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REVIEW: Death Clutch by Brock Lesnar

DeathClutch: My Story of Determination, Domination, and Survival By Brock Lesnar (with Paul Heyman) Hardcover.  210 pages. May 2011.  William Morrow.

Brock Lesnar is a former UFC World Heavyweight Champion, former WWE Champion, and former NCAA Division 1 Heavyweight Wrestling Champion.  His story is interesting and desrves to be told, which is why I was so interested in reading his new biography, DeathClutch: My Story of Determination, Domination, and Survival (William Morrow, 2011).  Written with the help of Lesnar's confidant/adviser (and former WWE head writer and ECW promoter) Paul Heyman, DeathClutch is certainly interesting, but it's far from complete. I shouldn't have been too surprised.  Lesnar is a fighter and an athlete, not Gabriel Garcia Marquez.  I didn't blink twice at lines like "I was like a grumpy bear with a sore ass".  I knew that if it was written in Lesnar's voice -- the voice of a warrior/farmboy from South Dakota -- then it wouldn't be a work of literature.  I wasn't looking for a work of literature.  I just wanted some depth on Lesnar's story, particularly his transition from collegiate wrestler to professional wrestler/sports entertainer to the legit world of mixed martial arts.  Lesnar is very candid in DeathClutch -- just like he is in real life -- but there's just not enough here, unfortunately, particularly on his MMA career. Lesnar does not hold back on his thoughts about people that he has come across during his WWE and MMA careers.  Unsurprisingly, Lesnar has no love for Frank Mir, and I like the fact that he takes every chance to degrade Mir or call him "Frankie Boy" because Mir annoys me, too.  Lesnar seems consumed by the fact that his first UFC fight resulted in a submission loss to Mir when Lesnar, who was dominating the fight to that point, got caught in a heel hook due to his inexperience.  DeathClutch definitely shows Lesnar's determination in seeking revenge on Mir. What did surprise me most about DeathClutch is that it seems to focus far more on Lesnar's brief foray into professional wrestling than it examines Lesnar's MMA career.  Many fight fans may not be interested in all of the WWE material, although I found it very fascinating, especially since Lesnar is one of the few WWE stars who has written about the world of professional wrestling in a book that is not sanctioned by Vince McMahon's organization.  Lesnar's story begins with his upbringing on a dairy farm in South Dakota and his amateur wrestling career, which took him to a junior college in North Dakota prior to his highly successful career at the University of Minnesota where Lesnar won the NCAA Division I Heavyweight Wrestling Championship in 2000.  After his collegiate success, the world of professional wrestling came calling.  Lesnar was recruited during a time where the WWE was searching for legitimate athletes to turn into stars.  Lesnar details his training at a WWE developmental territory in Louisville up to his debut on WWE television in 2002. With the help of Paul Heyman, who not only worked behind-the-scenes with Lesnar in WWE but also on-camera, Lesnar reconstructs his meteoric rise in professional wrestling, which was capped off by becoming the youngest WWE Champion in history in August 2002.  Lesnar also details how quickly he became disenchanted with the WWE lifestyle.  Lesnar's biggest problem was with the constant travel and backstage politics in WWE.  Injuries and non-stop traveling led to Lesnar seeking relief with pain pills and alcohol -- something which has claimed the lives of many professional wrestlers.  By 2004, he was searching for a way out, and left the company to try out for the NFL in the Spring of 2004. DeathClutch very briefly touches upon his attempt at joining the Minnesota Vikings during training camp in 2004.  I wish that Lesnar would have gone into more detail about this experience, as he hadn't played football since high school yet still was the last player that the Vikings released before the 2004 NFL season started.  Following his flirtation with the NFL, Lesnar found himself fighting the WWE in court to get out of a strict no-compete clause that he had signed in order to gain his release from his WWE contract -- a release that would have prohibited Lesnar from doing professional wrestling or mixed martial arts fighting for over six years. Then Lesnar moves to his MMA career, and he flies through it.  This is not a long book -- at just 210 pages, it took me less than 90 minutes to read.  However, Lesnar's focus on his MMA career is too short and too shallow.  He briefly covers his fights leading up to his stunning victory for the UFC Heavyweight Championship over MMA legend and UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture in November 2008.  To me, though, DeathClutch just isn't deep enough.  I wanted more about his mindset, his strategy, and his training techniques.  Lesnar's an unusual fighter with a unique background, so I wanted to understand how that plays a part in his MMA career.  In DeathClutch, however, we don't get that.  Most disappointing of all, Lesnar barely mentions his loss to Cain Velasquez which cost him the UFC Championship.  Lesnar does explain his battle which diverticulitis, which nearly cost him his life, let alone career (and a battle that he is currently fighting once again).  However, the loss to Velasquez in October 2010 -- a huge moment in his career which is worthy of insight and reflection -- is briefly glossed over in the Epilogue. DeathClutch is not an investment of your time.  Like I said, I read it in a flash.  If you are a Brock Lesnar fan, then I'd definitely recommend it.  It's written in his voice, and it is certainly Brock -- candid and rough-hewn.  If you're a casual fan of Lesnar or MMA, or if you're looking for insight from the mind of a fighter, this book is not for you. DeathClutch: My Story of Determination, Domination, and Survival by Brock Lesnar (with Paul Heyman) is available now.  You can get the book from Amazon, or download it for Kindle now.