You can’t deny it. MMA and pro wrestling are related. Ugly-stepsisters, maybe. But the fact is, there’s been cross-pollination between the two going on for years now.
Ken Shamrock got his start in pro wrestling years ago, then made the jump to MMA-style Japanese federations PWFG and Pancrase. Contrary to the whipping boy he’s been to Tito Ortiz recently, in his prime, Shamrock was a strong, fast, brutal submission fighter.
But after fighting in the UFC, Shamrock left MMA for several years for the World Wrestling Federation (now WWE), only to resurface in Pride.
Ken Shamrock during his WWF days (notice the MMA gloves):
Dan Severn was a longtime pro wrestler and even brought the NWA world title into the UFC octagon.(Anybody know the story behind that one?)
Would you believe Bas Rutten actually wrestled as a heel against Japanese face Yuji Nagata? Must’ve been a big payday for El Guapo, or he owed New Japan a big favor ... Bazzuuuuu Rutennaaaaaa
Most recently, former WWE wrestler Brock Lesnar fought his first MMA match. Time will tell if his intent is to stay in the sport, or if his fight against a can at the EliteXC/K-1 Hero’s Dynamite!! was just for a quick buck.
In the U.S., most MMA fans decry pro wrestling as a sham, but in Japan, it is respected as a legitimate sport, because of how hard the wrestlers work. They call it “fighting spirit.” Many Japanese wrestlers have made forays into MMA. Most have gotten their butts kicked, but who can deny Kazushi Sakuraba’s four wins over the Gracie clan or Yoshihiro Takayama’s slugfest with Don Frye?
MMA owes a lot of its popularity in Japan due to the teachings of two catch wrestlers — Karl Gotch and Lou Thesz — who taught a group of Japanese wrestlers hooks — that is, real submission holds. The Japanese wrestlers started using these submissions in their matches, creating a popularity that MMA federations fed off when they surfaced in the mid-90s.
MMA fans didn’t appear out of the ether. Before MMA, they were amateur wrestling fans, kickboxing fans, boxing fans and yes, even pro wrestling fans.
With MMA fighters’ salaries on the rise, we’ll probably see less of them joining pro wrestling federations. If MMA is to thrive, it needs to distance itself from pro wrestling because of the stigma it carries here in the U.S.
But, MMA needs to borrow from the way pro wrestling promotes its shows — you can’t deny Vince McMahon knows how to put on a PPV and build up fights. Maybe the UFC could bring Ol' Vinnie Mac on as a consultant - just keep him away from any decision-making, or you'll see fighters wearing pink feather boas, or maybe an electrified underwater octagon - with piranhas.
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