he was Undisputed Champion defeating The Rock at SummerSlam.
Brock Lesnar will be back in action at Night of Champions when he continues his rivalry with Cody Rhodes.