WWE: Will the Locker Room Resent Brock Lesnar as Much as the Rock?

No one should be surprised that Brock Lesnar, per reports, snagged himself such a highly lucrative deal upon his return to WWE two weeks ago.

After all, the company is struggling from a lack of established stars to push: Reliable veterans Edge and Shawn Michaels have retired in the last two years. HHH and The Undertaker, while still around, are working incredibly light schedules these days. As a major name that fans will respond loudly to, Lesnar is desperately needed right now.

There may also be the underling factor that the promotion sees this as a way to makeup some of the ground they've lost to MMA group UFC in recent times. Lesnar is, of course, a former UFC Heavyweight Champion, and the hope may be that he can snatch back some of the wrestling fans who flocked to MMA a few years ago and simply never came back.

So we shouldn't be surprised WWE acquiesced and gave Lesnar the light schedule and big money he demanded. They probably felt they couldn't do without him.

But what of the WWE locker room's reaction to this recent deal?

Hey, as the recent furor surrounding The Rock's return to the promotion illustrates, a lot of people in the company are thin-skinned and can be incredibly protective of the business, especially when it comes to outsiders, whom despite their extensive histories in the company, both Lesnar and Rock are.

This isn't just regulated to backstage grumbling or whispers. Indeed, Rock was openly criticised by top wrestlers like CM Punk, Randy Orton and John Cena, with the stars bemoaning the Hollywood actor's lack of backstage etiquette and prioritizing of movies over wrestling.

Honestly, if anything, Lesnar's backstage heat may be worse than Rock's. Whatever else anyone wants to say about Rock, at least he genuinely loves wrestling, hence why he continually returns to the company, even though he could just stay in Hollywood and continue making millions in blockbuster action movies like GI Joe 2 or Fast Five.

Brock, on the other hand, appears to see this mainly as a business deal, one in which he can make a whole lot of money for no work. As Dave Meltzer noted in last week's (subscribers-only) Wrestling Observer Newsletter when discussing Brock's current mindset:

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He's not going back for fame. He’s not going back for ego. He’s not going back because he loves the business because of family ties like Dwayne Johnson, or because he was a fan from childhood like most of the current roster. Lesnar is Vince McMahon’s first true mercenary, in it because it is a way to make a lot of money.

"

Certainly, such a casual attitude will likely ruffle a few feathers in the locker room, especially since the vast majority of wrestlers were major fans since childhood and consider being there a huge privilege.

Interestingly, while the comparison with The Rock may be the first thing that springs to mind when considering Brock's current backstage situation, another person to bring up is Bill Goldberg. The WCW star signed a big-money contract (with a limited number of dates) in 2003 and gained a ton of heat for not working more live events, as Meltzer also noted in last week's Wrestling Observer Newsletter:

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Goldberg worked eight dates a month instead of two, and for considerably less money. And he was constantly pressured to work more dates than he was under contract to do, and frustrated management when he wouldn’t. Wrestlers were resentful he was making so much, not working full time, and that they all had to sell their asses off for him until the company nixed doing so.

"

Will Brock find himself in a similar situation to Goldberg? It's seems very possible. In particular, it is easy to envisage a situation in which WWE asks Lesnar to work a major house show at Madison Square Garden and and grow irked when he turns them down flat.

That said, one thing to consider is that even if WWE wrestlers and management do greatly resent Brock, we are highly unlikely to hear them speak out in interviews—that talk will be kept firmly behind closed doors.

Put simply, the massive, muscle-bound Brock is a terrifying human being, as anyone who saw his dominant, devastating run in UFC will attest to. Even with his various health problems in recent times, he's still a dangerous fighter who would flatten anyone on the roster in a real fight in roughly 30 seconds (that long?).

While someone like Punk may have felt comfortable blasting nice guy The Rock in interviews, will he be voicing his complaints about Lesnar knowing full well he has to face him backstage on Monday's Raw? Very doubtful.

Summarily, as the recipient of a huge contract and 5-star treatment, Lesnar will almost certainly be the target of the same backstage envy and resentment that hampered Rock's latest run. In such a highly sensitive locker room, it is simply unavoidable. Although, on the bright side, the former UFC star's fearsome real-life credentials will probably force most of the naysayers to show grudging respect for him—publicly, at least.