IGN: Brock Lesnar Joins WWE '12

[Sunny]

"The Next Big Thing" is bigger, badder and better.

Brock Lesnar is returning to the WWE - in video game form. THQ has confirmed to me that Lesnar, who hasn't been seen in a wrestling ring in over seven years, will be the final character in the game's main roster.

"It's one of those things where… it's part of my history. Without the WWE, I probably wouldn't be where I am today," Lesnar told me via e-mail. "I wouldn't have the high visibility, I wouldn't have had the leverage to come into the UFC. I would have had to do it all on my own. I'm no idiot when I say that when I was with the WWE, the visibility from that company and what they did on a global network for 'Brock Lesnar' as a whole, put me on another level."

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Lesnar as a character will play very much like you expect, retaining his signature move set, including his signature finishing move, the F5. A brief hands-on with the character indicated that THQ had in fact nailed Lesnar's likeness - he moves and attacks like the monstrous tank you'd expect.

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THQ is updating the star to reflect his current look (mostly that means he has more tattoos) versus his appearance seven years ago. Though he's not a gamer himself, being in a video game made perfect business sense to the former WWE champion. After being gone from wrestling television for nearly a decade, many younger fans have likely never even seen Lesnar in a squared circle.

For those keeping meticulous track, Lesnar's Overall Score in WWE '12 is 92. That's equivalent to superstar Eddie Guerrero, and below a few major names including The Rock (96), Randy Orton (95), Edge (94), CM Punk (95), 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin (95), Triple H (94) and the Undertaker (97). Lesnar will be unlockable through a "brief run with the game through WWE Universe mode" according to THQ.

Of course, being in WWE '12 begs the obvious question - would Lesnar ever consider returning to WWE programming? "It would have to be under the right circumstances," Lesnar said. "I don't know if Mr. McMahon and I could come to the right circumstances. If it was good for me and good for him I think that we could do something. At the end of the day, my life, my character and my profession - I take them very seriously. At the end of the day, if it doesn't help me or my family out, and it doesn't make sense for me to do, then I don't do it. Everything would have to fall in the right place, but would I consider it? Absolutely."

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Lesnar noted there is one former WWE superstar who could easily lure him back to the ring - 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin. "[Austin] chicken-sh**ted out on me and walked away and didn't want to participate because he thought that I was getting something too fast too soon and he felt threatened by me." Lesnar also noted there is "a guy that's been on a winning streak for a long time that somebody needs to step up to the plate and finish the winning streak." A suggestion of a match with Cena or the Undertaker, perhaps?

Stay tuned to IGN for more and more on WWE '12. The game hits stores on November 22, 2011.

Source: IGN