Sports entertainment is a huge part of American culture today. Two of the most popular events are the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). The UFC and the WWE, two industries geared towards the same thing but different nonetheless. The UFC is a no-holds barred competition to see who is the better fighter, whereas the WWE is strictly for entertainment purposes. However you look at it, either sport can be entertaining and dangerous at the same time.
There is no doubt whether or not a UFC match is staged, whereas there is no doubt a match in the WWE definitely is. In the UFC, all the matches are chosen by both fighters who have a common goal in mind and that is to win their respective weight’s championship belt. There are two types of matches in the UFC. First is a regular non-championship bout, which is set for three, five-minute rounds. The second is of course the championship bout, which is set for five, five-minute rounds. The fight is over when one of the following happens; Technical Knock Out (TKO), Knock Out (KO), submission or a decision.
The WWE, however has over twenty different types of matches, Tag-Team, Royal Rumble, Steel Cage, Tables, Ladders and Chairs (TLC) and of course Hell in a Cell, to name just a few. Not only are there several types of matches, but also the contestants are always paired by who will score the highest television ratings and/or good vs. evil. The matches in the WWE are over when another opponent gets pinned, submits, is counted out or even disqualified. Even though the WWE is considered to be for entertainment the athletes are something else.
Both arenas employ some of the worlds best athletes, however like anything else there is always differences in both. The UFC fighters are men who have been training in their respective discipline of fighting for over half their lives. This is all they care about. They eat, sleep and live for Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). On the other hand, in the WWE, these athletes haven’t trained their whole lives to learn what they do. Yes, they are in shape and great conditioning, but some of them will never have a chance to reach the ultimate plateau.
In fact, most leave the sport and fade into oblivion, unless of course you are Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Terry “Hulk” Hogan or Brock Lesnar. While both sports offer entertainment value at some cost there is always the viewers objections as to which is one is a better sport. However you might view the overall gruesome outcome of either match. You must always ask yourself, “Do I want to watch Days of Our Lives or do I want to watch the NFL. ” As for this writer, yes, I grew up in the days of the WWE and loved it. However just as the hands on a clock turns so did my fondness for a once fun sport.
Works Cited
- Conroy, Pat. The Prince of Tides. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1986.
- Print. “An Interview With Pat Conroy.” Interview. Weekend Edition Saturday 6 Nov. 2010.
- Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 3 Feb. 2011.
- Malphrus, Ellen P. “The Prince of Tides as Archetypal Hero Quest.” The Southern Literary Journal 39.2 (2007): 100. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 3 Feb. 2011.
- Maughan, Shannon. “Prince of Tides.” Publishers Weekly 251.40 (2004): 29. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 4 Feb. 2011.
- “Pat Conroy.” Contemporary Literary Criticism. Vol. 74. Detroit: Gale, 1993. 43-54. Print. “Pat Conroy.” Literature Resources from Gale. Gale. Web. 4 Feb. 2011.
- Staggs, Sam. “Pat Conroy | Publishers Weekly, Interview – The Prince of Tides.” Pat Conroy. Web. Feb. 2011.
