Loss Posted January 10, 2006 Report Share Posted January 10, 2006 Teke makes a good point. I wonder if this will go as far as announcing and pushing television and house show lineups in advance, to see who is moving tickets and who isn't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted January 10, 2006 Report Share Posted January 10, 2006 Could this mark the return of the WWF Events Center to shill upcoming houseshows? I never understood why they stopped that, if they're going to go through all the effort of bringing most of the set with them for a houseshow, why not shill it like they used to when it was just barebones wrestling? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted January 10, 2006 Report Share Posted January 10, 2006 An MMA invasion storyline would probably get over enormously, given time and the right type of focus, but it would require guys like HHH and Taker to not just job, but get practically buried, which is why I don't see it happening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodhelmet Posted January 10, 2006 Report Share Posted January 10, 2006 Unless the WWe shifts its focus to a more MMA-oriented style, there is no way MMA could benefit WWE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
World's Worst Man Posted January 10, 2006 Report Share Posted January 10, 2006 MMA in the WWE is such an amusing thought, it really makes giggle. The only thing that could top it would be NOAH style spectacle main events in the WWE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TheShawshankRudotion Posted January 10, 2006 Report Share Posted January 10, 2006 UFC is blowing up, it's (attaching itself to MMA) probably the best chance the WWE has to actually growing again. IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kjh Posted January 10, 2006 Report Share Posted January 10, 2006 I think it is a horrible idea to have an MMA storyline. The more you focus on MMA, the more it reminds people and reinforces the fact that most of your product looks fake as f**k. Goodhelmet's correct here. The only thing it would do if pushed heavily in the long run is make WWE fans more likely to watch UFC and Pride. They're already copying enough ideas from the dying days of WCW, I don't want them to start copying ideas from the downfall of New Japan Pro Wrestling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Dog Posted January 10, 2006 Report Share Posted January 10, 2006 An MMA invasion storyline would probably get over enormously, given time and the right type of focus, but it would require guys like HHH and Taker to not just job, but get practically buried, which is why I don't see it happening. Did Antonio Inoki just hijack your account? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted January 10, 2006 Report Share Posted January 10, 2006 No, he didn't. I was thinking it would have more of a NJPW vs UWFI vibe. Why was that successful where the modern attempts haven't been? What's the difference? That's an honest question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Dog Posted January 10, 2006 Report Share Posted January 10, 2006 It didn't work the second time around because a lot of the shoot fighters didn't really get the shownmanship aspects of ringwork. Plus he was throwing his guys into real shoot fights and that killed the credibility of guys like Yuji Nagata. Plus you'd get a guy like Fujita who would play nice until he got the belt and then would refuse to job to anyone. It also didn't work because Pride and K-1 were starting to steal away the wrestling fans because well it was real. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Local Jobber R Posted January 10, 2006 Report Share Posted January 10, 2006 What if WWE did the K-1 invasion angle with Mark Hunt being pushed as a Samoa Joe type of character? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Dangerous A Posted January 10, 2006 Report Share Posted January 10, 2006 The environment in Japan is different than here in the US. In Japan, pro wrestlers were seen as the toughest guys in sport, even though most knew it was worked. It still has enough respect in that country to where they still print the results of pro wrestling in the sports sections of newspapers. UWF-i was basically what Pride became, except UWF-i was worked. When UWF-i went under, they did the invasion storyline with the "who is tougher, who is better" storyline and undertone. Was it pro wrestlers from NJPW? Or was it the worked shoot guys? In the U.S. pro wrestling isn't seen as such. I don't think it would work here, especially with WWE creative behind it and I don't see UFC getting with anything WWE because Dana White and Co. don't want people thinking there is a fix with anything UFC associated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
World's Worst Man Posted January 10, 2006 Report Share Posted January 10, 2006 It failed the second time (well, third time I guess) because PRIDE was huge at that point, whereas before PRIDE wasn't around. That means people were expecting real MMA, and when they got it, the results were disappointing because guys like Yuji Nagata aren't shoot fighters. It's one thing to try and make the guys seem like "real fighters" when real fighting isn't well exposed, but when most of the audience knows the difference, it's a stupid idea to try and compare the pro-wrestlers to the shooters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Dangerous A Posted January 10, 2006 Report Share Posted January 10, 2006 The Yuji Nagata experiment was a huge crap shoot that was 99% doomed to failure. Inoki put Nagata up against Cro Cop and Nagata had zero MMA/kickboxing experience, although he was an amateur champion. If Nagata had won, and he only had a puncher's chance against a world class striker, NJPW would've had a drawing card the likes of Inoki or Choshu that would still probrably be drawing for the company this day. Since he lost, it reinforced that pro wrestlers are not the strongest fighters and that pro wrestling was now passe' and MMA was the real deal. This is the biggest reason Vince and Co. should avoid doing a worked shoot. It would help kill pro wrestling quicker in the U.S. than any sleaze Vince and creative could think up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kjh Posted January 10, 2006 Report Share Posted January 10, 2006 I was thinking it would have more of a NJPW vs UWFI vibe. Who would be the Nobuhiko Takada for WWE in this feud? None of the K-1 fighters are well known with the WWE fan base and very few of them can work a pro wrestling match. The only K-1 fighter who would be of any real use to WWE would be Bob Sapp, but I'm not sure he would be worth the large amounts of money they would need to pay K-1 to bring him in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TheShawshankRudotion Posted January 11, 2006 Report Share Posted January 11, 2006 K-1 is the wrong organization to go with unless they want to run in Japan more. The idea of an MMA invasion is still a good one. It's fresh, it gives a light of legitimacy to a very fake company, and whatever rhetorical harm it would give to the WWE is kinda irrelevant if the WWE can do rape, murder, suicide, etc. angles and still maintain a fanbase in the US. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted January 11, 2006 Report Share Posted January 11, 2006 Let's not forget the last time WWE messed around with shootfighting it resulted in a pro wrestler getting knocked the fuck out by a fat piece of crap (Butterbean). There's really no reason for a group like K-1 to want to take part in an angle with WWE since their fighters would probably kill 9/10ths of the wrestlers in a shoot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodhelmet Posted January 11, 2006 Report Share Posted January 11, 2006 UFC is blowing up, it's (attaching itself to MMA) probably the best chance the WWE has to actually growing again. IMO. The biggest problem I see with this is that Vince's ideal of wrestling is so warped that I don't see him shifting his paradigms in an attempt to seem legitimate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Dangerous A Posted January 11, 2006 Report Share Posted January 11, 2006 Agree totally K-1 is wrong for WWE. Even 3 years ago when it was rumored that they were about to put together Lesnar and Angle in shoots versus boxers on ppv (it was Lennox Lewis and Michael Moorer I believe) it would've been potentially bad if Lesnar or Angle were to get knocked out. From a realistic standpoint, although a lot of what UFC has done the last year has been mind boggling, I just don't see them doing any kind of business whatsoever with Vince. Vince wants and needs complete control of everything and would just muck everything up eventually and I don't see Dana giving Vince that control. Would it be refreshing for the industry? Hell yeah. Would it work on a realistic level? I doubt it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted January 11, 2006 Report Share Posted January 11, 2006 I don't see Dana White and Vince working together on any level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Cam Chaos Posted January 11, 2006 Report Share Posted January 11, 2006 Dana has no intention of working with WWE asd he feels one offers escapism and entertainment while the other offers athletic competition and combat at it's highest level. I do find something ironic about Angle allegedly burying Puder backstage but then seeking to champion an MMA invasion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TheShawshankRudotion Posted January 11, 2006 Report Share Posted January 11, 2006 K-1 runs shows in Vegas, I could see them wanting to get exposure to an American audience. They have little to lose, really, in a situation like that. A benefit the UFC has going for it in this lil theortical is that lots of wrestlers are fans of it, so there would be less political forces against it on that side of things, especially on the Smackdown side. Of course, this all depends on Vince having a totally different state of mind than he does now. If he doesn't see MMA as a threat, but rather something to piggy-back off of, then there is a greater chance of success. If he sees it as competition, then his nature will be to bury it. Given the dirty tricks with Mike Goldberg, it doesn't look too good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Cam Chaos Posted January 11, 2006 Report Share Posted January 11, 2006 K-1 is primarily a vehicle for legitimate combat sports, freakshow fights aside, and I think they'd be better off trying to steal some of boxing's market. They've tried in the past by bringing in guys like Botha and could have really pushed themselves to the top had Tyson signed the paperwork to fight Bob Sapp. I can't see them gaining much from WWE aside from extra advertising and I don't think they'd want to compromise their credibility for the sake of a few more US buys. Dana has made it very clear that no one at Zuffa is interested in working with the WWE at this time. Considering they are on the rise while seeking legitimacy and recognition while the WWE is arguably in decline, running ridiculous crap like the Boogeyman and only gaining serious recognition for it's follies and annual trip to support the troops (which they are now as fuel for heels, so that's arguably insincere also). In my eyes no deal will ever be fashioned to the point both sides would agree to work with one another. Given all the injuries people suffered as a result of Brawl for All (as well as the fact it killed Dr Death's push) and the already punishing time they spend on the road, I don't think running an MMA angle would help anyone. If they reworked it a bit and Kurt led a group of "catch as can" wrestlers like Jamie Noble, Charlie Haas, Regal etc vs the "Superstars" eg Mysterio, Michaels, the Mexicools it could be interesting but as it is, if they put on crappy looking MMA style matches people will just switch over to UFC to watch the real fights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest brian Posted January 11, 2006 Report Share Posted January 11, 2006 All I can say was nobody believed when I said that Kurt Angle using the mouthguard ala Couture and trying to get so much edge to his character was an attempt to move in on the MMA craze. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Cam Chaos Posted January 11, 2006 Report Share Posted January 11, 2006 I thought he got the mouthguard after Cena knocked a tooth of his out with a stiff elbow out of a german suplex attempt (and a couple of them got knocked loose) so he got the gumshield while his dental work healed up. As to why he keeps it, may it's just a preventative measure now so no more get knocked out. You know who'd be great if they brought him in? Matt Furey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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