WWE: Crossing borders – The Brock Lesnar saga

Brock Lesnar – a “true” fighter in an otherwise scripted world

Professional wrestling is known for its flair, flamboyance and showmanship. But there was a time when it was seen as the test of strengths, when two muscled men collided in a war of brawns to see who the real ‘strongman’ was.

After Vince McMahon came out with the “This is not real, this is entertainment” bombshell that changed the landscape of professional wrestling forever, people began seeing it as an act.

The arguments of “It is fake” started to crop up, and even though our childhood was, is and forever will be neatly entwined with professional wrestling, there was a huge part of that same childhood trying to convince our friends and other people that professional wrestling was as real as it could be. After all, it demeans the deaths of Owen Hart and countless others who gave their lives to professional wrestling, only for it to be termed “fake”.

And when WWE needed someone to legitimize what was otherwise a watered down product, they brought in Brock Lesnar.

The story of Brock Lesnar is an interesting one as well. When Brock first started his career in the developmental territory of the WWE, no one saw him as anything but a big guy who was really strong and who could move like a cruiserweight.

Lesnar was an incredible athlete, and when no one knew what to do with him, Paul Heyman took Lesnar under his wing and made him “The next big thing” in professional wrestling.

As Lesnar tore through the WWE locker room on the main roster, everyone started to see what Heyman saw all along. Lesnar was the true “fighter” in an otherwise scripted world, and he used it to his advantage.

When all was said and done, Lesnar became the youngest WWE champion in the history of the company, and made a name for himself within a very short span.

Brock Lesnar was everything the WWE and professional wrestling needed. With an amateur background and being an NCAA heavyweight champion, he had all the tools to make it big in the industry, and the ever-so competent eyes of Heyman realized that, and the rest is history.

But that was just the beginning for Lesnar; after he left the WWE, he went to Japan and became the IWGP heavyweight champion. After leaving professional wrestling for good, Lesnar set his sights on something remarkable, something that can only be seen as an audacious move by a former professional wrestler.

Brock Lesnar wanted to get out of the “taboo” of being a professional wrestler and break the barriers by becoming an MMA fighter.

When you hear about professional wrestlers wanting to get into MMA, you usually shrug it off. After all, professional wrestlers are seen as “performers” and “entertainers”, while MMA is “real”.

The matches aren’t scripted, and those are legitimate fighters who take pride in hurting people. But if anyone could make a successful transition, it was Brock Lesnar, because of his brute strength and his agility, a testament to his incredible athleticism.

Lesnar reached a deal with UFC which completely turned the business around, as the fans saw this as the very first instance of a professional wrestler “crossing the borders”. Lesnar went on to have a successful UFC career, becoming the UFC Heavyweight champion, and was ranked as the number one fighter in the world by Sherdog at one point!

Brock Lesnar had his fair share of ups and downs in his career, but the biggest blow was the diagnosis of diverticulitis which was directly responsible for his UFC career coming to an end.

Lesnar was never the same again, and although that hasn’t stopped him from performing, Lesnar had to retire from UFC as he couldn’t perform at his peak. Brock’s UFC run opened gates for the current crop of professional wrestlers to try their hand in MMA such as Lashley and Batista, but they were nowhere near as successful as Lesnar was.

Brock Lesnar’s achievements outside of professional wrestling not only legitimized him as an incredible athlete, but have also helped the professional wrestling fraternity.

When Brock returned to the WWE last year, he brought along with him the reputation as a legitimate fighter, and has since been a breath of fresh air in the company.

Brock Lesnar will forever be something more than a professional wrestler, which puts him in a league of his own.

It is easier for MMA athletes to make a transition to professional wrestling than for professional wrestlers to try their hand in the world of MMA, but Brock Lesnar broke those shackles, and has proven a point to the world that professional wrestlers can also be legitimate fighters.