‘They Were Trying to Strong-Arm Me’: ‘Foreigner’ Brock Lesnar Got Intimidated by Antonio Inoki’s Son-in-Law at an International Airport in His Late 20s

Brock Lesnar is among the few wrestlers who truly embody their moniker. In his case, it’s ‘The Beast’. Lesnar, 45, is built like a tank and usually steamrolls his opponents with ease. And not just in pro wrestling, where wrestlers need to sell the move, he has proved his brute strength in UFC as well. The beating participants take there, unlike pro wrestling, is legitimate.

Despite his build, he was admittedly once left intimidated by other wrestlers at an international airport in Japan.

The belt that got Brock Lesnar in a standoff with colleagues

Not just the WWE, Brock Lesnar also plied his trade in NJPW in Japan. It was during the time he had quit Vince McMahon’s promotion for a career in the NFL. In Japan, Lesnar quickly rose through the ranks and won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship belt. He was a big deal in the promotion run by Antonio Inoki and his son-in-law Simon, as the youngest-ever WWE champion at 25.

But slowly, the chinks in the bond between the Inokis and the wrestler started coming to the surface. Lesnar wrote in his autobiography, Death Clutch: My Story Of Determination, Domination, And Survival, that while everything was right at the beginning of his stint, NJPW slowly started to falter at keeping their end of the bargain.

On 4th January 2006, Lesnar fought Shinsuke Nakamura at the Tokyo Dome for the heavyweight title. Though he defended his title, something unexpected happened. After the match, Lesnar was forced to travel with other wrestlers on a bus. This was different than the arrangement he was used to.

Lesnar said that he didn’t get paid the agreed amount and decided to keep something for himself as the wager. The 45-year-old chose the prestigious belt as his bargaining chip and packed it with him in the suitcase. At the airport, though, he was approached by Simon Inoki, who asked him to hand over the belt. But Lesnar refused politely.

“…the Inokis must have anticipated my response because Simon had a couple of the New Japan wrestlers with him. It looked to Brad [Rheingans] and me like they were going to try to strong-arm me for the title belt,” he wrote in his book.

Read More: Years Before Signing With WWE, Shinsuke Nakamura Developed Grudges Against Brock Lesnar: “He Scoffed at Us..I Didn’t Like His Personality”

“They had the advantage because I was a foreigner on their home turf and didn’t speak the language, and if security jumped in, they could say anything they wanted to,” he added.

Brock Lesnar wasn’t willing to back away either

Lesnar’s refusal to give in resulted in a standoff between the two groups. “When those guys tried to intimidate us, Brad and I stared right back at them as we backed ten steps to the ticket counter, where I just let them know in no uncertain terms, ‘I’m taking the title with me!’,” the excerpts read.

While he felt the danger of being a foreigner, the location played to his advantage. Fortunately, the matters did not escalate, and Brock Lesnar left with the belt in his possession.

For months he did not return the belt, snubbing requests from the NJPW. He ultimately dropped it to Kurt Angle in June 2007 but at the inaugural show from the IGF, which was a new promotion floated by the Inokis.

“I enjoyed getting back in the ring with Kurt for one night and had no problem dropping the title to him,” he said.

With that, Lesnar’s bitter-sweet journey with the NJPW also came to an end. So, were you aware of this event? Let us know in the comments.

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