Wrestlers who could have made a go of MMA in their prime?

[westlondonmist]

58 minutes ago, scratchdj said:

I read a non-keyfabe interview with Cody Rhodes a few years back, and he claimed he could out-wrestle anyone else on the roster.

He never struck me as someone who’d stand out and so I’ve no idea how likely that was, or if he was just deluded. Anyone know anything about his background/credentials?

He won state wrestling competitions at school but never competed at College/University level. Swagger's achievements seem far higher than Rhodes' so I think deluded. 

[David]

Yeah, there's a tendency for people to see someone who's athletic and hear that they wrestled in high school and think they could make a fist of it. I'm not saying they can't, but it's worth remembering that every 2nd or 3rd dude working in an office or in construction in the US wrestled in high school.

When it comes to MMA you're generally looking at guys who have won national championships at college level, who've competed at NCAA championship level and who have even wrestled on the Olympic team or reached the tryout or alternate stage.

Unfortunately, most of the pro wrestling guys with little to no amateur experience would go the same way as CM Punk most likely. Unless you're a supremely talented striker you're going to need that wrestling base, it's as simple as that.

And even then, a supremely talented striker, such as Conor McGregor for example, has a ceiling if they don't have the ground game to deal with a top notch grappler.

[Supremo]

Undertaker. Best pure striker in WWE and he's got the ground game. 

Plus, the gloves.

[Jimmy Boy]

Dynamite kid

genuine hardcase plus he knew catch wrestling 

[Tamura]

On 2/5/2019 at 10:08 AM, Egg Shen said:

Bad News Allen with his Judo background would probably have made it work too.

People underestimate Bad News, or more correctly overestimate André. There's the famous story about the near-fight between them on the bus in Japan after André was racist. While I wouldn't disagree that if André could get you in a confined space and use his weight you'd be in real trouble, the MMA records of Giant Silva and Choi Hong-man prove size isn't everything.
 

On 2/5/2019 at 1:08 PM, Really Big Shoe said:

I'm going to say if MMA was around in his prime - Stu Hart. He was a legit shooter and I think with his submission skills he could certainly handle himself I think. There's a scene on Wrestling with Shadows where he locks in a submission on a guy who's in obvious pain and bright red in the face & Stu was like in his 70s/80s then.

Stu Hart certainly has a reputation for stretching people, but I've never seen any video or heard any stories that don't involve someone willingly letting Stu apply submission holds to them without making any attempt to fight back. When you start a fight with your opponent face down on the mat with his arms twisted behind his back it would hardly seem to be a fair fight.