Bellator is slowly but surely becoming Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. For those that don’t watch wrestling, TNA is the off brand to WWE. They get solid ratings but don’t really compete with WWE at all. Just like Bellator ticket sales wise? They don’t do very well. But they are doing respectable ratings the entire time, nothing crazy but nothing to really put themselves in WWE’s reach. When TNA started they had a lot that separated them from WWE, they had the X-Division that often times stole the show. That division has long since faded out, replaced by what? Old WWE wrestlers, whom were brought in for name value that at this point are so broken down that they aren’t really usable. Soon they went from being a homegrown company to being a bad cast of old dudes and those guys that deserved to be the stars? The guys that stole the show were replaced by guys that had big names, big contracts, and lacked the talent they once had. Case in point Bellator you bring in guys like Rampage, Tito both guys aren’t what they once were but they are still talented enough and big enough that they hold some value. But now what is Bellator doing they are signing guys like: - Houston Alexander - James Thompson - Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou - Phil Baroni - Karo Parisyan - James Irvin And they are even thinking about grasping at straws to bring back what’s left off James Toney for a quick buck. And as a fan I have some desires to see these fights truth be told. It’s like a train wreck you can’t keep your eyes off of but the bad news is that while this train wreck is happening you are missing the chance to push some guys that could use it. And there in lies the problem because the show tomorrow all we can talk about is the fact that Thompson and Prindle are on the Main Card, Soko included. Slowly but surely the things that set Bellator apart from the UFC such as the tournaments are now being done away with. Rampage may not fight for the belt and take on Toney or Tito instead. Chandler, Alvarez, Brooks, and then Straus, Curran, and such are no longer fighting their way back to the belts anymore either. And instead of seeing prospects come up we are seeing guys like James Irvin taking up spots instead. Right now it may not be a huge problem; it’s just a few fights here and there. But TNA eventually became a joke and the guys that were at one time big were muscled out in favor of the big contract stars that brought some name value and where is this company now? They are damn near dead on life support. And after all that has happened they have basically become a joke. One Thompson/Prindle fight here and there is fine, one Toney/Rampage fight to get some PPV buys, ok. But when they start to add up and the company becomes more known for fossils then actual talent, things start to suffer and here we are on SpikeTV the exact same channel and how quickly they are falling into the same trap. The real talented fighters are no longer getting the spotlight. The tournaments are becoming weaker and weaker. Bellator is walking down a thin rope and these types of fights are good in small doses. But when shows start to become more “what in the world is going to happen” then “this is going to be awesome” things are going to fall apart. Some may like these things but the more they happen, the more it’s going to hurt them in the long haul. Sooner or later Bellator becomes TNA and they have lasted a long time but never did they seriously contend and they are now on life support. I hope that’s not the road we are heading with Bellator.
Maybe a bit melodramatic, and I cringe whenever I see people bash pro wrestling on the site without knowing how integral it is to MMA history, but I do agree when you say that Bellator has really cast off what made it unique and a strong alternative to the UFC. EDIT: Never mind that second part. I didn't read carefully at first. Sorry.
I love pro wrestling man, I wouldn't bash it. But what TNA has become is a bad joke of pro wrestling, while Bellator is now heading down that path as well.
Only haters focus on the old talent they've been signing to get some more much-needed name-recognition than on the talent that they've been building for the past 5 years and are continuing to build upon (I.E., Pitbull I and II, Curran, Straus, Dantas, Warren, Lima, Koreshkov, Shlemenko, Chandler, Brooks, Held, Ward, Cooper, Vegh, Newton, Minakov, Volkov, Ivanov, Jenkins, Sarnavskiy, Zayats, Parlo, Halsey, Hawn, Rickels, Saad). If it wasn't for injuries, then all of these fighters would have been getting top billing ahead of Sokoudjou and Irvin on their sub-par cards. Also, Colossus is awesome.
Yeah, I realized that after I had already finished my post. It's a knee-jerk reaction to this site. But yeah, I'll agree. Bellator had the tournaments and the constant search for great new prospects. Two years ago, it looked like Bellator was going toe to toe with the UFC in terms of signing the top new prospects. Today, we get Eric Prindle headlining a card. WTF.
People have to stop parroting this b.s. Bjorn doesn't run the company anymore. When he did, that was indeed their general M.O. to not sign ex-UFC fighters, with exceptions here and there. I guess at least you didn't make that point while also referring to him as Bjork, ignoring when Dana came up with that name it was in a rant about how he doesn't run the company anymore. Bjorn isn't the best guy like most promoters, but he was one of the most effective in the biz. He built a solid foundation for Bellator, and I agree with VIP that Viacom may be crumbling it. I suggested that it may be happening long ago, but now they are getting more extreme in quantity and absurdity when it comes to signing past their prime names. Rampage, Tito, Kongo, etc.; fine, they weren't even technically UFC rejects. Sass, Nunes, etc.; still fine, because even though they were UFC rejects, they were questionable ones, and on the way up or still in their prime. But with the likes of Vlad, Alexander, Soko, Baroni, etc.; they were neither bad cuts nor are they in their primes. I don't think it's doomsday or anything for Bellator yet, but it will be if they keep going down this road, because unlike with prospects, there has proven to be a hard cap and point of diminishing returns when playing the name game. They are selling out for the quick buck to the real casual fan who will lose interest quickly, following the die hard who would stop taking them seriously and not see value in watching their cards regularly anymore after while.
Eddie situation probably hurt them with prospects. They still get a few guys here and there, Caldwell is a top prospect, they signed Goiti and Bubba and others but majority are staying away. Is that because UFC is doing so many more shows now guys figure they can hold out longer and get a deal faster than they could have two years ago? is it cause they saw Eddie get screwed and dont want to get stuck in Bellator for years and never make it to the UFC? I think its a combo of both not wanting to get stuck and UFC is doing so many shows all over the world and need prospects to fill these cards up. WHy rush a signing with Bellator when you can take one or two more fights and get signed to the UFC. Like look at Sterling, he was talking about he didnt want to wait much longer and if UFC didnt act he would take one more fight than look at his options. UFC then snatched him up before he even fought again. Someone like Almeida, I'm sure Bellator wants him and knows about him but if he wins his fight which I think is in a few weeks he will likely get a UFC deal.
This is the truth. Say what you want about Bjorn but at the end of the day, he was in it for the sport. Once Viacom took over, they pretty much dismantled what set the brand apart in the first place. Very typical.
Bellator having tourneys to determine the next challenger has one major issue in that the Champion is left waiting for too long and if an injury happens they are on the shelf forever. I like having the former tourney winners able to challenge again or past champions to challenge without going back in a tourney.
Yet you are always in Bellator threads talking some shit. As long as VIP is around to give Bellator views, I'm sure it wont go anywhere.
Well just like WWE/TNA, they sign former talents of WWE to increase ticket sales. A lot of indy wrestlers do the same as some bargaining power. Bellator is doing the same except, its starting to go downhill ... talentwise. Lets be serious outside of Alvarez and Chandler they really don't have that many elite fighters. I mean Tito just finished the dominant MW champ in 1 round...WTF?
Being a realist and hating are two different things. I watch every Bellator event, I'm still excited for the event tomorrow. But at the same time I'm not one of the guys that hypes everything they do either. If you can't see the similarities and if you like the direction they are going in? So be it. I'm still a fan but sooner or later the company will be looked at as a joke if these type of fights keep up. I love MMA in general, I am one of like four people here for every Axs and every Bellator event. I can get excited for any fight and any event. But if you honestly think that fights like JT/Prindle, Baroni/Karo, and maybe Toney/Rampage are good for Bellator long term? You are a fool. I want Bellator to succeed I don't want it to become TNA (Impact Wrestling as the other guy pointed out, notice how they tried to rebrand because of all the fuck ups?). And if you can't see the direction they are going in then your love for Bellator has you blinded. Its not Bjorn, its Viacom.
No they aren't. Viacom owns no share in TNA. I also think this thread is silly. So what if they signed a few old veterans? They put on a shitload of cards. Also, UFC does not decide when somebody can continue fighting MMA on a relevant level. So what if they signed somebody the UFC cut or didn't re-sign? Should fighters disappear when UFC does not want them anymore? Is it really fair for the number 2 org to discriminate? Nobody else gives a fuck about that stuff.
If you can watch Tito Ortiz in TNA wrestling, and say it's serious, then you're fucked, and Bellator is going down THE FUCKING TOILET!
