Dave was not the most technical of wrestlers and did not have the intimidation and mic skills of other 'big' ''power figures'' like the Undertaker,Kane,Big Zeke Jackson or Triple H. However, he was a favourite with the fans due to his sheer appearance (a tall guy,heavily tatooed and loud!) and his finisher: THE BATISTA BOMB!
Now, Batista is thinking of going to either Strikeforce or BAMMA and fight MMA as early as this MAY!
Real vs Fake
What many pro wrestling fans (mainly the young ones) seem to miss out is that fact that wrestling is 'fake' in that the storylines and match outcomes are fixed, as well as the strikes. HOWEVER, this does not mean that the superstars don't put their health and safety at risk;
back in the early days (when it was known as WWF), most superstars had a background in some form of 'real' wrestling (e.g. Greco-Roman,Freestyle and [most relevant] Catch ).
The whole idea of pro wrestling came from the fact that in carnivals and shows, people liked to see a combat show between two characters: one good and one evil. Catch-style wrestling was originally used with acrobatic stunts for combat because fighting because a) it was exciting to watch (especially since the actors were quite large and physically strong) and b) strikes and weapons would wear out the opponent and hurt him (thus causing a high turnaround of the wrestlers who wrestled daily)! More stunts, choreographed strikes, and blunt weapon shots were later added to make the 'fighting' more exciting.
In wrestling, the slams and jumping off of the ladders/ringposts and attacks with blunt weapons such as steel chairs and trashcans are real. Plus they learn how to 'shoot' or 'fight for real' with catch wrestling techniques. Injuries are common and even the glamourous (and regularly featured in FHM,Maxim and Playboy) divas are taught how to 'toughen up'!!!
Most of the superstars of today are skilled atheletes as opposed to 'legitimate' fighters, but you can not say that it's not entertaining seeing the likes of people like Shawn Michaels or (today) John 'Nitro' Morrison moonsaulting off of the ring post (easier said that done), or even Rey Mysterio doing the 619!!! What about the sheer size and strength of Andre the Giant or the Great Khali? Finally, you can't deny the awesomeness and mic skills of Hulk Hogan and the Rock !
Can Wrestlers Fight in MMA?
As stated above, the wrestlers know how to 'shoot' or improvise for real via catch techniques. Although not " 'true' fighters", the majority of them are extremely fit and strong. For example, Hulk Hogan bodyslammed Andre the Giant (easily over 500lbs) ,John Cena does over 500lbs on all powerlifts and can do an Attitude Adjustment to Big Show and Edge at the same time (800-1000lbs), and Mark Henry is literally the "World's Strongest Man" after holding the record for an unequipped barbell squat,getting a silver medal in Olympic Lifts at the 1995 Pan American Games; being on the 1992 and 1996 US Olympic Weightlifting teams, and winning the Arnold Classic Strongest Man in 2002.
Although fit and strong, many WWE superstars (and other wrestlers from other organisations like TNA and New Japan Pro Wrestling) have crossed over into full MMA due to their background in other styles:
Brock Lesnar is the most famous example. Brock is UFC heavyweight champion with a record of 5-2. His background is in amateur wrestling where he holds: NCAA Division 1 first and second place, 2 NCJAA All American titles, 2 Big Ten Conference titles, 2 North Dakota State 'Bison' titles and a Junior Championship title.
Bobby Lashley is the next famous example. In Strikeforce his record is 5-1. Before MMA, he did amateur wrestling quite successfully: 3 National Amateur College Championships at Missouri Valley and 2 NAIA Championships.
Ken Shamrock is a mixed martial artist turned pro wrestler but before these he had a shootfighting background (one continuos MMA round in a wrestling ring with the spandex and no gloves [open hand shots instead]). His MMA record is 28-15-2.
Tank Abbott was a mixed martial artist turned pro wrestler with a record of 10-14-0
Finally, Kazushi 'Gracie Hunter' Sakuraba was a pro wrestler after his amateur wrestling career (once ranked second best wrestler in Japan and also East Japan Freshman Champion ) and before his MMA career. (which his record is at 26-14-1). He still admires pro wrestling and wears elaborate costumes and various entrances!
Many of the existing wrestlers were also into combat sports and MMA before:
Santino Marella (Experience in: Wrestling,Judo,Shootfighting and an MMA record of 6-1),
Vladamir Koslov (2005 US Open Heavyweight Sambo Champion and USKBA Grappling Champion),
Alberto Del Rio (Wrestler on Mexican Greco-Roman Team and 14-5 in MMA-most notable for being the lucha libre that got knocked out by Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic),
Cryme Tyme's Shad Gaspard (Boxing with 57-26 record,knows kickboxing, MMA and a 'No Holds Barred' Fighting [MMA precursor] record of 35-7 ),
The Pope (Amateur Boxing Record of 98 to 103 wins and 1 loss),
Wade Barrett (Bare Knuckle Boxer),
Dolph Ziggler (Wrestled at St Edward's,Ohio and set the high school record of 82 pins, 3x All-Mid American Conference Champion and won 3 Amateur Wrestling Championships at Kent State)
Samoa Joe (California State Judo Champion ),
Shelton Benjamin ( Two-time South Carolina State High School Heavyweight Champion [122-10 record],Junior College National Wrestling Heavyweight title in Lassen Community College, All-American Heavyweight Wrestler in University of Minnesota [36-6 record] ),
Jack Swagger (All American NCAA Wrestling Champion in 2006 setting the record of 30 pins in one season)
In their younger days, these guys were also pretty awesome and could've made it into MMA:
The Iron Shiek (Amateur Athletic Union 1971 Greco Roman Champion, Part of Iranian Olympic Greco Roman Team in 1986)
Bret 'The Hitman' Hart (1974 City [Calgary] Champion in Amateur Wrestling and 1977 Collegiate Champion at Mount Royal College, Canada)
Kurt Angle (1996 Gold Medallist in the Olympics,1995 Gold Medallist in World Championships, Bronze [1992] and Silver [1995] in World Cup, 2x NCAA Division 1 Champion, 3x NCAA All-American, Pennsylvania State Wrestling Champion [1987], USA Junior Freestyle Wrestling Champion [1987],2x Senior Freestyle Wrestling Champion [1987], FILA Junior World Freestyle champion[1988]).
Batista's Chances
From what you've seen above, you may think "But all of the above did martial arts before so it doesn't mean pro wrestling is legit"
That is agreeable to an extent- one must remember than most pro wrestlers, especially in the WWE, are on the road often so have no time to practise other sports-all they do is train in the gym, train in the ring, eat, sleep and wrestle. It maintains their skills and keeps them tough!
Dave has no knowledge of martial arts pre WWE and is 42 now with a hell of a lot of injuries. However, he's been training in Filipino martial arts and MMA with Cesar Gracie (grandson of co-founder Carlos Gracie)! Finally, he's damn strong and can lift people over 300lbs on his shoulders!!!
We at FeetUp wish Batista best of luck!
