"The only time I ever tapped out" - Former champion forced Brock Lesnar to make last-minute change to 'historic' WWE appearance

Brock Lesnar made his historic WWE debut on the March 18, 2002, episode of WWE RAW, attacking the trio of Maven, Spike Dudley, and Al Snow. However, Lesnar was forced to change one part of his debut because of Dudley.

The Beast made an immediate impact when he made his debut more than 20 years ago. He even defeated The Rock five months later at SummerSlam to become the youngest WWE champion in history.

In a recent appearance on Maven's YouTube channel, Spike recalled some of the biggest bumps of his career. One of those bumps was the trio of powerbombs he took during Lesnar's debut. The former champion revealed that there were supposed to be five consecutive powerbombs, but he had to force The Beast to make a last-minute change because he couldn't take another after the third one.

"This was the only time I ever tapped out. This was supposed to be five powerbombs. I could only handle three. You'll see him go down for the fourth one, and I say, 'No, I can't do it anymore.' I've never tapped out. I thought I could do it, but my head was a mess. This is the only time I've ever felt like a p**sy in the world of wrestling. I always hate watching this because I know it always makes the (highlight reels) Brock's debut, and we're on it for history, but I always look at it and cringe because I went, 'I was such a p**sy,'" Spike said. [H/T: Fightful]

Spike Dudley left WWE in 2005 and continued to wrestle for other promotions, such as TNA Wrestling. On the other hand, Brock Lesnar left the company a year earlier before returning in 2012.

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Will Brock Lesnar return to WWE?

Brock Lesnar has been on hiatus since August 2023 and is currently designated as a free agent by the company. Lesnar was rumored to return in January before the Janel Grant lawsuit came into the spotlight, and there were alleged stories involving him.

According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer, it's not up to Lesnar if he returns to WWE television. The final decision will be made by the top management, and it's currently unknown how open they are to letting The Beast Incarnate back into the fold.

"The situation right now is that there were reasons having to do with what was in the Grant lawsuit that WWE legal felt it was not good to have Lesnar on television. When that belief changes, Lesnar will be back and on television. It’s not his decision to decide to come back, it is their decision on if they want him back and when," Meltzer said. [H/T: TJR Wrestling]

Brock Lesnar last wrestled against Cody Rhodes at SummerSlam last year. He lost to The American Nightmare and seemingly turned babyface after raising his rival's arm after the match.