Note To Wrestlers: You're Not MMA Fighters

As I have said many times here, I am fairly new to the independent wrestling scene. I am not going to lie to you and say I have been watching guys like Davey Richards, Low Ki, Eddie Edwards, or any other independent wrestler who's style is based off of Japanese "strong" style for a long time. However, since I have started this blog I have tried my best to pay attention to as much wrestling as possible, and one thing seems to garner the most attention and admiration on the independent scene is guys who work as stiff as possible, like the gentlemen mentioned above, use legitimate MMA style maneuvers and seemingly have little to no regard for the guys they are working with in the ring.

I totally understand that wrestling is, even when guys are using the utmost precaution in the ring, brutal and unforgiving.  However, I also understand that the guys in the ring are following a script and usually go to great lengths to make their violence look as painful as possible while inflicting as little pain on each other as possible. This isn't the 60s, 70s, and 80s where the legitimacy of pro wrestling was in doubt, but still believed to be real. The cat is out of the bag, the genie is out of the bottle. There is no going back.



Some wrestlers keep trying to force that genie back in the bottle though, and they're doing it at the risk of the people they are supposed to be taking care of. I am not saying they should not try to add some MMA elements to their repertoire. There are several MMA moves that can be translated, and translated well, to fit into pro wrestling. What I am saying is that if you kick your opponent in the face and legitimately knock him out you should NOT continue on with the match and get your moves in so you can force that genie back into the bottle and make people think what they're watching is unscripted.

Now I know several die hard independent wrestling fans are going to get all upset and claim that I am an idiot. However, the point is to NOT hurt the guy you're working with. Why watch wrestlers impersonating MMA fighters when I can watch MMA fighters, y'know, being MMA fighters? When I want MMA, I watch MMA. When I want pro wrestling, I watch pro wrestling. I watch pro wrestling to see guys settle beefs by telling stories within the ring, not just knock the piss out of each other. Guys like Ki, Davey, and Eddie Edwards are trying to incorporate MMA into their schtick and "strong" style into their gimmick and usually when I see them wrestle I think "Why not just try out MMA if you love it so much?"