WWE News: Original Plans For Brock Lesnar’s Gay Character — Paul Heyman Nixed The Idea?
With all the talk about Brock Lesnar being potentially debuted as a gay character back in 2002, new information regarding the “Beast Incarnate” and how the idea was brought up has been revealed.
According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (via WZROnline), the idea behind giving Lesnar a gimmick of a gay man was thought up by a man named Dr. J. Kober Zehner. After the idea was reviewed, cleaned up, and readied to be pitched, two other writers, Brian Solomon and Aaron Feigenbaum, brought the concept to several of WWE’s head writers, one of those writers being Lesnar’s longtime friend, manager, and confidant, Paul Heyman.
The report states that Heyman was “completely against the idea,” in part because Lesnar had already been an established name on television. That goes against prior reports stating that the gimmick was pitched prior to his debut on WWE television the night after Wrestlemania 18.
In fact, there is an excerpt from the pitch given, with the pitch reportedly being the one that was used by the WWE writers at the time.
“[Brock] is physically dominant, has impeccable credentials concerning believability, and because he is new and relatively unknown, his character can be crafted easily. His ascension could also raise the scores of other Superstars with whom he feuds. The following possible scenario to increase Brock’s ability to grow the industry is radical. It’s unprecedented and may appear crazy at first. There are risks involved, but if it works, it has Austin/McMahon like potential. The solution: Turn Brock Gay.
“Everything else about him stays the same. He’s pushed in a traditional babyface manner. He’s not the stereotypical Billy/Chuck character. He’s Brock. He continues to annihilate people. He’s just gay. It has to be presented as completely real, especially in the beginning.”
Ultimately, the idea went nowhere, and Lesnar was never saddled with such a gimmick. Sources told the Newsletter that Lesnar would have likely “hated” the gimmick because of the way it could be misinterpreted and ridiculed by not only fans but the public in general. There have even been top names who worked for WWE at the time that have denied such a gimmick was ever discussed.
Former head of talent and WWE announcer Jim Ross recently stated that the entire concept of Lesnar being potentially given a gimmick of a gay man is made up by the internet.
Regardless, the gimmick never happened, and Lesnar has gone on to become one of the WWE’s most dominant performers, no matter whether he likes being the conqueror or the conquered.
[Image via WWE]
