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Former WWE writer Brian Gewirtz was seemingly on the receiving end of a backstage prank at the hands of Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 30.
Gewirtz played an important role in outlining plans for the show's opening segment between Hulk Hogan, The Rock, and Stone Cold Steve Austin. He also interacted with several people behind the scenes that day, including Michael Hayes, Paul Heyman, and The Undertaker.
The veteran writer mentioned WrestleMania 30 in his book, "There's Just One Problem...: True Tales from the Former, One-Time, 7th Most Powerful Person in WWE." He told an amusing story about his handshake offer to Brock Lesnar, which initially appeared to have been rejected:
“Then I extended my hand to Brock, who just looked at me menacingly for what was probably eight seconds but felt like forty-five minutes,” Gewirtz wrote. “Imagine the ‘How am I funny?’ scene from Goodfellas. Now imagine instead of Joe Pesci intimidating you, it’s Brock freaking Lesnar. My mind raced with many thoughts, mainly, what has Paul been telling Brock about me that will make him want to end my life?”
WrestleMania 30 was one of the biggest nights of Brock Lesnar's WWE career. The Beast Incarnate defeated The Undertaker to end his opponent's 21-match winning streak at the historic event.
Brian Gewirtz soon realized that Brock Lesnar was only joking
According to Gewirtz, Lesnar had a "this place needs me a lot more than I need them" attitude around the time of WrestleMania 30.
Thankfully, the awkward handshake snub turned out to be a joke. Lesnar, one of the few WWE Superstars who Gewirtz felt intimidated by, purposely made the writer feel uncomfortable before finally accepting his handshake:
“Fortunately, Brock broke out into a big smile and started laughing, returning the shake, thus ending the scariest moment of my life [and I’ve had my brakes go out on my car while going downhill in a snowstorm],” Gewirtz continued. “I went to Rock’s dressing room in a daze, thinking that would be the craziest thing to happen that day, when Rock turned to me and said, ‘Hey did you hear Brock’s beating Taker?’”
Gewirtz also wrote in his book about the time Vince McMahon apologized for rehiring Vince Russo in 2002.
You can hear Gewirtz speak in-depth about Russo in the video above.
What is your favorite Brock Lesnar moment in WWE? Let us know in the comments section below.
Brian Gewirtz's book, "There's Just One Problem...: True Tales from the Former, One-Time, 7th Most Powerful Person in WWE," is available to buy on Amazon.
