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Report: Angle to make ‘MMA debut’ in Osaka
By Zach Arnold | March 19, 2008
Nikkan Sports has a report claiming that Antonio Inoki is interested in Kurt Angle making his MMA debut on the IGF 4/12 Osaka Prefectural Gym show. According to Inoki, Angle will likely participate with open-fingered gloves and that it may be a 3-way MMA match involving Naoya Ogawa & Josh Barnett. Making this story even better is the fact that Angle has to work a TNA PPV the next day (4/13) in the States.
On a sidenote, Yosuke Nishijima has been booked for K-1’s 4/13 Yokohama Arena World GP event.
Topics: Japan, K-1, Media, MMA, Pro-Wrestling, Zach Arnold | 14 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
3-Way MMA match! only Inoki can come up with this.. 🙂
I’m confused…pass the beer-nuts
Something very fishy indeed about this. Almost certainly a work, right? Am I stupid to even say so? Damn, I am aren’t I.
Inoki rules. Who would even try to sell a 3-way wrestling match as an ‘open-gloved MMA match’ and expect people to buy it?
What is worse is the potential it has to be a really awful wrestling match on top of a dumb idea.
Actually, with the people involved, this would have a good chance of BEING legit(if it were to happen). Ogawa, Angla and Barnett are all open minded enough to different fighting styles, worked and shoot, to agree to bizarre rules and actually go out there and shoot under those rules. The lineup is actually so suspicious that it goes overborad and becomes non-suspicious.
But alas, Angle might make it back in the States for the PPV fine, but TNA letting Angle do any sort of non-work match less than 48 hours before a huge PPV main event back home – nah. Angle would realize this as well. So I guess under these specific circumstances it would be a work, guarenteed.
I don’t know, the shoot tag team ‘fights’ of yesteryear were ridiculous enough for me, the thought of a 3-way fight is a lot worse. Seriously, how would you do groundwork in a 3-way? Angle takes Ogawa down and Barnett, uh, punches Angle in the face and its over?
I think if we are going to go for really bad ideas for real fights at least assemble a giant team of scrubs to take somebody like Andrei Arlovski on one/two at a time. It could play out like a real action movie! Inoki Bom-Be-Ye!
I heard a rumor of a Couture/Angle submission match. I can see that happening, and Angle doing alright under those condition.
But he’s WAY to broken down from his Olympic career and numerous pro wrestling injuries to compete in MMA, now or ever.
Andrei Arlovski vs. a bunch of karate yellow belts = PPV $$$. Even better: it takes place on a tropical island, and you make the karate students dress in full ninja garb.
This was pretty much my main suggestion for Arlovski a few years ago after he ran through the (really small) UFC Heavyweight division. If Big Tim didn’t beat him I could have seen him running giant gauntlets or maybe having a bounty out where they’d call in random shmoes from the arena to take their shot at the champ.
But then, you know, Sylvia.
IGF is all “worked shoot” fights.
Go youtube it and you’ll see what to expect…Randleman and Coleman were involved in one of them as was a HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE Barnett vs. Mohantana (sp?) Silva “shoot” fight.
I don’t know if I’d call it all ‘worked shoot’ fights. Angle vs Lesnar happened in IGF and it really wasn’t much more than a pro-wrestling match, intended to be presented like a pro-wrestling match.
If anything, some of the matches are done in UWF or BattlArts style, but that is about the extent of it.
Actually I guess that’s a more correct assessment. There’s straight up puro matches AND “worked shoots”/UWF style fights.
Unless Angle has been training a lot in submission wrestling, he has little chance against Randy in the PSL.
Ok so I think I’ve figured out “work”, a fake fight right? And is a “Shoot” also a work or is it a fight where they actually fight as in “Shoot fighting”? And what is a “worked shoot?” going by context I’d say it is a fake fight. So could one of you pro-wrestling “marks” out there clear it up?
Thanks.
A work is a non-competitive contest (IE: what your average Pro Wrestling match) is. Shoot refers to a legit contest or (in some cases) a work that becomes legit because one guy legitimately beats up the other when he doesn’t expect it. A worked shoot is a work that has stiffer (IE: they aren’t pulling back their strikes and trying to cushion their opponents as much) work and tries to be more MMA-style than your average Pro Wrestling match. For example, in a worked shoot you wouldn’t see clotheslines and frog splashes but you would see punches, kicks, suplexes and submissions.