Paul Heyman Says WWE Star Has Impacted Brock Lesnar's Psyche

Brock Lesnar has well established himself as a force to be reckoned with in the landscape of mixed martial arts, and professional wrestling. Defeating the likes of John Cena, Roman Reigns and The Rock, Lesnar evidently slayed some of the best performers that WWE has offered him up. However, a bout with "The Almighty" Bobby Lashley had been 20 years in the making.

Though they both endured ventures in both sports, Lashley and Lesnar never met one-on-one until January 2022 at the Royal Rumble. There, Lashley stunned "The Beast," pinning him to win the WWE Championship. "He just wanted to get in there with Brock Lesnar and he wanted an opportunity to show the world 'I'm equal, if not better than Brock Lesnar,'" Lesnar's former advocate, Paul Heyman, told WWE's "After The Bell" podcast. "This is something that Brock did not see coming."

Lesnar would ultimately win the title back three weeks later, before shifting his focus to "Tribal Chief" Roman Reigns. However, Lashley's unexpected victory rattled the normally stone-cold Lesnar. "This is not someone that was on Brock's radar ever. This is not someone that Brock Lesnar took seriously," Heyman said.

Now, the two have rekindled their rivalry with multiple verbal and physical altercations as they braced for their match WWE's Crown Jewel pay-per-view, which Lesnar won. Recently, Lashley speared "The Beast Incarnate" through the ringside barricade, before delivering another one across the announcer's table. "Bobby Lashley has made such an impact on the psyche of Brock Lesnar," Heyman continued. "Brock Lesnar actually has something and someone to think about right now."