The question of weight classes in professional wrestling deservers a strong look.

I’ve mentioned it in the past, but with the tidal wave of viewers in the merger, counting among them a horde of Missy Hyatt fans, fantasy booker fans (and I’m not talking about Booker T here,) and other assorted colossal jewels of glittering … intelligence, I figure the time is ripe to opine once more.

In all other endeavors of combat sports, weight classes exist. They exist, even if Gina Carano is too concerned with American Gladiators to pursue her contractual obligations. They exist, even if Vince McMahon has all but a fetish (and I’m not talking about Pro Wrestling Riot’s manager of Delti Iota Kappa, here.) And they exist, even if the most steadfast of mainstream fans scream at me that professional wrestling is not a sport.

I stick my tongue out and make funny noises at you, who argue at me!

But seriously, I say, weight classes serve a purpose: they better coordinate matches, they make fighting fair and they make an organized competition more sports-oriented, fair and legitimate.

I know! I know! Pro wrestling is anything but sports-oriented, fair or legitimate. I’m writing a column here, stop interrupting me.

In the world of MMA, weight classes have proven themselves viable, marketable and supportive of long term profitability.

In the world of Boxing, weight classes are established, profitable and mainstream.

In the world of professional wrestling, they remain ignored, abused and strangely enough, made more and more irrelevant.

The crime, of course, is that Vince McMahon has tipped his hat that weight classes, and by that I mean smaller fighters, are worthwhile. When Floyd Mayweather was reported to have earned $20 Million for his WrestleMania XXIV fight, none of the mainstream reporting types decried the amount based upon the SIZE of the man in the fight (nor did they question the size of the fight in the man!)

Gordon Solie references aside, as well as the criticisms about the legitimacy and the spectacle (ok, talking points are getting destroyed by bringing up Big Show/Mayweather in the first place, but the size differential isn’t the issue at this point,) there seems to be no great outcry that a guy closer to 150 pounds got 20 million dollars to fight.

In the boxing world, names like Manny Pacquiao, Joe Calzaghe, Roy Jones Jr, Oscar de la Hoya and, until recently, the aforementioned Mayweather, ruled the landscape. These guys ain’t heavyweights, but no one knocks them because of their size, and none of the hundreds of thousands of PPV buyers hesitate about throwing fistfuls of tens of dollars to watch them in action.

By comparison, crickets chirp when Wladimir Klitschko beats up an opponent. Either that, or he makes TNA look respectable.

At what point did the megapush of Mike Tyson and his boxing peers disappear in thin air?

Ok, that’s a loaded question. But the point is, over the course of a decade and a half, the boxing world, mainstream and hardcore, doesn’t seem to be so focused on guys like Lennox Lewis, George Foreman or even Michael Moore. Those names are from the past. The current stars don’t weigh even 200 pounds, and no one seems to notice.

In the world of MMA, there have been two approaches to the business. One was Pride and one remains the UFC. While Pride dominated the Japanese market for some time, and even threatened to make waves in the United States, that business model collapsed. It was a model based on marketable mainstream names; on pitting celebrities and established fighters together, at times; and for the most part, in putting together matchups that provided a spectacle far more than an even competition.

Of course, in Japan, the spirit of the fighter was being tested far more than the spirit of fair play.

In the US, the MMA dominating UFC took the boxing category approach. While spectacles were created, and at times legends (like Shamrock, Abbott and the like) were put in matchups that were questionable, the underlying foundation has been one of a sport.

Today, one approach failed and the other succeeded. While the Japanese situation is far more complex than just weight classes and adherence, the bottom line to the dismantling of the Pride empire was a lack of marketable names, and an inability to create them, or recycle past glory.

The way I see it, MMA grew to a point where the fanbase understood competition far more than the promoters cared to cultivate it. The promoters played it safe: matching up expected winners; trying to build up names through less than legitimate means; and ignoring health, drug use or other issues.

Can I state that the Japanese fans grew tired of one-sided matchups? Arguably.

But history and Boxing show the same situation. In the hey-day of Mike Tyson, people paid big money to watch him knock out some tomato can in the first round. Not even ten years later, people stopped caring about the big guys in Boxing, and instead shifted to the smaller, faster, more competitive classes. Sure, popularity, personality, and promotion played its role, but suddenly it wasn’t about big guys slugging it out.

In the wrestling world, we’re still afflicted by mindsets that look at the size of a guy’s body, and far too little at the talent. That mindset is from McMahon, but also from the fans. Is it chicken-and-egg? Perhaps. But it’s also a question of a lack of focus on the promoter’s part.

Could Rey Mysterio be as big as Oscar de la Hoya, with the right backing?

SmackDown! Ratings have proven that Rey can be a drawing champion. But the WWE has insisted that he not be booked in a credible fashion. Fans never turned on Rey. Now, we’ve got CM Punk, who has been booked into oblivion, but now wears the Heavyweight belt. Will the experiment persist?

But the failures of the current wrestling mindset grow deeper. Unlike any other combat sport, pro wrestling has decided that guys must all compete at the same level.

The days of junior heavyweights, cruiserweights and light heavyweights are long forgotten. TNA’s claim to fame, the X Division, was dismantled with a recklessness that defies common sense – first by insisting that it was an open division, and putting Samoa Joe in the mix, and then….well, then they just downplayed the athleticism, wrestling skills and excitement of the whole concept.

Why isn’t AJ Styles the worthy X Division champ? Why are so many talented TNA wrestlers languishing in the promotion, seen and positioned as second raters, behind washed up and aging WWE cast-offs. Why shouldn’t Jeff Jarrett come back --- gunning for the X Division title to make it a worthy piece of gold?

(I’ll save the question of Vince Russo’s booking history, and that he’s never, ever booked a credible champion run in his life, for another column.)

While the WWE has world class talent of a certain size and weight, it is long past the point that it mattered. And that’s not just a shame, it’s a marketing ignorance that cannot be explained, if you look to PPV’s raking in hundreds of thousands of buys to see guys who’s combined weight is less than one of several names on the WWE roster.

No one in the mainstream or in the fighter’s particular industry would claim that Chuck Liddell is not a tough fighter, even at close to 200 pounds, or that Roy Jones Jr is any less tough a fighter at his light heavyweight range of 168 to 175 pounds.

Heck, when Rampage Jackson did his reported hit-and-run issue, do you think all those cops with guns drawn were respecting Jackson because of his talent and capability, or were they wondering if he’s really only 205 pounds of muscle and MMA explosiveness?

Once again, why is it that Vince McMahon can throw $20 million at Floyd Mayweather and bolster the mainstream perception of guys being tough who fight guys at their own size and weight, but then turn around and all but laugh at Jamie Noble or Matt Sydal, and treat them as worthless on his own product?

I could go on and present the obvious: weight classes, a super heavyweight class, ways to institute the changes and angles to make men millions, but I’ll wait until the right offer before airing that in public.

Joe Babinsack can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Next up is likely SHIMMER. Oh, can I go on a rant about gender prejudices in this industry. Too bad there aren’t any women in ownership roles in professional wrestling. (That’s a joke, son.)