Eric Bischoff isn’t expecting Brock Lesnar to suddenly come out of retirement for Real American Freestyle, but he isn’t completely shutting the door either.
Speaking on The Game Plan ahead of RAF 12, Bischoff was asked whether Lesnar could potentially compete for the freestyle wrestling promotion he co-founded with Hulk Hogan. His immediate answer left at least a little room open.
“Anything’s possible.”
Bischoff knows Lesnar, but he made it clear they aren’t particularly close. What he does know about Brock is enough to make him think an RAF appearance probably isn’t where Lesnar’s life is headed after WWE.
“I don’t want to give the impression that I know Brock real well, I know Brock, we’re friendly, let’s put it that way, but it’s not like we call each other and chat, wish each other merry Christmas, stuff like that.”
According to Bischoff, Lesnar would much rather disappear back to his farm than immediately find another reason to compete in front of an audience.
“He’s a very unique individual. He’s a loner. He would just prefer to be on his farm, hunting, maybe fishing, or on his tractor plowing a field. That’s the highlight of his life.”
There’s another reason Bischoff doesn’t see it happening. He said Lesnar wants to spend time with his daughter, Mya Lesnar, as she pursues her own athletic goals, and claimed that was part of Brock’s reason for retiring from WWE.
“Spend time with his daughter – she’s on a mission to win an Olympic gold medal as a shot putter. He retired from WWE so he could focus on that.”
Then Bischoff got to the biggest obstacle. Lesnar has never exactly loved the public side of being Brock Lesnar.
“Knowing how much he doesn’t like the public, making public appearances – and it’s not that he doesn’t like people as much, he’s just not comfortable in that environment, and I get that.”
For that reason I would say probably not.”
But Bischoff stopped short of saying no. Real American Freestyle would bring Lesnar back to something that existed long before WWE or UFC entered his life: amateur wrestling. Lesnar became an NCAA Division I heavyweight champion in 2000, and Bischoff believes that background is the one thing that keeps the possibility alive.
“But he’s also a former wrestler, and you know what that means? So there might be a chance.”
Bischoff pointed out that wrestling became the foundation for practically everything Lesnar accomplished afterward.
“Because amateur wrestling, collegiate wrestling, was a big part of Brock’s life and a big part of the reason he was as successful as he was – whether it be in the NFL as a walk on for the Minnesota Vikings, or a UFC Champion, or a multi-time, multi-decade force of nature in WWE. It started with amateur wrestling.”
Lesnar already said after retiring from WWE that he wasn’t looking to jump into UFC or another public form of competition. Bischoff doesn’t sound particularly optimistic that RAF will change his mind either.
Still, he knows what wrestling means to Brock. That’s why his answer isn’t “never.” It’s probably not—with just enough of a chance left to make the possibility interesting.
Would you want to see Brock Lesnar compete in Real American Freestyle after his WWE retirement? Let us know in the comments below.
