Last week, UFC heavyweight fighter and New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) commentator Josh Barnett took part in a media conference call to promote NJPW’s G1 specials from Long Beach, California. Barnett was asked about a variety of topics, including the upcoming boxing fight between UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor and undefeated boxing legend Floyd Mayweather Jr.
He was also asked about mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion Bellator MMA incorporating a lot of pro wrestling production into their shows. Here’s what he had to say:
How McGregor can beat Mayweather in their boxing fight:
“Yes, I do,” Barnett said. “Are you ready? Punching him in the face and knocking him out. Yeah, I think that if Conor McGregor punches Floyd Mayweather in the face and knocks him out, he will win. I really do.”
Bellator MMA using a lot of pro wrestling-like production in their shows:
“Well not specific to MMA but I think that wrestling should, in general, get more back to its roots of being treated like a serious sport,” said Barnett. “I think that by doing so you make it a lot easier for heels to be heels, I mean the rules should always be enforced I believe. So if you put your hands on a ref, you should DQ’d. People should be counted out at times. If you don’t break a hold at four, you’re done.”
“I feel like a lot of rules of pro wrestling need to be upheld a lot more with a much stricter sense because then when you break them, it makes the moments more meaningful,” he continued. “And also I understand that wrestling is exposed but if you treat it like it’s exposed the whole time, then you’re basically just making people think that they’re watching fake wrestling. And it’s just like if you went to a movie and they just blatantly were telling you how much it’s all special effects and not real the whole time, it’d just ruin the whole experience. I think wrestling needs to take some cues from that concept and start dialing back the choreography and the abuse of the fact that people know that it’s worked.”
“And start getting back to treating it like it’s real because it’s really about intent and emotion,” explained Barnett. “And when you take away the sincerity of a real match then now you’re just trying to often grasp at straws to get people to clap at something and you become botville instead of a professional wrestler.”
H/T Wrestling Inc. for the transcriptionsÂ
