Jim Ross reveals Vince McMahon’s reaction when he first saw height and size of Brock Lesnar and knew WWE ‘had the guy’

Brock Lesnar is one of the biggest stars to ever step foot in WWE and Vince McMahon knew he had a star on his hands as soon as he saw him.

Inside his first year on the main roster, Lesnar won the King of the Ring, the WWE Undisputed title from The Rock, defeated The Undertaker in a Hell in a Cell, won the Royal Rumble and headlined WrestleMania against Kurt Angle, a match he also won.

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As far as first 12 months go in the business, virtually no one can say they had a stronger start than Lesnar.

Obviously, McMahon, the chairman of the organisation, saw major money in The Beast Incarnate and it was the combination of retired wrestler Gerald Brisco and legendary commentator Jim Ross that brought the young stud to the company.

And JR recalled McMahon's reaction when he first laid eyes on Lesnar durin a conversation with talkSPORT.

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"Gerry Brisco and I brought Brock Lesnar to a TV taping in Minneapolis because he went to college there,” he started.

"I said to McMahon ‘that new kid I’m recruiting is here tonight. If you get a chance I’d like you to say hello him.’

“So McMahon is walking about with his Mr. McMahon walk and he happens to glance over and Gerry Brisco is standing by this monster. Vince made a U-turn and beelined right to Brock - he had never seen him. Never watched him wrestle.

“He knew Gerry and I was high on him, but Gerry didn’t meet with Vince on a regular basis, I met with Vince every day. I said ‘we got this kid we’re going to sign and he’s going to be extraordinary. You’re going to love him.’ 

“So when Vince laid eyes on him he knew that we had the guy. If he had any aptitude whatsoever - we knew athletically he was going to be great, he’d already proven himself as an athlete - but if he could get the showbiz side of it and have the aptitude to be a pro wrestler, he was going to be our guy for a while. And that worked out.”

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Lesnar only spent two years on a full-time deal with WWE before wanting out of the company due to it’s hellacious schedule.

He left in 2004 just before he turned 27. From there he came as close as you possibly can to landing on an NFL roster then turned his attention to UFC where he became their heavyweight champion.

However, he returned to WWE in 2012 on a super lucrative part-time deal, but his most recent contract with the company expired in 2020 and he is yet to re-sign.

It’s believed once the pandemic settles down and travel restrictions are lifted, WWE and Lesnar will talk again.