"The next big thing" has arrived: with a championship belt, big-time feuds, and a slot at Wrestlemania, Lesnar has landed in the limelight - Interview: Brock Lesnar - Interview

Wrestling Digest, April, 2003 by Chad Johnson

BROCK LESNAR, "THE NEXT BIG Thing," is now just "the Big Thing." Lesnar, a former NCAA wrestling champion, has clearly arrived. A little over two years into his pro career, he already has captured the first of what figures to be multiple WWE titles, taking the belt from the Rock on a major pay-per-view. Just 25, Lesnar has clearly established himself as the young wrestler the company plans to ride.

Perhaps Lesnar's crowning moment as a pro, though, was hitting his dreaded finishing move, the F-5, on the 7'2", 500-pound Big Show. Even more remarkable, Lesnar was able to finish his gargantuan opponent off, even though he was suffering from a broken rib.

Growing up on a farm outside Webster, S.D., Lesnar showed early on that he had skills in the ring. In 1998, Lesnar won the National Junior College Athletic Association championship at Bismarck State College. He then transferred to the University of Minnesota, where he was the Big 10 champion and NCAA runner-up in 1999. As a senior the next year, he repeated as conference champ and then went on to win the NCAA title.

After leaving school, Lesnar signed with WWE and learned the ropes in the Ohio Valley Wrestling. It was clear early on that he was a gifted performer. At 6'4", 295 pounds, and with the dexterity of a cruiserweight, Lesnar quickly caught the eye of the WWE brass. Though he has only been a part of the company for two years, Lesnar's look, outgoing personality, and amateur background make him an easy choice to take the WWE into its next generation of stars.

We recently sat down with Lesnar to discuss his meteoric rise to the top of the federation, his feud with fellow amateur star Kurt Angle, and how he lifted all 500 pounds of the Big Show over his head.

WRESTLING DIGEST: At Survivor Series you wrestled Big Show and suffered several injuries. How are you feeling now?

BROCK LESNAR: I'm OK. I'm just dealing with it. This is just like amateur wrestling: You get hurt and you move on. I took a weekend off, but then I was right back at it. If I had to fight tonight, I could do it. You just got to fight through it. Right now, I've got a torn PCL in my knee. I've got a broken rib, but it doesn't matter. I got to keep going. I'm young. I still heal quickly.

WD: Is your willingness to deal with injuries a result of what you have to deal with on a day-to-day basis in the amateur world?

BL: It's totally my amateur attitude. I was 91-6 combined during my two years as an amateur at a junior college and two years at Minnesota. In that world, you had to put up, shut up, and get going. It didn't matter what was wrong with you. That's just the attitude. You've just got to do it I did it because I wanted to be out there competing and also because I didn't want to lose. I wanted to win every time I went out there, so I just sucked it up.

WD: Kurt Angle also comes from an amateur background. He opened a lot of doors for wrestlers in that area. What are your thoughts on Kurt blazing the trail for amateur guys in the professional ranks and on taking on Kurt from a story line perspective?

BL: Kurt and I could have an hour-long match, and I would like to do that with Kurt. There's no question he opened a lot of doors for amateur guys. As an amateur wrestler you have to make sure you get your degree, because there isn't an NFL, NBA, or NHL for us. There's really only the Olympic route for amateur guys. I didn't finish my degree because Vince McMahon made me a hell of an offer, and I couldn't pass up. I would have been dumb to have passed it up. But I got that opportunity because Kurt was the one who came in and had success making the switch from amateur to WWE.

WD: You and Angle have finally met in the ring. Did you want to wrestle him in a scripted match or did you want to work a legitimate match with him?

BL: My days as a shoot-fighter are done, except for every now and then when someone makes me really mad in the ring.

WD: Have you ever wrestled Angle behind the scenes for fun?

BL: We've messed around a little before. He'd probably tell you that if we went best of three, he beat me every time. It wouldn't happen. Kurt's old and brittle, and I'd break him in half if we did that. He's tiny. He's lucky if he's 220 pounds. I'm 290 pounds. I'd throw him around the ring without any problems. No contest.

WD: For the most part, wrestling is a business where you pay your dues for a while before getting a shot at the top of the card. You went straight up from the time you came on the main shows. Do you think any of the older wrestlers have a grudge because of that?

BL: I don't think anyone's really angry about it It's the way it works. If new talent comes in and is doing well, then we're all making money and that's all we're hoping for. I haven't seen anyone treat me any different Everyone's been good to me. If the question comes down to me paying dues, well, I was in amateur wrestling for 19 years. Then I went through [the WWE development territory] OVW. I came up the best way I could have. It's just one of those things that I'm lucky to be where I am today, but I did work hard to get it.