Conor McGregor, Brock Lesnar and the fine line between MMA and pro-wrestling
It was telling how a weekend that was prefaced by a bottle-throwing melee between Nate Diaz’s entourage and Conor McGregor– coined along the lines of a pro-wrestling angle – was closed out by a SummerSlam event that saw Brock Lesnar open up Randy Orton’s skull in a manner eerily resembling an MMA shoot.
And understandably, both incidents were met with outcry from the purists that identify with the respective industries.
Pro-wrestling and MMA, however, aren’t as contrasting as chalk and cheese as they would have you believe. Even before Brock Lesnar blurred the boundaries between the two domains in a big way, there has always been an overlapping audience demographic between the two.
Yes, there has been a good deal of finger pointing from one corner towards the other; while MMA fans condescend that pro-wrestling is ‘fake’, pro-wrestling marks turn their heads in disgust at a ‘bloodsport’ that has, at best, been at the fringes of mainstream entertainment since its advent.
MMA is characterized by two fighters looking to expose each others’ weaknesses and capitalizing on them, while pro-wrestling involves effectively plastering over the chinks in your opponent’s armour, and making sure they aren’t exposed.
One involves exploiting your opponent, while the other involves complementing him. One is broadly grouped under the umbrella of sport, while the other has segued itself into the niche of sports-entertainment.
But what neither party would care to admit is that, in essence, both are cut from the same cloth. Now before you object vehemently, pause for a second to spare a thought.