Brock Lesnar’s Death Clutch

I’ve read a lot of biographies written by professional wrestlers. They all talk about the passion it takes to be the best, the crowning achievements of their careers, their most memorable feuds and experiences. Lesnar, who spent 2 years at the top of the WWE mountain, spoke of how it was just “a job” that helped him pay off his student loans and make some money. That blew me away! He spoke to the fact that most guys spend their lives stuck in the business, never really branching out and escaping the vicious road schedule and often horrendous lifestyle. It basically backs up what Chris Jericho had been saying all these years, that you need to be able to have a life beyond professional wrestling.

At the time he was leaving WWE in 2004, I didn’t quite understand why. How could he leave at this point in his career? The man was a monster who took the industry by storm. Lesnar was such a natural in the ring and clearly had his best years ahead of him. However, after reading about his desire to be more of a family man in spending as much time as possible with his wife and children, you have to hand it to him getting out when he did.

The guy does speak pretty highly of himself but how do you avoid doing that when you’ve achieved the levels of success that Lesnar has? He’s dominated almost everything he’s ever tried. With the exception of his venture into the NFL, he’s been a pretty impressive force in amateur wrestling, professional wrestling and mixed martial arts.

Overall, Lesnar’s story is actually pretty refreshing. If anything, he’s incredibly honest as well as very direct and to the point. In other words, he doesn’t beat around the bush a lot. Despite the fact that he doesn’t look back at his years as a professional wrestler fondly, he doesn’t get bogged down in mud-slinging and trash talking. He speaks well of the guys he enjoyed working with and very little about those he dislikes. Even in his lengthily legal battles with Vince McMahon, he still gives the man credit for being a successful businessman.

Even though I did like the book, you’re not really going to get a whole lot of surprises here. While his athletic career is pretty impressive, he’s not a man who is surrounded by controversy. With the exception of his post fight interview in 2008 where he went on a tirade against his opponent and several UFC sponsors, Lesnar notoriously keeps to himself and is a devoted family man.