Brock Lesnar & WWE Reach Lawsuit Settlement

RebelRockChick

Dave Meltzer has reported that the lawsuit between Brock Lesnar and World Wrestling Entertainment has finally come to a close and that the two parties have reached a settlement agreement on the non-compete dispute.

For the past two years, Brock Lesnar has been trying to get out of the no-compete clause he signed after WWE granted him a release from his conntract so he could persue his dream of playing in the NFL. The no-compete clause stated that Lesnar would not be able to participate in anything related to professional wrestling or ultimate fighting until the year 2010.

While full details are not yet available, it is understood that Lesnar will be able to compete in wrestling overseas as well as ultimate fighting, with certain stipulations that were agreed upon. While this is a big victory for Brock Lesnar, the settlement does come with many restrictions.

The main restriction is that the former WWE Champion will not be able to work for TNA Wrestling. However, Lesnar is said to be considering Mixed Martial Arts, now that he is legally able.

Credit: Rajah.com

castagnoli

I read on the ROH message boards that Lesnar is still banned from Sports Entertainment, ie TNA. People there reckon he might be able to work for ROH as they are not strictly Sports Entertainment. Obviously this is unlikely to happen as Lesnar would demand a huge fee but we can live in hope!

Lesnar vs Joe anyone.......

Vince135792003

Lesnar in the UFC lol. Theres dollars in that.

Stalfos

Congrats to Lesnar on that. Few have beaten WWE. Saying that he can't wrestle for TNA as well means WWE really know how big he could be now. I'd beat he'd be back on tv eventually if its UFC, ROH or whatever. May even go back to WWE. Wrestling fans would forgive him but WWE fans wouldn't, you know the ones that still like Cena.

Mr.Nice Guy

Stalfos wrote:

Congrats to Lesnar on that. Few have beaten WWE. Saying that he can't wrestle for TNA as well means WWE really know how big he could be now. I'd beat he'd be back on tv eventually if its UFC, ROH or whatever. May even go back to WWE. Wrestling fans would forgive him but WWE fans wouldn't, you know the ones that still like Cena.

How has he beaten WWE? The WWE have successfully prevented him from joining the one organisation that could be classed as competition to them.

Lesnar in TNA could have helped them get regular ratings of over 1.0 I reckon. I think Vinny Mac will be delighted.

Fozzy

I think Lesnar starting MMA would be an even worse idea than American football.. Although he'd probably be more talented at it considering his amateur wrestling achievements. Can't see him going that route though. Although it'd be interesting..

I wonder if he'll stop with NJPW now? I was thinking of it as a sort of thing he'd do until he got some restrictions lifted

Laguna

This may sound silly as I'm sure it's his real name, but the WWE wouldn't hold merchandising rights over his name still would they?, reason I ask is, if he does go on to become a, for example, UFC superstar, will he have to fight under a different name to retain merchandising rights (e.g. DVD's/Calendars/Action figures).. To me, this is the exact sort of thing that the merchandise obsessed WWE would be non co-operative about..

Cactus Col

It's a shame he can't go to TNA, I would've loved that, and it would've helped establish them as a rival. Although I do expect him to wrestle for one of the big two at some stage in his future career.

Dragan

Vince135792003 wrote:

Lesnar in the UFC lol. Theres dollars in that.

I think he would do very well to be honest. Worse wrestler than him have made it to a champioship contender level in teh UFC before with very few strikes and submissions.

With the right team Lesnar would be a HW beast, plain and simple. He could have one of the most effective ground and pound games in the business with the right training!

At the end of the day he's an athelte, and if he can pick up and drill wrestling he can do the same for submissions.

And you he will be stronger than practically all of his opponents. His conditioning and fitness would be top drawer, you don't become and NCAA champ if you gas easy!

All in all, i would LOVE IT!

J.R.HARTLEY

Mr.Nice Guy wrote:

How has he beaten WWE? The WWE have successfully prevented him from joining the one organisation that could be classed as competition to them.

Lesnar in TNA could have helped them get regular ratings of over 1.0 I reckon. I think Vinny Mac will be delighted.

in fairness it's a minor victory WWE didn't want him competeing anywhere unless it was wwe, remember them trying to stop him working in japan.
honestly though it's a hollow victory, without WWE or TNA he'll never make the living he could have

Stalfos

I'd doubt he agreed that he'd never compete for TNA. It's probably til 2010. So he'll probably go to MMA, UFC or ROH etc and then compete for TNA. 3 1/2 years isn't very long.

Mr.Nice Guy

J.R.HARTLEY wrote:

in fairness it's a minor victory WWE didn't want him competeing anywhere unless it was wwe, remember them trying to stop him working in japan.

I don't think they really care about him working in Japan. I remember J.R. making comments a few years ago about how they don't view Japan as being on their radar. I think the effort to stop him competing in Japan was more a case of Vince trying to cause Lesnar hassle.

From a business point of view, this is a clear victory for WWE. The time they invested in Lesnar's character won't see TNA, their only real competitors, utilise it to their advantage.

Vince135792003

Mr.Nice Guy wrote:

I don't think they really care about him working in Japan. I remember J.R. making comments a few years ago about how they don't view Japan as being on their radar. I think the effort to stop him competing in Japan was more a case of Vince trying to cause Lesnar hassle.

From a business point of view, this is a clear victory for WWE. The time they invested in Lesnar's character won't see TNA, their only real competitors, utilise it to their advantage.

It brings up the point though. Is TNA their only real competition or is it the UFC?

TNA got tv and it has only marginally bumped up thier ppv buys which are still tiny. They recently got moved to Thursday on a better time slot with a better leading and it did no better in terms of ratings. Don't get me wrong I hope they do well but right now there not were they would like to be.

UFC is not professional wrestling. But the principals are still the same. You build up characters that people are interested in so that they wil pay money to see them fight just like wrestling. In the space of a year the UFC are doing gates and ppv buys that are surpassing the majority of all WWE ppvs.

I guess my point is if the WWE keep going the way there going a large part of thier audience will jump to shows like the UFC who do a better job at creating stars, personalities and feuds that people will pay money to see fight. And getting Lesnar would only add to their momentum.

I

J.R.HARTLEY

i'd have to say i'm more likely to watch a UFC PPV than a WWE one,can't wait for gracies return

Fozzy

I'm a fan of mma and wrestling, but I still keep a distinction between the two. To me, they're nothing alike. UFC appeals to a lot of people who just don't like wrestling, so it's a large portion of the audience that WWE is never going to attract anyway. I still think TNA is a bigger threat to them

Although, if Lesnar did have a few appearances in the UFC, it would certainly attract a wrestling fanbase. Doubt they'd just be "converted" though

Vince135792003

Funny enough, Meltzer did an article this week where he said a large bulk of TNA's viewers came from the UFC. Thats why UFC's ultimate fighter is a lead in for TNA because they want to attract some of the MMA audience to it.

I'd disagree with you about them being different. Promotion of the two is identical. As I said before both WWE and UFCs objective is to build personalities/feuds up to the point that people will pay to see them fight.

Thats why Tito v Griffin done gigantic business. There great fighters but more to the point they both have great personality/charisma which is what sold the fight.

I think long term if UFC continue to grow or even just maintain where it is, its now a huge major player in competition with professional wrestling and boxing.

J.R.HARTLEY

while i would agree that they are substantially different, i thinnk that both promotions are vying for a single spot in most peoples lives/tv routines, only ardent fans would watch both (and before anyone comes on saying they watch both, i would consider taking the time to join, read and add to a pro wreslting forum the actions of an ardent fan)
to be honest even with all the success UFC has gotten to now, i still see the only way that company can go is up, wwe is balancing however with a lot to lose.
let me put it to you this way there are probably 5 times the amount of closet wwe fans as there are standard UFC fans