I Wish WWE Treated Legends Like NJPW

The New Japan Tag League is one of their least impressive tournaments. NJPW really shines when it comes to single matches, but tag matches are often treated as filler, and even though these matches were better than filler, most are designed to further a story rather than give you a memorable moment. Still, there were many takeaways from the tournament in setting up Wrestle Kingdom, but maybe my biggest takeaway was the difference in how NJPW and WWE treat their legends.

In short, old dudes look like old dudes and they get absolutely owned. They have true legends like Nakanishi and Nagata teaming up while Tenzan teamed up with Kojima. Although these names probably aren't well known to American fans, these dudes are legitimate legends in Japanese wrestling.

Nakanishi won the World Title once and was a tag champion three times. Nagata won the World Title twice and the tag titles twice. It should also be noted that someone really hates Yuji Nagata as the man also had two MMA fights. He fought Fedor Emelianenko and Cro Cop. They literally called Cro Cop, "The Pro Wrestling Hunter" when he was announced to the crowd. It was awesome.

And this is nothing compared to Hiroyoshi Tenzan who won the World Title four times and the tag titles TWELVE times. Kojima won the World Title twice and the tag titles seven times.

Dudes just get their asses handed to them. There were 14 teams in the tournament, and these teams finished 11th and 13th respectively. Oh, and I should also mention that the last place team was made up of young boys who NEVER win matches and went 0-13 in the tournament. Tenzan and Kojima finished ahead of one legitimate team, although legitimate is a term I use loosely as it had one legend in Togi Makabe teaming with Toa Henare who was not good enough to win the C Block Championship at the G1 this year. Legends get respect in Japan, but they certainly don't get wins.

Now how much better would WWE be if they incorporated the same philosophy? Instead of legends kicking ass, they would rightly get their over-the-hill asses kicked. Wouldn't wrestling be better if the following two scenarios played out?

I would love a world where Kane and The Undertaker tagged up and got actually taken to the woodshed by Lucha House Party, and people were legitimately surprised if they got a rollup win against The Ascension.

Wouldn't it be better if Triple H tagged up with Shawn Michaels just to get absolutely ragdolled by The B Team, and then you would actually be excited when they used their veteran guile to overcome The Singh Brothers.

You can't tell me that this alternate reality wouldn't be better than the one we are currently living in. And if you're asking, the answer is yes, this is just a long-winded way of saying Undertaker and DX have always sucked, and I will never understand their appeal. Kane is actually pretty decent, but all those old farts should be treated like New Japan's former stars, but probably leave out the part where they are forced into shoot fights against the best fighters of this generation, because Jon Jones would LITERALLY murder Undertaker and prove that you can kill what's already dead.

Fedor vs. Chael Sonnen Is Stupid and Wonderful

After the electric fight weekend that UFC 229 provided, both in and out of the cage, Bellator is following that up with not one but two cards. There are some well known fighters competing like Roy Nelson, Benson Henderson, and Kimbo Slice's son. The most important fight is likely Matt Mitrione vs. Ryan Bader as the winner will be the favorite to win Bellator's heavyweight tournament. But when it comes to Bellator, I don't care about importance, I care about freakshows, and Fedor Emelianenko vs. Chael Sonnen is my ideal freakshow fight.

Fedor's last impressive performance was in 2010. Most people would argue that it was actually 2009, but Fedor was whooping Werdum's ass before recklessly getting caught in a triangle choke. At the same time, his last impressive win may have been all the way back in 2005 when he fought Cro Cop in a legendary match. In between then and now, he's tattooed more cans than Campbell's (yes, I know that's a very forced joke and only semi makes sense, but it's my best an effort). That has led to Fedor winning six of his last seven, and the only one he lost nearly ended in a double knockout.

Meanwhile, Chael Sonnen is practically still in his prime as his last impressive performance and quality win happened just five years ago when he somehow choked out Mauricio "Shogun" Rua. I had completely forgotten about that, but damn, that shit is impressive. He is also on a two-fight win streak beating Wanderlei Silva and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson in fights that...happened. If I had to say something positive about them, I would say they were...televised? TV exposure is cool, I guess.

Anyway, I know I have spent the last two paragraphs shitting on these guys, but let me get to the point. I love both of them. In his prime, Fedor Emelianenko was a cyborg of violence who victimized his opponents without showing the faintest hint of emotion. his workmanlike attitude just added beauty to the violence he was inflicting upon his opponents. It was one of those things that you couldn't take your eyes off of, and his string of dominance to start his career is probably only matched by Jon Jones.

And then there's Chael Sonnen. Chael Sonnen is not a legendary fighter, but he will be remembered. Chael Sonnen nearly won two different titles with the UFC. His beatdown of Anderson Silva will always be remembered, as he was less than two minutes from a dominant decision win before getting caught in a triangle choke. He was actually closer to beating Jon Jones in their light heavyweight title match, although in a very different way. Sonnen got his ass whooped for four and half minutes before the ref stopped the fight, but had he lasted 30 more seconds, the ref would have had to call off the fight as somehow Jon Jones broke his big toe while whooping Sonnen's ass. It would have been the most Chael Sonnen way possible to win a title, and I am so disappointed it didn't go down that way.

Usually, it is uncomfortable to watch guys fight who are well past their prime, but I'm actually at peace with this fight. Chael Sonnen has somehow survived his long career in mixed martial arts without taking very many beatings, and he's smart enough to even admit that he is scared of Fedor's power as getting knocked out is not a great experience, especially for someone who really wants to avoid brain damage. On the other hand, Fedor is clearly a shell of himself after going through many wars in the cage and ring. Even when he won, he rarely exited unscathed. Luckily, Chael Sonnen is not the type of fighter to lay the hammer to Fedor. Even when Sonnen gets his opponent down, he plays it safe on top to maintain position and avoid submission which means that his ground and pound is closer to a pillow fight.

So what's going to happen? I actually see it as very close to Khabib/McGregor, in a much less skilled way, of course. Sonnen's wrestling should be good enough to mostly control where the fight takes place, but while it is on the feet, Fedor has the one punch power to end it at any time. Much like I leaned Khabib last week, I'll lean Sonnen this week, but neither outcome would surprise me. Even if the fight technically sucks, I'll still love it, because it's not about the fight, it's about the spectacle, and this fight will certainly deliver on that.