|
All men are great in their dreams… reality just levels the
competition.
In the world of make-believe—professional
wrestling, to be precise—Brock Lesnar was known as “The Next Big
Thing.” The 6’4, 295-pound former farm boy from Webster, South
Dakota, flaunted muscles down to his toenails. Once, in a display of
power, Lesnar squatted 750 pounds.
What made Lesnar more dangerous during his stay
in the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) was his legitimate
wrestling background. Unlike wrestling stars The Rock (Dwayne
Johnson in real life), Steve Austin (Steve Williams) and Lex Luger
(Lawrence Pfohl), who joined the WWE only after they miserably
failed to find a niche in football, Lesnar was an NCAA wrestling
champion during his senior year at the University of Minnesota.
Lesnar didn’t don the tights under a shroud of pretense.
Blessed with the rare combination of skill and
Herculean strength, Lesnar flattened foes in the WWE with the ease
of a tank going through a row of shanties. In 2002, he defeated The
Rock at the WWE pay-per-view SummerSlam to become the undisputed WWE
heavyweight champion.
Lesnar was well on his way to wrestling stardom
when he inexplicably left the WWE in March 2005. Back then, Lesnar
claimed he was fed up with the mat group’s punishing schedule, not
to mention the level of competition which he apparently felt was
below his standard. Lesnar instead expressed interest in other
contact sports.
Verily, when news broke out early this year that
Lesnar had signed up with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC),
sports fans started paying attention. Established in 1993 to
determine the world’s best fighters irrespective of their fighting
style, the UFC takes pride in being the biggest mixed martial arts
promotion in the world.
The UFC offers real combat action. Lesnar making
the crossover from the reel world of the WWE to the real world of
the UFC made for a very intriguing matter. Can a former
pro-wrestling champ excel in a tournament that is not choreographed?
The 64-dollar query was answered on February 2,
when Lesnar took on former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir at UFC
81 in Las Vegas. Lesnar, who trained in Minnesota’s Martial Arts
Academy (concentrating on striking and jiu-jitsu), came out smoking
and mauled Mir with a quick takedown. Mir, however, survived the
assault and went on to immobilize Lesnar with a debilitating
footlock. Lesnar tapped out at 1:30 of the first round, handing Mir
the submission victory.
Welcome to the jungle, Brock.
You can bet the rent money that Lesnar is being
showered with catcalls these days. UFC 81 showed that the baddest
and strongest man in pro wrestling cannot last more than two minutes
against a mixed martial arts practitioner. Then again, before
wrestling advocates out there start cowering in shame, one thing
should be made clear: The 30-year-old Lesnar who surfaced at UFC 81
was a mere shell of the guy who once hoisted and bodyslammed a 7-2,
500-pound wrestler (Paul “Big Show” Wight).
Lesnar figured in a horrible motorcycle crash in
Minnesota shortly after he left the WWE. Lesnar sustained a broken
jaw, fractured left hand, a severely pulled groin and tissue damage
in the lower abdomen. His testicles were also bruised and swollen
for several weeks following the accident.
In July 2005, Lesnar tried out for the National
Football League (NFL) team the Minnesota Vikings. Lesnar, who played
football during his senior year of high school in South Dakota,
failed to even make the practice squad roster. The Vikings only made
money from the cheap publicity by selling a truckload of No.69
jerseys with Lesnar’s name on the back.
Older and suffering from the proverbial wear and
tear, Lesnar’s downfall at UFC 81 was in a way preordained.
Surprisingly, going into the bout, the former wrestling champ was
the heavy favorite to prevail.
Lest there are still some wrestling bashers out
there who believe that a grappler cannot excel in the UFC, it is
worth noting that one of the most revered UFC champions—Dan “The
Beast” Severn—is actually a wrestler who once competed in the
WWE.
___
For comments, the writer can be reached at
atty_eduardo@ yahoo.com
|
