Jim Ross On Whether WWE Tried to Bring Brock Lesnar Back After His NFL Tryout Went South, Lesnar Being Burned Out

– On the latest Grilling JR, Jim Ross discussed Brock Lesnar’s departure from WWE and his attempt to make it in the NFL in 2004. Lesnar departed the company after WrestleMania XX, citing burnout and more, and decided to try out for the NFL. Lesnar was signed to the Minnesota VIkings and played preseason games, but was ultimately cut before the 2004 – 2005 regular season.

Highlights from the discussion, and the full podcast, are below:

On if anyone talked about trying to bring Lesnar back after he was cut from the VIkings: “Well you know Conrad, when guys lose their passion for a certain thing that’s so demanding, emotionally, physically as pro wrestling is, or the NFL is or whatever. When the flame flickers, and you start getting bored — because let’s remember. Brock was not like you and I. He was not like many of the fans that are listening here today. He was not a lifelong — he wasn’t a lifer with pro wrestling. He got into pro wrestling because [of] the money. Simple. We could have had Brock Lesnar a year earlier if we had not kept our word to Shea Robinson, a wrestling coach at University of Minnesota, that Brock would come back and wrestle his senior year, hopefully win a national title. It would be more money to him, and I told him I would pay him more money if he won the national title. One of our best broken NCAA rules.”

On Lesnar leaving WWE and going out for the NFL: “He was burned out. He didn’t have a strong flame to start with. Again, his flame was concerning strictly the money. And he got bored with it. He got bored with the road, he got bored with all the travel. So he tried out for the Vikings. Look, I believe he made it to the last cut. And for a guy who hadn’t played football since 2A football — Class 2A in South Dakota. I find that nothing short of extraordinary.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Grilling JR with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.