Bring back the lion's den match!

[CM Steel]

Everybody remembers the infamous lion's den match back from the attitude era that was introduced through former UFC & WWF superstar Ken Shamrock. He's had great matches inside the lion's den against the likes of Owen Hart (R.I.P.), and Steve Blackman. On Ken Shamrocks departure from the WWF, the lion's den match left along with Shamrock. But what if the match was brought back to the WWE even in the PG-era? There was no blood in any lion's den match for the TV rating sake.

And there are a few wrestler's of today who have made submission finishers mean something again in all wrestling...

-CM Punk
-Daniel Bryan
-Alberto Del Rio
-Chris Jericho
-Jack Swagger
-Tyson Kidd

We just saw CM Punk vs Daniel Bryan back to back to back recently on WWE TV. So why not bring back the lion's den match to a new generation of wrestling fans?

 

[Richard Blonoff]

Probably won't happen. Back when the original took place MMA wasn't as big as it is now, in fact up until the mid 2000s it wasn't on stable footing anywhere outside of Japan, and if you believe the rumors Pride wasn't the most legit organization around. Today the two try to distance themselves as much as possible. Even if they did bring it back I'm not sure if people would be interested. The means to watch a legit MMA match/cage fight are much more readily available today then they were then. I'd be mildly interested out of curiosity though

 

[#heel420]

I would love to see it back, but i doubt we'll see it again. It was Ken Shamrock's specialty match named after his training facility so i think the match is gone with him. If they bring a MMA style wrestler they could bring the match back, but right now there's not anyone whos gimmick fits this match outside of them doing submissions.

 

[ECW Dan Selby]

Nah, this makes no sense, i'm afraid.

Ken Shamrock used it because of his MMA past. MMA has now surpassed pro wrestling as far as credibility/popularity in the public eye.

Why would WWE want to do a watered down version? Actually, it's such a negative idea, I wouldn't be at all surprised if they did it!

 

[BaconBits]

Fuck no. Nobody wants to see fake mixed martial arts. If you want to see a real cage fights, watch Bellator, UFC/Strikeforce, or the random smaller promotions HDNet shows on Friday nights.

 

[dudedudedude]

"Yeh, lets remind every one of our PPV competitors match features by having their ring style in our arenas."

I can't see the WWE doing that.

Seriously.....Worst idea the WWE could do, seriously....

 

[BaconBits]

That would be so awesome if it was brought back, CM Punk would kill in it.

CM Punk would look like a fake ass mixed martial artist. Kinda like Kurt Angle and Samoa Joe did when they did the fake mma fight in TNA. It was just lame as shit.

Bringing back the Lion's Den matches would send even more fans from wrasslin' to mma. The UFC is already crushing the WWE in PPV buys, I guess you would like that trend to continue.

Besides, the whole Lion's Den thing related to Ken Shamrock, because, well, The Lion's Den is where Ken trained as a fighter. Ken is also a glorious asshole who is basically flat broke. If the WWE decided to name the match "The Lion's Den Match" you can be rest assured Ken is figuring out a way to sue the WWE for copyright infringement.

 

[dudedudedude]

CM Punk would look like a fake ass mixed martial artist. Kinda like Kurt Angle and Samoa Joe did when they did the fake mma fight in TNA. It was just lame as shit.

Bringing back the Lion's Den matches would send even more fans from wrasslin' to mma. The UFC is already crushing the WWE in PPV buys, I guess you would like that trend to continue.

Besides, the whole Lion's Den thing related to Ken Shamrock, because, well, The Lion's Den is where Ken trained as a fighter. Ken is also a glorious asshole who is basically flat broke. If the WWE decided to name the match "The Lion's Den Match" you can be rest assured Ken is figuring out a way to sue the WWE for copyright infringement.

Agreed, this would be fucking stupid. And I remember that Samao Joe/Angle crap. I couldnt believe we were supposed to believe that some fat fuck could beat someone with the look and experience of angle.

 

[justinsayne]

So you want WWE to bring back a match that nobody remembers, nor really ever gave a shit about? Yeah I'm sure that'll be a ratings grabber

There is nothing that a Lions Den match will accomplish that can't be accomplished in one of the 800 gimmick matches WWE already has, bringing back the Lions Den would be pointless & a waste of money.

 

[BaconBits]

I couldnt believe we were supposed to believe that some fat fuck could beat someone with the look and experience of angle.

The look doesn't matter so much. Fedor Emelianenko is generally considered the best fighter in mixed martial arts history. Have you ever seen what he looks like? He looks like shit, and he beat up a whole bunch of all yoked up tough looking dudes.

It's that nobody wants to see two wannabe fighters throwing telegraphed open fisted punches and pitter pat leg kicks with scripted grappling.

If they actually let them fight for real, still nobody would want to see it. Under current mma rules and scoring, Jack Swagger would wrestlefuck everybody and dominate. There's little actual useful fighting talent amongst the WWE stars. It would look like a local amateur mma show, and as guy who has attended hundreds of em, I can tell you that they're not for a widespread audience.

You'd chase everybody to The UFC/Strikeforce and Bellator, because they'd want to see skilled fighters fight other skilled fighters. Not a bunch of barely skilled fake fighters kind of fighting.

 

[HBsam31]

CM Punk would look like a fake ass mixed martial artist. Kinda like Kurt Angle and Samoa Joe did when they did the fake mma fight in TNA. It was just lame as shit.

Bringing back the Lion's Den matches would send even more fans from wrasslin' to mma. The UFC is already crushing the WWE in PPV buys, I guess you would like that trend to continue.

Besides, the whole Lion's Den thing related to Ken Shamrock, because, well, The Lion's Den is where Ken trained as a fighter. Ken is also a glorious asshole who is basically flat broke. If the WWE decided to name the match "The Lion's Den Match" you can be rest assured Ken is figuring out a way to sue the WWE for copyright infringement.

I have to agree with you here. I was in my teens in the attitude era and I detested Ken Shamrock. I can't pin point as to why, but all my friends loved him. The one difference was I was a lifelong fan at that point, and my friends only ever watched during the attitude era. As an aside, didn't Owen and Ken have a match in the Hart dungeon as well? I also agree that Samoa Joe and Kurt Angle looked lame, and Kurt Angle is one of the best so that says a lot. I don't think this match should be brought back because honestly it was not that interesting in the first place.