WWE Originally Planned To Pair Paul Heyman With Chris Benoit In 2002 Before Plans Changed To Brock Lesnar

WWE

Paul Heyman has revealed plans were in place to pair him with Chris Benoit in 2002 before changing to being the advocate of Brock Lesnar.

Brock Lesnar signed with WWE in 2000, joining the Ohio Valley Wrestling developmental territory, only to consider parting ways with the company following a sense of frustration.

In a recent appearance on Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Paul Heyman revealed how it was Taz, currently signed to AEW, who brought Lesnar to his attention, fearing that WWE would “screw up” the star without him, saying:

“I was coming back on camera (after) WrestleMania 18 to manage – I hate that word – Chris Benoit.

“Brock was very impatient in OVW and moved back to Minneapolis and told WWE ‘Put me on the main roster or cut me loose.’ So, WWE was bringing Brock Lesnar in for dark matches. Brock’s standing in the middle of the ring in the afternoon, and all these old timers are there. Jack Lanza, Tony Garea, the previous regime of producers. And it’s the same thing, ‘Just stand in the middle of the ring, kid, you’ll be fine, let everyone bounce off of you, don’t move too much. He should be a Russian.’

“He’s an NCAA Division One Champion, look at his combine numbers he can do, look at his leaping ability, look at the way that he moves. Have you ever seen anyone move like that? Let alone someone of that size move like that. And listen to his name, you couldn’t think of a better name for a fighter: Brock Lesnar. You want him to be a Russian?

“And Taz brought him over to me, because Taz was such a huge fan of Brock’s amateur career. And Taz said: ‘Hey brother, they’re gonna screw this up, you gotta get involved in this over here.’ Because Taz had experienced that with me in ECW when he was The Tazmaniac, and we turned him into the MMA fighter Taz. Taz was the first person in pro wrestling that started having people tap out.”

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From there, Heyman would approach Vince McMahon, laying out his vision for Lesnar, with the former WWE Chairman eventually deciding to scrap plans to pair Heyman and Benoit together, in favor of an alliance with Lesnar.

“So, I went to Vince and said, ‘Hey, we have a heavy investment in Brock Lesnar, we’re gonna screw this up.’ (Vince said’) ‘Oh, do something about that. You take over his matches, you produce them.’ So, I started producing his matches, and we went by the theory of, simple, spotlighted, singular. We just kept his matches to that. It would resonate; it would translate to the audience.

“And, in that, we found the chemistry with each other that was undeniable, and Vince experienced it in the room with us at one point. And the night before WrestleMania 18, Vince pulled me aside, and he said, ‘This whole thing with Benoit is called off. I’m putting you with Brock Lesnar.’ (Heyman said) ‘Ok, happy to be of service.’ Because I knew, this is a once ever opportunity and that’s a once ever athlete, and this will be a once ever act.”

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Lesnar would make his main roster debut on the March 18, 2002, episode of WWE Raw, accompanied by Paul Heyman, with the pair going on to a relationship that continues to this day.

Heyman would also reflect upon the in-ring conversation that he would share with Lesnar after his loss to Oba Femi at WrestleMania 42.

The Mr. McMahon docuseries on Netflix saw Vince McMahon address the double-murder suicide committed by Chris Benoit in 2007.

The Unstoppable Force Meets Paul Heyman

It’s difficult to imagine a scenario where Paul Heyman didn’t represent Brock Lesnar, let alone one where WWE wouldn’t know how to use a star the caliber of the Beast Incarnate effectively.

Goldberg recently commented that Lesnar was his ‘best opponent’, reflecting on the star’s physicality as an upside during their feud.

For much of his career, Lesnar left to the talking to Heyman, with his pronunciation of his client’s name being as memorable as how he introduces himself to WWE audiences.

To hear that Taz was behind the association is another standout moment, with the now-AEW star clearly seeing what was happening with Lesnar and how he was being handled in the development system.

To say that Lesnar has gone on to fulfil the vision that Heyman and Taz had for him is an understatement. A dominant star who continues to draw attention, Lesnar’s career may be coming to an end, but he leaves behind quite a legacy.

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• wwe
• Vince McMahon
• paul heyman
• Brock Lesnar
• Chris Benoit
• Taz

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