Here....
Brock Lesnar announced yesterday that his last date for WWE would be at WrestleMania. This is definitely one of those situations where truth is stranger than fiction.
Brock Lesnar stood up in front of the Smackdown crew yesterday at the pre-show talent meeting and announced that he was leaving WWE after WrestleMania to pursue a career in the National Football League.
Lesnar, who recently signed a 7-year deal with the WWE, told Vince McMahon of his decision last Tuesday at Smackdown, a meeting we reported on earlier this week. As we said in that story, this situation started coming to a head when Lesnar, who has become burnt out by WWE’s travel schedule (and reportedly also by his recent push down the card from main event status) for some time, was then sent to work on the big South Africa tour but was “only” put into matches with Hardcore Holly instead of higher profile bouts. He met with Vince McMahon last week at Smackdown and voiced his concerns and informed him at that time that he was going to leave WWE.
Lesnar, has also reportedly been upset that he was going to have to put over the Undertaker’s Dead Man character after Mania, and be in a feud with a guy who, by the nature of his character, doesn’t sell for his opponent. This all led up to yesterday’s announcement.
Lesnar informed everyone at the meeting that he was miserable in the business. He said that it was not any reflection on the business per se, but he just couldn't find happiness in the industry any more.
He publicly thanked Vince McMahon, Jim Ross and Gerry Brisco "for finding me in college," and thanked Big Show and Paul Heyman for all their help with his career. He told the crew he wouldn't be back and he was said to be very emotional and wished everyone well.
The announcement was met with mixed reactions. Some felt that it opened up opportunities for the talent. Others, who had been critical of Brock’s “elitist” behavior of late and felt that he hadn’t earned his stripes, let alone deserved to be upset about not being pushed as a main-eventer; now they can understand that he may have been that way because he was unhappy.
No matter how you look at it, WWE is losing one of their top wrestlers, at least for now; never say never in the business, but at this point in time Lesnar is completely serious about leaving wrestling.
