Brock Lesnar Reflects On 2004 WWE Exit, Understands Why It Angered Company

Brock Lesnar ended his first run in WWE in 2004, and he recently reflected on his reasons for leaving at that time. Lesnar left WWE after WrestleMania XX due to the heavy travel schedule and burnout, a situation that left WWE and Vince McMahon less than pleased. He went on to work for New Japan for a short run before he joined the UFC in 2008.

Lesnar looked back on his exit during his interview with Barstool Sports’ Spittin’ Chiclets. He noted that he understands why WWE was angry at him at the time and noted that era he left was the worst of his life, and that he wouldn’t be who he is today if he’d stayed. You can see the highlights below (per PWInsider):

On Deciding to Leave After His First WWE Run:

“Yeah, but then they put me with a guy. They gave me a manager. They gave me a manager, and it was Paul Heyman, who, bless his heart, has been a good friend of mine for many years. And they put the mic on him and turned me into this demolition man, and it was fun. But literally, I wasn’t prepared for it at the time. I had no idea what I was getting into. I didn’t know that we were on the road 300 nights a year. I had no idea that I could get hurt at this stuff. And it was like—so before I knew it, I was on the pain train, with Vicodin and vodka, and then I was like—I’m looking around at the legends in the locker room at the time and I’m looking across and I go, ‘Man, I don’t know if I can hang with these guys like this.’ You know what I mean? And I was feeling like I still had some athletic endeavors inside, so that’s why I stepped away from it. And then I tried my hand in the NFL, had a cup of coffee there, maybe just a half a cup.”

On Lesnar’s Exit Opening The Door For John Cena to Rise:

“Yeah, John Cena was very happy because a year before I left I had just re-upped. I had just signed a new contract. It was a 10-year contract, 20 million guaranteed. I’m 22 years old and I guess for me, the company was pretty chapped at me at the time because they invested a lot into me. And I understand that now. But if I would’ve stayed there, I wouldn’t be who I am today either. You know what I mean? So I’m glad that I had enough wits about me to leave. But everything turned out.”

On What Made Him Decide to Leave WWE

“I can remember when the light bulb—or when it hit me—and I was in the locker room. I’m looking around and I’m seeing some of these old boys, that this is the life that they’ve lived for 30, 40 years. And I’m like, ‘Man, I’ve got something else to give here.’ And I was like, ‘I want to go and see what else is out there for me. it was a big move. I left the company and I learned a lot of lessons there. The paychecks stop coming in, but the bills still keep coming, right?….And I went through—it was living hell in 2004 to 2006, some of the worst years of my life. But it’s those character-building years that you learn from. You know what I mean? And there’s light at the end of the tunnel, but sometimes it’s not there. But you’ve got to keep fighting for it.”