Backstage News On Previous WrestleMania Plans For Brock Lesnar
It was only two days ago on "WWE Raw" that the WrestleMania match few ever expected was made official when Brock Lesnar accepted the challenge to face Omos at the big show. But, in what may come as a shock to very few people, Lesnar versus Omos was by no means the first, second, third, or even fourth choice for Lesnar at the Showcase of the Immortals.
According to Fightful Select, the first name floated as a potential opponent for Lesnar was none other than "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, who was initially approached with a big money offer to face Lesnar after the retirement of Vince McMahon in the summer. Ultimately, Austin turned the match down, leading to WWE pitching Austin versus Roman Reigns as an alternative idea. After allegedly being offered far less than he was for the match with Lesnar, however, Austin turned down the Reigns match as well.
After Austin, Lesnar's next potential opponent, according to internal WWE documents from this past fall, was to be WWE Intercontinental Champion GUNTHER. The idea was ultimately scrapped, however, after rumors of the match first sprouted up around Survivor Series. No reason was given for the change, though it was noted that GUNTHER's Intercontinental Title wouldn't have been on the line in the proposed match.
Bray Wyatt Was Pitched As WrestleMania Opponent For Brock Lesnar
Following GUNTHER came proposals for Lesnar to face either Bobby Lashley, his on-again, off-again rival, or Bray Wyatt. Similar to the reasons behind GUNTHER being removed as a potential opponent, it remains unclear why Lashley-Lensar was taken off the table, especially after the issues between the two went unsolved at Elimination Chamber.
With Wyatt, however, sources indicated that the match with Wyatt was nixed by Lesnar himself, who turned down the idea for undisclosed reasons. With no other ideas left on the table following the Lashley and Wyatt pitches, all roads then led to Lesnar and Omos. And yet, one should perhaps not yet count their chickens on that match either.
While Omos versus Lesnar is a go right now, however, it was noted that an "undisclosed backup" plan had been established "just in case." No further details were provided, beyond the fact that the scenario wasn't in the plans at this time. As for who came up with the idea for Omos versus Lesnar, which has drawn tons of speculation online, there is no confirmation as to who originally came up with the idea. It was, however, confirmed that Lesnar was on board with the match, and approved it when approached.