Of all the enemies of professional wrestling, this one is without a doubt the biggest of them all. In an era dubbed by Triple H as the Reality Era, marked by real strength, real storylines and real fights and fighters, MMA is clearly the biggest threat to professional wrestling in this day and age. Capitalizing on the market of former wrestling fans who realized that wrestling was staged and those who grew out of it, MMA combines aspects of various martial arts disciples with a touch of traditional wrestling. Mixed martial artists, who are on average smaller than pro wrestlers, use martial arts strikes and submission holds to defeat their opponents. The contact is real, so they have to wear padding and gloves. Knockouts, concussions and broken body parts are much easier to accrue. There are usually few storylines outside of the who is the better fighter story, which is simple yet effective. The influence of Mixed Martial Arts is ever-present in modern pro wrestling. Many wrestlers have dabbled in MMA with varying degrees of success. From Dr. Death Steve Williams and Jushin Liger, to Ken Shamrock and Daniel Puder, to Bobby Lashley and most notably Brock Lesnar, many stars of the squared circle have tried MMA, with some finding considerable success, especially Lesnar. Some stars, such as the Undertaker, even go so far as to wear MMA-inspired ring gear, reflecting MMAs growing reach into the world of wrestling. As a fresher alternative to wrestling, MMA is one of the most powerful forces that attracts the fledging 18-34 year old male demographic that was once the most desired group that WWE sought to capture. The ironic thing is that, now that the WWE actually has some real competition in another combat sport, instead of competing directly for the same demographic, WWE seems to be in a comfortable place, apathetic to the number of fans who are turning away from their product. This isnt to say that someone cannot be a fan of both professional wrestling and mixed martial arts; this is entirely possible. However, professional wrestling as an art form has been changed irreversibly from the introduction of MMA; that much is certain. Thanks for reading. Be sure to leave a comment and to check out WhatCulture's WWE section for more interesting articles.
Alexander Podgorski is a writer for WhatCulture that has been a fan of professional wrestling since he was 8 years old. He loves all kinds of wrestling, from WWE and sports entertainment, to puroresu in Japan.
He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Queen's University in Political Studies and French, and a Master's Degree in Public Administration. He speaks English, French, Polish, a bit of German, and knows some odd words and phrases in half a dozen other languages.
