WWE superstars CM Punk and Triple H have two drastically different views on the UFC and the entire sport of mixed martial arts. It was only last week that Triple H was quoted as saying that he believed that the UFC needed to evolve, but that the WWE di…
WWE superstars CM Punk and Triple H have two drastically different views on the UFC and the entire sport of mixed martial arts.
It was only last week that Triple H was quoted as saying that he believed that the UFC needed to evolve, but that the WWE did not. But CM Punk had an answer for the man who defeated him on Sunday night’s WWE Night of Champions in their no-disqualification match-up.
“Triple H just doesn’t get mixed martial arts. He doesn’t watch it either,” Punk told MMAFighting’s Ariel Helwani. I think he’s missing the picture that UFC is evolving. There’s only one other sport entity in the world that has production rights to their own material on network and that’s the NFL. UFC has just bartered a huge deal [with FOX]. That’s evolution.”
In addition to Punk’s belief that the UFC is evolving already, he was also in disagreement with Triple H on the point that WWE does not need to evolve themselves.
“I think that’s absolutely insane,” Punk proclaimed. “Any human being, any business, any sport needs to constantly evolve. I’m not a big football guy, but look at the NFL, they’re constantly evolving. Whether it’s good or it’s bad, they’re evolving. And if you don’t evolve, you die.”
The WWE has taken quite a bit of criticism from fans and analysts in recent years because of their lack of evolution. It has become so bad, in fact, that many believe that the large drop-off in viewers that the WWE has sustained over the past 10 years can largely be credited to fans leaving the pro wrestling organization to begin watching the UFC.
“UFC is entertainment. WWE is entertainment,” Punk said. “And regards to people spending their money on it. It’s definitely a competition. I think the way things are in our economy, there’s a billion pay-per-views between UFC, [other MMA pay-per-views] and the WWE, we’re competing for each other’s dollars, absolutely.”
While Punk disagrees with Triple H who doesn’t believe that the UFC is a competitor, he also believes that every other form of entertainment is a competitor.
“I wouldn’t say [MMA has] ‘hurt’ us, I think that might be a little harsh of a term, but to deny that UFC is our competition is a little ridiculous,” Punk told MMAFighting’s Ariel Helwani. “Cirque du Soleil is our competition. Mad Men and Breaking Bad is our competition. I think everything that people spend their time on and their money on is our competition and to blatantly say that mixed martial arts has no bearing on what’s good or bad in our business, is silly. It’s closed-minded. You’re putting a band-aid on a gunshot wound.”
Last week MMA Fighting reported that Paul Levesque, better known as Triple H, real life son-in-law of WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon, said he thought the UFC should evolve like the pro wrestling juggernaut has, “because quite frankly sometimes the fights are long and boring, guys lying around and sometimes the fights are fast and over in five seconds.”
Is “The Game” right? Does it matter? Before we pass judgment on his comments, let’s take a quick look at a few specific examples he gave for his opinion, then weigh the pros and cons of leaning too far towards Entertainment or Winning.
I did it at least nine times. How else would I inherit his empire?
Last week MMA Fighting reported that Paul Levesque, better known as Triple H, real life son-in-law of WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon, said he thought the UFC should evolve like the pro wrestling juggernaut has, “because quite frankly sometimes the fights are long and boring, guys lying around and sometimes the fights are fast and over in five seconds.”
Is “The Game” right? Does it matter? Before we pass judgment on his comments, let’s take a quick look at a few specific examples he gave for his opinion, then weigh the pros and cons of leaning too far towards Entertainment or Winning.
“[They should] give more of an entertainment standpoint. Give more form; they just have fighters who walk in in T-shirts and shorts and just stand there and then they fight and then they win and then they go ‘thanks, I’d like to thank my sponsors’ and then they leave. The whole world was up in arms when Brock was flipping people off and was cussing at the beer company because they didn’t give him any money. The whole world was talking about it. They couldn’t wait to see him get beat up. And then he did well, and he beat some guys and then people jump on his bandwagon going ‘Brock’s the greatest.’”
It appears that Hunter has taken a few too many chair shots over the years and has become quite confused. You see, his comments do not reflect a desire to see the UFC evolve — rather he would have them take a page out of Vinnie Mac’s script and add a bunch of fabricated drama to invoke human interest so the audience will become emotionally invested in the product.
His only valid point was the comments made about boring fights. Would you not agree? Dana White certainly does. Remember that interview with SI.com when they asked him if it’s a fighter’s job to entertain or just win fights.
Sure. But you’ve got to be exciting! If all we cared about was guys winning fights, you know how many wrestlers could just go lay on a guy? There are tons of wrestlers that could do that. I don’t know. Do you think we’d be talking about all these big plans and all the exciting things that we’re going to be doing if that was the case? I mean, that’s a pretty stupid question. If somebody really asks that question, you’d have to look at them and go, “Are you stupid?” Seriously, it’s a really dumb question.
Hear that Mr. Game? You’re preaching to the choir.
Why do most fighters fight? Money. How can they make more money? Winning, bonuses, and sponsorships. How do these streams of cash grow? Higher TV Ratings and increased PPV buy rates — essentially, you need more people watching your product. How do you get more people to watch your product? Be exciting, which means, according to the average MMA fan, you need to KO your opponent or get them to tap out. Whatever you do, it has to be fast-paced and explosive. Easy enough, right?
What happens if a fighter’s goal is solely to entertain the crowd and look for the Knockout of the Night bonus? We laugh at his attempts to defeat better opposition — guys who actually have a gameplan and well-rounded skill-set, and know more than what they learned in Mike Tyson’s ‘Punch-Out!’. Does this hypothetical slugger have a tendency to give us highlight-reel material from time to time? Sure. But you won’t see him in the main event anytime soon [Ed. note: well…] because although he’s an exciting guy to watch, his skills can only take him so far up the contender ladder. So much for that cash flow increasing.
Conversely, we have “safe” fighters whose only objective is to win, good, bad, or ugly…and it’s usually the latter two. When these guys fight, the numbers don’t suddenly jump off the charts. No one says, “I am pumped to see Jon Fitch fight again,” since the only thing he seems to care about is getting a ‘W’ and that paper. If he only understood that laying someone the eff out would garner him much more money than merely violating him for fifteen minutes, we’d all be winners.
So how do we deal with this contradiction? Should fighters fight to get a win at all costs, even if it means hearing a roar of boos as you smother your opponent for three rounds, or should you call your shot as you step up to the plate, swinging for the fences the entire bout hoping you drop him before he drops you?
So since Triple H brought it up, let’s talk about “evolution,” and what it means in this sport. The UFC has grown and adapted to the changes in our culture by adding rules, protective gear, and a referee. As the organization continued to grow, it became more corporate, breaking away from its blue collar, blood-thirsty past. Dana White and the Fertittas will continue to allow the UFC to evolve, just as the sport of mixed martial arts itself did. Remember when it was a fight between a karate guy and a boxer, fighting to see which style was superior? Now we have guys who can do it all — or at least all that is necessary to eke out a win — squaring off to determine which fighter, not style, is king.
In the end, the only thing that matters is that everyone is satisfied. White wants to be satisfied with the success of the UFC which is ultimately dependent upon its fighters, who want to be satisfied with what they are paid, which largely depends on the fans — who really just want to be satisfied with how enjoyable the fights are. So I just have to ask, ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?!
Triple H is one of the most successful professional wrestlers in the history of the sport. He is even the heir apparent to the empire grown by his father-in-law, Vince McMahon, who has made his WWE product into a household name. In recent days, howev…
Triple H is one of the most successful professional wrestlers in the history of the sport. He is even the heir apparent to the empire grown by his father-in-law, Vince McMahon, who has made his WWE product into a household name.
In recent days, however, Triple H has made some controversial remarks regarding another company which the WWE has repeatedly claimed that it is not in competition with—the UFC. In a recent interview, the WWE superstar told readers that the UFC needs to evolve to include more entertainment in their product.
“I think if anybody needs to evolve, it’s them,” he told MovieFone after a question about the WWE’s need to evolve to match what the UFC is doing. “Give more of an entertainment standpoint. Give more form; they just have fighters who walk in in T-shirts and shorts and just stand there and then they fight and then they win and then they go, “thanks, I’d like to thank my sponsors” and then they leave.”
On the surface, it would appear that Triple H believes that the UFC needs to be more like the WWE. He wouldn’t say that specifically, but his words certainly indicate that’s how he feels.
It can be hard to get out of an entrenched lifestyle that you’ve been in for decades, but the reality is that Triple H couldn’t be more off-base than he is. Whether he or the decision-makers in the WWE want to admit it, it’s their company that needs to evolve with the times or fall by the wayside.
WWE superstars CM Punk and Triple H have two drastically different views on the UFC and the entire sport of mixed martial arts.
