Jim Ross Says Brock Lesnar Wouldn’t Sign With WWE Unless Shelton Benjamin Got A Deal Too

Jim Ross has a great article at FOX Sports looking at the career of Brock Lesnar. JR wrote in-depth about recruiting Lesnar, and noted that one of Lesnar’s conditions for signing was that the company also sign his roommate, Shelton Benjamin.

“The only catch was that we needed to also recruit and offer Brock’s Minnesota teammate, Shelton Benjamin, as well,” JR wrote. “Benjamin was an amazing athlete, and signing the South Carolina native was a blessing as he had a solid WWE career, arguably underutilized in the opinion of some. Plus, he made Brock’s transition from the amateurs to the pros much easier.

“Robinson (Lesnar’s wrestling coach) knew Brock could be a challenging athlete to manage, so having Benjamin in the same training camp was a major positive in the development of Lesnar.

JR also noted that when Vince McMahon first saw Lesnar at a WWE live event in Minneapolis, he stopped dead in his tracks and introduced himself, which is the first time JR could recall him doing that. Vince then asked Lesnar if he was ready to join the company.

“I’ve always wanted to be an entertainer,” Lesnar replied.