Everybody wants to fight Brock Lesnar.
It’s crazy, really. He’s super athlete whose moniker—the beast—is more of a description than a nickname. In his last match, he left Randy Orton a (legit) bloody mess. He fights in an Octagon during his leisure. He’s an avid hunter, and who’s to say he doesn’t do so with his bare hands?
But, as a premiere box office draw, Lesnar is a prizefighter. Despite his rare appearances, the part-timer clocked in at No. 2 on Forbes’ list of the highest-paid wrestlers with an annual salary of $6 million. Only the ubiquitous John Cena ranked higher.
WWE headlines this past week have been dominated with buzz of a possible showdown between Brock Lesnar and Bill Goldberg. Some reports say it’s a done deal. Goldberg begs to differ. But as WWE 2K17 nears its premiere, fans are lobbying for the Lesnar-Goldberg dream match—currently being used to promote the game—to become a reality.
With Lesnar comes a big-fight feel and a big-fight paycheck, especially on the grand stage of WrestleMania. So what if there’s a little blood. The only color that matters with the beast incarnate is green. And that’s why today’s top WWE Superstars—past, present and future—want a piece of Brock Lesnar.
The Rock
“In Dallas [against Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 32]? Possibly. There’s a lot of things that are up in the air. Lot of things are up in the air. We’ll see. I would love that rematch, I would love… whatever it is, you want to create something that’s going to be special, memorable, especially in Dallas at that stadium you have a shot at breaking the attendance record. It’s got to be special.” (The Rock to USA Today)
“Notice how The Rock picks fights with Bray Wyatt, or fights with Rusev and John Cena? Notice how The Rock doesn’t pick a fight with Brock Lesnar? Is Brock Lesnar ready for The Rock? Is The Rock ready for Brock Lesnar?” (Paul Heyman to The Sun)
Daniel Bryan
“My No. 1 dream match is Brock Lesnar. And I want that to be a WrestleMania match. I don’t know if the WWE will ever let that happen, because they might be afraid he might legitimately hurt me pretty bad.” (Bryan to The National)
“What bigger underdog match is there than Brock Lesnar vs. Daniel Bryan? That’s like David vs. Goliath. And I also think he’s never wrestled or fought anybody like me before. I was working on this new style before they told me I couldn’t wrestle anymore that’s really unlike anything else, just the way that I move. I don’t think Brock would really know how to handle it. (Bryan to Michael Cole on WWE’s YouTube channel)
Kevin Owens
“I want Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania. It’s as simple as that.” (Owens to ESPN)
“Obviously Brock has done his damage, I’m sure I can get a good shot or two, and I believe it’s all about putting on a compelling match, and I believe that would happen with the two of us.” (Zayn to Wrestling Compadres Slamcast)
Shinsuke Nakamura
“If I get a chance, I would be up for that.”
“My body would need to be ready because he is tough. Ouch.” (Nakamura to Channel Guide Magazine)
Bobby Lashley
“You know, I hear that all the time, and J.R., you know as well as I do, it’s not in my hands. If you ask me, I would say absolutely, but it’s the powers that be. I think that there’s enough fans who would love to see it. They’ve been saying it from day one. And you know what the funny thing about it is? I’ve never met Brock in person. Never crossed paths with Brock anywhere. So we don’t even know each other at all, whatsoever.
“And I’ve always been compared to Brock, and they say ‘Are you and Brock gonna fight? Are you and Brock gonna wrestle? I don’t know if the fighting is still an opportunity with me being in Bellator and him kind of being with the UFC; or I don’t know what the situation is right now. So I don’t know if the fight thing is possible, but to see me as Brock’s destroying everyone and save the day, or vice versa, whatever the case is, have us stand face to face? I think the crowd would go insane. And there’s a tremendous amount of money in it. If it were to happen, then I’m open for it.” (Lashley to Jim Ross during The Ross Report)