Reaction To Rossen

Barely a day or two after lauding former WWE acrobat Bobby Lashley for entering MMA with humility -- he’s been content to enter the sport through the service entrance, fighting in smaller shows against lower-tier competition -- he has to go and ruin it.

Lashley popped up during something called “TNA Lockdown” Sunday night, which appears to be professional wrestling slang for “embarrassment to the human race.” Lashley greeted former WWE pal Kurt Angle in the ring. I assume some poorly performed theater for the hygiene-challenged ensued.

Lashley can obviously do as he pleases to earn a buck, but I don’t think his hybrid career will do the sport of MMA in the U.S. any favors. It’s a deranged spectacle, full of drug-addled performers taxing their adrenal glands in a poorly scripted imitation of athletics.

Max von Sydow had the quote in a Woody Allen film: “Can you imagine the level of a mind that watches wrestling?”

I really don’t want to try.

- Jake Rossen (jrossen@sherdog.com)

I recently read a blog a friend on myspace wrote about Jake Rossen comments above. After reading what Rossen had to say only one thing comes to mind. Jake Rossen is a f**king idiot. When you make a comment about "something called TNA Lockdown" that proves you don't have a clue what your talking about. Your just a bias MMA loyalist who is narrow minded.

I doubt Bobby Lashley cared if him being a two sport guy in Pro Wrestling and MMA had a major effect on the MMA industry. What he cares about is feeding his family. Both pay him money which pays his bills. I am going to take a guess that TNA is paying him more than MMA also.

When you look around MMA there are tons of guys who are one dimensional. Guys who rely on a single discipline to fight. One of those disciplines is amateur wrestling. Something many MMA fighters and Pro Wrestlers have backgrounds in. Pro wrestlers such as Scott Steiner, Rick Steiner, Bobby Lashley, Charlie Haas, Shelton Benjamin, Jake Hager (Jack Swagger), Kurt Angle, and UFC's own Brock Lesnar were standout wrestlers in college. I would love to see you find a better wrestler than Olympic Gold Medalist Kurt Angle. He was a better wrestler than your precious UFC Champion Brock Lesnar ever was. Lesnar had a lot of hype going into the UFC because of the WWE. Last I checked pro wrestling is one of the most watched TV shows, not UFC. All the pro wrestlers I mentioned above have just as much being successful in MMA as street fighter Kimbo Slice. Kimbo was spoon fead opponents. The guy is a joke. Would I get in the ring with him? No, but I'll get Mike Tyson and see who wins a fist fight.

As far as your drug addled performers comment is concerned here's something to think about. Evan Tanner was found dead in a desert. He had drug and alcohol problems. Justin "Executioner" Levens shot his wife, then himself too. Steroids are just as big a problem in MMA as in wrestling. Josh Barnett is a steroid user. Chris Leban and MMA Legend Royce Gracie are as well. Ken Shamrock competed in both sports and was on steroids. James Irvin tested positive for narcotics. Drug and alcohol use is always gonna be a problem in EVERY sport.

With wrestling being scripted there is no worries about cheating or ruining the integrity of the sport. Cant say the same about fighters greasing there bodies in MMA can you? A referee is claiming to have greased "The Best P4P Fighter" Anderson Silva in his title fight at UFC 97. Try taking a poll for MMA fans and see how many are also wrestling fans. I bet it is over 50%. Those so called "low class" fans your talking about also watch your sport.

I don't write stuff about soccer even if I don't like it because I have no knowledge on it. Maybe you should do that when it comes to wrestling. Stick to writing MMA but don't bash a sport you know nothing about. I am a fan of both MMA and wrestling. I can give my opinions on both. Your just biased towards your sport and your opinion on wrestling is garbage.