Old school wrestlers who could have tried an MMA career

[Guest RyechnaiaSobaka]

So, I'm not an MMA fan at all. I know nothing about it, and I know no one who does it. However, I do know that some of the new WWE workers and that sort of thing (who I also know nothing about) have tried to branch out into MMA careers. Brock Lesnar is one example, I suppose. I keep hearing that some people might join the WWE but ended up sticking with MMA for a little while longer, etc.

 

So I am wondering what you guys think: if there was a competitive and fairly popular MMA organization back in the '80s and early '90s, who - if anyone - among the workers at that time do you think would have at least tried to branch out into MMA?

 

I know it's kind of a tough one because (a) the mindset of people at the time in terms of entertainment was not really the same as it is now where people don't want to watch wrestling or boxing because one's fake and the other has gloves, you can't kick and break people in half, etc. so we need more real violence, and (b) a lot of the workers at that time had more cartoony gimmicks than you see with some of the folks today who have made the jump (e.g. Lesnar).

 

Could be a fun discussion, I dunno.

[Bruiser_Brody_ 0]

Karl Gotch

Lou Thesz

Verne Gagne

Brad Rheinghans

Chris Taylor

Khosrow Vasrari

Akira Maeda

Billy Robinson

 

[TheOriginalOrangeGoblin 0]

Bad News Allan/Brown.

[Guest RyechnaiaSobaka]

Bad News Allan/Brown.

 

It's ghettoblaster time, fool!

 

[Diamonddust 0]

I know you said 80's and 90's, but Danny Hodge would have been dominant - he was an excellent boxer and wrestler, and he was strong as a bull. The same goes for Stu Hart.

 

I would have liked to have seen guys like Haku or The Barbarian. You always here how crazy tough they are so it would be interesting to see them in a MMA setting. I know at least one of them, if not both, had Sumo experience.

 

I would also say "Dr. Death" Steve Williams, but we all remember the Brawl For All... still, in his prime, he probably would have had good enough grappling skills to have success. Same with Bob Backlund.

[Guest RyechnaiaSobaka]

I would have liked to have seen guys like Haku or The Barbarian. You always here how crazy tough they are so it would be interesting to see them in a MMA setting. I know at least one of them, if not both, had Sumo experience.

 

I forget who it was, but someone said that if the toughest guys were the ones who were most successful in pro wrestling then Haku and Jim Duggan would have been the best workers. Jacques Rougeau had some fun stories about Haku. Amusingly, he also mentioned that Koko B. Ware tried to fight Jim Duggan one time with a broken mini-bar bottle of champagne. Duggan refused to fight him and told him to get lost before he got hurt.

 

Since I don't know anything about MMA, could you tell me whether or not they have gotten any Tongans involved in it to date? Would be interesting if they had not, given that there is a fair amount of crossover between wrestling and MMA fans, you would think someone would have mentioned that the Tongans are pretty much known for being badass.

 

My contribution would have to be the Dynamite Kid. Would have rather seen him do something like MMA than be a piece of shit in the WWF, beating people up and destroying their stuff.

[Red Baron 0]

The Steiner Bros.

[The Buzz 0]

I think Bill Goldberg would have tried MMA had he not been pointed toward Pro-Wrestling. He still trains for it today even though he knows he's too old to do it.

 

What about guys like Ernest Miller and Jerry Flynn. Didn't they have legit martial arts backgrounds?

 

 

I could see Kurt Angle ending up in the UFC had he not signed with WWF when he did.

 

Gary Albright was good with the worked shoots, and I know he had legit experience, did he ever do any real shoots? Vader with proper training seems like he could have done it even. Not saying he'd be successful, but I could see it happening with his obsession of being considered "real".

[PILLS! PILLS! PILLS! 0]

Stu Hart.

 

You are correct, sir.

 

I have no idea how good of a boxer Marc Mero was, but perhaps him...? Paul Roma also did a little amateur boxing as well.

 

Wasn't Stan Lane a 3rd degree black belt in the discipline of martial arts?

[Bruiser_Brody_ 0]

Judo Gene LeBell

Mad Dog Vachon

 

[Diamonddust 0]

Judo Gene LeBell

Mad Dog Vachon

 

Agreed on Mad Dog... a great amateur wrestler and someone that always ranks on top or near the top of "Toughest Wrestler Ever".

[haws bah gawd 0]

I've always heard Faarooq / Ron Simmons was quite the badass in his day. Even to the point that The Steiners (who were notorious bullies) wouldn't mess with him in WCW. He could've probably held his own as a striker.

[Ravenbomb 0]

Michael Kirchner probably could've given it a go.

[Red Baron 0]

Perry Saturn I believe had a Judo background.

[The Buzz 0]

I know Tazz isn't as badass as his character would make some think, but he did have a pretty good Judo background, and amatuer wrestling. So I think he could have given it a go with striking training. Plus with him being as short and built like he was, he'd probably be hard to fight on the mat.

[Diamonddust 0]

I think Bill Goldberg would have tried MMA had he not been pointed toward Pro-Wrestling. He still trains for it today even though he knows he's too old to do it.

 

What about guys like Ernest Miller and Jerry Flynn. Didn't they have legit martial arts backgrounds?

 

 

I could see Kurt Angle ending up in the UFC had he not signed with WWF when he did.

 

Gary Albright was good with the worked shoots, and I know he had legit experience, did he ever do any real shoots? Vader with proper training seems like he could have done it even. Not saying he'd be successful, but I could see it happening with his obsession of being considered "real".

 

Paul Orndorff would highly disagree about Vader.

[The Buzz 0]

Meh I've heard both sides of the story many times. Some like to end the story at Paul knocking Vader on his ass. Others add in the fact that Vader got back up and a few minutes later took Paul down to the floor. No matter which way you look at it, Vader's balance must have sucked for him to slip throwing a punch. I just think Vader with proper training and some weight loss could probably have atleast tried it.

[majormayhem1 0]

What about "Mean" Mark Callous?

[Guest RyechnaiaSobaka]

Meh I've heard both sides of the story many times. Some like to end the story at Paul knocking Vader on his ass. Others add in the fact that Vader got back up and a few minutes later took Paul down to the floor. No matter which way you look at it, Vader's balance must have sucked for him to slip throwing a punch. I just think Vader with proper training and some weight loss could probably have atleast tried it.

 

I don't see why anyone should believe Orndorff's account as he's an arrogant and conceited prick. Ever seen his shoot interview?

[The Buzz 0]

I think it's a matter of politics, a lot of people probably didn't like Vader because he was a top guy, so the pro-Orndorff story is what stuck in a lot of peoples minds. I don't doubt that it happened, but I think Vader probably did indeed end up taking Orndorff down and roughing him up a bit.

[AntiLeaf33 0]

Bruno Sammartino seemed like a pretty tough guy from what I've seen. It could have been interesting to see him in a MMA match

[Diamonddust 0]

Harley Race would be another addition to the list.

[Jacques 0]

I don't agree with all the "tough" nominations. We have seen what happens when a tough guy fights a legit martial artist since UFC 1.

[Diamonddust 0]

I don't agree with all the "tough" nominations. We have seen what happens when a tough guy fights a legit martial artist since UFC 1.

 

But several of the "tough" nominations have excellent grappling skills to go along with striking/fighting skills.

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

I don't agree with all the "tough" nominations. We have seen what happens when a tough guy fights a legit martial artist since UFC 1.

 

But several of the "tough" nominations have excellent grappling skills to go along with striking/fighting skills.

And which nominations would they be?

[Diamonddust 0]

I don't agree with all the "tough" nominations. We have seen what happens when a tough guy fights a legit martial artist since UFC 1.

 

But several of the "tough" nominations have excellent grappling skills to go along with striking/fighting skills.

And which nominations would they be?

 

Danny Hodge for one - excellent amateur wrestler plus boxing skills

 

Haku has sumo training, which would help with takedowns.

 

If Stu Hart ever got anyone down on the mat, it would be extremely difficult for them to escape.

 

[LooseCannon25 0]

Stu Hart.

 

You are correct, sir.

 

I have no idea how good of a boxer Marc Mero was, but perhaps him...? Paul Roma also did a little amateur boxing as well.

 

Wasn't Stan Lane a 3rd degree black belt in the discipline of martial arts?

 

Mero was a very good boxer. Multiple time Golden Gloves champ in NY, so he was legit. He would probably be good.

 

Danny Hodge would have been amazing. Great boxer, amazing wrestler, and tremendous raw strength.

 

Tazz does have a judo and wrestling background, and seemed very strong. He implemented alot of MMA stuff into his wrestling in ECW.