Greetings.
I watched the much anticipated UFC 200 pay per view last weekend – mostly because WWE star Brock Lesnar was returning to the octagon and also because Jon “Bones” Jones and Daniel Cormier, two of the better mixed martial artists in the UFC were supposed to clash in a long awaited title match.
Not to be raining on Dana White’s parade, but UFC 200 – like many a heavily hyped WWE pay per view which I’ve wasted my time and money on, proved to be an anti-climactic disappointment, with Lesnar going over some listless supposed contender named Mark Hunt, whose career record of 13 wins and 12 losses, didn’t justify him headlining the card and would classify him as a “jobber” in pro wrestling.
As for Jones and Cormier, it didn’t even happen, as Jones failed a drug test before the event, as did Brock, after the match. Not to digress, but I’m not sure how or why Jones had to take the urine test before UFC 200 while Brock was allowed to take it after. In any case, “Bones” was replaced on short notice by aging blast from the past – Anderson Silva, who ended up doing the job, in an underwhelming affair.
The other feature event on the card was a women’s title match between two girls whom I’ve never heard of before, which lasted less than a round – all of which made me feel somewhat ripped off, given that this was supposed to have been the biggest card in UFC history.
I’m not sure if my less than resounding review of UFC 200 is somewhat skewed because of my background in pro wrestling, but I’ve said it before and will re-iterate it here and now that, as a rule, UFC pay per views rarely seem to rise to the occasion and they rarely come close to the excitement level of compelling old school wrestling, like Dynamite Kid, Randy Savage, Ric Flair, the Funks and Harley Race.
To be honest, with all the controversy in hockey and football about brain injuries, concussions and the related tragic suicides of athletes like Wade Belak, Rick Rypien and Junior Seau, not to mention the countless punch drunk boxers we hear of, I’m surprised that the UFC continues to fly under the so-called radar in regard to post-concussive syndrome, brain trauma and all of that.
I have no doubt that a large part of the UFC’s fan base is comprised of disenchanted former pro wrestling fans who got sick of the excessive bullshit being perpetrated back in the day by the WWE, not to mention Vinnie Mac’s needless and ill-conceived disclosure that pro wrestling was all a work. Probably the biggest reason, in my opinion, why so many pro wrestling fans switched their allegiance to UFC was that, if nothing else, they could indulge in the notion that it was a “shoot” or on the level.
By that token, they could therefore derive intrinsic satisfaction from the belief that their cheering, booing or whatever else might have some actual bearing on the outcome – which, of course, is the whole point of spectator sports.
Having said that, I still have no idea why Vince McMahon and company don’t seem to grasp that, and why they don’t endeavor to restore some semblance of perceptible legitimacy or realism to their product. I’m not advocating, by any means, that they suddenly begin insisting that what they do is a shoot or anything like that, but if they went to greater lengths to make pro wrestling appear to be more believable, by having more actual wrestling, more straight finishes, less run ins, swerve finishes, illicit title changes, tits and ass and assorted other crap that insults the intelligence of the fans and invites derision and ridicule from the skeptics, it would probably be a major step in the right direction.
While it would be nice to see “wrestling” become the main focal point once again, I’m not expecting that to be happening soon. Part of the problem is that the WWE is still in denial and because of that don’t see any need to change or get back to the middle of the road. Beyond that, it would be time consuming and costly to teach and install old school principles in a whole new generation of wrestlers. Having said that, I, nonetheless, earnestly believe it would be, “what’s best for business” – which is why Triple H, Vince and whomever else need to give it serious consideration.
Wrestling – not just the WWE, but damn near every promotion out there needs to, in my humble opinion, re-evaluate their approach and adopt a different mindset as far as methodology is concerned – in the ring and behind the scenes. As I said before, the primary reason for the overwhelming success of the UFC, in spite of its marginal entertainment value and other detractions, is due to the fact that fans can indulge in the notion that it’s real. That used to be the prevailing source of appeal for pro wrestling fans as well and it pisses me off that I should even be having to be reminding those who are running our business, to not lose sight of that basic premise.
Having said all of that, I’m not holding my breath that the enlightened despots in Stamford, Connecticut will choose to embrace, act upon or even consider any of my suggestions, but nothing ventured, nothing gained, I suppose.
On that note, I’ll call this a wrap, but will look forward next week to giving you my perspectives on the long awaited RAW/SmackDown talent dispersal draft, which could be a pivotal event in WWE history.
Stay tuned and keep the faith!
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