Brock Lesnar Files Suit Against WWE

[humongous2002 0]

He's not an idiot for taking a shot at the NFL, he's an idiot for the way he left and the bridges he burnt in the process. He looks real stupid for badmouthing wrestling the way he did, and for giving up so easily on his "dream" when things didn't go the way he wanted them to. If he really wanted to make it in football he'd be over in Europe or in the arena leagues, learning the craft.

Don't waste your time explaining anything to that nimrod. He talks about Lesnar trying to challenge himself by going to the NFL, but if that was true why didn't he signed up with them first instead of going to WWE?

[SuperJerk 0]

He's not an idiot for taking a shot at the NFL, he's an idiot for the way he left and the bridges he burnt in the process.  He looks real stupid for badmouthing wrestling the way he did, and for giving up so easily on his "dream" when things didn't go the way he wanted them to.  If he really wanted to make it in football he'd be over in Europe or in the arena leagues, learning the craft.

Don't waste your time explaining anything to that nimrod. He talks about Lesnar trying to challenge himself by going to the NFL, but if that was true why didn't he signed up with them first instead of going to WWE?

Exactly.

 

The ONLY reason Lesnar tried to join the NFL was that he didn't want to be in the WWE any more and that was the only way he thought he could make good money.

 

This isn't about dreams, its about economics, pure and simple.

[Ace309 0]

That didn't work out, so he should now have to lie in the grave he dug for himself.

Otherwise, he signed the contract, and if he wants to wrestle he does it with Vince.

 

More of the same.

 

That'd be peachy if "You signed it, live with it" was the only principle that applies to contracts and the like. The problem is that it isn't.

 

I mean, it's obvious which way I think this should be decided, but even if they find for Vince, Lesnar IS on solid ground making this claim.

[Guest Trivia247]

This I believe is another example how Brock's Motivations may have been admirable but his execution stunk.

 

Brock's departure how it became semi publicized really killed most of his fanbase and enraged those at Wm. he makes a public stink on wanting to be in the NFL and treated being in the WWE as some sorta way stop for jumping to the NFL.

 

Now thats not necessarly a bad thing persay, but its how you say it that matters sometimes. We had gotten those rumors months earlier of him wanting to return to the WWE and either being refused or being put on hold.

 

So he tries to wrestle elsewhere and can't due to the contract he signed so he sues? The same company that put him on the map, that got him the money for what he does that was Securing his families future.

 

Unless There was a pretty strange section in the contract about the no compete clause he shouldn't be complaining because he signed the same thing anyone else has. What makes one wonder though, How long was the No Compete Duration on the Contract that nearly a year later he is still unable to work for any other promotion and must therefore try to sue over.

[Jingus 0]

Um, did ya not read the first post in the thread?

 

We're told that his no compete clause that he signed prevents him from working for any competitor or anything related to wrestling. (i.e. UFC, Pride). We're told that, and this is a legit date, his no compete cause ends on June 30, 2010. WWE's no compete clause includes all countries outside the US as well.

[Twisted Intestine 0]

That didn't work out, so he should now have to lie in the grave he dug for himself.

Otherwise, he signed the contract, and if he wants to wrestle he does it with Vince.

 

More of the same.

 

That'd be peachy if "You signed it, live with it" was the only principle that applies to contracts and the like. The problem is that it isn't.

 

I mean, it's obvious which way I think this should be decided, but even if they find for Vince, Lesnar IS on solid ground making this claim.

Yeah, let me rephrase;

 

I won't feel sorry for him if he now has to lie in the grave he dug for himself.

[Quit Calling My Mama 0]

WWE was willing to welcome him back with "open arms", if they could humiliate him, abuse the fact that he needed cash and basically piss all over him for walking out.

 

There's a difference between being a prima donna and having pride. Brock quit because he was constantly working injured, never taking time off, never given days off and basically getting the same treatment all wrestlers do. Don't fault him for actually saying, "This work environment sucks". I'd bet there are a TON of other guys who'd love to say the same, but don't have the guts or can't because of money.

[Guest Brian]

Boo fuckin' hoo.

 

There. I said it. It's a tough environment, and you're either getting paid a lot to do it or you doing it because you love it. And if you still can't take it, boo fuckin' hoo. Cry me a damn river. There are people working indies, hoping for a piece of the cake factory the WWE gave Lesnar, and he's crying about the travel schedule. He should have known what he was getting into before he was getting into the WWE, just like this clause. If he wanted to do something legitimate, he should have sought it out at first.

[Guest DVD Spree]

That was my initial thought.  There's no way Vince can construe Japanese promotions as direct competition unless he really pulls the wool over the judge's eyes, and the judge is ignorant to the business to boot.  Yes, the WWE has an international market, but Brock working for a promotion in Japan can't possibly hurt the WWE.  The only company in the world going after the WWE's true target market is TNA, and due to a number of reasons, it's hard to even deem them as any form of competition.

"No compete" doesn't mean that it is direct competition that is in question. Are Pride, New Japan et al direct competition to the WWE a la WCW (or, arguably ECW or TNA)? No. But, when you consider the WWE's increasing expansion internationally, particularly in Japan where there are running more and more shows, including their flagship TV events, then the case could quite easily be made that another company running Japan shouldn't be able to profit from the millions and millions of dollars invested in Lesnar to market him as a marquee name. Spanky doesn't really come into the equation – how much money has he drawn? How many videogame and DVD boxes has he been on the front of? How many t-shirts did he sell? How many PPVs did he main event? Apples and oranges.

 

Lesnar is popular in Japan because of WWE. He is heavily associated with the WWE brand, and there is no denying that other companies would profit off the WWE's investment in Lesnar were he to wrestle for them. So again, "no compete" doesn't imply only those who are in direct competition.

 

Let's also not forget the rumours – however far out they may have been – that Vince was trying to negotiate MMA bouts with Lesnar and Angle. Given that McMahon has promoted other shoot encounters before (Brawl For All with Butterbean, Inoki-Ali, Leonard-Lalond), and given the drawing power and success of crossover stars such as Bob Sapp, it is not out of the question to argue that allowing Lesnar to compete in Pride would seriously, adversely and dirreparably affect (whether a win or a loss, the impact of Lesnar's debut shootfight can only be marketed once) any future attempt by the WWE to promote a shoot event.

 

And yes, like everyone else has said, Brock Lesnar did actually sign this agreement, no matter how stupid it was. To say that he was forced or coerced or in any other way had his back to the wall was irrelevant. People seem to forget that he was signing this deal so that he could weasel out of a PREVIOUS deal he made, and consequently decided not to honour. Is the man completely incapable of staying true to his word? If the terms were – as they indeed seem to be – wildly outlandish and unreasonable, then he was under no compunction to agree to them. Romanticise his dreams and ambitions all you want, but his desire to try out for the NFL was not compatible with his pre-existing and legally binding agreement to work for Vince McMahon. And to think, Vince actually LET HIM GO so he could go and chase his dream, which again, he was under no compunction to do and could instead have jobbed him out to everyone on the roster and had him work in OVW for the rest of his days.

[Ace309 0]

EDIT: Unnecessary snark removed.

Edited February 9, 2005 by Ace309

[Promoter 0]

This thread has been entertaining and some forget about the business side to all of this. Yes, Brock was foolish. Comparing Rock to Brock is hilarious. The Rock was not a fool when dealing with business. He did not just jump out of pro wrestling onto the big screen without testing waters(Mummy Returns). He also did not burn bridges. The Rock put over Brock for crying out loud as "THE NEXT BIG THING" and WWE Champion before going to make Scorpion King. The Rock also was smart to use the wwe hype machine for his other career. The Rock also finished unfinished business with guys like Austin for his wrestling character before jumping full throttle into hollywood. The Rock has put himself in a position where his wrestling career is so bullet proof he can return and make money if his movie career suddenly bombs. The Rock understood business wise what he had to do in the wrestling side of things before going to the movie side of things full-time. Yeah, it can be argued Rock pulled of his movie career well, but he did not just jump into the Atlantic Ocean either without a life jacket.

 

Now, look at this from a business perspective. Yes, Brock did the right thing by going to the wwe for financial reasons especially given his wrestling background(which btw, he probably knew he had a better chance at succeeding more than the NFL to begin with). He signs a big time multi-year contract(that he reneges). Don't forget that wrestling is a work and that the wwe created this monster character in the public that he used to make a name for himself to go to the NFL. We all know how the path to his push happened. We also know Vince knows when he has created a monster(Hulk Hogan) and also was going through hassle with another monster at the time(Goldberg). Brock realizing that Vince and company was starting to create his image of "greatest of all-time" had no problem with the business up until Royal Rumble '03 where he was booked to look afraid of freaking Bob Holly. Let's also not forget about stuff like Brock being so "dedicated" to wrestling that he would "kill anyone on the net" for leaking rumours. Somwhere in all of this Brock must have found out that he was going to lose the title to Eddie Guerrero in February of last year. As some have stated here, Eddie was told he was going to be a long term champion(Meltzer).

 

Now in all of this he has a feud with the guy fans were mocking him about upon his initial push in Goldberg. Who knows if Goldberg demanded to win the WM match as well. If rumours are true about UT/Lesnar post Mania can it not be a fair assumption that Lesnar just packed his bags and went home because he was not being pushed as the "greatest of all-time" anymore? He suddenly becomes all emotional and wants to try out for the NFL around this time to fulfill a dream(his damn storyline from WM 19)? Give me a break It was such a dream that he has given up on it within months even though everyone from The Rock to Steve Austin said it would be tough to make it? Where's the "athletic and competitive spirit" now? This thing reeks of a whim imo. I could be completely wrong, but also signing something as ridiculous as this no-compete clause within those two weeks of quitting(which he did and again with the NFL) people are suppose to feel sorry for this guy?

 

This is one time, where I actually kind of see where Vince is coming from with the no-compete clause. Whose to say that Lesnar just didn't find some half ass way to get out of his wwe contract to get signed with another company for less work and more pay like his challenger Goldberg at WM XX? Lesnar has been foolish plain and simple. Remember when Angle supposedly wanted to go for the Olympics and he talked to Vince about it? Vince was willing to work with it. Lesnar unlike guys like Rock did not give Vince any leeway. You think the company might not have thought Lesnar might be trying to get out of his contract because he was complaining before hand? Let's get real here.