« What mainstream media coverage looks like | Home | Update on ECC 3 show »
Stupid human tricks
By Zach Arnold | July 16, 2006
By Zach Arnold
In the past few weeks, we’ve heard promos from both Kurt Angle (WWE) and Rhyno (TNA – video of his open challenge here) talking about how they would accept any challengers from a 4-sided, 6-sided, or 8-sided ring. This, of course, has set off a fury on MMA boards and has pro-wrestling fans cringing at the prospects of a shooter showing up and accepting such a challenge.
There is historical evidence of a wrestler getting slaughtered by a shooter, so we take this opportunity to remind everyone who doesn’t remember the past to utter the following words: Mirko Cro Cop vs. Yuji Nagata.
That didn’t end too well for the credibility for the Japanese pro-wrestling business.
Topics: All Topics, Japan, Media, MMA, Pro-Wrestling, Zach Arnold | 9 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
I REALLY hope that any promotion, or pro wrestler for that matter, wouldn’t be stupid enough to actually go through with it, should anyone from MMA take them up on the offer.
(You should be forced to do an article on how Nagata’s loss directly lead to the entire puroresu industry losing credibility.)
When Ka Shin defeated Gracie, did that make MMA lose credibility?
(NO.)
So why should Nagata looking weak and silly against an amazingly talented head-kicker hurt the entire puro industry?
If an amazing win for a puro star doesn’t make his industry look dominant, then a humiliating loss for another can not do the opposite.
(Are you suggesting that if Nagata had never embarassed himself and no other puro star had filled in for his shit-kicking, that puro would be neck and neck with MMA in the credibility department in Nihon? I don’t buy that for a second.)
(There is also the realization that the WWE & TNA has zero credibility to begin with. So a humiliating loss to Angle or Rhyno would only make the wrestlers themselves look like jackasses. The company could bury and then release him should the need arise, but I don’t think they would have to.)
Nagata was at the top of the cards for New Japan at the time he accepted the fight. It was very clear that in Japan, the idea of pro-wrestler vs. the pro-wrestler hunter was a big storyline. The loss by Nagata (and Yasuda beating Le Banner) in 2001 led to New Japan putting the IWGP belt on Yasuda (who beat Nagata in February of 2002 in a tournament) in the first place.
In the eyes of the Japanese fans, a pro-wrestler getting his ass kicked by a shooter was damaging. When Nagata was announced to face Fedor 2 years later, fans started laughing because they felt sorry for the guy and didn’t take his chances seriously.
Yeah, but if a shooter does accept the challenge, it would take place in an ECW or TNA ring, not a shoot promotion’s ring. And if you want an example of what happened there, think Taz vs. Paul Varelans in the old ECW. If anything, it’s your typical wrestling promo, or a plan to hire a shoot fighter to make a pro wrestler look good and “legit”. I mean it’s not like Chuck Norris is going to drop down from the heavens and kill Rhyno or Kurt Angle with a roundhouse kick.
a) Rhino isn’t a main-eventer so he’s expendable
b) Pro-wrestling in America as far as I can see doesn’t rely on credibility.
They’d be delighted if relatively famous MMA guy took up the challenge – they’d either try to work it, double cross the MMA guy, or just plain sacrifice the pro-wrestler for a buy rate or rating on their show.
If a legitimate shooter showed up at a TNA TV taping, the following acts would make them look wimpy:
1) “Ambushing” the shooter with multiple wrestlers attacking
2) The shooter legitimately kicking the wrestler’s ass
3) The shooter comes to take up the challenge only for the wrestler to back off and say “no”
Wrestlers like Angle and Rhyno should know better than to do these kinds of promos. In the 70s and early 80s, doing these kinds of promos would result in wrestlers from rival promotions showing up and taking care of the “outlaw” group (similar to what Hiro Matsuda used to do back in the day when someone would show up in the territory area that Eddie Graham was running).
I have no problem with wrestlers cutting promos on each other (and I can even tolerate the sillyness of Rhyno calling out Vince McMahon to face him down), but when you start calling out shooters it’s a bad, bad idea. Kind of like when Anjoh went to stir up a hornet’s nest with the Gracies and got demolished in three minutes.
I NEVER ONCE HEARD ANY RULES STATED DURING THESE CHALLENGES. AS FAR AS RHINO GOES i DONT THINK ANY RULES WOULD HELP HIM. HOWEVER IF THE RULES ARE STRICTLY FREESTYLE WRESTLING, YOU WOULD BE HARD PRESSED TO FIND ANYONE IN THE MMA WORLD CAPABLE OF DEFEATING KURT ANGLE, ESPECAILLY CHUCK LIDDELL. MAYBE THAT’S THE CATCH TO ANGLE’S CHALLENGE. BUT IF IT’S ANOTHER TYPE OF MMA RULES JUST LOOKED WHAT HAPPENED TO KARAM GABER
It is my contention that you only mention your competitors when they are a threat to you or jealousy overcomes common sense. Wrestlers today rarely speak extemporaneously, they simply parrot back what the “man” tells them to say. Thus, it isn’t Angle challenging the world, but Crazy Vince Graham…..McMahon. Vince certainly has an ego that explodes when he feels threatened and he has to be a bit jealous of the UFC success these days and apparantly isn’t happy that TNA is still in existance since he has used Angle as his mouthpiece to challenge the world. Why give the rub to TNA when they aren’t a serious monetary threat? Why challenge the UFC who has the ability to embarrass them by sending in a curtain jerker mma fighter who would almost definitely hurt the destroyed body of the always game Angle.
Dana doesn’t want to work with Vince so you won’t see him sending a fighter in to work an angle with Angle. If a UFC fighter somehow gets past security and shows up at ringside, it will be for real and you can bet the cameras will be on anything but the fighter as security hauls him away while Ross or Tazz describes them as a deranged fan. Vince needs to grasp the old addage that you shouldn’t let your mouth write a check your ass can’t cash and by challening the UFC to a real fight he has done exactly that.
In closing, I like Angle and nobody can fault his spirit, but his body is shot and the last thing he needs is a real fight at this point in his life. In fact, he really shouldn’t even work as hard as he does, it is time to tone it down and become a headlock wrestler.
One wonders if we would still be having these conversations if there was still a steady stream of pros who could hook when needed ala Billy Robinson or Thesz. Many of today’s wrestlers are largely ignorant of the history of hooking or scientific wrestling, which is a shame. Sugar hold anyone?