Why UFC Should Buy Global Force Wrestling
UFC is a sport first and show business second, but make no mistake it is a hybrid of the two. In the recent years UFC has made purchases of smaller fighting leagues such as Bellator and Pride. I argue that UFC should add professional wrestling to their portfolio.
Fighters spend years working various martial art disciplines. But fair or not, a fighter's ability to make an audience care about them is important in their ability to make money. If UFC bought a small professional wrestling promotion UFC could expose up and coming fighters to great professional wrestling minds to learn the art of the promo. Some fighters, like McGregor, this becomes a natural and innate skill, but that is not the case for all.
I would keep the fighters off professional wrestling television so as to not blur the lines, but I would send them to "House Shows" (non televised events). There, they would come out as a manager for a wrestler or part of an entourage and cut live promos in front of a live audience. There is no way to get better at promos then doing it live.
Muhammad Ali, one of the great speakers in fighting, grew up a fan of Gorgeous George.
The business model in the old pro wrestling territory days was to have a beatable looking champion that everyone hated. This bad guy is called the "heel." Ric Flair made a career as a beatable looking heel who always talked about money and fame to get people to hate him.
Just as Ali was inspired from George, Floyd Money Mayweather perfected the boxing promo as Flair did in wrestling.
Mayweather and McGregor taught us the value of being able to speak.
Currently, Global Force Wrestling is run by Bruce Prichard, a long time WWE booker. Jim Cornette, one of the greatest wrestling minds to ever live and long time friend of Prichard was also brought in. Cornette is an on screen character (the commissioner), but will probably also assume a booking role (someone with that much experience, in my opinion will end up becoming part of creative, if not the head of creative).
If UFC bought Global Force Wrestling, they could leave the wrestling bookers in place. Cornette understands what makes UFC fighters draw, and has tried to incorporate that into professional wrestling. UFC fighters could work with Cornette and Prichard behind the scenes and at non-televised wrestling events to work on their promo skills.
Currently, Global Force Wrestling has a wrestler named Bobby Lashley. Lashley is both a professional wrestler and a real MMA fighter for Bellator. GFW has used that for their storylines. Lashley shows up to GFW TV with his MMA team. In story, his MMA team wants him to quit wrestling to focus on MMA. Cornette, as the storyline commissioner, bumps heads with Lashley's MMA team.
The modern day fan is smart enough to know the difference between the real stuff and the fake stuff. UFC could buy GFW without losing credibility. In doing so, UFC could expose their fighters to pro wrestling minds which could give them greater drawing power and money making ability in the UFC.