WWE: Why Paul Heyman is the Best Mouthpiece for Brock Lesnar

Let’s face it, Brock Lesnar’s return to WWE hasn’t exactly turned out as magnificently as was hoped.

Indeed, nearly two months on from his return to the company, and his whole comeback is looking like a colossal disappointment.

Despite Lesnar’s amazing success as a draw in the Mixed Martial Arts group UFC, WWE’s ratings have remained as stagnant as ever. Nor does his return to the company seem have generated any extra interest in the promotion.

Whatever Brock’s past achievements, they haven’t translated over to wrestling, for some reason.

It’s not all Brock’s fault though. The former UFC Heavyweight Champion has been the recipient of some mind-bogglingly incompetent booking during his current tenure—most notably, the decision to have him lose clean to John Cena at Extreme Rules in what was his first official wrestling match for WWE in nearly eight years.

Who on earth thought that was a good idea?

The promotion attempts to turn tough-guy Brock into a demanding, spoiled prima donna who nitpicks minor contact details live on WWE Raw can also be considered unwise.

Fans want to see Brock brutally beat people up, not throw childish tantrums and sue the company he works for when he doesn’t get what he wants.

Regardless of how mediocre the current lawsuit angle is, it has led to a big silver lining: the return of ECW owner and former commentator Paul Heyman as Lesnar’s “legal adviser.”

Of course, this angle has its roots in their shared past: Lesnar and Heyman worked together in Lesnar’s first run in WWE in 2002 and 2003, bonding and becoming real-life friends in the process—a relationship that lasts till this day.

Per the new angle, Heyman will be representing Brock and keeping the storyline with HHH (who is rumored to be facing the MMA star in what will surely be a huge match at SummerSlam) going until his client is ready to make his grand return to company in a few months.

Aside from the fact that the obnoxious, slimy Heyman is a great heel and someone who will undoubtedly inject some much-needed spark into a stagnant Raw product, WWE’s utilization of him as Lesnar’s manager is an astute move.

Indeed, it is one of the few shrewd creative decisions the company has made recently.

Simply put, Lesnar, for all his charisma, presence and booming personality, isn’t that great a talker. Oh, he’s perfectly fine for the occasional sound bite, but asking him to do a lengthy promo is clearly beyond him.  

This was perfectly illustrated during the Raw before Extreme Rules in which Brock, in the middle of the ring, struggled for twenty minutes as he barked out his long list of demands to general manager John Laurinaitis.

Partly due to Brock’s flat verbal performance—as well as shoddy writing— the whole thing was excruciating to watch.

As Brock’s manager, Heyman can help avoid this sort of situation in the future, as the former ECW owner handles the vast majority of the talking for the MMA star. We’ve already seen the flashes of brilliance from Heyman as he infuriates Triple H and just begs him to take a shot at him (so he can't have his own lawsuit to file, in addition to Brock's).  

No doubt due to his personal relationship with Lesnar, Heyman also understands the Brock Lesnar character a great deal better than do most at WWE.

Having someone on hand who can offer him wise advice on the creative side of things will greatly aid Lesnar in the coming months as he attempts to navigate his way through the complicated and thorny WWE creative process.

Of course, WWE should refrain from pushing Heyman too much. After all, he’s a manager and therefore can only be of limited use. Moreover, it Brock who is supposed to be the biggest star in the company.

Heyman can add to act greatly, but he can’t be the act—a  good reason why WWE shouldn’t drag out this current lawsuit storyline and keep Lesnar off TV for too long, lest fans grow tired of the angle.

However, at least the addition of Heyman as a mouthpiece of Lesnar serves as a huge positive for now—not just for the former UFC Champion himself but for this current storyline as a whole.

Let's hope his role not only continues, but blossoms in the upcoming months.