Brock Lesnar’s appearance at UFC 200 came about because he got a clause in his WWE contract allowing him to come back to the UFC if it was something he wanted to do. It even seemed to have the WWE’s blessing when they made an official announcement on their end last month, but there hasn’t been any more official push for the event from the WWE since then.
WWE’s Stephanie McMahon discussed the situation in a recent interview with Business Insider, and took a dig at the UFC’s ability to build stars and how losses affect that star power.
“UFC, they can make a big star but the second that person loses, they lose credibility, and how do you continue to make that star rise?” she asked. “So I think we have the best of both worlds and the opportunity to tell the stories in the way we want to tell them.”
Lesnar was asked about her comments during the media conference call for UFC 200 on Thursday, and after making it quite clear he didn’t “give a s***” about his WWE draw, he reiterated that point in response.
“I don’t know. I don’t care what she says (laughs),” Lesnar responded. “…I really haven’t had any contact with anyone from WWE. The people I really care about are the people that are close to me. Everybody is supporting this and 100 percent behind it. They see that I’m committed to it and I’m happy. That’s all that matters.
“…This isn’t about my fans. This is about me living my life, being the person that I want to be. Granted, without the fans and everything, none of us would be able to do this. I get that. But I don’t sit up at night wondering is my drawing power gonna be hurt or are my WWE fans gonna tune in and watch me do this. I don’t give two s***s about that. This is about me. I want to get in there and be an athlete again. That’s what this is about.”
Penick’s Analysis: Lesnar’s been upfront from the start that this is a selfish endeavor on his part. If the WWE doesn’t like it, they don’t like it, but he built in the option to do this when he re-signed with them last year, and he’s exercising that option. If he wins, the WWE will take full advantage of that in promoting his return for Summerslam, but they’re obviously hedging their bets by letting it play out before doing anything more on their end.
[Brock Lesnar art by Grant Gould (c) MMATorch.com]
(Some quotes transcribed by James Caldwell at PWTorch.com)
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