Tag: pro wrestling

WWE Reaction to UFC 141: Did Brock Lesnar Lose on Purpose?

As everyone knows, Brock Lesnar got knocked out pretty fast in his comeback fight Friday night. In fact, it was like Brock wasn’t even fighting and instead it was a poorly trained clone. Almost immediately after his defeat Lesnar&nb…

As everyone knows, Brock Lesnar got knocked out pretty fast in his comeback fight Friday night. In fact, it was like Brock wasn’t even fighting and instead it was a poorly trained clone. 

Almost immediately after his defeat Lesnar announced during the pay-per-view telecast that he was retiring, and as many of you have read, since then people have been anticipating his return to World Wrestling Entertainment.

I actually wrote an article yesterday as to why the company or fans don’t need him back (from a business not a personal standpoint).

However, this article isn’t about whether he should return; it’s about the recent remarks made by the first Undisputed Champion, Chris Jericho.

Yesterday Jericho Tweeted:

“Lesnar just took a dive….”

Odds are Jericho is just working people and trying to get everyone off his back in regards to who the mystery man that will be returning tomorrow night on Raw. Plus, it’s Chris Jericho, this is what he does!

However lets just imagine for a second that Jericho wasn’t trying to blow smoke and actually might believe Lesnar took a dive. Hypothetically of course.

Anything is possible.

Lesnar is by no means old, but he sure has had a few rough years with his health and he’s not the dominate fighter he once was, he had a decent run for someone who entered the sport much later in life than most do and maybe he realized that he just didn’t need or want to continue to train 6-10 months a year for one fight that he could possibly lose and be a laughing stock. Maybe he realized that he could make much more money for a months work while being almost universally cheered and still looked at like a monster.

If you haven’t understood what I’m getting at, I’m saying maybe Lesnar took a dive to actually go back to the one place he seemed to hate…..professional wrestling.

The last six months seem way too coincidental and I don’t believe in coincidences.

In June, CM Punk mentions Brock Lesnar during his shoot promo.

In July, Dana White visited WWE HQ and had a meeting with Vince McMahon.

Lesnar then appeared in the new WWE 12 video game. This is the first time Lesnar had been associated with a WWE product in years.

Then during during a pre-fight press conference, Lesnar made some (in hindsight) interesting remarks where he said “Wrestling is fake” and “I am Brock Lesnar the UFC fighter.”

Just a few hours later he was Brock Lesnar the retired UFC fighter.

Now as I said, Jericho is probably just working everyone and he knew what he tweeted would go viral…and it did! But do you (the reader) think what he said has any merit to it? Do you think Brock took a dive so he could go make more money for one match then just disappear forever.

People will remember him much more as a dominate force if he goes back to WWE and destroys people compared to getting his butt kicked in UFC. No man likes to be remembered as someone who loses. 

 

Update:

It appears that I need to clarify the subject of the article because apparently some people have been getting upset and taking the idea of this article to the extreme.

This was just a scenario I put together, I never said Jericho was right or that Lesnar took a dive, it was all a hypothetical situation in which I asked you (the reader) to chime in and ask whether you thought it was possible.

What I wrote here was not my personal opinions, it was just a topic to get people to throw out ideas and talk. 

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Previewing Former WWE Champion Brock Lesnar’s UFC 141 Main Event Bout

Brock Lesnar is without a doubt one of the most polarizing, talented athletes that the WWE has ever seen on their roster.  Although he’s no longer a professional wrestler, Lesnar remains a major figure among wrestling fans, and tonight at UFC 141,…

Brock Lesnar is without a doubt one of the most polarizing, talented athletes that the WWE has ever seen on their roster.  

Although he’s no longer a professional wrestler, Lesnar remains a major figure among wrestling fans, and tonight at UFC 141, many of those fans will tune in due to his main-event match against Alistair Overeem. 

For some pro wrestling fans, an attraction to mixed martial arts is natural.  For others, it is viewed as competition to the WWE, and is therefore unwatchable.  Some are simply indifferent to MMA as a sport, period.  

In the case of Brock Lesnar, he brings all parties together.  A Brock Lesnar fight is an event not to be missed. 

Brock Lesnar captured the UFC Heavyweight Championship in his fourth professional MMA bout.  His size, athleticism, and most notably his amateur wrestling background allowed him to accomplish what was at the time, unthinkable.  

He successfully defended the heavyweight title twice, battering former UFC Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir in the historic main event of UFC 100, then returning from his first bout of diverticulitis to score an amazing second-round submission victory over Shane Carwin after nearly being stopped in the opening frame.  

Lesnar eventually lost the heavyweight championship to the highly regarded heavyweight, Cain Velasquez, at UFC 121 in October 2010.  His lack of experience in getting hit, and reacting appropriately had caught up to him, and he was stopped in the first round after taking a serious beating.  

A coaching stint on UFC’s reality TV show The Ultimate Fighter was cut short, as Lesnar’s diverticulitis wasn’t quite beaten.  He underwent surgery, and had foot of his colon removed.  

Finally, Brock Lesnar is back, the man himself and those around him claiming that he’s 100 percent after surgery, and better than ever.  However, the man greeting him back to the cage is just as big and bad as he is.  

Lesnar’s opponent at UFC 141 is Alistair Overeem, the Dream Heavyweight Champion, Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion, and most notably, the 2010 K-1 World Grand Prix Champion.

Overeem is the first mixed martial artist to enter K-1, the premier kickboxing organization, and win a major title.  K-1 is home to the best strikers on the planet, and Alistair Overeem quickly established himself as more than capable of holding his own.  

Although Overeem’s K-1 World Grand Prix victory is the crown jewel of his kickboxing career, his greatest achievement in K-1 may be his first-round knockout of habitual bad boy and excellent kickboxer Badr Hari.  

“The Reem,” as Alistair Overeem is affectionately referred to by his fans, has amassed a 35-11-1 record, with 25 of those fights taking place in Japan.  Interestingly enough, the majority of Overeem’s career was spent fighting at Light Heavyweight (205 pounds).  

Overeem made the call to move to heavyweight full time when his record was 25-10, and weighed in yesterday at a lean, mean 263 pounds.  He’s not lost an MMA match since 2007, and is finally making his UFC debut. 

Tonight, fans can expect to see, literally, one of the biggest fights in UFC history.  Brock Lesnar won’t waste any time on the outside, and will avoid putting his chin at risk of being blasted by a punch, kick, or knee from Alistair Overeem.  

Lesnar’s primary goal will be to put Overeem on his back and neutralize his escapes and submission attempts.

That’s right, the Dutch kickboxing monster can grapple as well.  Overeem has a guillotine choke that would make Daniel Bryan envious.  Unfortunately for Lesnar, one of the most likely times to be caught in the guillotine choke is when one is shooting in for a take down.  

This is certainly something to keep an eye out for, but it’s hard to believe that Lesnar would be as careless as to overlook one of his opponent’s most effective tools.  

Then again, when wrestling instincts kick in after being rocked by a strike, keeping the threat of a guillotine in mind may be easier said than done.  

Overeem will look to avoid being pressed against the cage, and stuff takedowns constantly.  That factor does him no favors, as his striking assault will be limited, to avoid overextending and risking ending up on his back or in the clinch.  

Due to Lesnar’s two most recent performances, many are questioning his chin and ability to perform under fire.  It’s quite clear that Overeem’s path to victory is landing a flush strike, and capitalizing on Lesnar’s inexperience when it comes to fighting defensively while standing up.  

Fans, from hardcore to casual, from MMA to professional wrestling, will tune in to see if Brock Lesnar will be on the path to another UFC Championship, or if he’ll find himself picking up the pieces after another loss. 

We’re left with a compelling match up that has fans asking questions, and two fighters who will do their best to provide all the right answers to them.  

Interestingly enough, that’s what fans of either mixed martial arts or professional wrestling seek out of their choice of product on any given night.

Kaleb Kelchner is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report, you can follow him on Twitter @kkelchner621 and find him covering all things WWE, as well as live blogging WWE Raw on Mondays and WWE pay-per-views in Bleacher Report’s WWE section.    

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Kazushi Sakuraba to Dig Out the Ol’ Orange Wrestling Briefs for DREAM/IGF New Year’s Eve Show

(Human speed-chess: Kazushi Sakuraba and Kiyoshi Tamura put in work at a UWFi show in March 1996. Video via theperfectone)

If you’re a student of Japanese MMA history like we are, you know that legendary fighter Kazushi Sakuraba got his start as a professional wrestler in the 1990s, honing his grappling chops in the UWFi and Kingdom Pro Wrestling leagues. But once he tasted success at the UFC Japan tournament in December 1997, Saku’s career shifted away from worked matches, and he soon became PRIDE’s most beloved native hero.

Now 42 years old and riding a four-fight losing streak — the last three losses by stoppage — Sakuraba has agreed to re-capture some of his lost youth in a tag-team wrestling match at Fight For Japan: Genki Desu Ka Omisoka 2011, the New Year’s Eve show promoted by DREAM and IGF at the Saitama Super Arena. Sakuraba will team up with fellow wrestling/MMA crossover star Katsuyori Shibata, against Shinichi Suzukawa and Atsushi Sawada. (I’ve never heard of the second guy, but Suzukawa is that dude who beat Mark Coleman even though he wasn’t supposed to.)


(Human speed-chess: Kazushi Sakuraba and Kiyoshi Tamura put in work at a UWFi show in March 1996. Video via theperfectone)

If you’re a student of Japanese MMA history like we are, you know that legendary fighter Kazushi Sakuraba got his start as a professional wrestler in the 1990s, honing his grappling chops in the UWFi and Kingdom Pro Wrestling leagues. But once he tasted success at the UFC Japan tournament in December 1997, Saku’s career shifted away from worked matches, and he soon became PRIDE’s most beloved native hero.

Now 42 years old and riding a four-fight losing streak — the last three losses by stoppage — Sakuraba has agreed to re-capture some of his lost youth in a tag-team wrestling match at Fight For Japan: Genki Desu Ka Omisoka 2011, the New Year’s Eve show promoted by DREAM and IGF at the Saitama Super Arena. Sakuraba will team up with fellow wrestling/MMA crossover star Katsuyori Shibata, against Shinichi Suzukawa and Atsushi Sawada. (I’ve never heard of the second guy, but Suzukawa is that dude who beat Mark Coleman even though he wasn’t supposed to.)

Sakuraba hasn’t announced an official retirement from MMA, but we get the feeling that this could be the first step towards a new life that doesn’t involve being choked out or getting his ears ripped off. Maybe that’s just wishful thinking.

Another pro wrestling match between actual fighters Kazuyuki Fujita and Peter Aerts has also been booked for Genki Desu Ka, while MMA bouts featuring Japanese stars Shinya Aoki and Megumi Fujii have been added as well. Check out the current lineup below…

– Fedor Emelianenko vs. Satoshi Ishii (HW)
– Shinya Aoki vs. Satoru Kitaoka (for DREAM lightweight title)
– Hiroyuki Takaya vs. Takeshi Inoue (for DREAM featherweight title)
– Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Kazuyuki Miyata (FW)
– Hayato Sakurai vs. Ryo Chonan (WW)

– DREAM/K-1 Special Rules Bout: Yuichiro Nagashima vs. Katsunori Kikuno

– Megumi Fujii vs. Karla Benitez* (115 pounds)

IGF Rules Bouts
– Kazushi Sakuraba & Katsuyori Shibata vs. Atsushi Sawada & Shinichi Suzukawa
– Kazuyuki Fujita vs. Peter Aerts

Bantamweight Tournament
– Masakazu Imanari vs. Antonio Banuelos
– Bibiano Fernandes vs. Rodolfo Marques
– Hideo Tokoro vs. Yusup Saadulaev (reserve bout)
– Winner of Imanari/Banuelos vs. winner of Fernandes/Marques (final)

* Benitez is 4-0. Cough.

If Brock Lesnar Loses to Alistair Overeem, Should He Return to WWE Wrestling?

On December 30 2011, at UFC 141, Brock Lesnar will step into the octagon with the 6’5″ Alistair Overeem.It’s a battle between two of the UFC’s most massive fighters to determine who gets to battle Junior Dos Santos at a later date.For Lesnar, this figh…

On December 30 2011, at UFC 141, Brock Lesnar will step into the octagon with the 6’5″ Alistair Overeem.

It’s a battle between two of the UFC’s most massive fighters to determine who gets to battle Junior Dos Santos at a later date.

For Lesnar, this fight is a way for him to redeem himself after losing to Cain Velasquez 11 months ago. On the flip side of the coin his opponent, Alistair Overeem, is on a roll having won his last seven fights.

However, it is Brock who has more to gain—and more to lose—compared to Alistair.

A loss here for the former “Next Big Thing,” and his marketability as a UFC combatant takes a notable nosedive.

And if such a fate—being “engulfed” by the “Dutch Cyclone”— occurs, a return to wrestling, specifically the WWE, would be Lesnar’s best bet.

The biggest hurdle to Brock joining the WWE is Dana White, who has gone on record saying that, as long as his MMA moneymaker is under UFC contract, he is not permitted to wrestle.

Supposing either White has a change or heart or Lesnar fulfills all of his obligations with the UFC, a WWE comeback should be right around the corner.

Reasons for returning to Vince McMahon’s empire include the fact that Brock has already begun the reconciliation process; he would likely be able to negotiate a part-time schedule that does not burn him out; his WWE contract would be a lucrative one backed by incentives; he’d have a multitude of new feuds at his disposal; and lastly, he would be promoted as perhaps the top draw in the company.

First, as many are aware, Lesnar is in the new WWE ’12 video game—even going so far as to film a commercial—which marks the first time he’s had any relationship with the WWE since WrestleMania XX. As Lesnar himself mentions in an ESPN interview: “It’s an honor to be back. You know, I never had any really true hard feelings for WWE. I think there’s some mutual respect between the both of us…”

Asked if he would ever go back to the WWE for one more match, Lesnar admits he and Vince should one day be able to go over a “game plan” that would outline his homecoming.

Certainly, the most important requirement for Lesnar to get in the wrestling ring again—besides Dana White signing off on it—is the willingness to make amends. The fact that Brock has openly accepted the possibility is paramount to any return.

Next, if he does recline at a desk with Vince McMahon and discuss donning the wrestling trunks again, Lesnar probably has the clout at this point to negotiate a contract with a limited number of dates.

As it has been chronicled in the past, one of the prime reasons for Lesnar’s departure in 2004 was the incessant traveling and overall wear and tear that his body endured from the daily grind.

A part-time schedule a la The Undertaker, Mick Foley and Shawn Michaels (before he retired), should be a strong possibility—and incentive—for the former WWE and UFC heavyweight champion.

The third reason to join the WWE would be a contract that would arguably make Brock the highest paid performer in the organization. Even coming off a loss wouldn’t detract or take away from the Minnesota-native being a household name.

In addition to his downside guarantee, Brock would take a meaty cut of merchandising profits bearing his likeness—as well as be given, potentially, the biggest slice of pay-per-view pie. It doesn’t take a clairvoyant to figure Brock would unequivocally be an elite main-event player upon his return.

Furthermore, a very tempting reason to lace up his wrestling boots again would be the plethora of potential feuds on his plate with both active and retired superstars.

The current WWE star that would have dibs on a bout with Brock would be The Undertaker, who tried to create some hype around a possible WrestleMania 28 match following the Velasquez fight in October 2010 before fate intervened, causing it to be placed on the back burner.

Nonetheless, according to The Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the publicized confrontation between Brock and Undertaker was staged as both were interested in working with each other, but were unable to once Dana White put his foot down.

Besides The Undertaker, Brock has a program lined up with Steve Austin after making comments about “The Rattlesnake” ducking him during their tenure in the WWE together. The incendiary revelation instigated a Twitter “war” between the two that is likely be business driven, not personal, similar to The Undertaker incident.

Last but not least, the primary reason for Brock to reappear on Raw or SmackDown would be the likelihood that he would be promoted as one of the top draws in the company because, quite frankly, he has history on his side.

Lesnar is largely responsible for four of the seven UFC pay-per-views to garner over one million buys. Just to put this in perspective, only one of WWE’s pay-per-views per year—if that—attract as many buyers. For instance, WrestleMania 28, thanks to The Rock, was the first ‘Mania in four years to surpass the one million threshold.

Additionally, a loss against Overeem at UFC 141 would not undermine Lesnar’s credibility as a no-nonsense tough guy in the world of professional wrestling. In fact, his background as a university wrestling champion, and now a former UFC champion, would be enough to legitimize the 34-year-old as a viable commodity. He would be the antithesis of John Cena, for example, who lacks legitimacy in the eyes of many fans.

The WWE has always thrived on incorporating athletes with successful sports backgrounds into their product, be it Mark Henry, Kurt Angle or Ken Shamrock.

Lesnar would be the quintessence of the athlete turned wrestler except, in his case, it would be for the second time.

Brock Lesnar: The WWE sequel would undoubtedly be bigger, badder and better than the first go-around.

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Must See: ESPN Profiles Scott Hall’s Decline From ‘Razor Ramon’ Stardom to Addiction

(“I don’t want to die. But I’m not afraid to. Because what’s left, man? What do you do when they quit chanting your name?” Props: ESPN via willvojtisek)

As the WWF’s “Razor Ramon” in the early 1990s, Scott Hall was one of pro-wrestling‘s biggest stars — a Scarface-inspired bad guy known for his ever-present toothpick, gold chains, and hilarious promos. But in recent years, he’s become better known for his personal deterioration, which culminated in an utterly tragic headlining appearance at a Massachusetts wrestling show in April, two days after having a seizure. Though comparisons to Mickey Rourke’s character in The Wrestler are easy to make, the real-life story of Scott Hall is much darker.

Last night, ESPN’s E:60 profiled Scott Hall’s path from wrestling mega-success to his subsequent battles with addiction and his questionable decision to mentor his son Cody to follow in his footsteps. We don’t go near pro-wrestling very often on this site, but I thought this was heart-wrenching stuff, and worth sharing.

Let’s remember Scott in happier times. After the jump: Razor Ramon’s five greatest WWF video vignettes…


(“I don’t want to die. But I’m not afraid to. Because what’s left, man? What do you do when they quit chanting your name?” Props: ESPN via willvojtisek)

As the WWF’s “Razor Ramon” in the early 1990s, Scott Hall was one of pro-wrestling‘s biggest stars — a Scarface-inspired bad guy known for his ever-present toothpick, gold chains, and hilarious promos. But in recent years, he’s become better known for his personal deterioration, which culminated in an utterly tragic headlining appearance at a Massachusetts wrestling show in April, two days after having a seizure. Though comparisons to Mickey Rourke’s character in The Wrestler are easy to make, the real-life story of Scott Hall is much darker.

Last night, ESPN’s E:60 profiled Scott Hall’s path from wrestling mega-success to his subsequent battles with addiction and his questionable decision to mentor his son Cody to follow in his footsteps. We don’t go near pro-wrestling very often on this site, but I thought this was heart-wrenching stuff, and worth sharing.

Let’s remember Scott in happier times. After the jump: Razor Ramon’s five greatest WWF video vignettes…

“Check my ride, mang. It’s a Cadillac, mang.”

“I through with you now…get outta here, I through witchu!”

“You got a problem with me taking whatever I want?”

“They may as well be tossing their dinero in a wishing well. Like this monkey.”

“Nobody cares where you come from, Chico. They only care where you’re going.”

Kurt Angle Says He Was Recently Offered UFC Contract; Dana White Calls Bullsh*t


(Rear-naked-choke to the ankle: If done right, no can defend.)

Kurt Angle appeared on a recent episode of MMAWeekly Radio and dropped a bombshell that he was very close to coming to terms with the UFC recently.

A former Olympic gold medalist in wrestling, Angle says that appearing in the soon-to-be-relesed MMA movie, “Warrior” re-stoked his fire to compete in MMA. Following his last appearance in the Olympics, Angle chose pro wrestling over MMA and has hinted ever since that he would try his hand at the sport one day.

“I actually contacted Dana White again after the movie. I flew out to meet him once and got a great offer. I contacted him again, I was thinking about dropping out of [TNA] Impact Wrestling, and there were some personal problems with my marriage and I just wanted to get away,” he explained. “I contacted Dana White, I flew out, and he had me take the UFC physical. I passed it, thank God, and he gave me the offer.”


(Rear-naked-choke to the ankle: If done right, no can defend.)

Kurt Angle appeared on a recent episode of MMAWeekly Radio and dropped a bombshell that he was very close to coming to terms with the UFC recently.

A former Olympic gold medalist in wrestling, Angle says that appearing in the soon-to-be-relesed MMA movie, “Warrior” re-stoked his fire to compete in MMA. Following his last appearance in the Olympics, Angle chose pro wrestling over MMA and has hinted ever since that he would try his hand at the sport one day.

“I actually contacted Dana White again after the movie. I flew out to meet him once and got a great offer. I contacted him again, I was thinking about dropping out of [TNA] Impact Wrestling, and there were some personal problems with my marriage and I just wanted to get away,” he explained. “I contacted Dana White, I flew out, and he had me take the UFC physical. I passed it, thank God, and he gave me the offer.”

He says that some of the clauses in the deal were stifling to his wrestling career and his counter terms, which likely were financially-related weren’t a positive fit for either party.

“The terms weren’t good, I mean not for me, and the terms I gave him weren’t good for him. He wanted me ready in four-and-a-half weeks; I wanted three to six months,” he pointed out. “So I respect Dana White and I love him to death, very good friend. I knew I was capable of winning in four-and-a-half weeks, but I wanted to be at my best.”

The UFC president responded to the 42-year-old former WWE champion’s claims via Twitter with a short, but concise reply:  “love Kurt, but not true.”