How Vince McMahon reacted when Brock Lesnar squashed opponent in untelevised match before WWE show

Paul Heyman revealed on WWE Network show Ruthless Aggression that Vince McMahon immediately paired him with Brock Lesnar after he watched “The Next Big Thing” defeat Funaki in an untelevised match before a 2002 taping of SmackDown.

At the time, Lesnar was still an up-and-coming talent in the OVW developmental system, but he had grown tired of waiting for his opportunity and threatened to leave WWE if he was not called up to the main roster.

Heyman recalled during the episode that Lesnar received lots of contradictory advice from various WWE personnel early on in his time with the company, so the former ECW owner decided to mentor the young Superstar and help guide his career.

Before a taping of Sunday Night Heat and SmackDown, Lesnar defeated Funaki in a typically dominant match which, according to Heyman, caught the eye of McMahon.

“I got together with Brock and gave him some different advice to what he was receiving, and I asked Vince to watch Brock’s match and Vince loved it. Vince told me he was going to put Brock and Heyman together on-screen.”

Once the on-screen alliance came to fruition, Lesnar quickly cemented his status as WWE’s most exciting young talent in years. He went on to defeat Hulk Hogan, The Rock, The Undertaker and Kurt Angle in his first year on the main roster, while he won the 2002 King of the Ring, 2003 Royal Rumble and main-evented WrestleMania 19.

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