8 Reasons Why MMA Fans Shouldn't Make Fun Of Wrestling

4. All The Successful Elements Of The UFC Product Are Pro-Wrestling 101

One of the biggest criticisms that faces MMA, and one of the primary reasons that it hasn't been embraced by a mainstream casual audience is the accusation that a lot of the fights are "boring". Sure, to a student of Mixed Martial Arts, there is a great deal of enjoyment to be found in watching fighters pass guards and reverse grapples, but to the Average Joe who is watching on a Saturday night in his recliner, the lack of explosive action is not going to keep his attention for long. As the boxing industry discovered, the casual audience will always be enchanted by a well built grudge match featuring colorful personalities that they can tap into. From the "caged beast" ferocity of Mike Tyson to the obnoxious showmanship of Floyd "Money" Mayweather, nothing will make a casual viewer drop dollars on a pay-per-view event faster than the prospect of seeing an irritating bad guy get his comeuppance, or a hero get his revenge. And let's face it, pro wrestling has been doing that for decades, ever since Ed "Strangler" Lewis and the Gold Dust Trio developed the first wrestling storylines in the 1920's in order to snare repeat customers. Feuds such as "The Common Man" Dusty Rhodes fighting for pride and honor against the materialistic playboy, Ric Flair, or the working class hero "Stone Cold" Steve Austin trying to overcome Mr McMahon's corporate machine kept audiences coming back again and again. Ethnic heroes of a bygone age like Bruno Sammartino and Pedro Morales morphed into modern day superheroes like Roman Reigns and John Cena, as the wrestling promoters always knew that the big money was to be made with characters and feuds. Despite being presented as "real", the sole selling point of "shoot fights" wasn't enough to save the UFC from near bankruptcy. But once they incorporated those "Wrestling 101" characteristics - characters, gimmicks, rematches, rubber matches, trash talk, entrance music and showmanship - business sure did pick up fast.