Strong/Stiff Style Wrestling Becoming More Prominent??

[Stein Lager]

So lately the wwe has been featuring more stiff kicks, punches and submission holds in matches. With wrestlers the likes Daniel Bryan, CM Punk and others coming from strong, stiff style wrestling company's (such as roh) it seems like this style of wrestling is starting to become more prominent. I don't know what you'd call it, a more MMA style or just stiffer wrestling. Remember back when you'd never really hear the loud slap of a fist connecting with a face, just a good ol stomp on the mat? We've seen CM Punk throw knees, kicks to the legs and kicks to the head. We've got Daniel Bryan with his badass missile dropkick, flying knees, strong loud kicks to the chest and legs (see Bryan vs Barret at Summerslam) AND a submission finisher. Alberto del rio uses stiff kicks AND submission finisher. Sin Cara uses stiff leg kicks. I've noticed Christian always gets that loud slap out of a punch to Orton. The list goes on...


Now has this stiff/strong style of wrestling been used for ages I've just been missing it??

Are they trying to appeal more to UFC fans by showcasing more submissions, stiff kicks, stiff punches??

Is this their shot at bringing more of a MMA feel or is it just strong style wrestling the likes of ROH??



Thoughts?

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

It's not really an MMA style. I've never seen a guy sit on his knees and take multiple kicks to the chest. They aren't trying to appeal to MMA fans. It's just the trend that wrestlers in general are doing.

Also, most things aren't actually stiff, just made to look so. ADR's enziguiri isn't what makes the noise, it's him slapping his own leg. Christian's punch isn't the punch, it's him slapping his own chest. It's a work. Just like every era before it, it's just guys learning how to make things look better.

Trying to make pro wrestling appeal to MMA fans is such a bad idea. they all know it's fake, so to prove it's not you have a guy get hit knowing he's getting hit? MMA fans (most of the mainstream ones) are dumb. They will just go "well that makes it even worse, why not hit him back?" You don't make a basketball movie into a 2 hour game to appeal to basketball fans. You create a compelling story.

 

[H33LTurn]

I noticed this a couple of months ago. I cant place the name of the PPV but it had Sheamus vs Jomo in it. That match, as well as that entire ppv was when they started using a more rugged ring style in the WWE. Maybe it was just the guys trying to put on a good show or the show just happened to include people who can wrestle that hardcore style but nonetheless it was noticeable. I hope they continue with this, part of wrestling is not only having impressive moves but knowing how to make them look as real as possible.

 

[dman1373]

it just came from the indies. Its like how the more hardcore matches came from ecw. The wrestlers either who came from the indies or are fans, use those moves because they are very prominent in the indies. Like look at rey. In wcw he never used leg kicks, but when wcw went under and he had to work the independents then he learned them(i could be wrong).

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Well, the WWE has started to incorporate more styles over the past few years for a more diverse group of wrestlers. They've signed guys from England, Scotland, Ireland, South Africa, Mexico, etc. and different guys have different styles and it just makes for a more enjoyable product. They've got big, stiff bruisers like Wade Barrett & Sheamus, guys with flashy spots & big moves like Sin Cara & John Morrison, mat based guys with legit experience in MMA, MMA training and/or amateur wrestling like Alberto Del Rio & Jack Swagger, guys that incorporate a little bit of all of the above without going overboard like Daniel Bryan & CM Punk, etc.

When Sheamus starts using that barrage of knee drops to guys on the mat or slamming his forearm into their chest or Daniel Bryan delivering those kicks to the chest or back, it gives a degree of impact that fans can feel and it just becomes all that much easier to suspend disbelief. After all, they don't have to suspend it quite as much.

 

[Mazzaroti78]

The point of wrestling is that the viewer is supposed to think it actually hurts. Bret hart threw the best punches and they looked stiff but no one ever got a busted lip or a black eye. We aren't seeing some kind of style resurgence in WWE, they are just featuring the better wrestlers now so you're getting better matches. For a long time people have said that TNA had the best workers and that WWE is just full of young green guys but WWE didn't fire those guys because they didn't immediately get over. They kept them and developed them. Credit should go to Arn Anderson, Dean Malenko, Dustin Runnels and Bruce Pritchard. HHH also deserves some credit for pushing Vince to hire people like Mistico and Kharma and pushing Vince to feature more wrestling. What you're seeing is the WWE roster excited and happy that they can be themselves in the ring and they can go out and wrestle finally. For the past few years we only saw great wrestling on the big PPV's, now guys are going for it on every show. Enjoy it while it lasts.

 

[FanSince85]

When Rey was working in WCW he was in the Cruiserweight division. It's good psychology for him to use leg kicks on guys so much bigger than he his. It creates the illusion of taking out that "vertical base" JR loves talking about.