‘He Was Looking Down on People’: Brock Lesnar Accused of Lying to Japanese Fans While Making Money Off Them in 2006

Brock Lesnar once squared off against Shinsuke Nakamura in the latter’s home country, Japan, in 2006 for a title match at NJPW. The two wrestlers fought for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship inside the Tokyo Dome on January 4. Lesnar used his newly named finisher ‘The Verdict’ to pin the King of Strong Style and keep the belt for himself.

Despite the match going as per the predetermined result, Nakamura wasn’t happy after the end of the bout. He accused his opponent of cheating the Japanese fans.

What was Shinsuke Nakamura furious about?

At 23 years old, Shinsuke Nakamura was the youngest wrestler to win the coveted belt. Two years later, Brock Lesnar won it in a triple-threat match involving Masahiro Chono and Kazuyuki Fujita. After a short run with the title, Nakamura and Lesnar met in the aforementioned match.

In his autobiography, King of Strong-Style, Nakamura wrote that he felt Lesnar had no love for pro wrestling. “That match was seriously rough,” he reminisced. 

“First, Lesnar was saying all this stuff about how he respected New Japan, but it felt to me like that was just for show, that he didn’t really respect the promotion. Like, somewhere, he was looking down on Japanese people,” the former WWE United States Champion said.

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“It felt like he was just doing his job,” the 43-year-old wrote. Meanwhile, Lesnar not only beat him in that match, but he also left Shinsuke Nakamura with a ‘first ever’ emotion in pro wrestling.

Brock Lesnar made his opponent emotional after the match

After his loss to The Beast Incarnate, Nakamura cried. It was for the first time that he shed tears after a match, according to his accounts.

“I lost the match, and that was the first time I cried at pro wrestling after a match,” excerpts from the book read. The 43-year-old said he was aware that the performance in the match wasn’t up to his expectations.

“And there was, like, this temperature difference between Lesnar and me. I didn’t get the sense he felt any love for pro wrestling,” the Japanese wrestler said.

To add to Nakamura’s woes, Lesnar left the country with the belt that night. The former WWE Champion was unhappy with payment issues and the treatment he received from the NJPW. So he decided to take the belt with him as a measure to get back at the promotion.

Do you agree with Nakamura’s accounts of Brock Lesnar? Let us know in the comments.

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