In a weird story, a rumor is going around that current WWE Champion Brock Lesnar could be going through health issues related to his heart. The main issue with this is that due to WWE’s medical testing, it would be doubtful they’d let him perform for them knowing that he could be going through issues. The rumor of health issues has been going around with fans as of late because of the fact that Brock looked to be in bad shape during matches.
WhatCulture.com speculated in a report recently that Lesnar could be going through heart or blood pressure issues, because he was sweating and either turning red or purple in his matches with the WWE. They speculated that the way he came off at WWE Night of Champions was odd, considering he did little physical activity to bring about any problems.
“After just a couple of minutes, Lesnar was already sweating profusely and had turned both red and purple in his face. This is normal for someone undergoing intense physical exertion, but Lesnar was barely doing anything of note. A rehearsed wrestling match shouldn’t be turning a man purple.
Indeed, Brock previously used far more athleticism in the UFC a few years ago. On those genuine sporting occasions, Brock never turned this strange colour. Yet in a predetermined wrestling match, Lesnar looked like he’d just done an hour on a gym treadmill at full speed. Fans have noted that in addition to turning red and intensely sweating, Brock also appeared to be struggling for breath. Yes, he’s a big guy, but he shouldn’t be reacting like this. It’s a worrying indicator of health problems such as blood pressure or risk of heart attack.”
The main issue looking at Lesnar was that people are judging him by how he looked in UFC versus how he looks in WWE now. This is where the problem comes up. Lesnar looks to be out of shape due to cardiovascular problems, which yes, can fall under heart issues. What Culture also brought up that the scare for fans has come up a lot more due to the fact that Ultimate Warrior looked similar during his WWE Hall of Fame speech, saying….
“The worry amongst observers is understandable; the last time a wrestler turned red and sweaty like this was Ultimate Warrior. The former WWF Champion looked the same shade during his April 2014 Hall Of Fame speech. Just a few days later and he died of a heart attack.”
While Warrior did not look great looking back and did have a heart problem that ended up costing him his life a few days after his Hall of Fame speech, this issue with Lesnar has actually been present since he first came back to WWE. I spoke with Louie Babcock, Medical Resident at WrestleEnigma.com regarding the Lesnar issue. I asked him why Lesnar could be going through what he is going through, and if there is anything to worry about. Louie states…
“The heart is a muscle like every other muscle and how you train in the gym impacts how the heart responds in real life. If you don’t do cardiovascular training then the heart can respond to that in the real world when you need it. So the body compensated by dilating blood vessels (red skin) and getting rid of excess water (sweat) to regulate blood pressure which is to try and slow the heart down during strenuous activity that it is not been trained for. Cardiovascular training also affects the lungs which could be the purple skin. Not getting enough oxygen leads to increased heart which leads to high blood pressure which leads to the body trying to regulate itself.”
I asked Mr. Babcock if a heart issue could be at play due to all of this. He claimed that although things could go on that we don’t know about, in this condition, it does not seem like Brock Lesnar has a heart problem of any sort, much less blood pressure issues. The main problem is his cardio training. In the UFC where Brock used to be, you go a max of 5 minutes for 5 rounds, and that is a championship fight. There are breaks in the middle of the action, where hydration and rest can occur. He trained for that type of this, which is different training than pro wrestling.
Lesnar has been training in a way that makes him focus simply on short bursts of action and not for the entire 30-45 minute matches that he has been doing. Minus the two Cena bouts, which lasted around 20 minutes each, Lesnar has been doing long matches. The issue is that although he is a freak athlete, he is certainly not in cardio shape if he is trying to work the same way he did in MMA training.
This has led to his body compensating as Mr. Babcock said above, and that is why we are seeing him sweat like no one else as well as turn random colors. Health wise, it is doubtful there is a problem. However, Lesnar could be pushing his body too much. So that could be why WWE had him work less time in the last two matches. Still though, Lesnar showed enough that it made fans question things.
WhatCulture looked at the ordeal as anyone else. There are numerous wrestlers who barely sweat at all in a 30-40 minute match and he is doing so in 5 minutes. That is odd, especially since he looks to be in such great shape. WWE is certainly not going to put Lesnar at risk. However, when your current WWE Champion comes off as a freak athlete, you don’t question his cardio a lot. WWE is certainly big on protecting talent, so you can doubt them ever allowing Lesnar to wrestle if he is not medically able to do so.
At the end of the day, it is not a case of heart or blood pressure issues but an issue of cardio training. It seems odd that a trained wrestler who is a freak athletically would not train correctly for a wrestling match. However, he may not be realizing he is doing anything wrong. Lesnar is still able to walk and talk and do whatever the next or same day. So it not as if he is in bad shape going to the back. He is making his body go through a lot when wrestling in WWE though. And this is the reason for how he appears in the ring, and it is not a case of health problems.
[Image Credits: Sportsupdateblog.blogspot.com, WWE.com ]