Well sure, but the thing is that even though MMA in a lot of ways was born from pro wrestling, now it's regulated and respected and the guys are all tested and taken care of and paid well. Wrestling even at the very top is still a very shady, carny thing. They call their employees "independent contractors" and then don't let them work anywhere else, just as an excuse to not give them ANY benefits. There's been two or three attempts at starting a wrestler's union in the past and every single person involved was blackballed from the industry. TNA has a drug testing policy but doesn't punish those that fail tests (and their test results are private). WWE has a testing policy too, but suspiciously only the lower card guys ever get dinged for them.
And pay is even worse. Top level independent stars will travel across the country for 75-200 bucks. And the WWE guys aren't even making as much as you might think, since almost all of them are paying for their own transportation, hotels, health insurance, and all that sort of thing. A lot of them aren't cracking six figures, and they're international stars.
I ain't denying you saw the crazy wild west scummy days of MMA back when nobody off the street knew a peruvian necktie from a crazy deep throating technique, but at least now they know being in one sucks. When I'm getting powerbombed, not ONLY do they point out that it looks like I'm rubbing my sack in a dude's face, but they also insist it doesn't hurt.
tl;dr version: Eddie, teach me to kickpunch.
Last edited by Kyle (2010-05-22 00:48:59)
When.