Wrestling veteran rips WWE for stretching Brock Lesnar’s SmackDown promo: "Should have been done in five minutes" (Exclusive)

Former WWE head writer Vince Russo recently spoke about Brock Lesnar's opening segment on SmackDown. The Beast was confronted by R-Truth on the blue brand's show this week.

Brock kicked off the show in Norfolk, VA, looking for his Wrestlepalooza opponent, John Cena. But before he could say a word on the mic, R-Truth showed up. He introduced himself as "Ron Cena" and told Brock that he was there to defend his "older brother and role model, John." He told Lesnar the disrespect had to stop. However, Brock was eventually tired of the games and delivered a vicious F-5 to Truth to close the segment.

On a most recent episode of BroDown with host Mac Davis, Russo said that the whole segment was written just to pass the time. He noted that the entire segment could have been done in five minutes, leaving time for more action on the show. The wrestling veteran noted that WWE pushed the opening segment only for Brock Lesnar to hit Truth with an F-5.

"Right off the bat, we got 15 minutes of a promo for Brock Lesnar to deliver an F-5. That should have been done in five minutes. But we gotta eat time, eat time, [and] eat time. So, Truth is gonna do his thing, and 15 minutes of the show are already gone by for one F-5," he said.

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Brock Lesnar last wrestled at SummerSlam 2023. He faced Cody Rhodes to cap off a trilogy of brutal matches against The American Nightmare. However, Lesnar lost the match and embarked on a hiatus. The Beast finally returned at SummerSlam 2025 Night Two, delivering an F-5 to John Cena to close out the premium live event.

The Beast Incarnate will return to the ring next Saturday at Wrestlepalooza, where he will look to end The Unseen 17's Retirement Tour prematurely.

Remember to embed the video and credit Sportskeeda for the transcript when using the quotes from this article.

About the author

Prityush is a WWE news writer for Sportskeeda Wrestling who started watching wrestling in the later part of The Attitude Era. Although he holds a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Prityush was a creative writer for his college, and his flair for creativity and love of pro wrestling eventually led him to the journalism field. After an initial stint in 2016-2017, he has been writing regularly for Sportskeeda since 2021.

As someone who loves and respects the business, he prides himself on factual, clean, and ethical reporting, free of plagiarism and AI usage. One of the ways he ensures this is by transcribing videos that he reports on.

Prityush had the privilege of interviewing superstar Matt Hardy in his career so far. Although, his favorite wrestler is CM Punk, as he relates to his Straight Edge philosophy.

When he is not reporting news, he loves reading and collecting WWE action figures. He currently owns over 500 wrestling figures and merchandise.

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Edited by Prityush Haldar