Daniel Cormier is an Olympic wrestler and a UFC champion, and he’s got the scars to prove it. The man is old-school. He likes his wrestling with long hammerlocks and potential spinal injuries. He’s a man that has no use for Ring of Honor or the Young Bucks and their high-flying wrestling. In other words, Cormier seems to hate spot-fests, or at least that common knock on indie wrestling at the moment, usually led by the Jims Cornette of the world.
Cormier seems to want stiff shots and strong suplexes instead of dropkicks and choreographed routines. Maybe that’s because he’s lived a life of slamming other men on their heads, or maybe that’s because he simply doesn’t understand the entertainment value different styles of wrestling bring to the world. Here he is, mocking a sequence recently on Twitter after UFC fighter Chase Sherman tweeted it out:
Grown men watch this. https://t.co/7Gej9GSr5L
— Chase Sherman (@ChaseShermanUFC) December 17, 2017
@philbaroni this is actually pathetic. This is what people wanna see? Go to a god dang gymnastics competition. Suplex, bodyslam, piledriver do some old school wrestling man. DDT, I remember when the frankensteiner was the most you’d ever see someone flip. I say Boo to this BS https://t.co/eF4pnCy0SA
— Daniel Cormier (@dc_mma) December 17, 2017
Cormier followed that up with what he perceives to be “real wrestling” by showing off a couple massive suplexes from Clash of Champions:
Wrestling right here. Good job betts! That’s an Olympic level suplex bud!!! @l https://t.co/sQkm8BHZkJ
— Daniel Cormier (@dc_mma) December 18, 2017
That led to Cody Rhodes and other Ring of Honor wrestlers calling him out on his diss, with Rhodes laying it on thick:
U guys really like sensitive little kids huh? So everyone is supposed to like everything you do? Ur show is sold out, good. Mine is too. Who do you think ur talking to? No amount of your whining is gonna make me like that bs y’all did on that night. https://t.co/zijde9QYmv
— Daniel Cormier (@dc_mma) December 18, 2017
It's not pathetic. The paying audience enjoyed it. UFC is thriving, and pro-wrestling has been going strong since 1920…besides most of y'all ask hunter for a job when the wheels fall off anyway and most are on the comp list at staples…so lay the fuck off. https://t.co/oqKto3a4TK
— Cody Rhodes (@CodyRhodes) December 17, 2017
Here’s DC’s response to that, in which he seems to threaten Rhodes?
I do ask for comps, I am a fan, I didn’t say anything about anything but that sequence of the match. Just be very careful bud! I’ve been a fan of urs too but be very careful. Lay off the cuss words it’s not that serious. And I won’t need a job. I’ll be good. https://t.co/7DuDLbpipp
— Daniel Cormier (@dc_mma) December 17, 2017
Considering his love for working stiff, you’d think DC would be throwing out gifs of Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada, but he’s not. Instead, he’s going to the older, slower-paced years of wrestling that he grew up with. His opinion is just that — an opinion. And it’s tinted by nostalgia.
The MMA/Wrestling crossover argument has existed for decades (Sakuraba GOAT), but one has to look no further than Matt Riddle, a successful UFC fighter that turned away from the sport’s lack of fighter pay and creative freedom to move to pro wrestling. Riddle is still green, but he’s bridged the gap between a spot-heavy style and using his MMA background for transitions that work within a wrestling match. Maybe Cormier should watch a little more Ring of Honor, or someone should remind him of the travesty that was his fight against Anderson Silva before he talks about entertainment value again.
Because frankly, a UFC belt doesn’t matter too much these days. Georges St-Pierre just vacated the UFC middleweight title after Michael Bisping defended it against no. 15 Dan Henderson, Conor McGregor hasn’t defended either of his titles, Cormier himself has lost to Jon Jones twice, but is champion due to pee in a cup, and the women’s featherweight title had to be rebooted to work. It’s all entertainment, it’s all different, it’s all good. Don’t throw stones, Daniel.
(Via BloodyElbow)
