So the review will be up later than usual but it should be tonight.

KB

Defining UFC and WWE.

The UFC and WWE are two organizations that compete in the US sports entertainment industry. There are often a lot of questions about which is better and how they differ. Just like any sport though, you can gamble on these sports, you can make WWE bets or UFC bets. Yet, understanding how these sports differ is key in knowing which you prefer and which is better for you to wager money on.

The UFC or Ultimate Fighting Championship is the largest martial arts promotion company in the world. Whereas the WWE or World Wrestling Entertaining is the biggest and definitely most popular professional wrestling promotion to exist.

The absolute most defining factor between these two is in the reality of the fights. UFC fighters will actually choke their opponents, while WWE wrestlers will theatrically mimic these same chokes.

While they are very similar, they are also very different. Mixed martial arts is fully competitive and engages in full-contact, whereas pro wrestling only mimics this, the reality is why many will prefer UFC over WWE, however the theatrics of WWE have many prefer that also.

Let’s see what these key differences are that set them apart.

Difference no.1- characters.

While the UFC can have some colorful characters every now and again, most of their top stars do appear somewhat interchangeable, and it can be hard to tell them apart sometimes. WWE does not have this issue, thanks to its theatrics. The roster is packed with some of the most colorful folks around, from the biggest makes, to the women, and even the smaller-rung guys stand out from the crowd.

It’s pretty obvious that you can get attention when you are wearing masks and costumes, but WWE competitors spark so much more, and it’s more comfortable for fans to recognize and get behind than in comparison to the blander types found in the UFC.

Difference no.2- Reality.

The most obvious difference between these two sports is reality. The UFC is an actual sport, and does not have any pre-determined results, this means that a seemingly unbeatable mega-star such as Ronda Rousey can be knocked out cold by someone like Holly Holm, and it will truly be shocking.

It is where highly hugged up bouts can end quickly, while seemingly tiny matches become classic battles. UFC competitors can pour all they have into their work and take their lumps. The realism and truth of the UFC is something the WWE can never get its hands on.

Difference no.3- TV time.

WWE does face one complaint nowadays, and it is that there is way too much TV. ‘Raw’ is 3 hours long, for example, then there is ‘Smackdown’, and ‘NXT’ which are both two hours long. There is just so much airtime and WWE bloats to fill it.

UFC on the other hand likes the ‘less is more’ style of things, they can get long built-up shows for PPV’s on ESPN, but they work better with recap shows. The UFC doesn’t need to rely on so many weekly hours to keep their fans hooked.

Difference no.4- Event size.

In contrast to the above difference. UFC does have some major PPV fights, however most of their events are standard fare, and it is often difficult to tell the difference from some UFC shows to another. In comparison to WWE, whose PPV events are a huge deal! Take ‘WrestleMania’ for example, it is the cornerstone of the entire company and the biggest show to get attention.

But as we already know, WWE is much more dramatic than UFC.

Difference no.5 – Old vs New.

While WWE is often popular for its older stars, some do wish they’d bring in new talent. It’s annoying seeing part-timers treated with big pushes when there are so many promising stars ignored.

UFC doesn’t have this issue, they are making new stars and have a better cycle on how new stars can take over the show.

WWE does seem to rely on ‘old reliable’ rather than opening the doors to newbies, but UFC has the opposite point of view, and these two differ in the use of the new vs old.

It’s time to start the count-up again.  Starting on Monday, I will be posting one review from Summerslam every day until this year’s edition on August 21.  As usual, I will be redoing last year’s show, but I will also redo a bonus that you pick.  All are eligible except for the following (ones I’ve done recently or several times before):

1992

1998

2005

2006

2019

Vote in the comments and I’ll do the one that comes up the most.

KB

Oh and for a cheap plug: I wrote a book on the History of Summerslam a few weeks ago.  Check it out right here on Amazon.

After Petr Yan threw a blatantly illegal knee to end a 135-pound contest at UFC 259, Aljamain Sterling became the worthy bantamweight champion. This controversial outcome may lead to a stirrup to this year’s ranking of pound-for-pound greats, but it still depends on the MMA media whether to share the sentiments of the few or not.  

Somewhere along with pound-for-pound rankings, after Jan Blachowicz defeated the middleweight champion Israel Adesanya, he immediately went two spots down to No. 5 while the Polish power-puncher moved up his ranking to No. 7. Take a look at this list of the best five pound-for-pound men MMA fighters and see what the current odds to win the ranking field looks like.  

Jon “Bones” Jones 

Weight Class: UFC Heavyweight 

Win/Loss Record: 26-1, 1NC 

Last Fight: Defeated Dominick Reyes 

Considering the former light heavyweight champion as MMA’s GOAT is an understatement. But this doesn’t mean that his position on the P4P throne isn’t in grave danger. Jones is about to be caught up in the competition. Hence the move up to heavyweight at age 33 is an exciting decision Jones has made throughout his career.  

Whether this means a quick shot for becoming the champion or a top contender has yet to rise to the challenge, fans can only anticipate. You may expect Bones to face the winner of the contest between Stipe Miocic and Francis Ngannou II for the title. But before that is concluded, Jones remains at the top of UFC’s list.  

Kamaru “Nigerian Nightmare” Usman 

Weight Class: UFC Welterweight 

Win/Loss Record: 18-1 

Last Fight: Defeated Gilbert Burns 

It’s high time for everyone to put respect to this man’s name. Kamaru Usman has proved himself worthy of the position and showcased his constantly evolving striking after defeating Gilbert Burns over a dominant title defense. The Nigerian Nightmare now has a 13 consecutive UFC winning streak, the second-best record in its history.  

That win against Burns gave Usman yet another big name in his resume, including former champions Rafael Dos Anjos (lightweight) and Tyron Woodley, former interim champion Colby Covington, Leon Edwards, and Demian Maia.  

No one can contest Usman for being the world’s best fighter right now, provided his overall growth and immensely dominant wrestling strength. It might be best to expect that everyone who dares to stand in Usman’s way will eventually meet defeat at the end. 

Stipe Miocic 

Weight Class: UFC Heavyweight 

Win/Loss Record: 20-4 

Last Fight: Defeated by Francis Ngannou 

At the age of 38, Stipe Miocic is currently set to enter yet the arguably most dangerous challenge throughout his entire career. This rematch contest at UFC 260, against the hard-hitting Francis Ngannou II, will add to Miocic’s pair of heavyweight title wins.  

Sadly, Francis Ngannou took out Stipe with a solid left and followed up with a hammerfist to seal the deal. Although Stipe was defeated convincingly by Ngannou, he still ranks high in the pound-for-pound rankings because of his past title defenses. 

Alexander “The Great” Volkanovski 

Weight Class: UFC Featherweight 

Win/Loss Record: 22-1 

Last Fight: Defeated Max Holloway 

Number 19 has been appearing a lot lately on the UFC featherweight champion’s record from Australia, Alexander Volkanovski. He has an amazingly 19 consecutive wins. And his win against the former champion Max Holloway, with a record of 19 of a possible 30 scored rounds. 

Although his match with Holloway was clouded with controversy over a disputed split decision, he is expected to fight against the reinvigorated Brian Ortega at UFC 260. Deviating from the number 19, The Great has a 55% striking accuracy, making him deserving of a position at No. 2 in the UFC featherweight history.  

Israel “The Last Stylebender” Adesanya 

Weight Class: UFC Middleweight 

Win/Loss Record: 20-1 

Last Fight: Lost to Jan Blachowicz 

Still considered one of the world’s best 185-pound fighters, Israel Adesanya was brought back down to Earth after losing a light heavyweight title to Jan Blachowicz. He may have had notable moments in his entire career; the Last Stylebender was still outmaneuvered by more prominent champions, slimming his chances of moving up classes to fight against Jon Jones. 

UFC 260 and Final Thoughts 

With UFC 260 leaving us all in awe of Francis Ngannou’s power, it’s safe to say that this heavyweight juggernaut is in the pound-for-pound rankings. As talented and dominating Stipe Miocic is, Ngannou cornered the former champion and landed heavy, unanswered shots.  

It was in the early minutes of the 2nd round wherein Francis Ngannou landed a short but powerful left that made Miocic fall to the mat. After landing a final hammerfist to the already unconscious Miocic, Referee Herb Dean ran quickly to prevent any more unnecessary damage. 

This is a big win for Ngannou who was looking to avenge his defeat from Miocic earlier. He has fought and won against fighters such as Cain Velasquez, Curtis Blades, Jairzinho Rozenstruik, and Junior Dos Santos. Shortly after the fight, Jon Jones sent out a tweet about possibly challenging Ngannou for the Heavyweight title. 

This is undoubtedly a mighty matchup, with everyone’s eyes on the Legendary Jon “Bones” Jones and the behemoth Francis Ngannou. Nonetheless, what an excellent year for UFC enthusiasts!  

From April 7 – April 12: 24 shows, many of which overlap.  I’ll be doing them as fast as I can but next week is going to be even more out of whack than usual.  This is the busiest time of the year so I ask you to please bear with me.  There is going to be a great variety of stuff coming up though, and I might even add a few more.

And, as a bonus, somewhere around there, I should be co-hosting a new weekly (in theory) podcast.

KB

There is now a search bar on the right hand column and all of the sub sections on the All Reviews page will now be in the red bar on the mobile version.

Please let me know if there are any other issues that need to be/you would like to be changed with the layout.  I’m not a tech guy by any means but I can see what I can do with them.  I can’t promise I’ll change them but if something needs to be done I’ll do what I can.

KB

I’m not wild on doing things like this but it’s something I need to do. As funny as the bit was/is, I’m going to have to put an end to it. The whole thing completely dominates the comments on too many reviews and multiple people have complained to me about it. I 1000% appreciate the creativity and effort put into them, but it needs to come to an end. While I absolutely will not ban anyone from the comments for something like this, I’ll be deleting them if the joke keeps going.

Please don’t do these anymore, as while they are funny, they seem to be alienating readers who have nothing to do with it and I can’t have that happening.

KB

We’re right in the path of a big snow storm that is scheduled to start tonight and go into Tuesday.  I’ll be around as long as I can be, but there is a chance we’ll lose power.  If so, we’ll be heading to a hotel but there might be some delays.  Takeover should be fine tonight, but after that it might be touch and go for a bit.  Last week was fine though so maybe this will be too.

KB

I’m sick of all of these things holding up the reviews but my area is about to get smashed by an ice storm and there’s a really good chance that my power will be knocked out.  If that’s the case we’ll probably be heading to a hotel, but I have no idea how Dynamite and NXT will be going tonight.  I’m sorry for the delays but I’ll do them as fast as I can.

KB

Wrestling fans often forget how good they have it in the 21st century. Watching old WWF matches on a tiny TV screen in standard definition just doesn’t compare to the way we can enjoy the sport today.

Not only that, but the wealth of online wrestling content means you’ll never run out of things to watch, read and listen to.

One of the biggest sources of wrestling information in recent years has been podcasts. The format has grown rapidly since the early 2010s thanks to smartphones making it easier to find, download and listen to them on the go. With podcasts that cater to just about every topic imaginable, from poker to Esports, nearly half of all Americans have listened to at least one, with around 90 million doing so each month.

For wrestling fans, there are enough shows out there that you could spend all your waking hours listening to the latest news and discussions about it. But if you’re looking for quality over quantity, then here are the podcasts you should be listening to in 2021.

Going in Raw

With a name that’s sure to bring an immature smirk to your face, the Going in Raw podcast is presented by Steve and Larson, two big pro wrestling fans. They started the show back in 2014 and have been publishing regular shows ever since. Both guys are good friends and passionate about what they do, which really comes across in their presentations.

Going in Raw is published most days, with some days seeing more than one release. Most last around an hour, though some are a little shorter.

You can find Going in Raw on most podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts and PlayerFM.

Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Podcast

The veteran pro wrestling journalist Wade Keller certainly knows a thing or two about the sport after spending more than 30 years covering it. He runs the popular Pro Wrestling Torch newsletter, which he founded way back in 1987, and has been hosting his Pro Wrestling Podcast since 2017.

With so much experience, you can be sure you’re listening to some of the best insight from the world of professional wrestling.

Keller publishes the Pro Wrestling Podcast several times a week (usually on Tuesdays and Thursdays with a few extras thrown in for good measure), with most lasting around two hours, giving you plenty of wrestling content to get your teeth into.

You can find the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Podcast on Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, PlayerFM and most other places where you can download podcasts.

Prime Time with Sean Mooney

If you’re feeling a little nostalgic for wrestling of old, this podcast from the former WWE announcer will be right up your street. In addition to working as an anchor for the National Wrestling Alliance and the KVOA TV station, Mooney publishes his podcast several times a month.

Lasting around 60-90 minutes apiece, each episode of Prime Time with Sean Mooney sees him interview some of the biggest names from wrestling during the 80s, 90s, and 00s. Recent interviews have included Todd Pettengill, Scott Norton, and The Blue Meanie.

Prime Time with Sean Mooney is available on all the usual podcast platforms.

Highway2Helms w/ Shane Helms

Shane Helms has been involved in professional wrestling since 1991. In that time he’s competing in the WWE, WCE, and several independent promotions. Today he works as a backstage producer for the WWE, though he has also made the occasional appearance in the ring. The most recent being an All Elite Wrestling cameo in November last year.

Being on the inside of professional wrestling, Helms is in the perfect position to share great insights, something he does every Wednesday in his Highway2Helms w/ Shane Helms podcast.

Each episode is different though, with discussions on everything from fantasy football to where Helms has been travelling to recently, mixed with plenty of wrestling content. It’s great if you want some variety in your listening.

Highway2Helms w/ Shane Helms is available on all the usual podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, and Spotify.