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Brock became a dad for the first time in 2002 and that played a big part of why he signed to WWE for a lucrative contract despite not being a fan of pro-wrestling.
In 2004, after reaching the pinnacle of the industry in only a couple of years, he decided that life on the road wasn't for him and he quit WWE to try to get into the NFL (which by the way was likely inspired by Stephen Neal, google him). And eventually decided to try his hand in MMA to which he became the UFC champion.
Rey Mysterio on how he witnessed the human side of Brock during a tour in Europe:
"I remember at one point Brock being miserable. This is right before he left WWE in 2004 the first time. We were going to Europe, and my wife and I were sitting right behind Brock on the charter plane. I just saw Brock biting the f--- out of his nails and looking at a picture of one of his kids. It really hit him, the fact that he had to travel so much. That was the human side of him. The father instinct that he has. Shortly after that, he was like, "I've gotta get out of here, bro. I can't f---ing do this anymore."
I think for a lot of us, we work so hard to get to that position, and when you do have it and you do make it, the one thing you want to do is brace yourself and hold onto that position -- make sure nobody takes it. For him, it was like, "I think I did what I need to do here and I'm out." I give him a lot of props for that.
I grew up around the business. I kind of expected our road would turn out this way. After seeing Brock like that, it really put things into perspective. It made me see my personal life in a different way, too. We just had my daughter, so I was raising some kids at the time. It hit him and shortly after it hit me, too. Brock took that really, really hard. Even though we don't see it, he's very close to his family. That stuck in my head. You have to choose one or the other, and he chose to spend more time at home and not be on the road as much."
In 2004, after reaching the pinnacle of the industry in only a couple of years, he decided that life on the road wasn't for him and he quit WWE to try to get into the NFL (which by the way was likely inspired by Stephen Neal, google him). And eventually decided to try his hand in MMA to which he became the UFC champion.
Rey Mysterio on how he witnessed the human side of Brock during a tour in Europe:
"I remember at one point Brock being miserable. This is right before he left WWE in 2004 the first time. We were going to Europe, and my wife and I were sitting right behind Brock on the charter plane. I just saw Brock biting the f--- out of his nails and looking at a picture of one of his kids. It really hit him, the fact that he had to travel so much. That was the human side of him. The father instinct that he has. Shortly after that, he was like, "I've gotta get out of here, bro. I can't f---ing do this anymore."
I think for a lot of us, we work so hard to get to that position, and when you do have it and you do make it, the one thing you want to do is brace yourself and hold onto that position -- make sure nobody takes it. For him, it was like, "I think I did what I need to do here and I'm out." I give him a lot of props for that.
I grew up around the business. I kind of expected our road would turn out this way. After seeing Brock like that, it really put things into perspective. It made me see my personal life in a different way, too. We just had my daughter, so I was raising some kids at the time. It hit him and shortly after it hit me, too. Brock took that really, really hard. Even though we don't see it, he's very close to his family. That stuck in my head. You have to choose one or the other, and he chose to spend more time at home and not be on the road as much."
