Death Clutch - Brock Lesnar [22]
There was also that mystique the Undertaker had. He was going to be the first person to really hand Brock Lesnar an ass kicking, so he was going to make it look good. I had no problem with that. As long as people were going to pay to see us go at it, I was happy.
We had our first pay-per-view match in Los Angeles, at the show called Unforgiven. Vince wanted us to do this finish where Taker ends up throwing me through a big set of lights at the top of the stage. I didn’t like it, but I knew we were setting up the rematch, which would be a Hell-in-a-Cell match. That meant my first two pay-per-views as champion would be in the main-event position, which meant I was getting top pay.
That Hell-in-a-Cell match against The Undertaker was my favorite match in WWE. That night, everything just clicked the right way. Taker was on his game, and I was ready to go. People were convinced The Undertaker was either going to beat Brock Lesnar, or get his own ass beat pretty good. This wouldn’t be just another monthly pay-per-view main event. This was going to be something special.
And it was.
NEXT IN LINE? THE BIG SHOW!
My next opponent after Undertaker was originally supposed to be Hulk Hogan. He was going to come back, looking for revenge after I hammered him on TV. Vince wanted to do a story line where Hogan was looking to settle the score, and the Lesnar vs. Hogan match would air live from Madison Square Garden as the main event of Survivor Series 2002. I would be headlining yet another pay-per-view. Vince wanted Hogan to look really good, but fall short of beating me for the title. I guess the ol’ Hulkster didn’t like that idea too much, and next thing I know, we were going with “Plan B” . . . the Big Show!
I had met Show when I was still in Louisville, and we didn’t exactly hit it off right away. He pissed Vince or someone off because he was not in shape, and they sent him down to the developmental squad as a punishment. He was a giant of a man, seven feet tall and five-hundred-plus pounds, but Vince wanted his wrestlers to “look good.” No one pays to see a couple of fat guys roll around the mat.
So I first met Show when I was in Louisville to learn the business, and I was taking everything seriously. I wanted to get called up to the main roster and the bigger paydays as soon as I could. When Show got demoted to Louisville, he looked at the guys training there like everyone was a maggot or something. He was all grumpy right from the get-go because he had to lose some weight, and everyone in camp was afraid of him. Everyone but me.
I wasn’t afraid of Show, even if he did have almost a foot and two-hundred-some pounds on me, and I let him know it one day. We were in practice, and we got into the ring. He thought I was just another dumb jock greenhorn who was going to be intimidated by him, but I dropped him to the mat with a double leg takedown, and he was crying uncle. I kept the pressure on him because I didn’t like the way he thought he was so much better than all the guys down there. I earned his respect that day, and I had no problem doing it either.
Another day, he was bullying everyone around, and I decided to bully him back. He got mad at me and told me, “I’ll be back up in the main events, making millions, and you’ll still be down here in Louisville setting up the ring.”
When I got to the big time, I decided to remind Show of our little incidents in Louisville. As soon as I had to work with Show, I waited until the time was right and I said, “Remember down in Louisville, when you said—”
He cut me right off there and said, “I know where you are going with this, and fuck you!”
I still tortured the big bastard . . . and while I was doing it, I taunted him a little more. “Hey, didn’t I take you down in front of everyone, too?” I laughed. But I like Show, because he turned out to be one of the best people you could ever be around.
Hell, he cried when I