"Do not continue to hone their skills" - WWE veteran Dan Severn on why pro wrestling is more dangerous than cage fighting (Exclusive)
WWE veteran Dan Severn believes pro wrestling is more dangerous than cage fighting because wrestlers stop honing their skills after a point.
Severn is one of the biggest athletes in the world, who competed both as a pro wrestler and a mixed martial artist at the height of his career in the 90s. The majority of his time in the wrestling business was spent in NWA, where he even became the NWA World Heavyweight Champion on two occasions.
Though Severn's WWE tenure was relatively short from 1997-1999, it was nonetheless memorable.
Speaking to Riju Dasgupta of Sportskeeda Wrestling, Dan Severn explained why wrestling was more dangerous than cage fighting despite being predetermined. The 64-year-old stated that pro wrestlers stop honing their skills after a point as they struggle a lot on the independent scene, making peanuts in return.
"Because athletes, as a whole, do not continue to hone their skills. Like a fighter and an amateur fighter, you're only as good as if you continue to hone your skills and continue to move on. Most of these guys, when they make it to the big show, they have been on the independent scene, and they are working hard there because they are making no money," said Severn.
Severn added that since pro wrestlers work extremely hard to make it to the top, once they sign with a big company like WWE, they prefer to sit back and relax.
"But now when they make it to the big shows, they made it to the WWE or made it to WCW, or they made it to TNA, they made it to one of these big companies, they are making good money, and then they go like, now I can my feet up, I get to relax and be one of the boys. You're still going to be critiqued for your ability to perform," added Severn. (6:05 - 7:00)
Check out the full video below:
WWE veteran Dan Severn on transitioning from cage fighting to pro wrestling
Elsewhere in the interview, Dan Severn spoke about how he was apprehensive of telling his friends that he was joining pro wrestling in fear of them looking down upon him.
However, the WWE veteran added that since he wore the same outfit and conducted himself the same way he did in the UFC, they warmed up to the transition.
"Well coming from the world of amateur us at first, I really didn't let too many of my buddies know that I was going into professional wrestling because they would have shunned and kind of looked [down] at it. But you know, after they've watched how I conducted myself they had no problem, because I, the character that I was from my cage fighting days it, I wore the exact same outfit. I wore the same shoes, the same kind of trunks and and you know, I even wore gloves, and things of that nature, and I wore the same kind of like sweaty t-shirts."
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August 21, 1995 - Dan Severn, Terry Funk, Mick Foley and Terry Gordy https://t.co/XppDG3QTyk
Severn still occasionally steps inside the squared circle, with his last match going down last month at an indie show, where he competed in a three-way bout.
What do you make of Dan Severn's run in the WWE? Do you think he should have had a longer tenure in the company? Sound off in the comments section below.
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