Why is Wrestle-mania More Popular than Most World Championship Bouts?

Question

or UFC for that matter, can you please explain to me what most people are thinking?

Answer 1

Why? Hmm, taking your question at face value here...

--Real, authentic violence scares the crap out of a lot of people. Really. With WWE and other "pro wrestling" outlets, it's fairly clear to most folks that this *is* a show, and that people are only hurting each other in the process of putting on a good show. So the violent intent isn't quite as immediate and threatening as it would be in an authentic competition.

--People *do* pay their hard-earned money for a Pay-Per-View event and expect to be entertained. Meaning they expect to be able to sit down for a while and *watch* something. And I am not just talking about showmanship or the soap opera elements here....I'm talking about *time*.

Most pro wrestling "matches" go on for minutes to hours...most UFC/MMA types of events are *done* in seconds to minutes. Really, the same issues came up when Mike Tyson was the champ and in the prime of his career, it came up that his fights *ended so quickly* that the PPV crowd really felt *cheated* out of their money. Much the same thing happens with UFC/MMA types of events, the fights end *really* quickly and I am sure that leaves more than a few people scratching their heads and going, "Huh? I *blinked* and it's over...? What just happened?"

--Adding to the "What just happened?" factor is that actual competitive submission grappling is a very *dry* and technical exercise. I've watched competitive judo matches before and it's much the same problem...there's a learning curve to be passed before you even *understand* what you are seeing. And while the rule changes in UFC to encourage a more stand-up, striking game help, still, the fact remains, people understand kicks and punches....but ordinary people don't quite *get* throws and takedowns and guards and submissions until or unless they are *shown* what they look like.

--And well....the soap opera elements *do* mean something in the WWE's favor on one level. The players have *personalities*. Honestly. This is one of the things "pro wrestling" in general has *always* excelled at--courtesy of its historical carnival-show roots--is the creating and selling of colorful characters.

While with a lot of people still....the UFC and MMA guys are all just that....a faceless *horde* of bald-headed, muscled out, heavily tattooed "bullet heads" that really are interchangeable. I think maybe out of the whole *lot* I can name three guys who have any *trace* of a personality...Randy Couture, Bas Rutten, and Fedor Emilianenko. That's about it. Sorry. Modern Thai boxers have more of a personality or ring presence than UFC or MMA guys.

So basically...what we are talking about here is one event that is all bark and next to no bite (that WWE) and we're comparing it to another event that is all bite and no bark (your UFC and MMA events), and in all fairness, a lot of folks aren't even sure the latter event, that second one, *is even a dog in the fight*.

In plainer English....while the "hardcore" marketing thing may have worked in the early days, it's just dated and sad now, and it turns more people away....UFC and MMA needs to be friendlier and to let the viewers *in the game* more if you ask me....

Of course, no one does. -_-

Answer 2

Nice little statistic:
"" WrestleMania, which has been the biggest American pro wrestling event in every single year since 1985, drew approximately 560,000 domestic PPV buys this year. (WWE, as a publicly traded company, is forced to publicly release its PPV numbers.) If somebody told Vince McMahon six months ago that a UFC event was going to out-draw WrestleMania at the domestic PPV box office this year, it's likely that he would have laughed at such a ridiculous notion, and the same can be said for most people within the PPV industry. ""

and, "" Given that the previous UFC record, set by UFC 59, was less than 450,000 buys (which is, again, an extraordinary buyrate in and of itself), the jump up to 600,000 buys is all the more astonishing. ""

Basicly what i'm saying is, you're wrong Wrestle mania is not more popular than UFC.

If in fact you were wondering why both UFC and Wrestle mainia were more popular than other championchip bouts like boxing or whatever. The answer is simple. MMA owns. =)

*** Additionally, most of WWE PPV's come from overseas not from the USA. You luvleeds1, are the stupid one. What country you from? I doubt you'll say.

Answer 3

Dude pro wrestling dates way back to the early 1900's but of course due to the invention of the TV its taken on its own persona. Back then pro wrestling was ment to be to decide who was the best grappler in the world, much like UFC origins to decide who's martial art was better. But somewhere in the 60's or so it became a man's soap opera with bouts being pre-determined and more showmanship being displayed instead of technique. Of course things got really out of hand when Vince McMahan Sr. passed away and left his company to his son Vince Jr. At that time there were several wrestling promotions and they all had an unwritten agreement as gentlemen to never compete against each other & stay in their own territory. Of course Vince Jr. being a part of the new generation said to hell with that, we have to be bigger & better than the next guy & one by one bought out his competitors, any of this sounding familiar to anyone? So today instead of having several pro wrestling shows you can watch on major TV, you only have 1. They exploit women sexually, bring in writers to drum up story lines, the owner is on TV more than his talent is, basically it's a man's soap opera!

Answer 4

Wrestlemania is more popular then UFC cause wrestling has always been more popular in the US. UFC or other MMA promotions are just now gaining popularity. ^^^ WWE gets higher ratings than UFC.

Answer 5

Because they have better marketing. The UFC and WWF, WWE all market their bouts where as I haven't seen very many others advertise nearly as much. Marketing is not just television, but personal appearanes, radio, magazines, newspapers, internet.

Answer 6

i dont know. wrestlemania is just another pay per view. and ufc is just beating the hell out of wwe. but hey can you blame them but mixed martial arts and wrestling are 2 different things.

Answer 7

cause its the super bowl of wrestling. its achance for all those involved to showcase their skills. its the turning point of the year, woooo! wrestlemania 23 sunday

Answer 8

Showmanship and Hype! Most people watching just want to be entertained.

Answer 9

I guess a lot of people just like soap operas mixed with "sport entertainment".

Answer 10

Because there are of idiots in the world and idiots LOVE wrestling