The Piledriver Report 07.15.09: The Greatest Heel Performer of Them All

THE GREATEST

“The Greatest!” It’s a term used extremely loosely in the sports world today. Whenever there is a Super Bowl that comes down to the last minute, the media and fans are quick to call the game the “greatest Super Bowl ever” as soon as the game clock hits zero. When the New England Patriots were 18-0 a couple of seasons ago, many ESPNites were quick to call them the greatest NFL team ever. Of course, that was until the NY Giants, to quote Michaels Strahan, “Stomped them out!”

Professional wrestling tends to fall into this trend as well. How many times have you heard, “that was the greatest match ever?” Granted, most times it was Jim Ross or Michael Cole saying this to hype up pay per view replay buys. However, the fans fall into this trap as well. Whether it be talking about the greatest match, event, wrestler, or tag team, we are too quick to use the word “greatest” without first examining what it is that we are giving the “greatest” label to.

That being said, I am going to throw that “greatest” term out for all to see. I ask you the following question, “who is the greatest heel performer today?” There are many deserving candidates to choose from. Edge, Randy Orton, Chris Jericho, CM Punk, and Kurt Angle could all take the title. However, all these men would go down in defeat at the hands of one man. The greatest heel performer in the world today is…………….
BROCK LESNAR!!!! OK, so it was a trick question. Brock Lesnar hasn’t wrestled in the WWE since 2004. However, I said the best heel performer, not heel wrestler.

THE NEXT BIG THING

After watching the UFC 100 event from New York’s Radio City Music Hall on an 80×70 foot television screen, I have no doubt in my mind that Brock Lesnar is the heel that all heel performers should look up to. There had to be around 1,500 people inside the music hall. Out of those people, a good 85-90% were anti-Lesnar, and that was just during the UFC 100 Countdown special that they broadcast before the show. During the show, boos overpowered Lesnar cheers. Due to the huge sound system in the hall, the crowd noise against Lesnar at the Mandalay Bay seemed equally as one sided.

When I got home from the event, I immediately went on the internet to check out some of the coverage of UFC 100 from articles and message board. A smile ran across my face when I read blog after blog proclaiming Brock Lesnar to be the anti-Christ of MMA. “He’s doesn’t show sportsmanship.” “Everything that is wrong with MMA can be pointed at towards Brock Lesnar.” One genius had the nerve to proclaim that MMA would never be mainstream because of Brock Lesnar. They pointed out that the anti-MMA politicians and media have all the ammunition they need about why they should hate MMA, because of Brock Lesnar. Are you kidding me?

These people who claim that Brock Lesnar is bad for the mixed martial arts industry just don’t get it. Don’t you realize that Brock is working you? He’s working us all. Brock was bred in an industry where you need to talk to help put asses in the seats. That is exactly what Brock is doing. Professional wrestling fans, who have an interest in MMA, would watch Brock Lesnar fight in the octagon out of curiosity to see how well he represents the world of professional wrestling. Brock knows professional wrestling fans are loyal. They will follow him. The trick was getting to the hardcore MMA crowd. It was made no secret that Brock was not welcome in the land of the shoot fighters by these fans. It was made even more evident by the reception Brock Lesnar received in his first match in UFC against Frank Mir.

LEARNING FROM MR. MCMAHON

Did Brock ignore jeers of these MMA fans? No, he embraced it, and used his inner-heel from his days in the WWE to get over as the most hated man in the UFC. Sure, his hometown cheered him during his fight against Heath Herring at UFC87: Seek and Destroy. However, he knew that the diehards were seething at the dominating victory by Brock that night. After his victory, he taunted Herring by “lassoing him” with an invisible rope. While the Target Center crowd ate it up, the hardcore fans were irate at the lack of sportsmanship that Brock Lesnar showed.

Brock is smart enough to know that if you are going to be hated by the fans, you might as well enjoy it. In the UFC, Brock has gone back to his WWE roots. If the fans are going to treat him as a heel, he might as well act like one. After the fight on Saturday, Brock gave the double middle finger to the booing masses around him, while displaying a villainous smirk on his face. He relished in the moment as he egged fans on to bring on more.

After the fight, Lesnar haters were talking as much about Brock ignoring Mir’s handshake, and his in your face rant geared towards Mir, as they did his victory. What these fans fail to realize in that Brock got them just where he wants them. He learned a valuable lesson in the WWE. Sure, the fans will buy the faces merchandise, but it’s the thought of seeing the heel get his ass that gets the fans into the building.

Brock Lesnar’s heel tactics in UFC is drawing the fans into the building, and into purchasing his fights. Brock will continue to do just that. The fans that hate the “fake” wrestler will continue to pay to see Brock Lesnar get his ass kicked. I have bad news for them. At this point in time, aside from Fedor Emelianenko, there are going to be a lot of disappointed hardcore fans.

Brock Lesnar discussed his heel persona in his post fight press conference. “I went into the entertainment business for a little while. You guys always ask me all of the time is there anything I can drag over from the WWE. I guess you’ve seen a little bit tonight. I’m used to selling pay per view tickets. I come from a business that is purely entertainment. The guy that, my coach, and the guy, he’s the best in the business.”

Eventually, Brock’s cocky style will catch on with the hardcore fans, as long as he continues to win. Brock will go from the dastardly heel to the cool heel. Sort of like today’s top professional wrestlers. They start out being booed, and eventually, the fans embrace his rebellious, badass attitude.

THE BADDEST MAN ON THE PLANET

“There is something very familiar about this.” That’s the thought that pops into my mind whenever I see Brock Lesnar fight in the octagon. I was having trouble pinpointing what exactly it was about Brock’s fighting style that gave me a feeling of deja vu. This Saturday night, it hit me. Brock Lesnar reminds me of a young Mike Tyson. Both men were imposing, physical specimens. At the time, there was no heavyweight boxer who was able to compare with Mike Tyson’s granite-like physique. Today, there is nobody in the mixed martial arts industry that comes close to matching the freakish size that Brock Lesnar possesses. Power is each man’s biggest asset. Tyson was feared because of his power. Like an RKO from out of nowhere, Tyson was able to knock guys out within a blink of an eye. Twenty-three of his fifty-eight fights ended before the second round. While Brock Lesnar has an amateur wrestling background, what most fighters fear is Brock’s strength. Brock hasn’t disappointed. In every UFC fight Brock has competed in, he has pounded the hell out of his opponents. Even in his fight against Heath Herring, Brock used his powerful punch to drop Herring to the mat before he decided to use his ground game to beat Herring by decision.

Both men captured the World Heavyweight championship early in their careers. Mike Tyson was the youngest boxer to ever win a World Heavyweight championship after he won the WBC title at the age of 20. Shortly after turning 21 years old, Mike Tyson became the first heavyweight to own all three major belts — WBA, WBC, and IBF — at the same time. While Brock Lesnar didn’t enter the MMA game until just before his 30th birthday, his rise to the top was as impressive as Tyson’s. In only his fourth professional mixed martial arts contest, Brock Lesnar captured the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s World Heavyweight title. Brock became the only wrestler to win an NCAA national championship in wrestling, the WWE World championship, and the UFC World title.

CONTROVERSY IS KING
Neither Mike Tyson, nor Brock Lesnar shy away from controversy. In fact, they welcome it. Mike Tyson was the poster child of controversy. His first marriage was to actress Robin Givens from February 7, 1988 to February 14, 1989. Givens was known for her work on the sitcom Head of the Class. Tyson’s marriage to Givens was especially tumultuous with allegations of violence, spousal abuse and mental instability on Tyson’s part and allegations of gold digging against Givens. Matters came to a head when Tyson and Givens gave a joint interview with Barbara Walters on the ABC TV newsmagazine show 20/20 in September 1988, in which Givens described life with Tyson as “torture, pure hell, worse than anything I could possibly imagine.” Givens also described Tyson as “manic depressive” on national television while Tyson looked on with an intent and calm expression. However, once it aired on television, and Tyson saw how Robin made him look, a big fight broke out that weekend between the two. A month later, Givens announced that she was seeking a divorce from the allegedly abusive Tyson. They had no children but she claims to have had a miscarriage while Tyson claims she was never pregnant and only used that to get him to marry her. In July 1991, Mike Tyson was arrested for allegedly raping Miss Black Rhode Island Desiree Washington. After being found guilty, he would go on to serve three years in prison. Following his release, Tyson went back into the ring where he fought Peter McNeeley. This bout caused controversy after McNeeley’s manager entered the ring to throw in the towel after a mere 89 seconds into the fight. Following Tyson’s first couple of fights back ended quickly, the media started to accuse Tyson of handpicking stiffs to fight.

Tyson would finally fight real competition as he won the heavyweight championship from Frank Bruno. Tyson would finally fight Evander Holyfield on November 9th, 1996. Despite this being a dream match, it would be their second encounter on June 28th, 1997. Controversy would follow Tyson again, as he bite Holyfield’s ear, not once, but twice. The first time he bit him the match was stopped, but then it resumed. However after the match resumed Tyson did it again; this time Tyson was disqualified and Holyfield won the match. One bite was severe enough to remove a piece of Holyfield’s right ear, which was found on the ring floor after the fight. Tyson later stated that it was retaliation for Holyfield repeatedly head butting him without penalty. In the confusion that followed the ending of the bout and announcement of the decision, a near riot erupted in the arena and several people were injured in the ensuing melee.

During his time away from boxing, Mike Tyson was signed by the World Wrestling Federation to take part in WrestleMania XIV. It was during his WWF stint that Mike Tyson found out, inadvertently by Shane McMahon of all people, that Don King was stealing from him. Tyson fired Don King after punching him.

In 2002, Tyson would fight Lennox Lewis in a dream World title bout. As had become the usual for “Iron Mike.” Controversy was his running mate. Two years prior to the bout, in a post-fight interview following another fight, Tyson had made several inflammatory remarks to Lewis. He spouted such memorable lines as, “I want your heart, I want to eat his children.” What was comical about the quote was that Lewis had no children. On January 22, 2002, a brawl involving the two boxers and their entourages occurred at a press conference held in New York to publicize the fight. The melee put to rest any chance of a Nevada fight and alternative arrangements had to be made, with the fight eventually occurring on June 8 at the Pyramid Arena in Memphis, Tennessee.

Brock Lesnar left the WWE for a shot at the NFL. Lesnar played for the Minnesota Vikings, where he created controversy in some games by starting minor fights and got heat from the Kansas City Chiefs for a sack on quarterback Damon Huard, which drew a big response from the crowd. Huard was hit hard and had to go to the sidelines and sit out a few plays

From his first day with the UFC, Brock was the center of controversy. In Mir-Lesnar I, Brock lost a very controversial decision. Lesnar secured an early takedown, and was pounding on Mir. It looked like Brock was about to secure his first UFC victory. However, the referee made both fighters stand back up, and deducted a point from Brock for hitting Mir on the back of the head. The controversy in this was that Brock hit the back of Mir’s head because Mir turned his own head. Plus, the referee never issued Brock a warning before deducting him a point for the blow. In Brock’s next fight, he was blasted for what many deemed being a sore winner. Following Brock’s victory over Heath Herring, Lesnar threw an imaginary rope at Herring, and “lassoed” him like a steer. Controversary stayed away from Brock Lesnar during his UFC World title victory over Randy Couture. This past Saturday, Brock was back to being his controversial self. During his post-match celebration, Lesnar flipped off an aggresive crowd which had been booing the decision, buried the PPV’s primary sponsor Bud Light, promoting Coors Light instead, and implied he would have sex with his wife after the show.

Hopefully, Brock Lesnar will keep his controversies inside the octagon. Unlike Mike Tyson, I can’t see Brock embroiled in the controversies that engulfed Tyson’s career. What I can see is Brock Lesnar continuing in his role as the greatest heel performer in the world today. Is that a bad thing? Absolutely not, being a heel is going to help turn Lesnar into what Mike Tyson once was, the top draw on pay per view. Not bad for the next big thing, or should I say the “21st Century’s Baddest Man on the Planet.”