Before the recently returned Brock Lesnar became one in all WWE’s most dominant world champions, he was tossing around smaller opponents to showcase his freakish strength. One among the lads who helped make “The Next Big Thing” look unstoppable was Spike Dudley, who recently reflected on being chosen as one in all Lesnar’s early opponents.
“It was easy for him to toss me around. I mean, he was a f*****’ monster,” Dudley said on the “Insight” podcast. “I heard Paul [Heyman] say once they discuss Brock’s debut, like, they asked Brock, who do you wanna work with, they usually picked me and Funaki as guys he desired to work with, meaning that Brock understood that if I can appear to be a monster, it’s great. So, he had a very good head on his shoulders. Brock was at all times extremely respectful.”
Dudley also spoke concerning the powerbomb sequence that became probably the most brutal visuals of Lesnar’s debut.
“That was the one time I tapped out. Because he hits me with three powerbombs, it was imagined to be five. We said within the back, just do as many as you’ll be able to, let’s go for five. But after the third one, I used to be just seeing stars, I could not hold myself up anymore. And I used to be similar to, that is it brother.”
Lesnar’s demolition of Dudley and Funaki helped establish him as a destructive force in WWE from day one, and the spot quickly became a part of Lesnar’s highlight reel as his profession skyrocketed. For those wondering what Spike Dudley is as much as nowadays, he’s remarkably still intact and stays an informal fan of the business.
Greater than 20 years later, the image of Dudley being rag-dolled across the ring stays a vivid reminder of Lesnar’s arrival — and of Spike’s unique role in helping present the “Beast Incarnate” to the WWE universe.
When you use any quotes from this text, please credit the “Insight with Chris Van Vliet” podcast and supply a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for transcription.