Pro-wrestling is harder and more dangerous than MMA, at least according to former WWE Superstar-turned-UFC fighter CM Punk. It has been a long-standing quote from people who have done both that wrestling tends to take more to do, despite how good you might be in MMA. There have been terrific athletes who do terribly in WWE or in pro-wrestling organizations outside of it. Interestingly, there has never been a former pro-wrestler-turned-MMA fighter that has done badly in the sport.
CM Punk sat down with Rolling Stone for an interview, where he discussed a variety of topics. A question came up regarding which CM Punk found to be harder: pro-wrestling or MMA. Punk was quick with his remarks in saying pro-wrestling.
“I definitely think pro wrestling’s more risky. The pro wrestler’s mentality, and it’s ingrained in them from the start, is you have to work hurt. If I step in the Octagon and I get knocked out, I don’t gotta keep fighting. If that was pro wrestling, and I slipped and I fell and something happened to me and I got knocked out and I woke up three seconds later, guess what: I gotta finish this match.”
Punk also spoke about King Mo, who he has been working with as of late. The Bellator MMA fighter has had a lot of MMA success but recently wanted to get more involved in pro-wrestling. He has been working with TNA Wrestling a bit and the plan is to see more of him there.
“He’s been training to be a pro wrestler, and he was like, “Pro wrestling is harder.”
Many athletes from all kinds of sports have walked into the pro-wrestling scene thinking they would do well and they fell flat on their face.
CM Punk is right as well. In WWE, the mantra is to work hurt. You’re in wrestling to entertain. A show must go on regardless of how hurt you might be at that time. As Punk said regarding WWE in the past, he worked hurt almost every night in his last years with the company. That is normal. In UFC, fighters who are hurt are suspended from fighting until they are cleared by doctors. In a fight, one a tap out, TKO, or KO happens… it’s all over.
You also train up for one fight with one person at a time. In WWE, you could face someone five nights a week, and there is no training for it. You show up and try to entertain people the best you can. A fighter may have a real MMA fight in the UFC up to around three to four times a year. While training has them working well, doing a variety of martial arts with some contact involved… they are not putting someone through a full-fledged fight.
In WWE, for example, you wrestle over 300 days a year. The top stars also do press and other media in the off-time. So between the two jobs, CM Punk would pick UFC over WWE every day of the week. Who wouldn’t knowing this? CM Punk has a big work ethic, but he also knows where the most money is for the smallest amount of stress on his body.
At the end of the day, whether you are a WWE superstar or UFC fighter… even a pro-wrestler or MMA fighter anywhere, it appears that yet another person thinks wrestling is harder, especially more dangerous in the end. They do seem to have a lot to back up those claims as well.
[IMG Credits: FOXSports.com, WWE.com]