Heroes and Villains.. And Brains

Bobby "The Brain" Heenan isn't just an accomplished wrestler, isn't just the most charasmatic person in the industry, but he's also the most consumate professional and strongest factor in a product's overall value. His auto-biography, Bobby the Brain, is not the best written book out there about wrestling, but it might contain some of the best stories.

About Wrestling

Heenan was constantly concerned with putting over the product, something best described by Hulk Hogan, who wrote introduction. He'd do damn near anything if it meant making a storyline better. He worked to make his managed wrestler look better, work to make his wrestlers' opponents look better, work to make the entire program better. As an announcer, his banter with Mikey Tenay is legendary, and his banter with Gorrilla Monsoon is perfect. Heenan talks about how he sells a package in a few different ways. The most notable examples include a diatribe about how the ringside conversation needn't just list every move accomplished, and that by commenting on a disgustingly obvious error to excuse it, you can preserve the facade of pro wrestling.

About Real Life

That last example, commenting on an obvious error, is something WCW frowned upon, and his real like hatred of Tony Schiovane shines through in numerous situations where Schiovane tells him he's wrong. Surprisingly, I don't know how much "away from wrestling" there was for Heenan, even as a manager. He talks about how he only had to work one day a week at WCW, but he doesn't seem to concern himself with things outside of the business. Likely he was a very private person outside of the business, but inside he may be one of the most liked men.

About the End of Fun

WCW may have killed wrestling for Heenan. He hated it because of its lack of order behind the scenes. Here's a guy built around order and structure, and because of this he's probably the biggest McMahon apologist alive. Heenan's not much to drive a thesis about WCW crashing being a catalyst for WWF to run rampant and alienate fans who preferred the alternative or disliked some events happening in the WWF. To Heenan, that stuff didn't matter because the WCW business was nothing like the wrestling business.

Eventually it collapsed on itself, so Heenan probably had a point. Heenan was absolutely disgusted with how they handled Goldberg, defeating him amidst him carrying insane heat, but he watched all of the small decisions kill the company.

Rating/Value: 5.5/Mandatory. Not written well, but I'm telling you, some of the best alternative viewpoints that are found in here are essential to understanding the industry.

Shawn Michaels Shoot Interview: Subject Bret Hart

About Wrestling

Shawn's attitude to the Montreal Screwjob is along the lines of "that's the way it works" and Vince is Spontaneous. Inside the ring and along the storyline, this birth of Degeneration X marked a time where Michaels was supposed to antagonize everyone while becoming an anti-hero, thus gaining the majority of support in the US. (Canada, as seen in the fantastic Wrestling with Shadows documentary, saw Bret Hart as the hero... This is probably the saddest commentary on our society going into the New Millennium, and not unfounded.)

About Real Life

These guys fucking hate each other. From accusations of infidelity to locker room brawls, to a complete lack of remorse regarding his role in the Montreal Screwjob, Shawn's hatred of Bret Hart takes precedence over everything here.

About the End of Fun

One of the reasons I wanted to get a take on HBK is that he seems to be part of a small, controlled group of benefactors. He is the face of the Attitude Era, and whether or not he enjoyed it in real life, he was responsible for a persona that carried a breakdown in the real world/kayfabe wall.

Which brings me to my most disturbing conclusion/observation: Michaels sees, even as late as these videos were made, that there was no problem in using what he asserts are real life issues in a wrestling storyline. By asserting that Bret Hart had an affair with Sunny off the cuff, this goes beyond the line that, say, working in a wrestler's real life drug addiction might have. This was a spontaneous inclusion of (what he asserts is) fact, and letting it be part of a story.

And who can blame him? If you listen to the second video, he traces his own footsteps in storytelling how the events leading up to Montreal transpired. Not because he is trying to cover his ass (if we give him the benefit of the doubt), but because the man spitting down the orders, Vince McMahon, changed his mind on a whim. This was something Mick Foley, Bret Hart, and many others have claimed independently. It's just part of the culture. And really, the two instances aren't really all that dissimilar. Even if it's too much to assume someone can get lost in the truth of the matter, someone could certainly get caught forgetting if what they're believing is the right thing, the wrong thing, the real thing, or the bullshit.

The Relevance of Mick Foley

Countdown to Lockdown has been one of the most insightful books I've read in my recent push of professional wrestling material. I think it also shows an industry view of what I'm seeing in fans who gave up coming into the new millenium.

About Wrestling

CtL tells two wrestling stories: How Mick Foley left the WWE, and how he would make a title run against Sting at TNA's 2009 pay-per-view event, Lockdown. The two not only contrast the lows of dealing with the WWE vs. the highs of TNA, but also the struggle for relevancy and TNA's ability to foster this.

About Real Life

Aside from being a great dad and extremely charitable (and obsessed with Tori Amos), Foley uses the non-wrestling stories to establish just how sane he really is. The heart is always there, always a little heavy to have to carry, but also always open. You can't really take all of the discussions about charity events and contributions as self-aggrandizing; I'm pretty sure anyone who reads it can see that charity is what he does with his life outside of wrestling, and cause promotion trumps self promotion every time.

About the End of Fun

I posit that the death of Owen Hart was the end of the road for many fans, but Mick Foley might argue that the death of Chris Benoit was the end for a lot of wrestlers. It certainly coincided with a low point for him, and if you read the chapter, too unbelievable to reveal to non-readers, it was clear that the line of parody between real life issues and kayfabe issues were so far beyond blurred, that the difference of 24 hours would have forever ruined an industry.

Mick's ability to take a balanced look at things may have saved him. A McMahon decision almost let a fictional tragedy outweigh a real tragedy, and the media's obsession with all of the faults of professional wrestling (steroids, concussions, etc.) seemed poised to crack the industry wide open. Foley, a pretty liberal guy, is able to analyze all contributing factors in a well reasoned manner that more people could learn something from. I think he might be the most bipartisan human alive, in the true sense of give and take when it comes to social issues.

It's very important to note, however, that TNA's really breathed new life into Mick during what, he seems to admit, is the tail of his career. He's a complete legend, and pro-wrestling would be better off having him as the face of the industry.

Rating/Value: 8.5/Mandatory for research