I love watching both MMA and WWE. Many think that they cannot coexist and that MMA is loads better then WWE. Here I will tell you what I like about each show, what one show can offer that another one can’t, how they don’t have to interfere, and how they can coexist and live in harmony.
I’ll start out this article by saying that since joining The Irish Whip I have become an MMA fan…due to Ben and Masson’s articles over the past months. Also, as you know, I am a huge WWE fan. However, it seems to me that the WWE does not get the respect from MMA fans that it deserves. MMA fans always use the ignorant and hackneyed term “fake” when it comes to wrestling.
FAKE is the exact 4-letter word that makes MMA fans and WWE fans not get along. If I may quote my “great friend” Darth Nihlist:
“The WWE has been surpassed by the UFC. Please refrain from talking about the WWE here. UFC is all that needs to be discussed. It is real, WWE is NOT!! Thank You. The writers here are obviously juveniles that pander to the WWE.”
“If you sheep want to keep following a pre-determined outcome form of entertainment, so be it.I like my sports to be REAL and not scripted. Yahoo searches and all that are just proof of the idiocy that is ruining this country. How many searches does yahoo get about the idiot president and his pointless war????”
Fake kills me. The blood is real (see Tommy Dreamer at the first One Night Stand), the pain is usually real (see Sabu tear open his arm from barbwire and have his bicep hanging out…and then wrap his turban around it and continue the match), and sometimes the rivalries are real (see Flair vs. Foley…or Edge vs. Matt Hardy).
WWE is just as exciting as MMA (Jeff Hardy jumping off of a 20-foot ladder onto someone is just as/more exciting then Mirko Cro Cop kicking someone in the face). Also, WWE is televised a lot more. WWE has 3 shows a week, while I often find myself watching Ultimate Fighter 2 reruns. The 3 shows a week allow the fans to watch the top performers of the company at least once a week (analogy by Ben: think of Liddell vs. Rampage every week)…while I would have to pay to watch Chuck Liddell fight every 2 months.
However MMA is actual combat where people actually get hit all the time (another analogy by Ben: think if John Cena actually got punched out). MMA is fun to watch because you know that each fighter is throwing in 110% throughout each fight. MMA is also very exciting because of its unpredictability. In MMA a guy could get knocked or submit out in the first minute of the fight! Unpredictability is the epitome of exciting.
Actually, let me break down unpredictability real quick. It has pluses and minuses. The pluses are that it causes excitement and causes the fans to be in an atmosphere where they don’t know what is going to happen at all. However, the minuses are that if someone pays to see UFC 74 and Randy Couture knocks out Gabriel Gonzaga in the first minute, and St. Pierre knocks out Koscheck in the first minute…there are no refunds. If you pay for Wrestlemania, then you know that you are going to get to watch it for around 3 hours.
Let’s move to scheduling. UFC has “UFC Unleashed” on Thursday nights, ppvs on Saturday nights, and I think that Ultimate Fighter is Wednesdays (correct me if I’m wrong)…and WWE has RAW on Monday nights, ECW on Tuesday nights, Smackdown on Friday nights, and ppvs on Sunday nights. Now is it just me or do none of these dates conflict? These two sports can easily coexist if the MMA fans give WWE respect and vice versa.
Hopefully I didn’t start some civil war…but we’ll see. By the way, I have decided to no longer be under by pen name “Jared Gerrard” and use my real name Jordan Arnold. So if you were wondering where I went…it’s just a new name.
Monday, July 30, 2007
MMA and WWE Can Coexist!
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10 Comments:
very nice points made. also, WWE has mastered one thing that UFC is still working on, and that is te art of the Pay-Per-View. UFC PPVs are sweet, but it isn't even close to watching a Wrestlemania or a SummerSlam. UFC will learn to build up to its PPVs better and also how to run the PPVs better. do you remember who had the last match at UFC 73?
I totally respect your opinions but you have to admit that the majority of the action that takes place in a WWE match: the chest slaps, the gut punch while stomping, the pins and even the blood is often the result of a hidden razor blade the wrestlers use to cut themselves, is fake. It is pure theatrics and just like in the movies accidents happen ie Brandon Lee. One is a sport and the other is entertainment. I think that is why many MMA fans don't see the connection or even want to see a connection attempted when thier fighters are putting so much more on the line. That is just my two cents so you can watch your summerslams and wrestlemanias and I will take Henderson vs Jackson to see who really is the baddest man on the planet.
I can't imagine putting your body on the line as much as:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=db2Yfjhk_S8
http://youtube.com/watch?v=db2Yfjhk_S8
http://youtube.com/watch?v=db2Yfjhk_S8
http://youtube.com/watch?v=_Tc1522Zf90
or especially http://youtube.com/watch?v=59gRPspvsHY
As far as putting your body on the line and suffering real injuries, the nod HAS to go to WWE. These guys work 280 days in a year. Imagine playing in the Superbowl and then having a game the next night on Monday Night Football. That's what professional wrestling is like.
However, I do believe that there is no moment in the WWE that can match the excitement of when two perfectly matched fighters are about to get it on. That second or so before the match starts as the fighters stare one another down has to be the most exhilarating single moment in sports. At least for me...
Finally, I have to agree with Drew that the WWEs PPVs are much more enjoyable than those of the UFC. This is partially due to the fact that wrestling is by definition, a form of entertainment and so there will be a higher level of showmanship, materialized by the company or not. However, if you look at WWE PPVs from the early 90s, they struggle to keep momentum throughout the event whereas the WWE event of today is a well-oiled and choreographed machine. I fully expect the UFC to follow a similar pattern.
That being said, there's things I love about each and I'll continue to follow each to fulfill very different entertainment needs.
I'm going to have to agree with TheFreshMaker!
Wrestling was good back in the day, until I found MMA!
Good article nonetheless!
So it comes down to sport and competitioin vs entertainment.
sport and genuine competition vs. adapted sport and entertainment
The phrase "sport and competition vs. entertainment" makes entertainment sound like it's a bad thing...MMA's (as well as WWE's) biggest quality is entertainment. MMA guys as well as WWE guys have to be extremely athletic to do what they do. Both styles of fighting are different forms of entertainment and different forms of athleticism.
Excellent article, btw. It really got people talking which is the whole point of having a site like we do.
I agree with your points that you have made. I wish I still had the love of wrestling I once had. MMA is just more exciting to me now. I haven't watched any thing from WWE in like 4 years.
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