10 MMA-Inspired Wrestling Matches

10. Kurt Angle Versus Daniel Puder

Though not strictly a pro wrestling match, it would be impossible to craft a list like this and not acknowledge the most famous MMA-inspired shoot in modern wrestling. During a Smackdown segment in 2004, Kurt Angle bullied the company's newest group of Tough Enough contestants, forcing them to exercise until exhausted. He then fought contestant Chris Nawrocki in a shoot wrestling match, and needless to say, a tired Nawrocki was no match for the Olympic Gold Medalist. Kurt still didn't take it easy on him, though, breaking three of Nawrocki's ribs en route to victory. After that, Kurt Angle made an open challenge to anyone who wanted to take him on and eventual contest winner Daniel Puder accepted. Puder was an experienced MMA fighter, and before long, he caught Angle in a kimura - Brock Lesnar's hold of choice and one of the most dangerous submissions in MMA. Angle had no escape and, refusing to tap, would have suffered a broken arm had referee Jimmy Korderas not been quick on his feet and counted Puder down for a pin (even though Puder lifted a shoulder after two). The incident made Puder a hated man in the locker room and even though he ultimately won Tough Enough, his WWE career went nowhere.