Veteran pro wrestling promoter Paul Heyman, who was the head of a group that almost purchased the StrikeForce group last year, has commented on the Kimbo Slice - EliteXC - CBS travesty from Saturday night.
Heyman, known as the mad genius of pro wrestling for his ability to make stars out of less-than-stellar pro wrestlers, was the owner of the upstart ECW promotion and joined Vince McMahon's WWE in 2001.
Heyman, who now hosts and produces "The Heyman Hustle" broadband television show for the UK Sun, also regularly blogs about MMA, Pro Wrestling, and sports entertainment for the Sun.
In an article posted today by the Sun's Mark Gilbert, Heyman commented:
“The Kimbo debacle was the death knell for Elite XC. If I were Showtime, I'd cut and run. Kimbo got knocked out by an unknown and not an unknown they can build the promotion around. Now Elite XC have nothing to carry the top of the card and the ratings demonstrated an audience interest in Kimbo which must now be dead."
Heyman also commented on the future (or lack thereof) of Elite XC, saying “The promotion was built around Kimbo and it didn't even seem to matter that he was obviously being protected. People were into the character, the aura, the Mike Tyson-like persona of the baddest man from the streets kicking everyone's butt. But the promotion didn't protect him and everything about the fight, from the no-name opponent to the ref stoppage to the forced 'Rocky' comparisons, has caused a backlash from some and total apathy from others. It was a bad day for Elite XC and a great one for Dana White.”
You can read the entire article, which is highly recommended, here: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/ufc/article1778992.ece
We're going to send you the most entertaining MMA articles, videos, and podcasts from around the web.
3 Comments
Loading more comments...
This comment and all replies have been deleted This comment has been deleted Undo delete