Death Clutch - Brock Lesnar [15]
It was a pretty easy life at OVW compared to the training I was used to. We were home every night, and the checks came in steady, without fail.
Danny gave me the “honor” of transporting the ring to each show, and then back to his house for storage. He said he chose me because I kept talking about my work ethic, but I think it had more to do with the fact that I had a pickup truck. Regardless, the ring was my responsibility.
Since I was in charge of the ring, I made sure all the other guys were there on time to help set it up. If they weren’t, Danny heard about it, because to me it was a team effort. I didn’t give a shit how long somebody had been there. And nobody was going to give me any back talk either, because if they did, they were going to have to get into it with me. I don’t think I was disliked for making everyone carry their own weight, but if I was, I really didn’t give a damn.
I was there to excel, and I had made up my mind to be better than anyone I was training with. I wasn’t at OVW to win a popularity contest. I was there to learn so I could move up to the WWE where the big money was.
Some guys at OVW would stay out late every night so they could act like they were somebody for the locals in the bar. I probably ended up at the bar only twice a month, at the most, because I had no desire or interest in trying to impress the locals down there. I wanted to hit the gym in the morning before practice, do my workouts in the ring, and then have the rest of the day off. At the time, we were only doing the local wrestling shows three nights a week, with weekends off, so I had a lot of time to myself—just the way I like it.
I had a good time at OVW. Danny and his wife, Julie, were great to me. Just like with Brad, my relationship with Danny was more than just teacher–student. We actually became friends.
Danny invited me into his home, and I appreciated it. I was at Danny’s house often (because the ring was there), and Danny and Julie would usually invite me in for lunch. In exchange for the free lunches, I did some handyman work for them here and there. That’s one thing about being a farm boy: you learn to fix anything. But I also knew that if I offered to fix something, Danny would always cook me a big steak when I was done. We remain friends to this day.
After a while, I knew I had learned all I was going to learn in Louisville. John Laurinaitis was just then transitioning into the role of WWE’s VP of talent relations, and I told him I was done doing the small local shows, and that I needed a bigger challenge. I told John, “If you want me to get better, then you need to put me in the ring with better people!”
I asked John to give me a chance at the next level—just a couple of “dark matches” to show them how far along I had come. The dark matches are non-televised matches done right before television tapings to warm up the crowd and to let the WWE brass take a look at you.
I knew all I needed was a chance. Let me perform on the nontelevised portion of the show, I told John, and I will work harder and better than everyone else. If I can show you what I’ve got, I’ll be up on the main roster.
If I didn’t belong, I knew Vince would get rid of me. He was paying me too much to wait forever for me to make him a return on his investment. But as far as I was concerned, I had done my time in the Louisville minor leagues, and it was time for me to see how far I could go in the big time. I reminded John that both J.R. and Brisco had said I would only be in Louisville for a year, and by that point I had been in Louisville for a year and four months. I felt like someone had lied to me. I had done my time. I was headed back home to Minneapolis.
THE NEXT BIG THING
Within days of returning to Minneapolis, I received the call. WWE wanted me to go on the road with them, and start out by doing dark matches. The fight to make it as a wrestling entertainer was on.
The very first dark matches I remember are the ones where they put me in the ring with Billy Gunn. We were in Nashville