Openly gay former pro wrestler Chris Kanyon (right) has become well-known after his career for 1) being gay and 2) for not pulling punches when it comes to talkin about pro wrestling. The latest in Kanyon’s sites: Brock Lesnar, who a couple weeks ago won a big fight on UFC. On Myspace, Kanyon rips into Lesnar, questioning his integrity and saying that Lesnar’s success comes from his luck and preferential treatment, not his skill.
And the biggest question of all remains unanswered. How does Lesnar continue to be so damn lucky? His public statements vary from offensive to ridiculous to covered-up by reporters to protect him from his own stupidity. And an intelligent businessman like Dana White still supports and promotes him.
White is the president of UFC.
Kanyon also rips the WWE and UFC for giving Lesnar too many opportunities:
With no respect for Wrestlers or Wresting, Lesnar was promoted quickly and at the cost of many fan favorites and Legends. He was immediately given big wins over Jeff and Matt Hardy, destroying them along the way. He was then given wins over Rob Van Damn, Hulk Hogan, The Rock, The Undertaker (in one of his trademark matches: Hell in the Cell), was made King of the Ring, won the Royal Rumble, was given the WWE Championship 3 times and was put in a WrestleMania main event. And how does Lesnar thank the WWE, Vince McMahon, and all the wrestlers that let him beat them to help him get over? He quits.
And what’s worse, after a failed attempt to get into the NFL (where it takes actual talent to succeed as opposed to guys like Vince McMahon and Dana White fawning over you), he enters the UFC, direct competition to the WWE for their Pay Per View dollars. Will Vince ever learn?
This is the same Lesnar who told an ESPN reporter: “I don’t like gays. Write that down in your little notebook. I don’t like gays.”
on Dec 6th, 2008 at 1:31 PM
So if Brock liked gays, would Kanyon still foam at the mouth with envy? The reason he went over in WWE was because he sold tickets and the same reason in UFC except he actually has to win the fights, and has. So he tried and failed in the NFL but not for lack of effort. While Brock has had some luck in being at the right place at the right time, the only one who sounds dumb is Kanyon.
on Dec 6th, 2008 at 1:33 PM
Mark, you’re just showing ignorance thinking that it’s envy. You’re more than welcome to your own opinion, it would just be nice if that opinion sprouted and grew from an intelligent place instead of a quickly judgmental one.
on Dec 6th, 2008 at 6:31 PM
Unfortunately, envy or not, is doesn’t chance the fact his last sentence is pretty much right on. Like Lesnar would probably say to him: tough shit, get in line. He’s not the first to whine about how Lesnar got better treatment than him.
on Dec 6th, 2008 at 7:43 PM
I don’t get “envy” out of that article at all.. maybe you should actually read it? Let’s face it, Lesnar is a genetic freak and he’s probably only going to get better. The point, though, is that he has a long history of being in the right place at the right time, and still being a jackass and a jerk the entire time.
on Dec 7th, 2008 at 8:34 AM
Mark Byrne,
I appreciate your opinion that I am envious. And truth be told, sure, I would like it if people like Dana White and Vince McMahon put me in positions to make millions of dollars. But I sense that you were trying to insinuate that I wrote the article only because I am envious and only because Lesnar hates gays.
I really believe that if you read my entire Lesnar blog at http://www.myspace.com/chriskanyon, you would come away from it understanding the bigger themes of my blog: that with great power comes great responsibility, and that Lesnar, despite himself, has been put in positions of power and has shown incredible lack of responsibility by his hurtful comments about gays that may have done some serious damage to young, gay impressionable youth that look up to him.
As far as your comment, “The reason he went over in WWE was because he sold tickets and the same reason in UFC except he actually has to win the fights, and has.” Not entirely true.
He “got over” in the WWE because he was heavily promoted, given huge wins at the expense of guys like Hulk Hogan, The Rock and The Undertaker, and was “pushed.” Only after that did he possibly sell tickets, although attendence records and ratings show that Lesnar actuall was not a big draw at all, despite his heavy promotion. And his UFC record was only 1 win and 1 loss when he got a shot at the UFC Heavyweight title. That kind of treatment is unprecedented and certainly, without a doubt, favorable treatment.
on Dec 7th, 2008 at 1:18 PM
You go, Kanyon, leave it all out on the field while you’re still in the game of life! I admire the courage of a man who can be honest about himself and take on the empires of masculinity. Wrestle their minds!
on Dec 7th, 2008 at 4:37 PM
It’s not luck Lesnar became the NCAA champion, it’s not luck he catapulted to the top of the WWE, it’s not luck he nearly made the Vikings, and it’s not luck he is the UFC HW Champion. Lesnar is an extremely hard worker.
How can you say something like you only live life once, then rip Lesnar because he’s trying to find what HE wants in his life? Lesnar wants to be the best, to be KNOWN as the best, and he wants to do it on his terms. He has the work ethic and the ability to sell himself as an asshole to make it happen (note if you actually read up on him, he’s actually extremely nice when he’s not in some public display) He’s able to convince people that he deserves a shot at whatever he tries. It wasn’t luck he beat on Herring for so long Dana was impressed. It wasn’t luck he was fast and huge so McMahon told Heyman to be his manager. That was a result of hard work, hours in the gym training and watching his diet.
But this is a futile argument. People will hate Lesnar no matter what, often offering feeble justification.
on Dec 8th, 2008 at 1:11 PM
Anon,
I will never take anything away from Lesnar’s college wrestling career….his record stands for itself.
But, I do not have to read about Lesnar to know if he was a good person or not. I know Brock. I was in the locker room with Brock. I was on the road with him. I saw how he treated other wrestlers and fans. I heard what he had to say behind closed doors. Believe me, he is not “extremely nice” as you say. Actually, he is quite the opposite.
And thats fine, but if you read my entire blog on my myspace, you would see that that is not the problem that I have with him. He was lucky enough to be made champ and into a superstar by McMahon (and yes, that is all luck…Vince could have made him lose every match and he would have never become a star). Because he got lucky that Vince made him a star, Dana White decided to give him a title shot after a mediocre record of 1 win and 1 loss in the UFC against a guy that #1 has not fought in over a year, #2 a guy that is 45 years old (while Brock is only 31- 14 years younger and in the prime of his physical being while Couture is 45 YEARS OLD) and #3 a guy that Lesnar had a 40 lbs. weight advantage over.
Those 3 points werent skill, they were luck. Lucky that he fought Couture when Randy was 45 and not when Randy was in his early 30’s. Lucky that he fought Randy after a period that Couture did not fight in over a year and lucky that the UFC doesnt have a SuperHeavyweight division (225 and over), and that he can actually out weigh his oponent by 40 lbs. No other division in MMA allows that kind of weight advantage. Again, dumb luck for Lesnar.
And again, thats all fine. So he is lucky. Who cares. The problem I have is that he was lucky enough to be put in positions of power by Dana and Vince. I believe with that power comes great responsibility. And Lesnar was totally irresponsible, prerhaps hurting young gay children severely with his words. That is my problem with him. He abused the power Dana and Vince gave him, was irresponsible and I decided to call him out on it, and that is it. Not based on envy, not based on hatred, but based on a sense of responsibility to help protect young gay kids. And if you think that that is wrong to do, might I suggest taking a good long look at yourself, and realize that some may not be as “lucky” as you..
on Dec 8th, 2008 at 9:33 PM
All Brock said was “I don’t like gays. Write that down in your little notebook. I don’t like gays.”
How is that comment “totally irresponsible, perhaps hurting young gay children severely.”
Seriously? Are you THAT sensitive? Are all those “young gay children” so sensitive that someone not agreeing with their lifestyle could “severely” hurt them?
So what. Brock doesn’t like gay people, big deal man, get over it. He disagrees with your lifestyle, actually, so do I, but…so what. It’s your life, live it however you want as long as you aren’t hurting anyone else. There is a huge difference between disagreeing with something and saying that someone doesn’t have a right to live a life of their choosing.
Maybe you have other experiences with Brock that are coloring your views here, but I fail to see what is so horrific about the comment you referenced. If you or others aren’t grounded enough in your lifestyle to deal with someone disagreeing with it, that is an issue with you, not the other person.
I’m sure there are many things about my life you wouldn’t agree with, but I simply don’t care, we are free to see things differently as long as we respect each others right to live in our own way.
Why do you care so much what Brock(or others) think about your life? Really, you need to consider that.
Peace…
on Mar 9th, 2009 at 2:05 AM
I can’t really claim to understand why Lesnar gets such a big break—does he have some connection to Vince and Dana that existed prior to the beginning of his career? Did he bribe them? Or maybe it really IS just a lucky coincidence? Or is it a combination of luck AND skill?
All I can say is this: With such a large lump of “ups” coming his way all at once, he’s bound to run into a large number of “downs” sooner or later, possibly even career-ending (though I hope I didn’t just jinx him, whether or not he deserves it). Luck can’t last forever. I honestly don’t think his fortunes have much to do with skill, considering that wrestling is fixed…that doesn’t quite explain his big win in UFC, however…unless that’s fixed, too. My guess is that it’s a little from Column A and a little from Column B.
But I’m just rambling now.
Personally, I can’t stand that mofo. He seems like the kind of guy who would vaporize the skulls of any guy who looked at him that certain way. I personally think his reason for his aggression toward gays is that he may have actually LIKED that gay angle he was in (no pun intended, I ~swear~) and is insecure about it. If he really hated them as much as he says he does, wouldn’t he have quit WWE at the very MENTION of that angle? And even if not, I don’t think even the greatest of actors could’ve gone through with it with a straight face, unless they either were actually enjoying it, were secure with their heterosexuality (which Brock doesn’t seem to be), or…I dunno, had multiple personalities, and were switched over to their other personality during the angle or something.
And C.K., I don’t think you have anything to worry about. You’re a lot more likable than Brock will ever be…and were I you, I would just be glad that Lesnar isn’t there anymore. And even if you ARE jealous, if what you’re saying is true, then you have every right to be. It sounds to me like he’s getting a free ride.
I think that, to test whether Mr. Lez-No is lucky or actually talented, he needs to try out for two or three more sports that require actual talent rather than favor from higher powers. He also needs to do it without having someone censor him. If at least one of them accepts him, and keeps him on for at least 6 months, I’ll admit that he has some talent. If all of them turn him away, then yeah.
on Oct 31st, 2009 at 6:22 PM
As a serious student and a fan of the professional wrestling business, I completely concur with Mr. Kanyon’s asessment of Lesnar. The only other guy that was pushed nearly as hard was Goldberg, but with Goldberg, it never seemed to go to his head much. I also find Bill Goldberg being actually entertaining in all of his other endeavors like that car race show etc.
A point no one has brought up yet is, how many neck injuries did Lesnar perpetrate in his short lived wrestling career in the WWE? How many other injuries did he cause? All because he was NOT talented nor even close to ready to be “The Next Big Thing” as a professional wrestler. Don’t want to believe, go to youtube and search for the F***Ups and injuries Lesnar caused.
Another thing, Lesnar once gave an interview as to why he was quitting wrestling. At that time, he said he wanted to be a more stable father to his child and spend more time with him/her. Ok, so he tries the NFL and FAILS miserably. I didn’t see nor hear of him for a while. Next I see him, he isn’t being a father and has hooked up with the former Sable of the WWE (Rena Mero) a phony, painted up hussey who herself promoted her sex idol standing during the “Attitude Era” in WWE, wearing skimpy as hell outfits and once even having painted breasts instead of a top to cover them.
NOW, Lesnar is saying he left WWE because wrestling is an immoral business and he couldn’t live with himself, yet, he ends up with Rena Mero? Gawd what a hypocrite. Maybe I’m wrong and they’ve both found God, but if that is so, Lesnar sure isn’t doing “what Jesus would do”. The guy isn’t even close to entertaining, he comes off like the big bully and is pushing it to the max. I hope his next fight (I forget the opponents name) Lesnar is dominated by someone his own size and shuts that hole under his nose.
But alas, Lesnar is so full of himself, even a good ass kicking wouldn’t shut him up. Too bad all that muscle on his body has also set in, in between his ears too.