One of modern wrestling’s most discussed “what-ifs” has now been confirmed. Scott D’Amore has revealed that Brock Lesnar was in genuine talks to sign with TNA Wrestling in 2007 — a move that, had it happened, could have dramatically reshaped the industry’s trajectory.
The confirmation came through D’Amore’s D’Amore Drop blog, where the former TNA President backed up Kurt Angle’s recent comments on the subject. At the time, D’Amore was working as a producer for TNA and served as the initial point of contact for Lesnar before escalating the matter to the company’s owner, Dixie Carter.
In his post, D’Amore described how the discussions began and reflected on the potential impact of a Lesnar signing:
“Kurt Angle revealed this week that Brock Lesnar was in talks with TNA back in 2007. This is absolutely true — I was the producer of almost all Kurt’s early matches in TNA and he came to me saying Brock wanted to come over. Kurt was very excited about this and, obviously, it would have been a huge, maybe trajectory-altering signing for TNA. I passed it on to Dixie Carter, who owned TNA at the time. But, as you already know, it didn’t happen. It’s a huge what-if, not just for TNA, but for Lesnar. If he came to TNA on a big contract in 2007, would he have still debuted in MMA that year? Would he have felt the need to go fight in the UFC in 2008 and help usher in a legion of new fans for the UFC? I suppose we’ll never know.”
The timing of these talks coincided with a period when Lesnar was competing internationally. While absent from WWE, he wrestled in Japan for IGF, including a high-profile match against Kurt Angle at the IGF Bom-Ba-Ye event for the IWGP Third Belt.
Although the TNA deal never materialized, Lesnar’s actual career path is once again in the spotlight. This Saturday, he is slated to open WWE Wrestlepalooza against John Cena, a marquee contest chosen to launch the company’s new partnership with ESPN Unlimited.
D’Amore’s account secures a key detail in wrestling history, one that invites reflection on how different the landscape might have been for TNA, for Lesnar’s legacy, and for the UFC’s mainstream boom had those negotiations reached an agreement.