Pro Wrestling is more difficult than Mixed Martial Arts

Now, I believe that Pro Wrestling is more difficult than MMA mentally, physically and emotionally. Pro Wrestling is more difficult than the MMA mentally because of the fact that wrestlers need to have a certain kind of intelligence that most people don't. Now, there is a common misconception about pro wrestling matches being rehearsed. That is inaccurate, because pro wrestlers couldn't possibly memorize the several hundreds of sequences of moves that goes into a single match. Wrestlers mostly make up the moves on the go. The only orders wrestlers are given in most cases are who wins and who loses, and what stipulation their match is, and in a few cases, how the match is to be won (submission, pinfall, count out, etc. ). Pro wrestlers are also smart businessmen/businesswomen. A wrestler needs to know when to sign that long and lucrative contract and when to pass it up to try and improve. Mick Foley said how he once walked away from a contract signing with the WWF when he realized that his character would not be a championship contender. That must have been a very hard decision for Mick, because he was very young in his career when he had this opportunity. Now we go to physical toughness. The first part of physical toughness I will talk about is pain threshold. Now, most people that there are springs in the ring or a layer of foam, comforting the fall of the pro wrestlers. That is a lie. Pro wrestling rings are your standard boxing ring, and trust me when I say that moves like suplexes and backdrops and several high-flying moves (e. g. The Frog Splash) all will make you grit your teeth upon the impact. And those ropes that look like bungee cords, aren't really bungee cords. They are steel cords, and during my first week at the camp I had no idea how to fall against the ropes, and I was putting all my pressure against my kidneys, and that pressure made me urinate blood. But put those beside the point, if a wrestler gets injured during a match, unless it's very serious (e. g. a concussion or a torn pectoral muscle) you have to play through the pain. Mick Foley finished a match against Vader, even though he had 2/3 of his ear ripped off his head. Now compare that with a MMA fighter. If they're hurt to that extreme, all they have to do is tell the ref that they're forfeiting. That means that Mixed Martial Artists have much more options as far as match outcomes are concerned. And here we add the fact that wrestlers constantly wrestle with injuries that most MMA fighters wouldn't want to even consider fighting with. Dolph Ziggler, a pro wrestler for the WWE wrestled with a broken jaw after a botched punch from Hugh Jackman had broken it on a live episode of Monday Night Raw. The second part of physical toughness I will talk about is physical toughness. Wrestlers need to be physically strong to do the moves that they do. John Cena is the WWE's pound for pound toughest man. He has lifted both the Big Show and Edge, a combined weight of over 600 pounds! John Cena is also a completely legitimate man, who has never touched steroids in his WWE career. Even though there are very few men in the world who can achieve a feat even close to that, almost every wrestler needs to have the strength to lift at least 250 pounds between 275 pounds several nights a week. A wrestler also needs the endurance to perform up to four shows a week. Now, if I'm not mistaken, MMA fighters have nearly a month to prepare before their next big fight, correct? The last part of physical toughness that I would like to point out is endurance. Wrestlers (at least some of the better ones) need to be able to wrestle a 7-20 minute match on a regular week night, and possibly up to 40 minutes, 50 minutes, or possibly even over an hour during a pay per view. Now while I will admit that MMA fighters have great endurance, they only need to fight for 5 minutes at a time before the break comes along. Wrestlers get few breaks in a match because there is not a round system that works in any wrestling promotion. Wrestlers are giving it 100% every time they go into the ring and 120% every time they go into the ring during a pay per view. But another kind of endurance I want to talk about is long term endurance. I know from experience that wrestling is one of those sports that leaves you hardly able to move in the morning. It hurts, with bruises everywhere, but you have to get out of bed and prepare for that night's match. Now, as I've said before, MMA fighters have usually around one month to rest up, and then prepare for their next big fight. And, let me add that wrestlers often wrestle with injuries that MMA fighters don't normally have to go into a fight with. Bruised ribs, broken jaws, and broken noses, just to name a few, help make up the list that pro wrestlers go to work with on a daily basis. Now I will talk about emotional toughness. Emotional toughness will start out with how wrestlers are able to stay sane wile constantly traveling. It must be very difficult for wrestlers, constantly flying and driving to destinations that could be across country or possibly could be half a world away. WWE superstar The Miz tweeted recently "On my way to my second home, the airport! " That helps show how often pro wrestlers travel, with less time to spend with their families. It must be incredibly tough on both the wrestler and his kids. But again, MMA fighters only travel about once a month to a destination, giving them much more time to spend with their family and friends. Another reason pro wrestlers are very emotionally tough is their resistance to temptation. Think about it, with no wife around a guy can get lonely, which can lead to the temptation of adultery. Now I know that I don't have to explain what adultery is, but it is impossible to explain the temptation a man who hasn't seen his family in awhile to be driving past a strip club. And since MMA fighters are home most of the time, most don't have that problem. Another temptation is the temptation to use drugs. Now, I know that wrestling has a bad reputation for steroids, but some of wrestling's biggest stars haven't touched drugs ever. John Cena has never taken steroids. CM Punk has never taken any kind of drug or even had alcohol. Daniel Bryan takes it one step further and is a vegan. These three people are arguably the biggest name in wrestling right now, and none have taken steroids in their professional careers. Now I come to the fact that every time a wrestler steps inside that ring, he faces a possibility of death. Now although not many have died in this business, Owen Hart was literally killed at a live show with the infamous piledriver. Owen, however, has also paralyzed two other wrestlers with that exact same move. Injuries happen all the time. John Cena has a surgically repaired neck, and so does former WWE superstar John Morrison. Jesse Sorrensen has had a broken neck in a live televised match recently, thanks to a moonsault by his opponent that night Zema Ion. Shawn Michaels broke three ribs thanks to a missed moonsault in a match against Ric Flair. My point is, you have to have some to go into the ring and know that you possibly might not walk out. That's got to be the hardest part for these wrestlers, knowing you may never go home to see your kids again. And as far as I recall, there are no recorded deaths in modern Mixed Martial Arts. Good luck to my opponent in Round 2, but I ask that they please don't post their argument until Saturday at the earliest. I'm accompanying my dad to a pig roast where there's no WiFi so I don't want to forfeit a round because of that. Thanks you