Scott D’Amore Confirms Kurt Angle Pushed for Brock Lesnar to Join TNA in 2007

Before joining the UFC in 2008 and rejoining the WWE in 2012, Brock Lesnar was in talks to join TNA Wrestling in 2007.

Scott D’Amore Confirms Kurt Angle Pushed for Brock Lesnar to Join TNA in 2007

Brock Lesnar and TNA (via WWE and TNA)

🔍 Explore this post with:

ChatGPTPerplexityGrok AIGoogle AI

Most modern-day wrestling fans know Brock Lesnar as WWE’s dominant beast from 2012 to 2025, but his story began long before that. Lesnar burst onto the scene in 2002, winning his first world title just months after his debut by defeating The Rock at SummerSlam. He then cemented his dominance by beating The Undertaker inside Hell in a Cell to retain the championship.

His crowning moment came at WrestleMania 19, where he headlined against Kurt Angle and once again captured the world title. Lesnar reigned at the top until late 2003, but the grueling WWE schedule took its toll. By early 2004, he requested his release, which was granted after WrestleMania 20. Soon after, Lesnar pursued an NFL career with his hometown Minnesota Vikings but failed to make the final roster.

He then turned to NJPW and shockingly won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in his very first match in 2005. Even so, his pro wrestling comeback was short-lived as he transitioned into MMA, ultimately signing with the UFC in 2008 and becoming a global star. Interestingly, in 2007, there was serious talk of Lesnar signing with WWE’s biggest rival at the time, TNA Wrestling. 

Though it never came to fruition, the move could have drastically altered the course of both Lesnar’s career and TNA’s history. The story was first brought up by Angle and has now been confirmed by former TNA President Scott D’Amore. In his latest Yahoo Sports’ The Uncrowned column, D’Amore revealed that Lesnar was indeed in talks with TNA back in 2007.

Kurt Angle revealed this week that Brock Lesnar was in talks with TNA back in 2007. This is absolutely true. I was the producer of almost all Kurt’s early matches in TNA, and he came to me saying Brock wanted to come over.

Scott D’Amore via Uncrowned

The former TNA President added that the Olympic gold medalist was elated as he and Lesnar were iconic rivals in the WWE and had real-life wrestling credentials as former NCAA D1 champions. 

I passed it on to Dixie Carter, who owned TNA at the time. But, as you already know, it didn’t happen. It’s a huge what-if, not just for TNA, but for Lesnar. If he came to TNA on a big contract in 2007, would he have still debuted in MMA that year? Would he have felt the need to go fight in the UFC in 2008 and help usher in a legion of new fans for the UFC? I suppose we’ll never know.

Scott D’Amore via Uncrowned

Angle first shared the story in 2022, claiming Lesnar asked him about joining TNA, but the company’s executives ultimately didn’t move forward with the idea owing to contract issues. As already stated, Lesnar was a free agent at the time. 

On June 29, 2007, he dropped the IWGP Heavyweight Championship to then-TNA World Heavyweight Champion Angle at the debut event of Antonio Inoki’s new promotion, the Inoki Genome Federation.

The following year, Lesnar signed with the UFC, where he quickly rose to the top. At UFC 91, he defeated Randy Couture to claim the heavyweight title and cement himself as the promotion’s 265-pound kingpin. After retiring from MMA in 2011, Lesnar made his highly anticipated return to WWE on the Raw after WrestleMania 28, confronting John Cena in one of the most shocking comebacks in wrestling history.

Brock Lesnar looks better than ever in his latest WWE photoshoot ahead of Wrestlepalooza showdown with John Cena

When Lesnar returned to WWE at SummerSlam after two years away, fans witnessed deja vu. Just like his shocking comeback in 2012, Lesnar made his presence felt by brutally attacking Cena, dropping him with an F5 to close the show in emphatic fashion.

The moment came right after Cena, now on his retirement tour, had battled Cody Rhodes in an all-time classic for the WWE Championship, turning babyface in the process. 

John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar at WrestlePalooza
John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar at WrestlePalooza (via WWE)

That confrontation has set the stage for one final showdown between Cena and Lesnar at WWE’s upcoming Wrestlepalooza on September 20th. The event carries extra weight as it marks WWE’s first-ever premium live event on ESPN following their historic $1.6 billion deal, which replaced the Peacock partnership.

Despite his time away, Lesnar looks far from rusty. Recent photos of ‘The Beast’ ahead of his in-ring return have gone viral, showing him more shredded than ever at 48, complete with his trademark beard and hairstyle. 

His rivalry with Cena is one of WWE’s most storied, dating back to 2003 when a young ‘Doctor of Thuganomics’ first challenged Lesnar for the WWE Championship at Backlash. Although Cena fell short that night, he went on to become the face of WWE, winning 17 world titles and carrying the company through the PG Era. 

Their paths collided again in 2012 when Lesnar returned to attack Cena after WrestleMania 28, reigniting a feud that has defined multiple eras. From Cena’s victory at Extreme Rules 2012 to Lesnar’s dominant dismantling of him at SummerSlam 2014, their clashes have always felt larger than life. 

Now, both men have cemented themselves as once-in-a-generation icons. Cena has been the company’s enduring face and Hollywood crossover star. On the other hand, Lesnar has become the unstoppable, part-time attraction. And their final battle at Wrestlepalooza promises to be the closing chapter of a rivalry two decades in the making.

Also read: