Paul Heyman reveals 5-time WWE Champion threatened to leave if his demands were not met

Speaking on the latest episode of WWE Network series Ruthless Aggression, Paul Heyman recalled that Brock Lesnar threatened to leave WWE in 2002 if he was not called up to the main roster.

At the time, Lesnar was among a group of future WWE Superstars in the OVW developmental system – along with Batista, John Cena, Randy Orton and Shelton Benjamin – and he had not yet made any appearances on RAW or SmackDown.

Heyman said during the episode that Lesnar was tired of waiting around, so he issued an ultimatum to WWE while he was still an up-and-coming talent in OVW.

“Brock Lesnar had learned all he was going to learn in developmental and he was tired of developmental money. Brock Lesnar knew that he was the biggest box-office attraction that WWE was going to have, and Brock Lesnar was tired of waiting. So, Brock made a decision: move me up to the main roster or kiss my a** goodbye. It was a no-brainer of a decision [for WWE].”

Brock Lesnar’s first WWE run (2002-04)

One night after WrestleMania 18, Brock Lesnar debuted on WWE’s main roster by attacking Al Snow, Maven and Spike Dudley during a match on Monday Night RAW.

With Paul Heyman by his side, “The Next Big Thing” defeated high-profile names including Hulk Hogan, The Rock and The Undertaker in his first year in WWE, while he also won the 2002 King of the Ring, 2003 Royal Rumble and the main event of WrestleMania 19 against Kurt Angle.

One year later, Lesnar's final WWE match until 2012 ended in a defeat against Goldberg at WrestleMania 20 after he decided to leave the company.