5 WWE main event Superstars who almost joined the UFC
Funnily enough, for all the mud-slinging that goes on between die-hard fans of pro wrestling and MMA, the two disciplines do share quite a growing contingent of an overlapping fanbase today.
Instances like Ronda Rousey’s cameo at WrestleMania 31 or pro-wrestlers customarily appearing at UFC events only serve to highlight this point further.
As such, MMA fighters like Dan Severn, Ken Shamrock and Josh Barnett have had success within the squared circle, and the likes of Brock Lesnar, Batista, Bobby Lashley and CM Punk have all tried their hand at MMA – with varying degrees of success, of course.
But there’s something to be said for many WWE Superstars making the shift to MMA deep into their wrestling careers, citing a life-long yearning to test themselves in “real” combat situations. One can’t help but wonder what these Superstars would have done at the beginning of their careers if only MMA were as popular then as it is today.
Would they have spurned the opportunity to join the WWE and opted to join the UFC?
Well, you may be surprised to note that these stalwarts of the WWE almost did exactly that.
#1 The Undertaker
The Phenom has been described as the “best pure striker in the game today” many times by JR, and it isn’t without good reason. Self-admittedly, the Undertaker drew inspiration from MMA and tailored his striking game to somewhat retain the technicality with which a legitimate fighter throws punches.
And he went one step further with his patented submission, Hell’s Gate, which is basically a modified gogoplata – a sophisticated choke in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
Not only that, when esteemed MMA journalist Ariel Helwani caught up with him in a flash interview during one of Brock Lesnar’s fights, Undertaker openly confessed that had the UFC gathered the traction that it has today, he would have just as easily pursued MMA instead of pro wrestling.
There you go...straight from the horse’s mouth.
How does it feel to know that the Undertaker only became one of the greatest legends in pro wrestling by virtue of pure chance?