‘Lighten up’ – Hulk Hogan gave Brock Lesnar bizarre nickname before having 18-year record smashed
Brock Lesnar was a real handful during his early WWE days, but Hulk Hogan says he managed to tame the Beast.
Lesnar joined WWE for the first time in 2020 as a physical phenom, having become a decorated amateur wrestler, winning two NCAA All American Championships among a raft of other glories.
4
Always a thick-set and physically intense performer, he was never going to transition gently into the world of professional wrestling.
Quickly known as the Next Big Thing, a bulging Lensar tore through the competition after his televised main roster debut in 2002, quickly winning the King of the Ring and, not long after, winning the WWE Championship, too.
Though over the subsequent decades he learned to refine his craft to become one of the best sellers in the business – able to appear hurt by your opponents’ offence without actually being injured.
He has often been praised by his fellow performers for his in-ring style but, if anyone is to thank for helping Lesnar transform from machine to wrestling specialist, it might just be Hulk Hogan.
READ MORE WWE
Hogan was reminded of Lensar’s WWE upbringing earlier this week when speaking to about his new wrestling venture, which kicked up a real fuss on social media.
Many reliable wrestling databases only cite the two megastars has having had two matches together, but the leader of 'Hulkamania' insists it was ’10 or 12’ back in the day.
Faced with his no-doubt uncompromising, raw style, Hogan claims he managed to get the future Beast to ‘lighten up’ on the heavy hitting, with a stern warning while they shared the ring together.
He even christened the newbie with a nickname, too, and not necessarily one you could imagine Lesnar taking well.
Most read in Wrestling
“I remember when Brock Lesnar first came to the WWE,” Hogan said.
“I got him first, and it was no picnic, believe me. And so, I wrestled him probably 10 or 12 times.
4
“I remember being in Madison Square Garden, the only way I could get him to lighten up on me at all, I would say: ‘Okay, Broccoli.’ I’d call him Broccoli instead of Brock Lesnar. I said: ‘if you keep doing this crap, you're going to end up in here by yourself.’
“So finally, I got him just to like go with the flow, which is what we did back then.”
The proverbial green shoots of what would become Lesnar’s all around in-ring package then started to emerge, according to Hogan.
The 80s icon added: “I saw his personality develop. I saw him be able to just shoot in there like a monster and grab a single leg, take a guy down, ride him like a government mule.
“Then at the same time, [he could] turn into this crazy, over-the-top entertaining character. And what we called in the wrestling business a good worker, where you could work with a guy every night and he wouldn't break your neck or cripple you.”
Reinforcing his earlier point, Hogan emphasised: “When I first got him, he was not like that. He was like a freight train running over you.”
4
Quite whether Hogan and Lesnar shared the wrestling ring twice, 20 or 100 times might be up for debate, but Lesnar’s ascension from those early years is far less disputed.
His WWE Championship win in 2002 was the first of multiple reigns with the top male gold, his reigns spanning the decades to his surprise victory at the Day 1 pay-per-view in 2022.
Lesnar won out in a fatal five-way the event and, though the reign lasted just 28 days before being unseated by Bobby Lashley, but it proved an historic reign nonetheless.
The gap from his maiden win to that success in January ’22 – a whopping 20 years – was the biggest of its kind in WWE history, smashing the previous record by two years.
The previous record holder? Hogan, of course.
The Hulkster was crowned Undisputed champ at Backlash in 2002 after his victory over Triple H; that reign, interestingly, also only lasting 28 days before being ended by The Undertaker.
The veteran’s success came 18 years after his first major WWE title win, the famous win over The Iron Sheik that is credited with spearheading the Hulkamania movement.
4
It was a record that stood for two decades before being obliterated by Lesnar, who himself hasn’t been seen in WWE for a couple of years.
Read More on talkSPORT
He last wrestled against Cody Rhodes at SummerSlam at 2023 but has since been a notable absentee having been linked to levied at Vince McMahon.
WWE had later left the door open for his return, while Hogan’s most recent high-profile outing for the grappling organisation also ended in controversy.
Fans lose their minds as Hulk Hogan confirms wrestling return with one promise in insane viral video
Topics