If you’ve been paying attention, you’ve probably noticed that NXT is building a small army of experts to make sure that the future of WWE is rock-solid. Sarah Stock will be coming on board very soon to bring her lucha libre expertise to the Divas division, and the recent debut of James Storm probably means that he got the “player-coach” deal he was looking for. Now, word is coming out that someone new is being added on a part-time basis, and it’s even more of a surprise than the aforementioned two.
MMA News is reporting that mixed martial artist Seth Petruzelli will join the teaching staff at the WWE Performance Center as a striking coach. It’s being reported that he’ll be at the Performance Center three times a week, which should be convenient, considering that Petruzelli already lives in Orlando. If he sounds familiar to you, you’re probably remembering the infamous 2008 fight he had, in which he derailed the hype behind street-fighting phenomenon Kimbo Slice in a resounding 14 seconds:
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Man, I always forget that CBS was in the televised MMA game for a while. Crazy times.
If this hire ends up paying dividends in the long run, then more power to WWE for making this move. I have to admit that I’m a little confused, though. Striking is undoubtedly important in pro wrestling, but at the same time, a pro wrestling elbow is way different than an MMA elbow. I mean, if this is signifying that NXT is shifting to a more strong-style approach, then that’s an even bigger story. In the event that Scott Dawson starts throwing bombs like he’s Katsuyori Shibata in the months to come, we’ll know what’s up. I guess I’m just wondering if this hire is 100 percent necessary. You have Matt Bloom and Sara Amato in the top coaching positions, and trust me when I say that they’ve been to Japan, and they know what a pro-wrestling strike is supposed to be. Again, it might turn out to be a great move, but only time will tell.
Just keep Kimbo Slice away from the Performance Center at all costs.
