Jump to content

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


David

Recommended Posts

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.

As for others, anyone who was a shooter I think is a good shout. A lot of the other old school guys like Lou Thesz, Danny Hodge, Jack Brisco, Gene LeBell, Billy Robinson, Karl Gotch would be up there too.

Plus there's guys mentioned like Haku and Rick Rude, Kurt etc. I'd add Bad News and Harley to the list too. Another name which I thought of was Hot Rod, who trained under Gene LeBell in boxing and judo.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 34
  • Created
  • Last Reply
  • Paid Members

Another one comes to mind: Rob Van Dam. Legit martial artist, and it's been frequently posted about how he bitch-slapped Taz, who by all accounts is a judo black-belt himself, so chances are he might have done well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Paid Members

Sakuraba did alright. 

The obvious ones would have to be both Steiners, Dr Death and Bad News in their younger and fitter days. Maybe Fit Finlay too, actually. 

Did the UK guys like Regal and Dave Taylor have any kind of shoot background? From listening to Regal on podcasts and stuff he doesn’t seem to fancy himself a hardcase but in the era he came up in the UK, he’d surely know how to handle himself. 

Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas might’ve done OK with their amateur wrestling backgrounds. 

And it’s probably common knowledge on here but for those who don’t know, believe it or not, fucking Dolph Ziggler was on the same amateur wrestling team as former UFC title challenger Gray Maynard. 

And J-E-Double F. J-A-Double R-E-Double T. Would’ve no doubt been a Double M-A World Champion.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There's generally three categories that these guys could fit into I think.

The early days of UFC, when the freakshow type brawlers were commonplace, the period just after that where wrestlers like Coleman and Kerr, followed by Couture made their name, and then there's today, where you need a solid wrestling base but also some striking chops too.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Paid Members
11 minutes ago, David said:

There's generally three categories that these guys could fit into I think.

The early days of UFC, when the freakshow type brawlers were commonplace, the period just after that where wrestlers like Coleman and Kerr, followed by Couture made their name, and then there's today, where you need a solid wrestling base but also some striking chops too.

I remember wand talking about how there was a sort of transitionary period, where guys like Marco Ruas were leading an evolution of the sport with their cross-discipline training, which eventually led to this era of full hybrid fighters who've trained at actual MMA dojos teaching fully-integrated sports MMA fighting systems - being early exponents, their different skills weren't so "joined-up" or seamless. Perhaps that could be considered a fourth category, or do you reckon it's more a sub-category of the last?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wasn’t one of the Authors of Pain lads a genuine MMA guy, with at least a few amateur fights before he started training for the WWE? They both look like headcases, so I’d absolutely believe it, and they’re both young as well so wouldn’t be too shocking to see them have another crack once they’ve had enough of swapping wins with Bo Dallas.

From a bit further back, Backlund was always a legit wrestler wasn’t he? Plus he’s seemingly got that absolute maniac streak that always comes in handy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Did the UK guys like Regal and Dave Taylor have any kind of shoot background? From listening to Regal on podcasts and stuff he doesn’t seem to fancy himself a hardcase but in the era he came up in the UK, he’d surely know how to handle himself. 

Not sure about Dave, but William Regal was a shooter at Blackpool Pleasure Beach. That was when members of the public got in with the wrestlers to see how long they'd last to win some money. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Paid Members
6 hours ago, Egg Shen said:

Regal might play it down but he always gets talked up as a legit tough guy.

Isn't that more that Regal comes from the era where if you have to go around telling people how hard you are then it probably isn't true. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...