I'm hoping you can spread the word about my interview in Newsday with Brock Lesnar, who was promoting the WWE's return to Madison Square Garden on Saturday. Here are some highlights:
On whether he's just in WWE for the money:
"I’ve put on some great [expletive] matches in my day. And you don't do that without having a passion for the squared circle. I’m a man that for the last 25 years of my life just wanted to be left the [expletive] alone. I didn't prostitute myself and put myself out there to be vulnerable to the media and be vulnerable to the next person that wanted to stick their claws into me. I just found out that it was easier for me to go and recharge my batteries and go be who I really wanted to be and hide that from the world. It's just who I am. I'm a private person. I approach my life and fighting and wrestling like this is a job. It's a career. I'm a prizefighter. I get into the octagon or the ring, I do my business, and I do it well, and I get paid for it."
On the problem with the younger generation of wrestlers:
"Some of these young kids nowadays, they're so used to having everything they want at their fingertips with technology. I don't know where the grassroots, hard work, and the ethic is anymore. Some of these kids, they need to step up to the plate if they want to. They need to have a backbone. They need to do something different if they want to become successful. This business isn't just about getting in the ring and being able to do moves, you know. This is a business of storytelling and characters and being able to portray a passion about something. So either you have it, or you don't. Otherwise you’re just a mid-card wrestler, or an indie wrestler, or an internet wrestler. And you're just playing to the fans on the internet."
On criticisms of his remarks about his remarks to Pat McAffee about wrestlers having to get themselves over.
"They can come up with all kinds of [expletive] excuses if they want to. That's easy to do. But get out there and do something with yourself. Everybody wants to bash the guys that get over or are successful. They always want to undercut it, because they can't figure it out. I’ll outwork anybody. That's just what I do . . . I'll be 45 and I look as good as I do. And I feel good, you know? Get off your lazy [expletive] and go do something with yourself, instead of taking your handout check."