Welcome once again readers, to the latest edition of The Shock Treatment. We all know that professional wrestling has been around in some shape or form for what seems like ages now. The industry that we've all come to know and enjoy has gone through several drastic transformations throughout its history. We've all heard about the rich lineage of the NWA World Heavyweight Championship dating all the way back to the early 1900's. And who could forget Vincent Kennedy McMahon taking the business from a regional level to a national phenomenon, and eventually to primetime cable television. Wrestling has been a part of mainstream media from that point forward. Recently another form of entertainment has caught the attention of the American mainstream audience. In order to begin this installment I'd like to talk about the past of the Ultimate Fighting Championship organization. UFC is an organized form of Mixed Martial Arts fighting, or MMA. Similar to pro wrestling, MMA fighting has a rich history dating all the way back to the Olympic games in Athens. MMA fighting has gained international popularity in countries such as Japan and Brazil over the past few decades. In 1993 UFC introduced the tradition of competitive MMA to the United States with a tournament featuring athletes skilled in various aspects of martial arts. The tournament was to include athletes trained in kickboxing, grappling, wrestling, sumo, jiu-jitsu, and various other combat sports. The winner of this was to be crowned the "Ultimate Fighter."
The reaction to competitive fighting in the United States was outstanding. As a matter of fact UFC recently came to an agreement with the television network Spike TV to air a UFC-based reality series titled The Ultimate Fighter. The show was such a success that Spike was eager to sign on for additional seasons, as well as several live UFC specials. Since debuting on Spike UFC's popularity has gone through the roof. The organization has even managed to attract many fans of pro wrestling. It appears that a segment of the pro wrestling audience has become discontent with outrageous plots and preferred UFC's hard-hitting, shoot-fight style. Therefore, why not attempt to incorporate that style into pro wrestling? Before any of my loyal readers being thinking I've lost my mind, allow me to explain what leads me to believe that UFC could very well be wrestling's ultimate influence.
Now, don't think that I'm comparing UFC to professional wrestling because they are two completely different forms of entertainment. Wrestling is done for the sake of entertaining the audience, who ultimately determine a wrestlers worth in his respective company. While UFC, on the other hand, is an actual form of competition. Two men compete, with the mutual goal of knocking the other unconscious or forcing them to submit. I simply think that it's a possibility that if wrestlers were to implement a slightly more aggressive and competitive style it may appeal to the fans who are crossing over to watch UFC's programming. Could it be a mere coincidence that at a point in time where TNA wrestling is struggling with looking "fake" as a follow-up to UFC, the powerhouse Samoa Joe is the companies most popular personality? Is there any doubt that Joe's popularity is based on his ground and pound style, the stiff kicks, dangerously quick powerslams, open-handed slaps, sadistic knees to the head, and of course the deadly Muscle Buster? We all know that wrestling is pre-determined and choreographed, but when watching Joe's matches even the most informed fan will often comment, "that had to really hurt."
In the land of the rising sun, pro wrestling is seemingly more physical and competitive than here in the States. The same stiff kicks and slaps that Joe serves out in TNA are prevalent in Japanese wrestling matches. However, the far-fetched storylines we often see here are not exactly prevalent overseas. Lately, various independent wrestling organizations in America appear to be trying to capitalize on the growing popularity of that same style. The first to come to mind, and arguably most notable of these organizations, is Ring of Honor. ROH pride themselves on innovating rather than imitating. Rather than trying to be anything like the internationally acknowledged WWE they offer a vastly different product. The company focuses almost completely on in ring action rather than complicated storylines. Until a recent unification they even had a championship called the Pure Title. Matches for this championship were contested under rules that favored the more athletic and technical wrestler in the bout. Each wrestler was permitted three rope breaks in a match. After a wrestler used all three breaks, they were no longer to be enforced. Closed fists punches were barred in Pure Title matches and doing so caused the wrestler to be penalized a rope break. If the wrestler had already used his three permitted rope breaks he was disqualified. A disqualification, as well as a twenty-count outside the ring, warranted a title change under Pure Rules. This eliminates the champions ability to get themselves disqualified, or to simply walk away and retain his title via countout. This was just one example of the unique product ROH has offered fans in an attempt to rekindle interest in the sport of professional wrestling.
Another excellent example is Kurt Angle. Prior to his recent departure from WWE the Olympic gold medallist had been dubbed "the wrestling machine," a name which fit him perfectly. Kurt's matches after being drafted to ECW seemed more realistic than ever before. He began dominating his opponents on the mat using his amateur wrestling background before ultimately finishing them off with a painful submission hold, whether it was a choke or his signature Ankle Lock. Kurt's new more physical style made him more popular than ever before with many fans. Following his release from WWE Angle expressed an interest in MMA fighting. Although many feel it was only a ploy to play off his impending arrival in TNA, at one point Angle went as far as announcing his retirement from pro wrestling in order to pursue a career in MMA. With his new position as a top star in TNA a future in MMA is completely up in the air at the moment. Either way, for someone with the star power of Angle to even consider making that leap is a testament to the growing popularity of MMA fighting.
While Kurt may have toyed with the idea of becoming involved with the recent MMA craze, another man has taken that ball and ran with it. That man is Brock Lesnar, and of course he ran directly away from pro wrestling with it... again! But that's another subject for another column. After a messy legal dispute with WWE over his no-compete clause, Lesnar debuted in New Japan Pro Wrestling. He even walked away from a three-way match against Kazuyuki Fujita and Masahiro Chono with the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in his debut in the orient. Before long he shocked the wrestling world again by parting ways with NJPW and vacating the IWGP title. He then proceeded to announce his plans to begin training for MMA competition with the legendary Royce Gracie. The only question remaining now is when will wrestling's former "next big thing" begin making headlines in the world of MMA fighting? And when that does occur, how will he fair?
Watching ECW's weekly programming on the Sci Fi channel leads me to believe that I'm not the only one who sees UFC as a viable influence for pro wrestling. Paul Heyman is widely considered one of the greatest minds in the business and I feel that he has recognized this as well. Heyman referred to Taz, in his prime, as ECW's UFC fight type persona on numerous occasions. One must feel that he may have had that same role in mind for the wrestling machine prior to his departure to Total Nonstop Action. Even as it stands submission endings are frequent in the new ECW. Sabu has scored several submission victories lately using his uncle, The Sheik's, signature Camel Clutch hold. Who could forget about CM Punk and his deadly Anaconda Vice that has garnered him an impressive undefeated streak thus far since his arrival. Punk's martial arts influenced striking style is also reminiscent to that seen in many UFC fights.
It is nearly impossible to discount the recent peak in wrestling fans interest in MMA fighting. Many popular wrestling websites on the Internet have even begun reporting UFC/MMA news as well as the latest pro wrestling headlines. Some of the points mentioned in this column lead me to believe that pro wrestling would benefit from a more physical style. It certainly appears to be what a large segment of the audience is begging for. Of course it's entirely possible that I'm simply reading too much into this theory of mine. We may never know for sure, but I felt that this idea deserved some thought and attention. Before I wrap this one up I want to credit SpikeTV.Com and UFC.Com for some of the information used in this column. As always thank all of you for taking the time to read. Everyone keep in mind that feedback, whether positive or negative, is always welcome and greatly appreciated.
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