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Post by Orange on Mar 19, 2010 19:51:22 GMT -5
Back in the late 90's it was cool to be a wrestling fan, and wrestling was in and popular. The Attitude Era was controversial and drew in a lot of viewers, and spiked wrestling's overall popularity to something that hadn't been seen in a while. But overtime, negative press and deaths, and overall lack of interest has led to wrestling falling back into uncool territory to the point where it's almost taboo to admit you're a wrestling fan.
Now MMA and more specifically UFC, is a sport and company that is HUUUUUGE right now, from merchandising to TV deals to media crossovers, it's big. It's cool to be an MMA fan and it's ok to admit that you watch it or that you are a fan of it. Now my question that I have wondered for a long time,
Is MMA/UFC the new wrestling/WWE?
I'm seeing a lot of trends between the two that make me feel that once negative press starts going MMA's way it'll fall into the same popularity level as wrestling is now. Now obviously wrestling and the WWE are still wildy successful, what with selling out arenas every single time they roll into town, but I'm talking overall media interest.
Back when wrestling was popular we saw a lot of TV shows using wrestling as a plot for an episode, and now that is being done with MMA, another trend I'm seeing between the two.
So does anybody else feel the way I do (waiting for someone to post a Peter Frampton video ;D) about MMA now?
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Steveweiser
Dalek
Mickie Mickie You're So Fine... Hey Mickie!
THE GRAPS
Posts: 50,249
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Post by Steveweiser on Mar 19, 2010 19:59:08 GMT -5
It certainly does pro wrestling better than pro wrestling by way of promoting main events.
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Post by Jason on Mar 19, 2010 21:41:21 GMT -5
No. UFC is fine and dandy if you want to watch a real fight but it bores me honestly. Their build up promos last longer than some of the fights. I think wrestling offers alot more than a few punches, kicks and some cool submissions. It has comedy, drama, story-telling and it's just about different to anything else on television.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Mar 19, 2010 21:43:32 GMT -5
Well, I'm a fan of one, and don't at all get the appeal of the other.
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AriadosMan
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Your friendly neighborhood superhero
Posts: 15,620
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Post by AriadosMan on Mar 19, 2010 21:46:05 GMT -5
No, but it means "adult" pro wrestling will never regain its popularity.
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Post by Clash, Never a Meter Maid on Mar 19, 2010 21:47:15 GMT -5
Not to me. I enjoy both of them for totally different reasons- MMA for a real athletic competition, WWE for good characters and stories from great athletes.
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Post by Son of a Pregnant Dog on Mar 19, 2010 21:51:46 GMT -5
I'd like MMA more if it were like Pride in its height.
Not a big fan of the MMA 'culture.'
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Post by celticjobber on Mar 19, 2010 21:53:43 GMT -5
No, MMA is boring and more like real sports. WWE has storylines and is more entertaining, IMO.
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Post by Orange on Mar 19, 2010 22:08:20 GMT -5
No, MMA is boring and more like real sports. WWE has storylines and is more entertaining, IMO. I can agree with you there, except I am a fan of Urijah Faber and the WEC. I just think once negative press starts hitting MMA, it will not be as popular as it is now, just like wrestling was once considered cool and now it's not. It'll fall out of the media limelight and people will stop caring about it. |
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Miz-Wannabe
Don Corleone
Vicariously Living through The Miz
Posts: 1,444
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Post by Miz-Wannabe on Mar 19, 2010 23:24:16 GMT -5
No. UFC is fine and dandy if you want to watch a real fight but it bores me honestly. Their build up promos last longer than some of the fights. I think wrestling offers alot more than a few punches, kicks and some cool submissions. It has comedy, drama, story-telling and it's just about different to anything else on television. Pro-Wrestling 4 LIFE! |
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Post by KingPopper on Mar 19, 2010 23:52:55 GMT -5
No. I'll agree to a point. MMA is everywhere theres like 6 different shows/promotions on different channels, it seems its always on, like wrestling was in the late 90's.
Its big right now, but at the same time, theres big cards a couple times a month. But its not like WWE and WCW selling out arenas week after week, and selling tons of merchendise. Ten years ago.
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Post by Kevin Hamilton on Mar 19, 2010 23:52:56 GMT -5
It has been for awhile now, and looks to only continue to get bigger. You've got all the mainstream appeal that the 'Attitude Era' had with casual fans, and none of the 'scripted, fake' whatever you wanna call it stigma that 'mainstream' fans could deride.
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Post by Citizen Grimm on Mar 20, 2010 1:10:44 GMT -5
No, MMA is boring and more like real sports. WWE has storylines and is more entertaining, IMO. I can agree with you there, except I am a fan of Urijah Faber and the WEC. I just think once negative press starts hitting MMA, it will not be as popular as it is now, just like wrestling was once considered cool and now it's not. It'll fall out of the media limelight and people will stop caring about it. But MMA, especially the UFC, already endured a ton of negative press when it first started out. Hell, John McCain called it "human cockfighting" which it essentially was at that point. Now that most MMA companies have stricter rules, weight classes, and all that other stuff, its a lot more legit. To me, MMA is just the next evolution of professional fighting, knocking boxing out of the picture. |
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Post by KingPopper on Mar 20, 2010 1:14:56 GMT -5
You can tell when you use to have big draws in MMA becoming wrestlers, to now wrestlers either big draws or jobbers joining the MMA ranks.
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jamielowndes {N}
Unicron
The following post has been paid for by the Nexus World Order
Posts: 3,240
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Post by jamielowndes {N} on Mar 20, 2010 4:27:12 GMT -5
No, it is the new boxing. While inducing showmanship and theatrics mildly resemblent of the WWE, MMA very much markets itself as a real sport. I have to deal with pro wrestling haters on Sherdog.net, due to Brock Lesnars popularity. And people talk about negative press coming into MMA, MMA doesnt have a rampant steroid problem, guys arent crippled and needing 30 vicodin in the morning, and we also don't have tragedies like Benoit and Guerrero. It is controlled by athletic commissions with pre and post fight drug tests, and the UFC even pay for their fighters healthcare.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2010 6:19:41 GMT -5
MMA has more mainstream popularity but it's going to burn out REALLY quickly at the rate they're going now. Reason why I can't keep up with it is because how every damn fight seems to me that it's being promoted as THE fight, yet most of them end relatively quickly and with less-than-climactic results.
Good boxing in the 20th century held on so long because you didn't have a "major" fight every week and because fights usually lasted a little while.
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Post by Orange on Mar 20, 2010 20:05:31 GMT -5
MMA has more mainstream popularity but it's going to burn out REALLY quickly at the rate they're going now . Reason why I can't keep up with it is because how every damn fight seems to me that it's being promoted as THE fight, yet most of them end relatively quickly and with less-than-climactic results.Good boxing in the 20th century held on so long because you didn't have a "major" fight every week and because fights usually lasted a little while. That is very true, every commercial they build up these fights like people have been waiting to see them forever. Now to be fair some fights really are big (like St. Pierre-Penn a while back) so I could see them burning out soon and falling into sort of a niche market. I had never thought about UFC not having as many events as WWE, but I just dont' know how long MMA can really stay around. |
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Post by Quote the Tozz, Nevermore. on Mar 20, 2010 20:17:31 GMT -5
I see what you mean about it being taboo to be a wrestling fan, everyday I get reminded in some capacity that it's "fake" and MMA is the real deal. I like both, and I soon hope to be training in MMA. But is it the new WWE? Well, not really. It's not much like wrestling at all. Wrestling's more fun I think.
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The OP
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
changed his name
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Post by The OP on Mar 20, 2010 20:25:57 GMT -5
Not really. MMA and pro wrestling might sort of look the same and use some of the same promotional methods, but they're really not the same. They're very different sports for both the athletes and the fans. Almost as different as wrestling and swimming.
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agent817
Fry's dog Seymour
Doesn't Know Whose Ring It Is
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Post by agent817 on Mar 20, 2010 21:19:16 GMT -5
It seems more socially acceptable to be an MMA fan these days. However, I remember during the Attitude Era, I was in middle school at the time. Some people I knew watched it because it was the cool thing then stopped. Other people around never caught on and still gave fans such as myself crap for it. I enjoy both parties for what they are. However, the thing I don't like about MMA is the fact that some of the fights end too soon. I know that's how real fights go, but when it comes to MMA fights or boxing matches, I tend to enjoy them if they at least go past the first round.
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