With the rise of MMA, will we see a decline in the amount of "big guys"?

[MikeRaw]

Here's an interesting thought... With UFC and MMA in general becoming big, it provides an alternative for big guys. In the past, there's been huge guys in pro wrestling, and they've been succesful. But, as part of that, they had to do something that was fake. Now, I'm not saying that hate that. I can't read their minds. But with the likes of Bobby Lashley and Brock Lesnar currently in MMA, do you think more guys will decide that they'd rather do that? Alot of these big guys, or guys who would be considered heavyweights have trained in wrestling, and some of them even in other forms of fighting. So if they can actually fight, do you think some of these big guys will decide they want to follow in the footsteps of Lesnar or Lashley, and become stars in MMA, where they can do this stuff for real? And will guys coming up, who are massive, now decide (or at least alot of them) that they'd want to do real competition like MMA, instead of a staged event like wrestling?
So yeah, do you see a trend in the next 5-10 years of big guys coming up in MMA instead of Wrestling, and jumping ship to MMA?

Personally, I do. I think that so many of these guys are massive, and are obviously interested in physicality, or else they wouldn't be in wrestling. I think the reason alot of guys got in to wrestling is because even though they were actually trained in skills such as real, amateur wrestling, MMA was underground, seedy, and not popular when they were coming up, like 10 years ago, so they decided to do pro wrestling like WWE. But now that MMA is accepted as a legit sport, and is extremely popular, I think these big guys who train when they're younger, willnow decide to use their skills for real competition, now that they've seen that guys like Lesnar and Lashley can survive in it.

 

[Next Big Thing]

I could see guys with an amateur wrestling background being interested in MMA and choosing that path instead of pro wrestling, but I don't get why it has to be big guys. I mean I understand why you are saying big guys because the two main examples of this are Bobby Lashley and Brock Lesnar. But there are guys like Charlie Haas and Shelton who have an amateur background and could go that route if they felt they had the skill to do so. A perfect example of someone that has actually talked a lot about doing MMA but isn't a big guy is Kurt Angle. Had he been 10 years younger or MMA was this popular 10 years ago when he was breaking into the industry, then maybe he would have gone that route instead. To answer your question, I definitely see some guys with an amateur background choosing MMA over pro wrestling, but I don't agree that it will be just big guys. If we do see a decline in big guys in pro wrestling, it won't be because they have all gone the MMA route.

 

[MikeRaw]

By big guys, I mean guys who would be considered heavyweights in MMA, which Kurt would.

 

[Next Big Thing]

By big guys, I mean guys who would be considered heavyweights in MMA, which Kurt would.

Well your title is still confusing. When you say "big guys" in wrestling then people like Angle certainly don't fall in that category. If you're talking about guys that would be heavyweights in MMA, then about 95% of the WWE's roster falls in that category.

 

[MikeRaw]

Do you honestly think Angle was a normal sized human being during his tiem in WWE?

 

[noumenon]

I don't think it really has anything to do with being a "big guy". I think MMA just really appeals to those who have an extreme competitive edge and those who are gifted athletes. Brock and Bobby are no doubt extremely gifted athletes and I'm sure got bored not being able to showcase what they could truly do. I mean, let's be honest...do you think anyone who Lesnar fought in the ring would actually be able to take him in a fight? I'm sure there are plenty of smaller guys who go into MMA for the same reason. I don't think the crossover of two guys is going to affect things too much.

 

[Luke Flywalker]

^Unless both guys experience extreme success, or experience a lack in success and someone thinks they can do better.

There's nobody I can imagine that would currently leave any promotion in Wrestling to fully pursue a career in MMA besides Kurt Angle, and I don't know where he'd exactly fit in with his age.

I've heard that Ezekiel Jackson trained heavily for a while, but I don't know if he'd really pursue a career in it either.

 

[Airfixx]

Big or small...

Baddasses with something legit to prove -> MMA
Charisma -> Wrestling

Sounds good to me.

 

[wwefan0405]

I think it will be the same