ECW original Spike Dudley recently looked back on his role in Brock Lesnar’s first televised WWE match, describing the future multi-time world champion as both a “monster” and “extremely respectful.” Speaking on the “Insight” podcast, Dudley recounted the March 18, 2002, episode of RAW where he was one of Lesnar’s first opponents.
“It was easy for him to toss me around. I mean, he was a f****’ monster,”* Dudley said. He added that according to Paul Heyman, Lesnar himself had a say in who he worked with for his debut, selecting Dudley and Funaki. “Brock understood that if I can make him look like a monster, it’s great. So, he had a good head on his shoulders. Brock was always extremely respectful.”
Dudley also shared a specific memory from the match, which saw Lesnar deliver a series of powerful moves. “That was the only time I tapped out. Because he hits me with three powerbombs, it was supposed to be five,” he explained. “We said in the back, just do as many as you can, let’s go for five. But after the third one, I was just seeing stars, I couldn’t hold myself up anymore. And I was just like, that’s it brother.”
Dudley’s comments offer a glimpse into the beginning of a career that has once again become a major topic in professional wrestling. Lesnar made a shocking and controversial return to WWE earlier this month at SummerSlam on August 3. Following the main event where Cody Rhodes defeated John Cena, Lesnar appeared and attacked Cena, delivering an F-5 to close the show. The attack was Lesnar’s first appearance since losing to Cody Rhodes at SummerSlam 2023.
The return was met with significant backlash, as it was Lesnar’s first time on WWE programming since being implicated in the sex trafficking lawsuit filed by former employee Janel Grant against Vince McMahon and WWE in January 2024. While Lesnar is not a named defendant in the suit and has not been charged with a crime, the complaint alleges McMahon offered Grant to him as part of contract negotiations.
According to a report from Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select, Lesnar’s return was kept a closely guarded secret within the company. In the days following SummerSlam, WWE Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque told ESPN, “We hit him up, and said, ‘Time to come home.’ And he was into it, and here we are.” Reporting from Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio indicated that WWE’s legal team had cleared Lesnar for a return approximately four weeks before the event.