10 Ways MMA Has Influenced Modern WWE

Remember when Jake the Snake would put someone in the sleeper hold, and the ref would raise the other guy's arm and see if he was awake? Believe it or not, an MMA ref will do that in some cases, though it's nowhere near as dramatic. Yet people do get choked out in the sport, and sometimes, a limp arm is the only way to tell.

That said, the more common ending to a submission is a tap out. And while tap outs have been around long before MMA had any influence on pro wrestling, you were seeing them more often in the WWE today, used in conjunction with the aforementioned more realistic submission holds, and basically looking more like they do in promotions like the UFC and Bellator than they have in wrestling's history.

What exactly is the difference? In pro wrestling, there was always the "someone's got you in a leg lock and you crawl to the ropes" segments where, if a wrestler didn't make it, he'd tap the mat furiously and appear to be in severe pain.  His head would be thrashing around, and overall, the theatrics would be ramped up. 

More recently, you've had MMA style submissions - the quick, one hand, tap against the body. Far less theatrics involved.