Are Pro Wrestlers Athletes?

If you ask the average sports fan if professional wrestling is a sport, you will get a snicker at best, and outright laughter at worst. The issue has been debated and beaten to death, and most people think that wrestling is only acting, with staged moves and stories. While I am not here to argue this, I do want to ask an interesting question. All sports feature athletes who can compete at a world class level. If wrestling isn't a sport, are wrestlers athletes? While many would not call them athletes, I think that certain evidence is to the contrary. There are a small group of wrestlers who have jumped to the NFL or MMA, and a handful of football players who have made the reverse jump. We will look at their relative performances, and try to shed some light on this question.

Exhibit 1: Brock Lesnar



Perhaps the best known of the crossover wrestling stars, Brock Lesnar has played football and is currently in UFC. Lesnar was an extremely popular and well-marketed wrestler, who was nicknamed “The Next Big Thing”. The WWE invested heavily in him, and he won several championships. Thus, it was a surprise when he decided to leave to play football. While he performed well at training camp, he was ultimately cut from the team, although he did merit an NFL Europe invitation. Although this does not indicate success, the fact that he was able to merit an NFL Europe invitation shows that he was extremely athletic and could compete at a high level. Very few people can play football at an NFL level without years of experience and training, which Lesnar did not have.

After being cut, he decided to move to Mixed Martial Arts, which is seen as more legitimate than wrestling. He was extremely successful, becoming the undisputed UFC heavyweight champion(not many people expected this). Having only been in the UFC since February 2008, this is very impressive.



Exhibit 2: Bobby Lashley



Bobby Lashley was a very successful wrestler, winning the United States championship once, and the ECW world championship twice. He was as feared and respected as a wrestler can be, winning against several superstars. However, when he jumped to MMA, he said “I want to be a champion.” He further said that he did not leave WWE willingly, and was forced out. Even though he was not someone who jumped to MMA for glory and more legitimacy like Brock Lesnar, he has has serious success in MMA.
He won one fight in 41 seconds and one in 24 seconds. Beyond being absolutely ridiculous, it shows that he was able to make the jump in dominant fashion. His record is currently 4-0 in MMA(pretty good I would say).









Exhibit 3: Kazuyuki Fujita



Kazuyuki Fujita was a Japanese professional wrestler(very similar to American professional wrestling) who made the jump to MMA. He steadily rose in New Japan Wrestling, and was soon fighting challenging opponents. Although he didn't have the star power of Lesnar or Lashley, he was a fairly successful wrestler. After making the jump to MMA, he quickly made his mark. He has won the IWGP Heavyweight championship three times, defeating fighters such as Bob Sapp. He lost his third title to Brock Lesnar.
Although he was not an extremely well known wrestler, Fujita experienced success in MMA. Due to recent losses, his record is still an impressive 15-8-1.









Exhibit 4: Bill Goldberg



Bill Goldberg began his career as an NFL player, and made the jump to professional wrestling. He was drafted by the Rams in 1990 and would play for 4 seasons, until he was cut by the Panthers. Although not a dominant player by any means, he was able to compete for a job in the NFL, and saw some game action, recording 11 tackles.
Although he was an athlete able to compete in the NFL, Goldberg made the jump to professional wrestling. He was an extremely successful wrestler, with an undefeated streak of 173 matches at one point. He also won several championships and titles. Although arguably taking place within the framework of a staged “sport”, Goldberg became very popular and successful within the professional wrestling organization.




Conclusions

Ultimately, these example show that professional wrestlers are athletes with the ability to dominate in MMA with little experience in some cases. Brock Lesnar's stint in the NFL also showed that he could compete effectively with little time for preparation. Although only conjecture, it would be interesting to see what he could have done with time to learn the game. The fact that Bill Goldberg, able to compete for an NFL job, jumped to wrestling shows that wrestling requires a high degree of athleticism.

Although perhaps not a sport, it is unfair(and untrue) to say that wrestlers are not athletes. The staged stories of the WWE require a degree of athletic skill to back them up.