With the odds stacked in their favor, the USA Network was more than prepared to win the scheduled October 3 battle that has grown to be a dogfight in a period of only weeks. But now, with the news that Stephan Bonnar has broken his hand, the chances that SpikeTV—with its several hours of UFC followed by the debut of TNA—will even have the opportunity to win the night’s moral victory with a strong margin of ratings in certain prized demographics has deliquesced.
It only bears out further the inherent disadvantages at play in the battle, foreshadowed ten years ago in Japan, by the struggle between UFC and WWE. While UFC is limited by the bounds of humanity: the fighters are, in most cases, no better than they appear, and they are open to injuries shortly before big shows. Kazushi Sakuraba can no longer be Sakuraba; Masato can no longer draw for K-1 Max after an injury took him out of play.
But in professional wrestling, while it seems resistant to change, it is limited only by the bounds of human imagination. Stars are created by virtue, more, of booking, than of inherent skill. How else can Batista and John Cena anchor the WWE as Chris Benoit (the company’s best worker) and Eddie Guerrero (probably the most charismatic person here) languish? The success of professional wrestling may be dependant on having stars that catch on with fans, but at the same time, it is more the product of the genius in marketing and presentation more than anything else. Paul Heyman took people of limited talent and transformed them into stars.
However, the understanding of professional wrestling as having the advantage in this battle is fairly myopic. In the long term, UFC has the advantage. They have the ability to draw comparable ratings in key demographics, largely young males, and comparable ad revenue (even without comparable ratings) because the pro wrestling stigma does not, in large part, attach to UFC in the advertising world. The greatest success of the Zuffa-controlled UFC is that they have repaired a broken image and created what has been the best press year in the company’s history, a fact which seemed impossible ten years ago after the company’s reputation was challenged by various publications (including the New York Times) in 1994 and 1995.
UFC will be starting small. A lack of advertising for their special has reflected the different marketing machines that back both WWE and UFC. But they will need far fewer pieces to complete the puzzle that will represent their success. WWE, on the other hand, is an aging empire promoting what may be a distinct species.
