Issue 184
November 2019
Mixed martial arts and professional wrestling, otherwise known as ‘sports entertainment’, are built on the same foundations: supremely conditioned competitors delighting spectators by trying to physically best one another inside the cage or the ring.
The two may differ in that one is a competitive sport while the other is purely for entertainment, yet are fighters not athletic performers and wrestlers ambitious sportsmen? And the two not only own marked similarities in the way their professionals perform, but also in the fact that the men and women in both MMA and pro wrestling are some of the most highly tuned athletes in any sport. And what better way for professional wrestlers to power up their game and better lay the smackdown on their in-ring foes than by stepping into the Octagon?
Going pro
Reaching a peak level of performance to compete in pro wrestling’s ‘squared circle’ doesn’t happen overnight. It helps if you have a kick-start. Three-time National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics wrestling champion Bobby Lashley was an accomplished grappler long before he slipped on tights for the pro wrestling goliath World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and four-ounce gloves for big-time MMA organization Strikeforce.
As a potential Olympian wrestler until injury curtailed his chances, Lashley is more than qualified to comment on the career options of an amateur wrestler. “The transition wasn’t too hard because a lot of the moves in pro wrestling are similar to the moves in amateur wrestling,” says the Colorado-based heavyweight. “Even some of the throw moves and the theatrical part of it was just about taking the stuff I already knew and relaxing it a little bit instead of fighting into it.”
After leaving WWE to become an MMA fighter in 2008, Lashley realized he had to increase his move-set. With more than just takedowns to worry about inside the cage, the American Top Team heavyweight approached his new training as a fresh start. “I really just humbled myself so I was able to learn. I wasn’t one of those guys who came in and said, ‘Hey, I’m a wrestler’ and didn’t change what I have. It’s been a bit of a road but I think I’m picking it up real well.”
Like many others, Lashley believes that having experience as an amateur wrestler is the ideal base to get started as either a pro fighter or wrestling performer. “Wrestling’s something that you can’t mimic... you already have a lead over most of the guys starting out if you’re a freestyle wrestler.”
But Lashley isn’t the only former amateur wrestler to have achieved success in both the pro wrestling ring and MMA cage. Dan Severn is a 13-time national wrestling champion and a former three-time US Olympic team alternate who has competed in both the UFC and WWE. He states proudly that, in his early days as a competitive athlete, he “was a true amateur wrestler,” adding: “I did just fine for myself. I walked into their world and I did just fine.”
‘The Beast’ debuted in the sport in 1994 at only the UFC’s fourth event, choking his way to the final of the eight-man tournament. Recalling his preparation for his first ever no-holds-barred fighting experience, Severn says: “I traveled over to Ohio with [professional wrestler] Al Snow and a couple of his pro wrestling protégés. We used his professional wrestling ring because it was the closest thing we had to a cage. All I did was slap on an amateur wrestling move, turn it illegal, make them scream and squawk and that was my training camp.”
After losing to Royce Gracie at UFC 4 by triangle choke, Dan, being the gifted and durable athlete that he is, went on to win the UFC 5 tournament in 1995 and also claimed the UFC superfight championship a year later, defeating MMA legend and fellow future WWE wrestler Ken Shamrock. To date, the 53-year-old Severn has over 100 professional mixed martial arts fights under his belt dotted around a late-90s stint in the WWE ring, and now owns his own mixed martial arts and professional wrestling promotions, based in Coldwater, Michigan.
There are in fact a wealth of well-known MMA superstars who have taken many a fall in a pro wrestling ring. Early Octagon legend Don Frye is no stranger to the ropes, Japanese hero Kazushi Sakuraba trained in professional wrestling prior to his shootfighting days and top Strikeforce heavyweight Josh Barnett is an experienced ‘puroresu’ performer, Japan’s most popular style of sports entertainment.
Let's get physical
So, we know that both sides possess some of the world’s most physically capable and all-round impressive athletes, but just how do pro wrestlers and mixed martial artists compare to one another when it comes to skill and sheer brute strength? And how similar are the training techniques of these alpha male man-handlers?
Former IFL Tokyo Sabres coach Ken Yasuda, also known as ‘Japan’s Arnold Schwarzenegger,’ is a world-ranked bodybuilder, former Mr Japan and a strength and conditioning trainer to MMA fighters and pro wrestlers. Yasuda knows what it takes to carve the perfect competitor in both athletic pursuits. “For pro wrestlers, the very important part of conditioning and strengthening is weight training. They’ve got to pump iron to look like a super hero,” says Yasuda, based in Los Angeles. “Eating correct and clean along with hardcore bodybuilding training is a priority in pro wrestling.
“For MMA fighters, the priority of conditioning s the physical ability: quickness, explosive power, overall endurance and muscle endurance. For muscle endurance training, one example is to do a repeated movement such as horizontal pull-ups for 50 seconds immediately after you finish 50 seconds of push-ups… Cardiovascular exercises like running and jump roping will give you overall endurance, so I always mix these up to reach the ultimate condition to fight.”
We know wrestlers have not only been influenced by mixed martial arts in the ring (The Undertaker has lifted both a triangle choke and a gogoplata from the Octagon and applied them as finishers) and found it was a great way to keep gas in the tank (ex-WWE man Batista still trains in mixed martial arts just as he used to in his wrestling days) but how do the battling brethren’s athletic requirements stack up?
“Pro wrestlers are way more powerful in terms of muscle strength while MMA fighters are quicker and have sharper movements,” explains Ken. “Pro wrestlers, unlike MMA fighters, are very good at taking bumps, flying off a pole in and off a ring and lifting up and throwing bodies in any way they want. MMA fighters do not have these skills, but they have extremely high skills to strike their opponents and hurt them for real… Both athletes have tremendous endurance.”
Although the object of a professional wrestler’s actions in the ring is to create an illusion of combat rather than to actually harm their fellow athletes, Ken believes that MMA training can still assist with pro wrestling presentation. “Wrestlers [who train MMA] will have more tools for their tricks or finishing movements… They can have more real fight movements and will be able to do [realistic] pro wrestling.”
The power of promo
For getting noticed, your ability to spit ear-catching lines is arguably as advantageous in mixed martial arts as it is in professional wrestling. CM Punk (Phil Brooks), one of the biggest stars in WWE, is a self-confessed MMA nut. Punk is famous for his outspoken manner and fluency on the microphone, and when asked about his thoughts on the link between the two industries, he made his feelings clear. “To deny that the UFC is [professional wrestling’s] competition is a little bit ridiculous,” said the Chicagoan, who trains Brazilian jiu-jitsu when not on the road with his pro wrestling buddies. “UFC is entertainment, WWE is entertainment.”
As an experienced entertainer, former WWE superstar Lashley agrees with Punk's view and feels mixed martial arts could benefit from putting a little more emphasis on drama and performance, rather than trying to focus purely on the athletic aspect of the sport. “I think a lot of times in MMA we completely erase the fact that it’s entertainment; because people pay to watch so it is entertainment on their end... It sucks that way because you can’t open up and have fun with it.”
The now-retired Brock Lesnar knew that very well. The former heavyweight champion engineered himself into one of the UFC’s biggest pay-per-view draws, and one of the most compelling characters in the sport’s history thanks to his understanding that a microphone can be a hefty sales tool. At the UFC 100 post-fight press conference following his vocal barbs and crowd-taunting interview with Joe Rogan after his main event victory, the former WWE employee explained to the media: “I went into the entertainment business for a while and I guess there’s a little bit of that [left in me]. You guys ask me all the time, ‘Is there anything you can drag over from WWE?’ I guess you’ve seen a little bit of that tonight.”
So, you want to become an MMA superstar? Lashley recommends improving the gift of the gab just as much as honing your jab. “Those [fighters] are the ones who are doing the bigger pay-per-views,” he explains. “That’s why you have Brock Lesnar doing over one million [pay-per-view] buys. You’ve got to open up; you’ve got to be vocal. You don’t have to play a character, the crowd just need to know who you are.”
Glory is forever
From jiu-jitsu-crazy CM Punk to the triangle-choking Undertaker, all the way to heavyweight MMA convert Bobby Lashley and double-timing Strikeforce man Josh Barnett, it’s evident professional wrestling and mixed martial arts make a world-beating tag team. But which is king of the ring? According to Ken Yasuda, they both take the title. “Pro wrestlers have to show impressive movements, stories, and emotions. MMA fighters have to show exciting fights by showing their hearts. These are not sports for wimpy boys. I always kicked out those who were not tough enough to go through the hard training. This is only for tough boys who want it.”
MMA's 'Wrestlemania Moments'
Wrestlemania is the grandest stage in pro wrestling and the annual event has played host to some of the most epic moments in all of sports entertainment. The pursuit of MMA has also had its share of memorable incidents. Here are a few of the highlights:
UFC 100
If MMA ever had its own Wrestlemania then UFC 100 was surely it. Held on July 11th 2009 in Las Vegas, this landmark event featured two title fights, the ‘Knockout of the Year’ and received over 1.5 million pay-per-view buys.
As well as being hugely successful, the event was not without its controversial moments, including Brock Lesnar spouting some post-victory trash talk against bloodied opponent Frank Mir and major promotional sponsor Bud Light prompting bad-guy boos from the crowd.
The buyout
Long-time wrestling fans will remember the historic moment when WWE bought out WCW (World Championship Wrestling) in 2001, one week prior to Wrestlemania 17, merging the world’s two largest pro wrestling companies. The UFC’s acquisition of rival promotion Strikeforce was the MMA equivalent.
When the UFC announcement was made in March 2011, fans salivated at the thought of all their dream crossover matchups becoming a reality. However, unlike the ill-fated WCW which was immediately dissolved, Strikeforce continuesd to run separately from its dominant step-brother until 2013.
Crowd pleaser
Interaction with the audience is a big part of pro wrestling performance, and it’s not uncommon for superstars to get up close and personal with their fans, but it’s a rare thing in MMA. At UFC 142 Jose Aldo broke the mold, celebrating his third successful UFC title defense by sprinting out of the cage and into the crowd, rejoicing with his fellow Brazilians.
MMA's potential pro wrestlers
MMA and pro wrestling might be full of dazzling lights and in-your-face personalities but when broken down to the basics the models for both are actually rather simple.
Paul Heyman, the founder of ECW (Extreme Championship Wrestling) and former manager of high-profile wrestler-turned-fighter Brock Lesnar, gives a straightforward analysis of both industries: “Wrestling’s a real easy thing. Here are the bad guys, here’s a guy that can kick the bad guys’ ass. Build up the bad guys... Now the good guy rolls into town. Let’s fight! It’s easy...
“MMA answers some very interesting questions: Who are these two guys? Why are they fighting? And why should I care? If you can answer those three questions you’ll sell a ticket or a pay-per-view. If you can’t answer the questions, who’s gonna buy it?”
There has been no shortage of MMA stars who could have made it as sports entertainers in the world of WWE. Here's three of those who could have made the switch.
Chael Sonnen
There is no man or woman in the world of MMA who could sell a fight on the strength of their words alone better than Chael Sonnen. His tendency to talk trash and back it up with dominant victories against high-level competition made him one of the UFC’s most promotable stars. His athletic prowess coupled with his skills on the microphone made this top middleweight contender the perfect pro wrestling package. Hell, in 2013 Sonnen said he would like to buy WWE after he retired from MMA. In April 2019 Chael announced his retirement.
Ronda Rousey
Women have had a hard time in pro wrestling – many fans don’t give them the same athletic credit they give the males. Ronda Rousey’s Olympic judo pedigree would add some legitimacy to the female side of sports entertainment. ‘Rowdy’ also managed to talk her way into a title match with Strikeforce 135lb women’s champ Miesha Tate, showing she understands the power of a good promo.
Alistair Overeem
Once was a time when, with rotund characters like Dusty Rhodes and King Kong Bundy, being a pro wrestler was more about size than tone and definition. Nowadays, muscle can be just as important as mass, and Alistair Overeem is a man who has it all. ‘The Reem’ is six-foot-five, 260lb of intrigue and intimidation. Who wouldn’t pay to see this man perform?
