

Brock Lesnar left WWE in 2004 after getting frustrated with the company’s hectic schedule. Moreover, WWE had offered him a more appealing contract to stay, but he left. The Beast Incarnate had plans to pursue an NFL career post-WWE.
Lesnar signed with the NFL team the Minnesota Vikings. However, his NFL career didn’t go the way he would have thought of.
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A few years ago, in 2008, Power Slam shared an interview they had with Brock Lesnar in their magazine. In the interview, Lesnar shared his views on what he thought of his WWE colleagues, who might have chuckled over his release from the developmental contract by the Minnesota Vikings in August 2004.
The Conqueror said, “I’m sure there was. But I don’t care. I’m living my own life: I’m not living anyone else’s. If they’re happy with what they’re doing, that’s fine with me.” (H/T Wrestling Inc)

The Beast was serious about his career in the NFL. In one of the interviews, Lesnar had said, “This is no load of bull; it’s no WWE stunt. I am dead serious about this… I ain’t afraid of anything, and I ain’t afraid of anybody. I’ve been an underdog in athletics since I was 5. I got zero college offers for wrestling. Now people say I can’t play football, that it’s a joke. I say I can.”
He added, “I’m as good an athlete as a lot of guys in the NFL, if not better… I’ve always had to fight for everything. I wasn’t the best technician in amateur wrestling. But I was strong, had great conditioning, and a hard head. Nobody could break me. As long as I have that, I don’t give a damn what anybody else thinks.”
Clearly, Lesnar was adamant to make a career in professional football and show the world again that he can achieve anything.
Why did the Minnesota Vikings release Brock Lesnar?
Lesnar signed with the Minnesota Vikings in June 2004 and was released in August of the same year. The former WWE Champion played a few pre-season games and impressed many people in the sport.
In honor of Brock Lesnar winning the WWE Universal Championship, flashback to his days as an NFL hopeful with the Vikings pic.twitter.com/OqkBs0vEGT
— B/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) July 15, 2019
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However, a nasty motorcycle accident left him with a broken jaw, a bruised pelvis, and a pulled groin. Lesnar was not a hundred percent fit for the tryouts, which left the Minnesota Vikings with no option but to release him.
He trained with the Minnesota team for two months but was not able to make the final roster. Nevertheless, he was called by the Vikings to represent them in NFL Europa, but Lesnar didn’t want to leave the USA. Therefore, he rejected the offer, which opened the door to the world of MMA.

via Getty
Brock Lesnar fights through the offensive line in a morning drill pitting the offense against defense during Minnesota Vikings Training Camp in Mankato Minnesota on August 4, 2004 (Photo by Tom Dahlin/Getty Images) *** Local Caption ***
Brock Lesnar soon announced his MMA debut and after one fight joined the UFC. In his UFC career, The Conqueror won five matches out of eight, in which he also had an 11-month UFC Heavyweight title reign.
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