REVEALED: How Close Brock Lesnar Was To Joining TNA
Was there ever talk of Brock doing some UFC/TNA cross-promotion?
Dec 11, 2023
How close did Brock Lesnar come to joining TNA Wrestling in-between stints with WWE?
Not very, according to TNA co-founder Jeff Jarrett.
There was speculation that The Next Big Thing may show up in the IMPACT Zone during his time with the UFC in the late 2000s, due to Spike TV being the home of IMPACT as well as having a relationship with UFC, for a bit of cross-promotion.
Speaking about the rumours during a recent edition of his My World podcast, Jarrett said:
"I had no illusions of him ever doing anything for TNA…just because of his relationship of you know, he went through Ohio Valley and — now if Spike wanted it or requested it, I could have seen that. Would I have been open to it? Hell yeah. But I just didn't see that in the cards. It would have surprised me if he would have done anything with us. Because at this time, hadn't he basically distanced himself from Vince [McMahon]? For whatever reason, I don't even recall that being discussed. And maybe it was because I felt like he left wrestling and now he’s in MMA. There's no crossover. That's what I remember. It may be off in my recollection, but that's what I remember".
Brock and WWE/McMahon were at odds following Lesnar's 2004 WWE departure, with each suing the other over the enforcement of a six-year no-compete clause.
Brock was able to work for New Japan, K-1 Hero's and then UFC before going back to WWE in 2012. Kurt Angle has previously said that Lesnar asked him about joining TNA in 2007.
H/T 411mania.com